As a Saskatchewan native I was a great Kurtenbach fan. He played his Junior in Prince Albert and in four seasons recorded 321 points, averaging 37 goals and 43 assists a season, or 2 points a game. The stats were great, but it was Orland's appearance that I remember. He was a 6'2" 180 pound centre but he seemed much bigger than that; he appeared to cover the ice and his stickhandling was magical. He would rag the puck, it seemed forever to kill time or to send a winger breaking into the clear and his reach enabled him to develop a great sweep or hook check. To me, he always had the puck.
He also had a shock of blonde hair that made him look like a viking god.
Prince Albert was a New York Ranger farm club wearing Ranger colors—and I was a New York fan, so you can see the connection. Kurt was also tough in Junior. Nobody crossed him because, with that long reach, he could tatoo your features with a left jolt or a looping right. His opponents were lucky he was mild mannered and he never fought unless he was forced to.
I also recall he was one of the first players big enough to screen the goalie and had the ability to deflect the puck past the goalie. Defencemen couldn't move him.
I would wager he was one of the first hockey players that trained in the off- season to maintain his fitness. He would jog and cycle while others would play softball or baseball, not exactly aerobic exercises.
In 1957 the Flin Flon Bombers won the SJHL and were allowed to add players from the west for the Memorial Cup final. The Bombers selected Jean Gauthier from the Lakehead and big Kurt. They were to play Montreal's top Junior team, the Hull-Ottawa Canadians, a Canadian All Star team managed by future Montreal G.M. Sam Pollock and coached by Scotty Bowman - the same Bowman that is recognized as one of the games greatest masterminds. Hull-Ottawa with Murray Balfour, Ralph Backstrom, Claude Ruel, Claude Dufour and Billy Carter were overwhelming favorites to win. The series was in the West and Flin Flon, the home team, only hosted 3 games because their arena was small, so the rest of the series was played in Regina. The Bombers had some future NHLers like Teddy Hampson, Duane Rupp, Mel Pearson, and George Konik.
The series opened in Flin Flon where Bombers built a (2-1) lead thanks to Kurt's great penalty killing and he scored a key goal in each game. Back in Regina G.M. Sam Pollock threatened to take his team home unless hotels were upgraded and the refereeing improved. So the war was on. It became a wild and vicious series and fans jammed the old Regina Rink to cheer on Flin Flon and to show their hostility to the ungreatful easterners. Ottawa won two straight and led the series (3-2).
In critical game #6, Kurtenbach was magnificent as he pounded people along the boards, backchecked, and scored the key goal to set up the sudden death 7th game. Ottawa took an early lead but Hampson and Ginnel scored and Flin Flon took the lead going into the third period. That's when big Kurt showed his leadership as he seldom left the ice in the third period. He checked Balfour and Backstrom (who was ranked the best junior in Canada) to a standstill and the Bombers won their first and only Memorial Cup. Orland Kurtenbach was the catalyst.
He went on to pro ranks where he was named rookie of the year in New York's farm team, the Vancouver Canucks. He played 16 years of pro. He never became the scorer in the NHL, as most people expected he would, but he was a solid defensive player and leader. His pugilistic talents were flashed on TV when he had two incredible battles with 200 lb defenceman Ted Harris of Montreal; both battles were long and bloody but Kurt won both.
In 1970 the Vancouver Canucks were finally granted an NHL franchise; great news for Westerners but especially for me because my hero, Orland Kurtenbach, was taken in the expansion draft and he became the Canucks' first team captain. The Pacific Coliseum was jammed for every game and Kurtenbach was by far the team‘s most popular and best player. He had back–to–back 20 goal seasons, a great accomplishment for an expansion team player. Later, Kurtenbach coached the Canucks for two years after his playing career ended.
There is a story I recall that will give you an indication of how competitive Kurt was. Near the end of the 1959 American League season, Kurt's Buffalo Bisons were to play a meaningless game with Billy Hicke's Rochester. Hicke and Kurtenbach disliked each other, as they were bitter rivals in the Saskatchewan Junior League. Remember I said the game was meaningless, except to our two rivals. Hicke was the leading scorer in the American League and needed to record two points to set a League scoring record; Kurtenbach wanted to derail Hicke's quest. For two periods Kurtenbach shadowed Hicke relentlessly and Hicke never had a point or a shot on goal. But then Buffalo's only goalie was injured and they had a whole period left—so Kurtenbach offered to play goal. Amazingly, Orland made many great saves with shot after shot coming from Hicke who had a great slapshot and let it go from all over the ice. But “Kurt” was amazing as he shut out Rochester and the frustrated Hicke never set the record. Kurtenbach's goaltending career was over, lasting one period, stopping 16 shots, and a shutout. And 41 years later, Kurtenbach still enjoys the memory.
Note: Orland Kurtenbach is still a very popular Vancouver businessman, involved in real estate and insurance.
