Cars, golf and hunting are his current passions but there was a time when Prince George resident Greg Polis lived and breathed hockey.
He was a first-round NHL draft pick, seventh overall in 1970, which led to a 10-year professional hockey career and 174 career goals.
He was raised in Dapp, Alberta, a town with no more than 80 people in it, and soon after he became an NHL player, he moved to Prince George.
"I broke into the NHL in 1970 with Pittsburgh, was Rookie of the Year, and basically made the all-star team during my first year in the NHL and in total for three years in a row," he recalled. "In '73 I won most valuable player in the all-star game and I won a new Dodge Charger."
In 1973, while heading to New York for the next day's all-star game, Polis got word that his wife, Llewelyn, had gone into premature labour. The plane returned to the Pittsburgh airport so he could be there for the birth of his son, Jason.
"My son was born that night and at 6 o'clock the next morning, on very little sleep, I got on the plane heading for New York where I got a couple goals and assists and ended up winning MVP," said Polis.
Polis spent three and a half years with Pittsburgh, moved to St. Louis for three short months, and then was traded to the New York Rangers, where he spent four years, before finishing his career with the Washington Capitals.
"I always say I had 10 years in the NHL, seven were good and three were poor ones because of knee injuries," said Polis, who had six operations in his last three years in the NHL on ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, in his right knee.
After his career, Polis returned to Prince George full-time.
"I always tell people I stopped for a cup of coffee and decided to stay," said Polis, who was on his way to Quesnel to make an appearance at a hockey school when he fell in love with Prince George. "It wasn't anything planned. It just happened."
Polis first built the Mohawk station in Parkridge Heights, which now a Mr. G store. He also had a trailer court there and was quite busy in those first years after his hockey career ended, he said.
"From there I got involved in construction and then started at Barnes Wheaton,
(now known as Wood Wheaton), in the early 90s and I've been in the automobile business ever since," said Polis, who now has three grown children living in southern B.C.
"In the 80s I got pretty good at handball and went to the Canadian championships," Polis said. "Now as I get older the shoulders aren't any good any more so I can't play handball anymore and I do miss it but now I play golf and I like to get out to hunt and fish when I can. Pretty laid back - nothing too exciting."
Polis had a nice experience three years ago when the Pittsburgh Penguins asked him back when they played their last game in the Mellon Centre, nicknamed The Igloo, before it was torn down.
"They introduced us out on the ice before the game and they had a nice banquet the night before and introduced us and there was about 50 guys, right from the original team and representing each decade of retired Penguins, and they invited more of the first round draft choices and the guys that made a mark in Pittsburgh," he said. "That was nice to go back and visit the city and I saw some guys I hadn't seen in a long time."
Polis has some nice momentos from the occasion and he was very pleased to be part of it.
"It was a good experience," he said. "Prince George has always been very good to me. I have a lot of close friends here and it's home now. It's got everything I was looking for, good golf courses, lots of country to explore, good fishing. It's just great."
