‘Humble’ Ehman to take his place among AHL legends | TheAHL.com

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer

Gerry Ehman, the man they called “Tex,” did a lot of building during his long hockey career.

He built a family. Built a playing career. Helped to build an NHL dynasty.

Ehman, who passed away in 2006 at age 73, will be recognized and remembered for his contributions to the American Hockey League when he is inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame on Monday.

“He was quiet,” remembered his daughter, Teresa. “He was very humble. He didn’t go and talk about hockey. He came from very humble prairie roots.”

For a career would that feature two Calder Cup championships, five Stanley Cup titles and even more stories, it had humble beginnings as well. Growing up in Cudworth, Sask., Ehman lost his father when he was 17 and his older brother joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, leaving Gerry, his mother and five younger sisters at home to support. Ehman played with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League but had an eye on a legal career, just like his father. But those plans changed when the family’s main breadwinner passed away.

There was no money, and no time to pursue an education. Hockey – at least indirectly – could provide a way to support a family. Ehman’s playing deal with the Bombers included an above-ground job in the mining business. The region’s vast mineral deposits had helped to build the northern Manitoba community that was founded in 1927.

“He always loved hockey, but he wasn’t sitting there going, ‘I want to be an NHL player. I want to play in the big leagues,’” Teresa said. “His choice was sort of defined by the circumstances, and I think the weight of responsibility fell very early on my dad’s shoulders in his family.

“He just had a lot put on him when he was very young, and he just did it like so many people at that time. He was a pretty special guy.”

Off to the mines – and the rink – Ehman went. A year later he spent part of the 1952-53 season in the AHL with the St. Louis Flyers, and so began a journey that would eventually take him to the NHL, skating for the Boston Bruins in the 1957-58 season.

This was a tough man, as were so many players of that era. With only six NHL clubs, openings were few. You played through injuries. You endured grueling travel and a demanding schedule. If you didn’t, there were plenty of players who would. Summers were hardly leisurely, either; Ehman spent his in the muskeg of northern Saskatchewan…