While it has been 40 years since Neil Meadmore played for the Flin Flon Bombers, he still remembers running at 6 am to Phantom Lake and back in training camp.
That is just one of the memories Meadmore, now a Realtor in Kalamazoo, Mich., has of his time with the Bombers. He played 25 games for the club in the Western Canada Hockey League during the 1977-1978 season.
“I remember a lot of energy from the fans on those weekend games that were normally packed,” Meadmore said. “I also remember some of those great teammates like Ray Neufeld, Glenn Hicks, Jordy Douglas and Ray Markham, who I just hooked up with going through Kalamazoo.”
Partway through his lone season in Flin Flon, he was traded to the New Westminster Bruins. He played a season and a half there to close out his junior days. He went on to an 11-year career in minor pro hockey.
“I signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 1979 and then was shipped to their farm team in Kalamazoo, where I ended up being roommates with Larry Lozinski, who I was traded for when I went to New Westminster Bruins back in the day. Small world,” Meadmore said.
The forward spent parts of eight seasons with the Kalamazoo Wings, which played in the International Hockey League. In 1983-1984, he posted career highs of 39 goals and 87 points in 82 games. Early in his career, Meadmore split time between Kalamazoo and the Adirondack Red Wings, Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate. Later he suited up for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and the Moncton Hawks.
For about 30 years, Meadmore has sold real estate in his adopted hometown of Kalamazoo.
“Its been a lot of fun dealing with people and their choices of either buying or selling,” said the married father of three. “Never a dull moment.”
