ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512180052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HOCKEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
Should Colin Kilburn be remembered only for the night he stepped from behind the bench of the Roanoke Valley Rebels to play goalie and help his team win a game, it would be a fitting tribute to a man who was recognized as a true players' coach.
It would not, however, give the complete picture of a complex man who is one of the true legends of Roanoke Valley hockey.
Even though Kilburn left the Roanoke Valley for good in 1983, his legacy is indelibly etched in the memory of those who revel in the success of the Roanoke Express.
He had an influence on Pierre Paiement, the general manager of the Express, who still follows some of the lessons he learned from his former general manager when he was a Rebels player in the 1970s.
Kilburn also had an influence on some young people who would grow up and become part of the record-setting crowds that watch Express games at the Roanoke Civic Center.
And it was Kilburn who, along with the consortium of gentlemen that owned the old Roanoke Valley Rebels, helped bring hockey to the civic center more than two decades ago.
That's why, even though Kilburn had long removed himself from the Roanoke hockey world, there were many here who were saddened to hear of his death. He died of a heart attack in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, on Dec.7 at the age of 67.
He was a coach, a general manager, a recruiter and - above all - a character. According to those who knew him best, Kilburn could be funny, rude, crass, friendly, quotable and lovable.
``He was a hockey guy,'' said Henry Brabham, a longtime owner of various Roanoke Valley hockey teams, including a couple for whom Kilburn worked.
``He was a hockey player originally. All hockey players used to be crazy as hell. It's a different breed today. Colin was from the old school. He had a pretty good temper. All hockey coaches had tempers.''
Some probably thought Kilburn was crazy Nov.20, 1970, the night he left the bench and squeezed into goalie pads to help his Roanoke Valley Rebels win a game. Kilburn, who then was 43 and described in The Roanoke Times as ``short, heavy and out of shape,'' relieved injured goalie Jim Letcher in the second period of a game against the Jacksonville Rockets. Trailing 3-0, the Rebels rallied in front of their leader and pulled out a 6-4 victory. Kilburn made 16 saves before giving up a meaningless goal with seven seconds left.
``He flopped all over the ice,'' Brabham said. ``That's the best memory I have of him.''
That's probably the most-told story about Kilburn, but there are other tales that have made the rounds. Like the time Bob Shupe, a defenseman for the old Charlotte Checkers, skated by the Roanoke bench and punched Kilburn in the nose. Kilburn, blood streaming from his nostrils, grabbed a stick and took a tomahawk chop at Shupe, but missed.
Then there was the night, circa 1975, when he was angered by comments he read in The Roanoke Times attributed to Winston-Salem coach Forbes Kennedy, who described the Rebels as ``yellow.'' Kilburn, then the general manager of the Rebels, showed up for the Rebels' next game wearing a gaudy, canary-yellow sports jacket and accosted the sportswriter who had quoted Kennedy.
``You see this coat? You see what color it is? It's yellow! Am I yellow?''
He was known for that kind of fire.
``I remember he was a really intense guy,'' Paiement said. ``He used to wear these big cotton wads under his arms so people couldn't see how much he was sweating.
``He was a good promoter. He didn't mind making us players go out and mingle with the fans. We'd go to different schools, meet kids and teach them about hockey. ... At the time, I didn't understand why we did so many player appearances. Now that I'm a general manager, I understand it. It's what made us so successful. He was a good general manager.''
That's why you see so many Express players making public appearances. It lets fans see the players as regular guys, rather than just as athletes. That's why Express players will be distributing presents to a children's group Monday and why they'll visit the children's ward at Community Hospital on Tuesday.
Kilburn knew how to get people to the games. The Rebels had drawn poorly at the Salem Civic Center from 1967-69. When Kilburn took over, the attendance rose to an average of more than 2,000 per game, thanks to his promotional acumen.
The real coup came in 1973, when he and the Rebels' owners, led by majority owner Tom Anderton worked a deal to play in the Roanoke Civic Center. The team, with Greg Pilling as coach and Kilburn as general manager, played before sellout crowds while winning the league championship in 1974.
Kilburn eventually left the Rebels and became manager of Tanglewood Cinema before leaving town in 1983. Hockey folded in the valley in the late-1970s before being revived in 1980.
By then, Kilburn had left his mark on players such as Paiement and Claude Piche, two men who either stayed in Roanoke or returned and became successful businessmen.
``I wouldn't be here without him,'' said Piche, who came to the Rebels in 1970 and was the Southern League's Most Valuable Player in '74. ``He was definitely a players' coach. He treated us like gold.
``He did so much for kids, too, sending players to birthday parties and stuff like that. You talk about the people who were responsible for the growth of hockey in the valley ... he was a big pioneer.''
AROUND THE ECHL: The Richmond Renegades are 1-0 in the Craig Laughlin coaching era. Laughlin, one of the Renegades' co-owners, was behind the bench when Richmond beat the Raleigh IceCaps on Dec.9 because head coach Roy Sommer had been suspended for one game after verbally abusing a referee after a loss in Roanoke on Dec.2. Under Laughlin, the Renegades won 4-3 in a shootout after rallying for two goals in the final 2:20 of regulation. After the game, Laughlin, a former NHL player who probably is best known as the analyst on Washington Capitals telecasts, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch: ``It was fun. I enjoyed it. But I don't want to keep doing it. I don't want my hair to turn gray like Roy's.'' ...
One of the main reasons behind the success of the Louisiana IceGators is the work of goalie Bryan Schoen, who played with the Express in 1993-94. Schoen, a former member of the San Jose Sharks' 50-man roster who played for the IHL's Fort Wayne Komets last season, is 10-0-1 with a league-low 2.49 goals-against average for Louisiana, which leads the South Division. Louisiana's coach, Doug Shedden, brought eight players with him from the Central League's Wichita Thunder, where he won back-to-back CHL championships.
Hampton Roads captain Rod Taylor marked his return from an eight-game suspension with two assists in the Admirals' 7-2 victory over Huntington on Dec.10. Taylor had been suspended for shooting a puck at referee Paul Mariconda in a game against the Express on Nov. 22 in Norfolk.
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: FILE/1970. His team trailing 3-0 to the Jacksonvilleby CNBRockets, Colin Kilburn (right), 43, squeezed into his goalie pads
and rallied his Roanoke Valley Rebels to a 6-4 victory on Nov.20,
1970. Graphic: Chart: Express statistics.