They Call Me Killer
Growing up an avid Ottawa 67’s fan, James Duthie is well aware of Brian Kilrea’s persona around the city.
Duthie – the current host of all things hockey at TSN – got his start at CJOH in 1989 and got to meet the legendary junior hockey coach on his first day on the job.
Something enamoured Kilrea to Duthie right away, and because that charm has only grown, he wanted people to know about it.
Duthie has teamed up with Kilrea to write a host of tales about one of the most storied careers in hockey history.
Kilrea will be reading from his book, They Call Me Killer, at Chances R – a restaurant he co-owns – in Nepean on Oct. 8 at 5 p.m.
“Hockey people in this country are so knowledgeable,” Duthie said, adding that Kilrea is one of the few remaining characters in the game. “Everyone knows Brian Kilrea. If you ask someone in the west they’ll say, ‘Well, he’s that legendary junior hockey coach.’ But they don’t know what a character he is.
“That’s another reason I wanted to share this book. He’s an Ottawa treasure and I want him to be a national treasure.”
A large part of the book surrounds Kilrea’s relationship with famous hockey coach and commentator Don Cherry.
The pair has been friends since 1959 when they survived hockey hell in the minor leagues with the Rochester Americans with taskmaster Eddie Shore as their coach.
Kilrea and Cherry have consulted each other on a host of things over the years, in particular whether or not to take certain coaching jobs.
In Kilrea’s case, he called up Cherry to get his advice when he was considering becoming an assistant coach with the New York Islanders in 1984.
Despite Cherry’s objections, Kilrea took the position and served under the great Al Arbour for two seasons before returning to the 67’s.
“Don said, ‘No. Don’t go. You’re not an assist coach,’” Kilrea said. “It was one of those things where you wonder if.”
Originally Kilrea didn’t want to have a book written about him, thinking that he didn’t have the same appeal of a Cherry or Bobby Orr outside of Ottawa.
But once his arm was twisted enough give the book the go-ahead, Kilrea vowed two things.
One, he wouldn’t exaggerate any of his tales, and two, any proceeds that he would get would go to the children’s centre at the Children Hospital of Eastern Ontario that bears his name.
“That just more speaks to the way Killer is,” Duthie said, adding he considers the book to be a “barstool-type” read since that’s the location where Kilrea’s at his finest form.
“The best comparison I have to him as a character would be Don Cherry. He has just as many good stories as Don Cherry. In fact, if he was more outspoken, more colourful, more of a salesman the way that Grapes is, I think he’d be almost as big in this country as Grapes would be.”
While Kilrea retired from coaching the 67’s after the 2008-09 season, he still serves as their general manager, a role he said he while re-evaluate after each year.
Since Kilrea decided his book to his players, he admitted he does miss some parts of coaching.
But as for some the long bus trips, the 75-year-old is glad they’re behind him.
“When I watch our (road) games on T.V., and that game’s over at 10-o’clock, it’s nice to know I can take about 10 steps from the T.V. and go to bed,” he said. “I don’t miss the (travel) after the game.”
