The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Mike Kardash picked the right season to earn a spot on the Flin Flon Bombers. It wasn't until the Memorial Cup winning year that the Prince Albert native was able to stick with the club. "I knew I wasn't going to make the club when I saw the team," Kardash explained, during a phone interview from Prince Albert. Prior to suiting up for the junior Bombers, Kardash played senior hockey in the HBMS league while working for the company. Kardash said it was a rougher league, which prepared him well for the Bombers. Kardash said he was disappointed not to make the Bombers right away, but it made him work harder. "It took me two years to get on the club," he said. "They had a waiting list of 10-20 players." Born and raised in Prince Albert, Kardash moved to Flin Flon when he was 16. Being away from home proved difficult. "I definitely had trouble. There were nights I didn't sleep," Kardash recalled, as he moved well before the season started. "I didn't know a soul." As tough as it was in the beginning, Kardash said the move helped him in the future to grow up. The 5-7, 175 lb. fighter had other teams interested in him, but chose Flin Flon because the organization went above and beyond to get him. "The organization was first class," said Kardash. "They told my parents I would be looked after. I was making more money than my dad." Kardash noted the reputation the team had and how the organization acted professional as the players all wore suits so you knew the "Bombers were coming." The 68-year-old played two seasons for the Bombers and described that championship winning team as a family. "We were always together," he said. He recalls the Memorial Cup series in which they weren't expected to stand a chance against the hand -picked Ottawa squad. "We were the underdogs. Ottawa was supposed to walk in and wipe us out," he said. When the final buzzer went, Kardash said everything went in the air Ð gloves and sticks. "It was like jumping for a $1 million," he said. "It was very, very exciting." That wasn't the first time Kardash won a championship during his first season with a club, he also did it with the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League. Kardash, who drove trucks for 35 years and now picks up vehicles for dealerships and drives cabs to keep busy, played two seasons of professional hockey and eight at the semi-pro level with the Greensboro Generals, Charlotte Checkers, Philadelphia, Fort Wayne Komets, Winnipeg Warriors, and Vancouver Canucks. Kardash also played for former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Turk Broda, in Charlotte, North Carolina, but Kardash didn't like him because "he was a drunk" and asked for a trade and ended up in Philadelphia. Looking back on his career, Kardash said he enjoyed it. "I made a few mistakes and missed out on the World Hockey Association," he said, as he quit before Bobby Hull signed his $1 million contract.10/30/2006
