by Mike Wobschall
Belleville resident Steve Rexe on his quest to the NHL.
On June 6, 1967 Steve Rexe was driving around in Belleville when the radio caught his attention. On that day the NHL draft was taking place in Montreal, Quebec. This draft was different and would be known as one of the most notable NHL drafts ever.
That year the Philadelphia Flyers, California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins were welcomed into the NHL. The original six was no more and five of those new six teams were prepared to make their first ever franchise selection and he was listening.
The Los Angeles Kings had the first selection that year and chose defenseman Rick Pagnutti. The second overall pick was given to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Pittsburgh wanted me, no ifs-ands-or-buts about it,” says Rexe.
“They were afraid that LA was going to take me, but LA had just signed Wayne Rutledge, so they took Rick and of course, I went second.”
Rexe was drafted out of Belleville and even played some hockey in the historic Memorial Arena, which is currently closed due to refrigeration failure.
Now Rexe works as an import-export car salesman and he and his wife Maureen have four grown children.
That day in ‘67 was one of Rexe’s happiest moments but it also came as a surprise to him.
“Nobody with the franchise tried to contact me to let me know that I was going to be drafted.”
Later that night Pittsburgh General Manager Jack Riley phoned and asked him if he’d sign with the Penguins. The offer was for one-year at $7,500 with a $7,500 signing bonus, but he rejected the offer.
“The reason I didn’t sign was because they said ‘Steve, what would you sign for?’ and I said $15,000. They said ‘are you nuts? Earl Ingarfield (Pittsburgh’s goalie at the time) makes a little over $10,000 and you want $5,000 more than him?’ That’s when I said that was his fault.”
Turning the Penguins down seemed like it might’ve been the end of the line, until Rexe received a phone call from the legendary Father David Bauer. Bauer was assembling an international hockey team and wanted Steve to be a part of it. He was offered $1,000 per month, tax-free, and that’s when he decided to represent the red and white.
“I remember the first time our national anthem was ever played. 18,000 people, Stockholm, Sweden, the thrill of that was unbelievable and how proud we were. I’ll never forget that.”
Goaltending would become a challenge because Rexe had to split his duties with the great Wayne Stephenson. The Canadians travelled from country to country in the 1968-69 season. While in Sweden, Rexe took a slap shot right above the knee in practice and he originally thought nothing of it.
The next morning, after practice, he noticed that his knee had swollen to the size a volleyball and that it was black and blue. He was told that he’d torn several ligaments and that reconstructive surgery was needed, as soon as possible, to prevent clotting.
Rexe had two choices. The first was fly home and have the surgery in Ottawa or he could stay in Sweden and have it done.
“I chose to stay in Sweden and I had my operation performed by a guy named Doctor Lundqvist. To keep things short the guy would’ve made an average veterinarian here in Canada, so needless to say my leg was pretty messed up.”
He wouldn’t play internationally after that and the Penguins had given up hope on him, trading him to the Minnesota North Stars.
The North Stars didn’t give him an opportunity and Rexe spent two years rehabbing his injury until 1972.
“In 1972 the World Hockey Association came along and they were short goaltenders. I had a local friend who ended up writing all the different WHA teams with my resume and all of a sudden I got seven contract offers in the mail. The Los Angeles Sharks were one, so I said why not there?”
He spent time in the minors yet again but an opportunity with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL came up and Rexe jumped.
“It was ironic that I went to LA with the Kings after they had the chance to draft me.
I never did play a game (with the Kings). I played in a lot of exhibition games and dressed in all kinds of games. What they said to me was that if (Rogatien) Vachon was playing average and Rexie gets in, the job is his. But every time I went up he’d get three shutouts in six games or whatever. So I was known as the hi and bye boy.”
His career wound down after signing with the Kings. He never played higher than local Senior A. Today, the man with white hair, wearing a pair of jeans and a jean jacket, smiles and laughs as he talks about the chances that almost were.
Rexe never did play a game in the NHL or WHA but he made a name for himself and played in a variety of professional games. While in Springfield, Massachusetts, Los Angeles Kings affiliate, he backstopped the Springfield Kings to a Calder Cup, he won a bronze in the 1968 Olympics. But one of his most memorable hockey moments will always be that day when the Pittsburgh Penguins made Steve their first ever selection.