Throughout his amazing run with the Flin Flon Bombers, goaltender Ray Martynuik was a veritable wall.
So it is only fitting that Martynuik be the first player recognized on the organization’s aptly titled Wall of Honour.
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“He was a different breed of goalie,” said Bombers president Hank Kosar, who watched Martynuik during his days at the Whitney Forum.
Kosar was on hand this past Saturday, Nov. 15 as a placard bearing Martynuik’s name and familiar number 21 was unveiled on the south wall of the Whitney Forum.
The ceremony was part of the Bombers’ match-up against the Melville Millionaires. Though members of his family were in attendance, Martynuik himself tragically passed away in 2013 at the age of 63.
Born in Flin Flon on March 28, 1950, Martynuik spent three seasons in the Bombers net from 1967 to 1970.
Competitor
A fierce competitor, he grabbed the attention of NHL scouts. In 1970, the Montreal Canadiens drafted him fifth overall, making him one of the highest-drafted goalies of all time.
Despite his immense promise, Martynuik was unable to crack a Canadiens roster that included future legend Ken Dryden between the pipes.
Nonetheless, he enjoyed a long and notable career in the minors. After leaving Flin Flon, he played for a dozen teams in the WHL, CHL, AHL, IHL and WIHL.
Martynuik’s career took him across North America, from Kansas City, Kansas, and Columbus, Ohio, to Tucson, Arizona, and Cranbrook, BC.
According to the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, after hockey Martynuik had a lengthy career as a technician for Coca-Cola in Cranbrook.
Martynuik may have left Flin Flon, but his legacy in the community was never forgotten.
In the 2000s, when The Reminder conducted a public survey to identify the best Bombers of all-time, Martynuik was by far the biggest vote-getter in net.
Well deserved
Tim Babcock, who covers the Bombers for The Reminder, believes Martynuik’s place on the Wall of Honour is well deserved.
“I wasn’t around to see him play,” Babcock said, “but I think that’s part of what makes a player deserving of an honour like this. The fact that he is still a household name to this day says a lot about what he accomplished during his prime.”
Kosar, the president of the Bombers, hopes the Wall of Honour recognition will help keep Martynuik’s memory alive.
“A lot of the people that knew Ray and watched him play are my age and we all have kids, so we’ve told them about him,” Kosar said. “But that’s part of the reason we set up this Wall of Honour, too, is to help basically educate some of the younger ones on some of the people that have played here and have done very well for themselves.”
Kosar said the fact that Martynuik was a local product was also important.
“We felt like honouring a local boy,” he said. “Even though he didn’t go onto a huge pro career, he did very well for himself.”
Kosar isn’t sure how many players will be added to the Wall of Honour in future seasons, but the Bombers board of directors has set criteria for inclusion.
