Height: 5-6
Weight: 155
Shoot: L
Born: 18 Oct 1951, Calumet MN
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Minnesota | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | Minnesota | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Minnesota | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Minnesota | |||||||||||
| 1976-77 | Minnesota | |||||||||||
| Edmonton | ||||||||||||
| New England | ||||||||||||
| Totals (3 teams) | ||||||||||||
| 1977-78 | New England | |||||||||||
| 1978-79 | New England | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Antonovich, the Littlest Saint • by Charley Hallman • The Hockey Spectator • November 17, 1972
Don't go looking too hard for Calumet, Minnesota, on any map. Even one of northern Minnesota. The population was once 854, but it is probably nearer to about 275 now, especially now that the Calumet Kid is gone. Mike Antonovich grew up in Calumet, one of a number of dying communities on Minnesota's iron range. He went to grade school there but had to go to a high school called Greenway in Coleraine, which serves several of the smaller communities on the range. It was there, at Greenway High School, that people began to notice young Mr. Antonovich, now toiling admirably for the Minnesota Fighting Saints hockey team. Greenway was a powerhouse in schoolboy hockey in a state where schoolboy hockey is big deal. The star of stars at Greenway was Mike Antonovich, a pint-sized center who scored with abandoned and had every college recruiter in the country after him. Now after three years in the college ranks, Mike has followed his University of Minnesota coach, Glen Sonmor, to the Fighting Saints. In his first ten games as a professional, Antonovich has four goals, not great by any standards other than the Saints, where he is the second-leading scorer. "When I decided to turn professional, I guess my size was the biggest question," admitted Antonovich, who is now barely 5-8 and 155 pounds. Size is still a problem to him — he's been roughed up from his first WHA game. "Little Anton is a tough guy," said Saints general manager and coach, Sonmor. "He'll take the pounding and become a good professional, I'm sure of it." There were disbelievers, right off the bat. Sonmor's assistant, Harry Neale, among them. "The first few days in training camp, Michael didn't look good," said Neale. "But he came on stronger and stronger and now, with Bobby McMillan and Antonovich, I think we have two future WHA superstars." If there was any doubt whether Antonovich was tough enough to play in the pros, it was erased in the Saints first trip into Boston. Antonovich kept going after a helmeted chap in a New England Whaler uniform. He found out later the guy was Teddy Green. Macmillan, standing outside of Boston Garden after the game, was impressed: "Antonovich keeps hustling and made us go out there." Since turning professional, Antonovich has been playing left wing on Macmillan's line, which now has George Konik on the right side. Konik had started out on defense but after Jimmy Johnson was injured against the New York Raiders, George was moved up, and has been playing very well, Sonmor said. Antonovich, whose parents still live in Calumet, describes his hometown as "not really a ghost town. They still have a grocery store, a barber shop and a liquor store, that's really all you need. But most of the people have moved out. People used to work in the mines around home but now they have to go much farther to work and just abandoned their houses. I guess it's the story of any town that loses its only industry." Antonovich thinks the World Hockey Association "is much better than I expected. The players are better, the teams are better and the people who own the teams have done an excellent job." About his switch to the wing, the Calumet Kid says, "at first I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing, but now I'm getting the hang of it. I've had to get used to not having the puck as much as when I was at center. I don't get a chance to score as much, but it's just good to get to play." Drafted by the NHL's Minnesota North Stars two years ago, Antonovich didn't take long to sign with the Saints. "I thought I had a better future in the WHA. I didn't like the idea of a minor league apprenticeship and they didn't appreciate some of the remarks Wren Blair (general manager of the Stars) made about my size. I knew I could make it as a professional." In three years at the University of Minnesota, Antonovich led the team in scoring twice and had eight goals in his first eight games as a junior before damaging a knee and being forced out of action for the rest of the season. His biggest thrill as a collegiate star came in the NCAA tournament in Syracuse two years ago when he set up the Gophers' tying goal in the semifinals against Harvard with only six seconds to play. The Gophers went on to win the game, but were beaten by Jack Kelley's Boston University club in the finals. How does he think the Saints will fare in their first WHA season? "We haven't done that well yet. We need some goals, no question about it. We're working hard but we could use a few breaks to get us going. But will make it. We've had tough luck so far and we'll be okay." The Saints management certainly hopes the Calumet Kid is right. |
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