This week's AGM is a guy people all know very well in many hockey circles, yet don't really remembered that he played in the NHL. While the greatness of his hockey mind can't be matched, his career as a goalie is one that's often overlooked. This week, the profile of Ken Holland.
Holland started his march with his hometown Vernon Vikings in the BCJHL, where he played 16 games in the 1973-74 season. The 1974-75 season had Holland move onto the WHL and the Medicine Hat Tigers where he would go 23-10-4 in 37 games for the Tigers. Holland was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1975 Amateur Draft, but stayed with the Tigers for the 1975-76 season. Holland would go 22-11-1 in 41 games with the Tigers.
Holland jumped to the professional ranks in the 1976-77 season with the North Amercian League with the Binghamton Dusters, playing in 48 games with a 3.80 GAA and taking home Second-Team All-Star honors that season.
Holland and the Dusters moved to the AHL for the 1977-78 season, where Holland would go 12-19-3 in 39 games in Binghamton. The 1978-79 season had Holland in 41 games a finishing the regular season with a 19-17-3 record, then going 5-5 in ten playoff games. Holland moved onto the Springfield Indians for the 1979-80 season, where he would go 15-14-5 in 37 games.
Holland signed with the Hartford Whalers in July of 1980, but would spend most of the year in the AHL with the Binghamton Whalers, compiling a 15-25-4 record in the regular season and 0-2 in the post-season. Holland played in one game for Hartford, which was a loss. Holland enjoyed a better season for the 1981-82 season, going 27-13-4 in 46 games, then going 8-7 in 15 playoff games; both enough to have him garner Second-Team All-Star honors. Holland would play 48 games in the 1982-83 season for Binghamton and finish off with a 23-18-5 record, then 1-2 in the playoffs.
Holland would then sign with the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 1983, but the 1983-84 season had Holland playing with the Adirondack Red Wings for most of the season, going 19-15-6 in those 42 games; then 3-4 in seven post-season games. However, Holland would play three games with Detroit, but only have an 0-1-1 record to show. Sticking with Adirondack for the 1984-85 season, Holland finished with 13-22-6 in 43 games before hanging up the pads.
After retirement, Holland stayed with the Red Wings organization-- first as a scout for the Western side of North America, then move all the way up the ladder before being named General Manager in 1997. Since then, Holland has had quite the run; building up talent from deep in the Draft and winning three Stanley Cups as a GM.
He may not have had the chance to prove himself as a player in the league, he has made himself a player in the management side of things in the NHL. Many have considered him to be one of the best GMs to ever be in the game and you'd be hard pressed to fight that argument.
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