Moe, Ezinicki lead 7 best body checkers in NHL history

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday. 

This week, he presents the seven best body checkers in NHL history.

1. BEST OVER THE TOP HITTER. BILL MOE, NEW YORK RANGERS

After watching Moe hit opposing forwards during the 1945-46 season, football-minded New York sportswriters dubbed him the "best blocking back in hockey." 

A durable, reliable defenseman, Moe's unique hits made him popular with New York hockey photographers who won prizes with pictures of his checks. Or, as Rangers publicist Stan Saplin once put it, "Bill's jarring, crouching body checks usually resulted in the opponent somersaulting through space."

Unfortunately, a fractured vertebrae ended Moe's career with the Rangers and he played his last game with them in 1948-49. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974. 

"For the time that Moe was a Ranger he was admired for his solid all-around play," Saplin said, "as well as his unique ability to turn foes upside-down with his hip checks."

2. BEST BODY CHECKING FORWARD: BILL EZINICKI, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Hockey author Jack Batten once wrote: "Ezinicki's job was to body check the opposition into timidity, which he performed to rowdy perfection. His hits sent reverberations of shock through the arena, an almost universal sensation of air being forced out." 

Nicknamed "Wild Bill," the right wing worked at perfecting his craft. Many of those hits occurred when the foe was tired. 

"You had to study for a good hit," Ezinicki told Batten for his book, "The Leafs in Autumn." 

"They would concentrate on their moves -- too busy to see me and I'd nail 'em before they paid attention to me."

Ezinicki was proficient enough to play on Toronto's first line with Syl Apps at center and Harry Watson on left wing, which helped the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in 1947 and 1948. After Apps retired in '48, 'Ezzie' remained on the top line and played for the team that won the Cup for a third consecutive season.  

Rangers coach Frank Boucher complained about Ezinicki's rough play. Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe showed film that exonerated his ace. He then wrote to Boucher, "Take a look and you might learn how a good body check is delivered!"

3. BEST HIP-CHECKING DEFENSEMAN: BILL BARILKO, MAPLE LEAFS

Barilko was nicknamed "Snake Hips" by teammates and "Bashin' Bill" by opponents after he arrived in Toronto on Feb. 6, 1947. Typical was a clean hit on Jackie McLeod, which separated the Rangers forward's shoulder. His targets were the best forwards in the NHL including future Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

"Barilko is the hardest hitter in the League," said Elmer Lach, Richard's linemate with the Montreal Canadiens. "When he hits you, he hurts you."

Historian Andrew Podnieks described the Barilko effect with five little words: "He hits hard, and harder."

Brash, yet lovable, Barilko liked to be called "Kid." He became a major player on a team that won the Stanley Cup four times from 1947 through 1951. His most famous goal was the 1951 Cup-winner scored in overtime in Game 5, when he was in midair while firing the puck over goalie Gerry McNeil.

The Kid became a Canadian hero but lost his life in a plane crash at age 24 on Aug. 26, 1951. As a result, hockey historians consider Barilko the most tragic figure in Maple Leafs history and most unforgettable for his Stanley Cup Final goal and robust hip checks.

4. BEST OFF-THE CHEST CHECKER: WILFRED 'BUCKO' MCDONALD, DETROIT RED WINGS

At 205 pounds, McDonald was notorious as a fierce hitter during the late 1930s. His checks so wowed the crowd at Detroit's Olympia Stadium that one fan, Harry Jacobson, promised McDonald $10 for every opponent he knocked off his skates. 

"He's the only defenseman I know who bounced players off his chest," said Boucher, then a Rangers center as part of a Hall of Fame career. "'Bucko' actually ejected his opponents off his great barrel chest and was very proud of that unusual skill. He loved explaining how he bounced this player or that one off his chest. He'd seek new players to chest into the box seats."  

Rugged and skilled, McDonald won the Cup twice with Detroit (1936, 1937) and a third time with Toronto in 1942. Remembering that his former defenseman was slow on his skates, Detroit coach Jack Adams devised a new strategy aimed specifically at McDonald before the start of the 1942 Final.

"Instead of trying to stickhandle past Bucko," Adams said, "shoot the puck into the corner and outskate him for it." 

Following Adams' advice, the Red Wings won the first three games of the best-of-7 series. McDonald was then benched by Maple Leafs coach Hap Day and replaced by rookie Ernie Dickens. Toronto won the next four games and the Stanley Cup. McDonald was traded to the Rangers in November of 1943 and concluded his unique chest-blocking career that season.

5. BEST BOISTEROUS BLOCKER: KEN REARDON, MONTREAL CANADIENS

When Montreal won the Cup in 1946, the swashbuckling Irishman had become a bulwark on its defense. 

"He defends his goal with crashing body checks, blocking out the enemy with brute strength," wrote author Ron McAllister in "Hockey Stars."

A World War II hero who received a Certificate of Gallantry from British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Reardon was feared for his one-on-one battles, especially with Maple Leafs center Cal Gardner. Because of his all-out efforts, Reardon sustained a severed tendon in his toe, sprained wrists, a broken fibula, wrenched knees and other wounds. 

Upon Reardon's retirement in 1950, a Canadiens beat reporter concluded, "Kenny checked with reckless abandon, hard-hitting strength, stamina and showmanship, but those efforts led to injuries that ended a laudable -- and boisterous -- career."

6. BEST OLD TIME BODYCHECKER; LEO BOIVIN, BOSTON BRUINS

Although Boivin played for five NHL teams, "The Skating Fireplug" earned his reputation in Boston. Gravity was part of Boivin's assets. His body was squat and extremely low to the ice so that his balance remained perfect when his 5-7, 190-pound frame hit an opponent. 

"Boivin was very special," said Bruins teammate Ed Westfall, "because he was one of the few players for whom it could be said that he turned body checking into an art form. For the most part, Leo's checks were hard but clean; and they really hurt." 

An anchor of Boston's youthful defense corps in the early 1960's, Boivin was named Bruins captain in 1963. His 18-season NHL career was highlighted by several trips to the Final, but he never played for a Cup winner. He retired in 1970 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. 

"Leo was as tough as they come," said Rangers Hall of Fame forward Rod Gilbert, "but also among the most respected for his style. The trick was to stay out of his way. Get hit by one of his body checks and you were in big trouble."

7.  BEST 'ICE COP' BELTER: JOHN MARIUCCI, CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS

Author Andrew Podnieks wrote in his book, "Players," that Mariucci was "a fearless defenseman who backed down from no one." The Black Hawks assigned Mariucci to protect future Hall of Fame forwards Max and Doug Bentley and Bill Mosienko.

"My job," Mariucci said, "was to be sure that they weren't manhandled by the opposition."

A football and hockey star at the University of Minnesota, Mariucci employed gridiron skills to his advantage on the ice. He gained fame with the Black Hawks starting with the 1940-41 season. He joined the Coast Guard after the United States entered World War II and played for its service team, the Cutters, from 1942 to '44, returning to Chicago for the 1945-46 season to do his same rugged job on defense.

Mariucci retired from the NHL in 1948. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder in 1985.

"John later became legendary in Minnesota hockey annals as a coach but never will be forgotten as a player," Minnesota hockey author Ross Bernstein said. "When it came to really good, tough defensemen, Mariucci was one of the very best!"