Old Hound to scout for Beavers

By Randy Russon
June 2, 2016
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David Legree, who as an overage goalie backstopped the Soo Greyhounds to their first-ever Ontario Hockey League playoff appearance in 1975-1976, is joining the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League as a scout.

Legree, who now resides in Sioux City, Iowa, will scout that area of the mid-west United States for the Beavers who, like the rest of the teams in the NOJHL, can have six American players on their roster.

Legree, who works in the school transportation industry in Sioux City as a supervisor, also coaches high school hockey.

“I’ll scout our (12-team) league and the area for Blind River,” noted Legree, who is familiar with the town — located halfway between the Soo and Sudbury along Highway 17 — from the two seasons that he starred for the Greyhounds during their formative years in the OHL.

Legree has returned to the Soo to visit old friends and watch the Greyhounds play a couple of times over the past few years with his wife, Sue.

Meantime, Legree called it “flattering” to be asked to scout for a Blind River team that is looking to return to competitive ways in the NOJHL under new head coach Kyle Brick after five straight losing seasons.

Brick, in turn, is thrilled to have Legree as part of the program in Blind River.

“We’re excited to have Dave join the Beavers, his playing and scouting experience will help us continue moving forward here in Blind River,” Brick told HockeyNewsNorth.com.

Blind River finished 11th overall in the 12-team NOJHL in 2015-2016 and lost all 60 of its games in 2014-2015.

The 61-year old Legree won’t be the only Greyhound OHL alum to have an association with Blind River as 25-year old former defenseman Dylan King has signed on to be Brick’s top assistant with the Beavers.

A former assistant coach with the reigning, two-time NOJHL champion Soo Thunderbirds, the 30-year Brick has vowed to build a better program in Blind River.

The additions of King as assistant coach and Legree as Iowa-based scout are two of three hires that Brick has made as he works towards returning the Beavers to being a competitive team.

As was first reported by HockeyNewsNorth.com earlier this week, the Beavers also brought aboard NOJHL veteran Charly Murray as a senior advisor to Brick and the hockey department.

The 65-year old Murray, who has spent parts of five decades in junior hockey, has performed a key role in the success of a number of NOJHL teams over the years, including a prior gig in Blind River as well as a stop with the erstwhile Northern Michigan Black Bears and a pair of stints with the aforementioned Thunderbirds.

Murray, in his own words, “really enjoyed” his earlier time in Blind River and alongside former coach Todd Stencill, was part of a franchise-best success that the Beavers enjoyed seven years ago.

Saying that he is “anxious to get to work to make the Blind River program competitive again”, Murray also lauded the recruiting of Legree to help in the scouting area.

“Dave will be a huge benefit to the organization with his hockey history and connections in the mid-west part of the States,” Murray said of Legree. “I look forward to working with him recruiting top caliber players to the Beavers.”