DALLAS — Cody Eakin knew of Lindy Ruff long before their introduction. He used to walk into his junior rink in Swift Current past the memorial for The Four Broncos who died in that bus crash back in 1986.
An icy stretch of highway outside Swift Current, a mid-1960s Western Flyer D600 bus, and four promising young lives lost: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff, Lindy’s little brother.
“It’s a big part of the history you learn while you’re there,” said Eakin, the Dallas Stars’ overtime hero from Game 4. “There’s some pretty crazy history in Swift Current. That was a tragic accident. Nobody around that town ever forgets.”
Or maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe it was Ruff who knew about Eakin first.
“I knew that his dad was Butch, and Butch and I played together,” said Ruff.
When you crossed the snow-covered prairie as many times as these Western Hockey League men have in their time, it becomes a six-degrees-of-Saskatchewan-separation thing. Lindy played his junior hockey for the Lethbridge Broncos in the late ‘70s — a franchise that would move to Swift in the mid-‘80s — and on that team was a gnarly left winger named Grant “Butch” Eakin.
“Pretty hard-nosed player,” recalls Ruff, Cody’s coach in Dallas today. “I was two, three years younger (than Butch). Real good skater, same type of energy [as Cody]. His dad was pretty well built too, pretty tough, so I think Cody’s got some of that grit in him.
“I think everybody likes to think they’ve got a little bit of their old man in him.”
(Editor’s note: My favorite line from Leeson Ruff, Lindy’s father: “I want to live ‘til I’m 98, then die at the hands of a jealous husband!”)
Fortunately for Eakin Jr., he was able to add some offence to what he inherited from that tough son-of-a-gun nicknamed Butch, whose minor league career wound through teams like the Tucson Rattlers, the Dayton Gems, and a long-gone club called the Jersey/Hampton Aces that was owned by Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt.
“I scored a lot of goals growing up, throughout junior. A few big goals,” admits Cody, but only if you pry. He’s a soft-spoken Winnipeg kid with a shock of red hair, who has the rare habit of going bare-chested underneath his shoulder and elbow pads. No t-shirt — nothing.
“The work ethic, the grit,” he said, when asked what he’d inherited from Butch. “He pushed me to work hard every game. I didn’t get a chance to watch him play in the minors. I heard he was a pretty tough customer.”
Tough?
Guys who knew Butch say he was crazy tough, in a mid-70s Western League kind of way. He became a cop in Winnipeg, then ran afoul of the force when he was convicted of assault for beating up a handcuffed suspect. He left the force early, some 16 years ago, and just last week visited his son in Dallas.
Butch’s brother Bruce Eakin got in 14 games for Calgary and Detroit, while Butch was drafted by the old Cleveland Barons, but never played an NHL game. By all accounts he was an attentive, committed hockey Dad who instilled in Cody all the elements that today’s coaches love in a player.
“It was intimidating,” Cody said of being a cop’s son. “You don’t want to disappoint him. You don’t want to break the law or get in trouble. You learn how to be pretty sneaky, and mind the rules. But he taught me that if you’re not going to be the hardest working guy on the ice, don’t bother showing up. That’s something that has always stuck with me.”
Eakin has become the consummate utility guy, stepping up to Ruff’s No. 1 line with Tyler Seguin (Achilles) going down, playing with superstars Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp.
“I knew he was going to be a pro,” said Mark Lamb, the Swift Current coach and GM who had Eakin in his final junior season. “He’s one of the tenacious, one-on-one battle guys. You can’t keep him down. You start him on your fourth line, and next thing you know you’re playin’ him in your top six. He can play fourth line left wing or first line centre.
“Coaches love reliable players like him who win their battles. He’s that guy — plus, he’s an excellent skater.”
Ryan Johansen. Joe Thornton. Mike Fisher. Those are three high pedigree centreman still playing in Round 2 whose production does not equal Eakin’s goal and seven assists.
On the OT winner, Eakin fell along the boards in his own zone, lost the puck, then got up and rushed to the Stars slot in time to mess up Jori Lehtera’s open shot on goal. Then he whizzed up ice, took a pass from Patrick Sharp, and rifled it up under the bar like a 50-goal man.
Truly, it was the kind of tuck you’d expect from a Vladimir Tarasenko or Alex Ovechkin.
“Great shot, great goal,” said Sharp. “Tough angle, right under the bar. You see Tarasenko do that … but Cody? We know how valuable he is in the locker room.”
“It’s a goal, and at the time a big one. But there’s a new set of goals for the next three games,” said Eakin, who just doesn’t get comfortable talking about himself.
“C’mon,” someone said. “That was a pretty awesome goal. You don’t score those every day, do you?”
“No,” he confessed. “You don’t.”
