Doug Holste & I were trying to get a hold of a former Vancouver Blazer named Bud Gulka who played only 5 games in his entire pro career. Below is the email I sent to Doug after I managed to get a hold of Bud by phone. I was amazed to find that he was almost happier that I called him than *I* was that I was able to get a hold of him!!!! He was *SUCH* a wonderful and helpful person to talk to!!!! And he said that if I ever have any other questions that I should not hesitate to call him!!!
>>Is this the same Bud Gulka that played for the Vancouver Blazers of the W.H.A. in the 1970's?
"Yes (laugh)."
>>We are trying to determine where you played the years prior to joining the Blazers?
He learned to skate when he was 23 years old (wow!!). He said he just fell in love with the game immediately, and skated for many hours every day at the local university ice rink. When he was 25, he joined a team in the B.C. Senior Hockey League called the Shmyr Flyers. This was a team created by the Shmyr brothers (two of them were Paul & Johnny Shmyr) that would play in rinks all over B.C. (they had no "home" rink). The team was made up of mostly ex-pros, most of whom were 35+. They played mostly in Surrey, New Westminster & Haney. Several players were called up to the pros as the season went on. Eventually, the team was banned from the B.C.S.H.L. due to excessive fighting (several
years later). During the early part of 74-75, the Blazers gave him a call and asked if he wanted to sign a 5 game try-out contract with them.
He went on to talk about what a thrill this was -- not unlike winning the lottery! Here he was, barely learning the game, and all of the sudden, the pros call him up!!! Unbelievable!!!! He spent the rest of that season up and down between travelling with the Blazers and being sent down to the farm team in Charlotte, although he said the majority of the time was spent with the Blazers. He would often dress for a game, warm up with the rest of the team, only to be scratched right before game time. He was considered an enforcer so he usually played only if the Blazers needed an extra "tough guy" that night.
>>Which 5 games did you play? Dates? Opponents?
The five games were spread out throughout the season. The first game was against New England. He fought Nick Fotiu on his first shift. On his second shift, he broke down the right side coming in against Whaler All-Star defenceman Rick Ley, deaked him out and scored!!! On his second shift of his first game!!! He said that was the biggest thrill of his short career. He says he still has the puck on his fireplace mantle. He remembers playing against San Diego, Indianapolis, & Winnipeg, but doesn't remember who the other team was.
>>What was your uniform number?
23.
>>What was your best memory with the Blazers?
The goal he scored. Also, sitting on the far end of the bench in the game against Winnipeg when Bobby Hull skated by. Or maybe I should say flew by!! Bud said that Hull skated so fast, he could see everyone's hair on the bench blow from the wind that Hull created from skating by so fast! He said he just started laughing right there on the bench! Finally the trainer came up behind him and reminded him that "this is the pros -- stop laughing and start acting like one!". He stopped laughing right away, but says that memory stuck with him. He couldn't believe anyone could skate that fast!!!!!
>>Are you still involved in hockey in any way?
He was still playing old-timers hockey but stopped 2 years ago due to excessive demands with his own business (he owns a backhoe
company). He said no one from the NHL ever expressed any interest in him. He said he went to the Calgary Cowboys training camp in September 1975 after the Blazers moved there, but when they told him they wanted to send him to the farm team, he decided to retire right then and there. He didn't want to spend another season up-and-down between the pros and the farm. He was/is not bitter in any way -- he was very grateful for the time he spent with the Blazers, but he knew he would never be a full time "big leaguer", so he thought he would rather retire and go home than be scratched for every pro game. Like I said, he was wonderful to talk to. He even asked me all about myself, why was I so interested in him, how many Blazer games I went to, what I liked most about the WHA game, etc. etc. If you have any other
questions, let me know. He said I could phone back any time.
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