While Randy Carlyle's Toronto Maple Leafs lacked some scoring power this weekend, one thing many feel the new coach will bring to the table is work ethic. Work ethic that came from a large family and, what some might not know, a background in harness racing
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Before making the NHL and winning trophies both on and off the ice, one of Randy Carlyle's jobs was as groom and stable hand as well as the paddock judge at Sudbury Downs racetrack. According to trainer Mike Noble, the NHLer loved horses and life at the track, going on to own standardbreds.
“He cleaned stalls, cleaned harness, brushed harness, jogged horses,” Noble told The Toronto Star. "He was a groom, he groomed horses.”
Noble employed Carlyle for two years, part-time, at $80 a week. They remain good friends.
“Anything Randy ever got, he worked for. What shaped his life is that he came up tough. He worked for everything he had. He didn’t have a lot of money. He always told me, his dad bought him the best skates, the best (hockey) stuff, but he worked for everything else. When he went to school, he had jobs after school, on Saturday and Sunday.”
(Photo courtesy Toronto Star/Mike Noble)
For those of us who have
For those of us who have been around the game a long time Randy's love for racing comes as no surprise. I remember running into Randy at good old Greenwood raceway many times.
I was Racing my stable out
I was Racing my stable out in Winnipeg when it reopened in 81-82. We didn't know a soul out there , Randy came by the Track when he was in town to Play the Jets for Pittsburg. I only knew him to say hello from Sudbury , He gave us Tickets to the Game that night and took us out on the Town for Dinner . Class Guy who never forgets his roots, if they get him the right Players he will bring the Cup to Toronto.....