Some of the Broad Street Bullies had toughness. Some had exceptional hockey skills. Mel Bridgman had both.
The former Flyers captain and 1975 No. 1 overall draft pick died on Saturday at the age of 70.
Bridgman played six years for the Flyers and left his mark, contributing to the 1979-80 team that made it to the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the New York Islanders.
Bridgman could mix it up with the best of them but he was also a talented offensive player. In his best season, he posted 33 goals and 87 points.
Former teammate Brian Propp was a rookie in 1979-80. The following season, he stayed at Bridgman’s home while acclimating to life as a pro.
“He was great, and it was fun,” Propp said in a telephone interview. “We hung out with guys like Frank Bathe. We did things together. We were both young. I didn’t have a car so I would go with him.”
Propp confirmed that Bridgman was as handy with his fists as with his stick around the net.
“He was a tough guy,” Propp recalled. “But he played under Bob Clarke, and his points got lost as a second-line center there. He didn’t put up the numbers like they thought a No. 1 pick should but still a great player. I admire him.”
During the 1981-82 season, Bridgman was traded to Calgary for defenseman Brad Marsh. Bridgman went on to play for the Flames, New Jersey, Detroit and Vancouver. He played in 977 NHL games and finished with 252 goals and 701 points.
In 1993, he became the first general manager of the expansion Ottawa Senators.
Bill Clement was the player traded from the Flyers to Washington after the second Stanley Cup for the No. 1 pick used on Bridgman. When the Flyers drafted him, they gave him Clement’s No. 10 jersey.
“I was angry for a lot of years,” Clement said in his best mock deadpan voice during a telephone interview from his home in North Carolina. “… Until I sat beside Mel Bridgman in a Calgary Flames uniform, when Brad Marsh was traded to the Flyers (in 1981).
“I knew him to be a hard-playing, team guy that cared about winning and losing.”
Clement had one other memory to pass along.
“Mel told me once, ‘the biggest mistake I made coming to the Flyers was wearing No. 10,’” Clement said. “Because fans were yelling over the glass, ‘that’s not your number, that’s Bill Clement’s number!’”
Bridgman’s versatility stayed in Clement’s memory. After Clarke had to relinquish the captain’s “C” as an assistant under head coach Pat Quinn, it went immediately to Bridgman.
“Mel could put up points but he could also fight,” Clement recalled. “So I knew he was more valuable to the Flyers than I was, and that’s why they traded me away to get him.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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