Bob Blake (ice Hockey) - Hockey Career

Hockey Career

Blake, a left winger, began his career at the age of 17. He was a member of the Hibbing Miners' squad in the Central Hockey League during the 1933–1934 season, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists during the regular season and 3 goals and 1 assist during the playoffs. He then signed with the Boston Cubs of the Canadian-American Hockey League, helping lead them to the championships for the 1934–1935 season with 5 goals and 7 assists.

During his second season with the Cubs, after becoming one of the league's top ten scorers, Blake was drafted by the National Hockey League for the 1935–36 NHL season, debuting with the Boston Bruins. He played 12 games, alongside eight future Hockey Hall of Fame members, including Eddie Shore and Tiny Thompson. Despite 7 goals and 10 assists with the Cubs, he remained scoreless with the Bruins and was released from the team at the end of the season. He spent two seasons with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Hockey Association, garnering a total of 34 goals and 61 assists during this period.

Blake signed up with the International-American Hockey League under the Cleveland Barons, bringing them to victory during the playoffs of the 1938–1939 season with a total of 9 goals and 13 assists. After a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Hornets, he played the remained of the 1939–1940 season with the Barons, amassing a record of 8 goals and 8 assists. Blake returned to the Minneapolis Millers for the 1940–1941 season, collecting an additional 4 goals and 9 assists.

Midway through the season, Blake joined the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, necessitating a move to New York. He spent seven seasons with the Bisons as a defenseman from 1940 to 1949, with a two-season break from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. For the 1941–1942 season, he was voted as Buffalo's most popular player and was named team captain for that season and the next, when the Bisons won the Calder Cup. During his tenure with the team, he amassed a total of 26 goals and 61 assists.

Concurrent with his tenure with the Bisons, Blake played with the Houston Huskies, a Bisons' affiliate in the United States Hockey League for the 1947–1948 season. There, he was credited with helping the team win the Loudan Trophy, with a total of 14 goals and 22 assists. In his sole season with the USHL, he was often rated as the best defenseman in the league. Blake spent the 1949–1950 season with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the American Hockey League, scoring 4 goals with 15 assists. After playing for the New Haven Eagles, Buffalo Bisons and the Cincinnati Mohawks for from 1950 to 1951, Blake retired from professional hockey, with a total of 7 goals and 11 assists in his final season.