Skip to content

My Take on Snow Lake: Former Edmonton Oiler Ken Baird returns to home ice

It is a given that Ken Baird took, as well as handed out, a few elbows when he played with the Edmonton Oilers back in the early to mid-1970s.
Ken Baird
Former Edmonton Oiler and longtime Snow Lake resident Ken Baird wearing his commemorative Oilers jersey.

It is a given that Ken Baird took, as well as handed out, a few elbows when he played with the Edmonton Oilers back in the early to mid-1970s. However, visiting Rexall Place in early April for the fabled arena’s final game, elbows were replaced by pats on the back. And although voices were no doubt raised during the weekend of celebration, they were raised along with glasses in honour of the many talented men who played there and to the storied rink where they all practised their craft.

Baird hasn’t skated for the Oilers since the 1977-78 season and admits that he was surprised to hear from one of the guys he used to play with about the team trying to contact him by email to let him know about the Rexall celebration. He eventually located the information and decided that it was something that he would like to be a part of. Through further correspondence, they sent him the itinerary and, with that, he and wife Uschi headed to Edmonton to take part in a celebration courtesy of his old team.

Ken Baird is a man of local lore. He got his start in minor hockey in Flin Flon, and when his family moved to Snow Lake in 1962, the 12-year-old continued playing at the midget level. It was in Snow Lake that he made up his mind to pursue a career in hockey. He played two years at the junior level, most of it with the Flin Flon Bombers; however, there was a one-game stint with the Estevan Bruins. 

He set a record with the Bombers for points by a defenceman, with 75 during the 1970-71 campaign. He also made the 1970-71 WCHL All-Star Second Team.

That second year of junior must have impressed NHL scouts, as he was selected in the second round of the 1971 draft, 15th overall by the California Golden Seals – who became the Cleveland Barons, then subsequently merged with the Minnesota North Stars, eventually becoming the Dallas Stars.

“After the draft, I played with Oklahoma [City Blazers of the CHL] and got called up a couple of times that first year,” said Baird. “I played 10 games with the Seals in 1971, and the next year I jumped to the WHA with the Alberta Oilers and spent five years with them.”

In his move from junior to the pro ranks, Baird moved frequently from defence to the left wing. He says that he picked up a few assists in the NHL, but never did score a goal.

However, it was a different story In the WHA. He scored 14 goals in his first season, 17 in his second, and picked up 30 in his third, all the while averaging 130 penalty minutes a season.

Injuries and sickness played a part in Baird’s career starting in 1973-74, when he missed several games with an inflamed sac around his heart. In 1975-76, he missed the final 33 games of the season as a result of a serious knee injury and subsequent surgery.  In 1976, the then 26-year-old Baird got sick and was diagnosed with diabetes. He missed pretty well the whole year; however, he returned to the sport in 1977 and, after a move to the Winnipeg Jets, went out of the league a winner, potting 14 goals and setting up seven others that season before hoisting the Avco Cup at its conclusion.

After his most recent arrival in Edmonton – for the Rexall celebration – Baird checked into the Westin Hotel, then headed down to the hospitality suite to renew acquaintances.

He said it was a bit of a feeling out process.

“I didn’t recognize hardly anyone – hell, it was 40 years ago,” Baird chuckled.

However, once he settled in and started talking to people, he noted that the largest contingent of players from any Oiler era came from the group he played with – the original Alberta Oilers.

“Half a dozen of the guys still live in the Edmonton area, so I would say offhand there was 12 or 13 of us there,” said Baird. “Guys like Al Hamilton, Ross Perkins, Rusty Patenaude, Ron Walters, Val Fontaine, Bob Falconberg, Ken Brown… there were even a few fans around who remembered us.”

Over the three days of the celebration a number of memorable events and moments took place. There was an afternoon skate on April 5 at Rexall that Baird swears his equipment manager forgot to pack his skates for – as well as opportunity to rekindle old friendships during meals and other get-togethers.

On April 6, the day began with an autograph signing event; as well, alumni were asked to sign items that would be auctioned off for Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation Initiatives.

Following this, players boarded buses and headed to Rexall for a tour of the Oilers dressing room.

From there it was back on the bus and over to Rogers Place – the Oilers’ new home rink. Baird said that he found this very interesting and was amazed at the size and shape of the structure (an oil droplet) and the amenities that it houses.

“The current dressing room is something like 12,000 or 13,000 sq. ft.; the one in the new place is going to be 42,000 sq. ft.,” marvelled Baird, no doubt thinking of some of the cramped quarters he’s laced up in. “It will even have an elevator that comes directly into the dressing room from the players’ entrance of the building.”

After the tours, the Oiler alumni held a media event where many of them spoke before heading to Edmonton City Hall for a special ceremony with Mayor Don Iveson.

Then it was across the street to Churchill Square to allow fans who weren’t attending that night’s final game at Rexall a chance to show their appreciation.

On the evening of April 6, the group of close to 150 former players were guests of the club at their final game in the old barn, and as fate would have it the Oilers trounced the Canucks 6 -2 in the contest.

Baird said the game was great, but for him the highlight of the entire gathering came after the game, when the Oiler alumni were ushered onto the ice surface, seated around centre ice, then introduced individually.

Baird said he has nothing but respect for the fans who sat in the arena from 3:30 in the afternoon till 9:30 at night to pay their respects to the teams and building that were such a big part of their lives.

Of note, Baird dug out an old program that he had from the second game ever in Rexall Place, which had a photo from the first game ever on the cover. The photo was of a fight… and who else but our own Ken Baird was one of the two combatants.

My Take on Snow Lake is published on Fridays.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks