| Special to Detroit Free Press
Free Press special writer Bill Dow continues his “where are they now” series about former Detroit Red Wings players.
Today’s profile is on Joe Kocur:
How we remember him
Drafted by the Wings with the 88th overall pick in 1983, the Saskatchewan farm boy formed the “Bruise Brothers” with Bob Probert, perhaps the roughest, toughest duo in NHL history. In his first full season, 1985-86, Kocur led the league with 377 penalty minutes, breaking the team record. Known for his devastating right hand, he engaged in 219 fights over his 15-year career. He ranks second behind Bob Probert in team history with 1,963 penalty minutes. In an unpopular trade, Kocur was dealt in 1991 to the Rangers, where he won a Stanley Cup in 1994. He was sent to Vancouver two years later. After playing seven games for the Canucks, he was released and Detroit eventually re-signed him in December 1996. As a member of the first Grind Line with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, the trio played a key role in helping the Wings win consecutive Stanley Cups in 1997 and ’98.
After the Red Wings
A hernia early in the 1998-99 season, followed by a long rehab, led to Kocur’s eventual retirement in 2000. The Wings retained him as a video coordinator under Scotty Bowman and won another Cup in 2002. The following season, he served as an assistant coach to Dave Lewis. He later coached youth hockey and established his own sales business.
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Today
Now 56, Kocur and his wife of 29 years, Kristen, live on a lake in Highland. They have two children, Liam and Kendall. He is co-owner of KocuRoss Group in Auburn Hills, a sales and marketing firm representing automotive suppliers. He is also president of the Joe Kocur Children’s Foundation, formed in 2008, the president of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association for the past 10 years, and is the honorary co-spokesperson for the Ted Lindsay Foundation.
Remembering his first call-up by the Wings
“After a game playing for Adirondack, in which I received 20 stitches in my right hand from fighting Jim Playfair, I was told I was headed for Detroit. Of course, I was thrilled. When I got to the Joe for the morning practice, my hand and arm were so swollen that I couldn’t put my glove on. Before the puck was dropped that night, I was in emergency surgery with a major infection. I was told that if I had waited another few hours I may have lost my arm. After the surgery, I was sent down to Adirondack but I was called back in February. I don’t have any recollection of my first game because I was probably too damn nervous.”
Being co-enforcer with Bob Probert
“Our role was to help protect Steve Yzerman, Petr Klima and the other skilled players, but at times when our team needed a boost we would try and create some excitement by winning a fight. We didn’t have a very good team then and there weren’t a lot of fans standing and cheering. When Bob and I fought, there was a lot of excitement. Honestly, we kind of felt like rock stars. We did what the Detroit fans wanted us to do. We were real blue-collar players and it was a pretty great time for us. I enjoyed answering the bell, winning a fight and protecting my teammates. I didn’t fight just to fight. It was always team related.”
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His fighting technique
“I would get a hold of my opponent’s jersey up near his right shoulder with my left hand where I could control him like a lever and move him wherever I wanted to. I would pull the guy into me and when it was time to punch, I would just start throwing my right hand and create as much force as possible. I had to be able to take a punch to use the technique I used. But I had to be careful that I didn’t miss because if he hit me and I went down it would be embarrassing as all hell. With hockey fights sometimes, it’s trial and error. You try something and it works, great. And if it doesn’t, you get a bloody nose. Bob and I met a couple of times with (famous Kronk boxing trainer) Emanuel Steward and he showed us some things and gave us a motivational boost. But fighting on skates while holding onto your opponent is totally different from boxing.”
Getting traded to the Rangers
“I was devastated by the trade because I loved Detroit, my friends were there and that was where I was married. They said it was because I wasn’t fighting anymore but they weren’t really trying to figure out why. When I went to New York, the Rangers sent me to a specialist and I had reconstructive surgery on my right hand because my tendon had been torn and split across my knuckles. It was basically just bone against whatever I was hitting. It was pretty painful. I wish instead of trading me, the Wings would have found a way to fix it. I have had about five surgeries on my hand but today it’s good and looks normal.”
His return to the Wings in 1996
“I always wanted to play for the Wings again. I was out of a job, playing in a local beer league and with the Red Wing Alumni team. Bob Probert was with Chicago and I said to him before a game against the Wings, ‘why don’t you kick the crap out of them and maybe they’ll realize they’ll need an intimidator.’ Bob obliged and the following day, there was an article about how the Wings needed to get tougher. I later learned that my friends at Art Moran Pontiac, Jerry Vought and Bob Moran, had kept telling Scotty Bowman, who was a customer, that the Wings should sign me. In my second game back, we were in Chicago and I started a fight with Bob Probert. At the end of it, I was on top of him and said, ‘Thanks buddy for getting me back in the league.’ He said, ‘no problem.’ Years later when we were being interviewed for the book, “The Bruise Brothers,” he asked me why I had started that fight. I told him that I had to because they signed me to help protect the others. There were never any hard feelings between us. I had also fought him when I was with the Rangers. We both knew we had a job to do.”
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The Grind Line
“When I signed again with the Wings, Scotty Bowman told me, ‘I don’t want you fighting and in the penalty box because I want you available at any given time.’ By placing me on the line with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, he gave me the opportunity for the first time to be on a regular shift. He allowed me to be a total hockey player and not just an enforcer. Kris, Kirk, and I trusted each other. They both had a ton of speed and they knew how to get under the skin of our opponents. They never felt intimidated doing that because they knew I would be standing right there protecting them. We had a lot of fun.”
Winning the Stanley Cup with the Wings
“Every Cup is amazing in its own way, but that first of two consecutive Cups in 1997 was really special since I was back home and because the Grind Line was a major contributor. In Game 1 of the finals against the Flyers, Maltby scored the first goal in the first period and I also scored when I intercepted a pass and put a back hand shot past Ron Hextall. Considering the circumstances, it was the most memorable goal of my career. The crowd really enjoyed seeing the Grind Line score once in a while. Scotty also had our line on the ice for the last minute when we won the Cup and that was very special.”
Playing for Scotty Bowman
“He really let me be a total hockey player. Some people said he played mind games but I always felt he was just keeping the players on their toes. You could walk into the rink seven days in a row and meet him in the hallway and you would get different responses every time. Sometimes you didn’t know if he was mad at you or if you did something wrong. It was like, ‘I wonder what practice is going to be like.’ With Steve Yzerman, he helped him become a two-way player and most everyone bought into it. You can’t argue with his success because he is the greatest hockey coach of all time.”
The influence of Ted Lindsay
“His inspiration for me and the team started at my very first practice with the Wings. We were in the locker room getting dressed and he was in the weight room pounding the weights. When we got done with practice, he was still working out and he would do this every day. I loved him and I learned a lot from Ted and Lew LaPaugh at the Ted Lindsay Foundation and the importance of giving back. That helped motivate me to start my own Foundation in 2008 to help children. At our first-year annual charity softball game, we raised $17,000 and at our last one $160,000. Like the Lindsay Foundation, it is all voluntary, no one is paid a penny, and we know where the money goes. It has been very rewarding to provide funds for numerous children charities. Among others, we support handicapped children, the Special Olympics, Wings of Mercy, that helps pay for transportation for kids to have surgeries, and scholarships. I also enjoy being a part of the Red Wing Alumni Association and playing in our charity hockey games.”
Remembering Probert
“We were best friends and had lived together for two years when we were teammates. It was very emotional and very sad for me personally. He had a few dark years but he had gotten through them and was back on track when he passed away. That was tough.”