A pillar of Flin Flon Bomber history has passed away. Cal Hammond, who won two western titles with the team as a goalie and later served as an assistant coach and volunteer, has died.
Hammond died July 9 at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, aged 71.
Originally from Flin Flon, Hammond moved to Snow Lake as a child and came back to Flin Flon in the ‘60s, quickly making his mark on junior hockey. Hammond played three seasons with the Bombers and winning two Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) championships in 1969 and 1970.
Hammond was picked in the fourth round of the 1970 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, but never played with the team or saw ice time in the show. Hammond did play a few seasons of minor-league hockey before heading back to the north.
Following his retirement from the pro game, Hammond coached and worked as a goalie clinician for hockey schools, working as both a goalie coach and as an assistant coach for the Bombers in the ‘90s and 2000s. Hammond also worked for decades at the Flin Flon Airport and was a scratch golfer, placing several times in regional events at the Phantom Lake Golf Course.
Aside from that, Hammond often shied away from public life, spending his time at his home at Bakers’ Narrows, though he never lost his connection to the rink - during a 2017 charity game between Montreal Canadiens alumni and Flin Flon hockey players, Hammond returned, clad in brown fedora, as an assistant coach for the local team.
“The Flin Flon Bombers are saddened to hear of the loss of former Bomber and Flin Flon resident Cal Hammond,” read a statement from the team issued July 11.
“The Bomber organization would like to send their condolences to Cal’s family.”
