Glenn Resch

Glenn "Chico" Resch was born on July 10, 1948, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and spent parts of fourteen NHL seasons between the pipes before retiring in 1987 as the last active player in the league who had been born in the 1940s. The nickname "Chico" came from Islanders teammate Doug Rombough, who thought Resch resembled the character played by Freddie Prinze on the 1970s sitcom Chico and the Man.

He came to the position by chance. Growing up in Regina, he told Kevin Woodley on InGoal Radio in 2022, he was at an outdoor rink when one of the goalies didn't show up, and he was asked to fill in. "I couldn't even skate," he said. He played that first season in his rubber boots, and for a while he wasn't sure he even liked it: "It wasn't a love affair for me. It really wasn't." He stayed in goal once people told him he was good at it.

He began in junior hockey with the Regina Pats of the SJHL before moving on to the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he played three seasons in the WCHA. After earning a degree in education, he turned professional with the Muskegon Mohawks of the IHL in 1971–72, winning the league's award for fewest goals allowed, rookie of the year honours, and a First All-Star team selection in his debut season. He then moved up to the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL before spending most of 1973–74 with the Fort Worth Wings of the CHL, where he won the league's MVP honours and was voted a First Team All-Star. He learned the position by watching, he told InGoal: at his first pro camp, with Montreal, he studied Rogie Vachon between practices and copied how he held his hands and moved his feet. "I was not an original guy," he said.

Resch made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders on February 3, 1974, in a 4–2 loss to the California Golden Seals, then earned his first NHL win two nights later with a 6–2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars, before returning to Fort Worth for the rest of that season.

The 1974–75 season was his first full year in the NHL. In 25 games he went 12-7-5 with a 2.48 goals-against average and three shutouts, then carried that form into the playoffs, going 8-4 with a 2.17 GAA across 12 postseason games. That spring, Resch was in goal as the Islanders overcame a 3–0 series deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins and then again against the Philadelphia Flyers in the following round, though Philadelphia ultimately eliminated New York with a 4–1 win in the deciding game.

Over the next several seasons, Resch shared goaltending duties with Billy Smith. The game came to Smith by instinct, Resch told InGoal, while he had to run through a checklist in his head. In 1975–76, he appeared in 44 games and posted a 2.08 GAA with seven shutouts, earning a place on the Second All-Star team. He was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 1976 and 1977. In 1978–79, he and Smith backstopped the Islanders to the best regular-season record in the league, and Resch earned Second All-Star team honours for a second time, though New York was eliminated by the Rangers in the semifinals.

The following season, 1979–80, the Islanders won the Stanley Cup. Resch served primarily as the backup through the playoff run, with Smith carrying the bulk of the postseason workload. It was the only Stanley Cup of Resch's career.

On March 10, 1981, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies along with Steve Tambellini in exchange for Mike McEwen and Jari Kaarela. He was in net for Colorado on February 20, 1982, when the Islanders defeated the Rockies 3–2 on a late goal by John Tonelli — the 15th straight win for New York, which set an NHL record at the time. When the Rockies franchise relocated to New Jersey to become the Devils, Resch moved with it and shouldered a heavy workload over the next several seasons. In 1981–82, his first full season with Colorado, he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. His goalie coach with the Rockies, he told InGoal, was Glenn Hall.

Resch also represented two different countries in international competition. He was a member of Canada's team at the 1976 Canada Cup, and after attaining U.S. citizenship — having married an American and lived as a legal resident for many years — he represented the United States at the 1982 World Championship in Finland and appeared in the 1984 Canada Cup for the U.S. as well. He was also selected to the 1984 NHL All-Star Game for the Wales Conference.

On March 11, 1986, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round pick in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. In 1986–87, his final season, he served as backup to Ron Hextall and went 6-5-2 in 17 games. He retired after that season.

Over his NHL career, Resch appeared in 571 regular-season games, finishing with a record of 231-224-82, a 3.28 GAA, a .891 save percentage, and 26 shutouts. In 41 playoff games he went 17-17 with a 2.51 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

Resch moved into broadcasting, working as an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada and, after his retirement, on the Minnesota North Stars' television broadcasts. He then spent 18 years as a commentator on New Jersey Devils games on Fox Sports New York and later MSG Plus, working alongside announcer Mike Emrick and, after Emrick left in 2011, Steve Cangialosi, before announcing his departure from the Devils crew in 2014. In October 2017, the Devils announced he would be joining their radio broadcast team as color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Matt Loughlin.

Resch summed up what he learned about the position for InGoal this way: "You gotta work hard smart. Because they're working hard, you're working hard. But if you're working smarter, you're gonna get the edge."

Sources: NHL.com and Hockey-Reference (statistics); the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame; Radio Ink; InGoal Radio.