When Frank Brown patrolled the Rangers beat for the New York Daily News in the 1980's and 1990's he was the top hockey scribe in town.
If anyone was going to get an exclusive story – otherwise known as "a beat" – it would be Frank.
But Brown also was "exclusive" in another way. He was the only hockey scribe in Rangers history to also be the club's practice goalie.
And if you don't believe The Maven, turn to page 111 in George Grimm's wonderful Guardians Of The Goal – A Comprehensive Guide To Rangers Goaltenders.
Here's how Frank explained it:
"On game days, after the starting goalie would leave the morning skate, I would get a wave from the coach to go in and handle clean-up duties at that end for any skaters still on the ice.
"At first, players would take their best shots to see if they could rattle me. Once they realized I could more or less handle whatever they had to offer the routine became somewhat comfortable – and I learned a ton about how good these players were, which really helped my writing.
"Of course, the shots were hard, and of course – given the state of the equipment at the time – some of the shots hurt. Didn't matter to me; I was in the net facing the New York Rangers.
"It was a thrill to do it at The Garden where in the '70's I had a season ticket. And it was an unimaginable thrill to serve in the same capacity at rinks such as the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens and Chicago Stadium.
"I give credit to the players because every one of them could have scored easily on every one of their shots if they used their best breakaway dekes on me. They had enough respect for me being out there that during breakaway drills they would do what they had to do without showing me up."
(Thanks to George Grimm. There's more to tell about goalie Frank Brown, and I'll have it on another day.)
