Height: 5-10
Weight: 165
Shoot: L
Born: 2 Jan 1946, Sault Ste Marie ON
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Philadelphia | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | New York-Jersey | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Edmonton | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Ah Yes, the Clinton Comet Line • by Frank Bertucci • The Hockey Spectator • January 27, 1973
Nobody noticed, but the Blazers attempted to reunite one of hockey's great lines this season. Remember the line that had them dancing in the streets in Clinton and Utica, quaking in fear in New Haven and Cherry Hill, running for cover in Johnstown and Syracuse — Joe Robertson, Jake Rathwell and Don Herriman? At least they were dynamite in the EHL in 1969-70 with the Clinton Comets. Center Robertson had 45 goals and 108 points, right wing Rathwell hit for 56 goals and 99 points and left wing Herriman totaled 40 and 88. That's 295 points. But only Herriman showed up with the Blazers, and now he's on a line that may surpass that total, He's "the other guy" on the line with Andre Lecroix and Danny Lawson. "Phil Watson contacted me in the spring and told me he was signing Joey and Rat, so I was looking forward to playing with them again," Don says, "But when we came in for the press conference to announce the signings, Rat didn't show up so I figured something was wrong." What was wrong was that the Buffalo Sabres convinced Rathwell and Robertson to stay in their organization and play in Cincinnati. But Don Herriman didn't have anywhere else to go. "I didn't want to pay in Clinton again, even though I was living there all year round. I knew they were going to be a bad team and I didn't want to be a part of it. There was no question that I'd goto the Blazers camp. Last summer was the first summer I did any work on my own. I ran every day and kept on a diet. I had my weight down to 180 from 195 when I reported to Roanoke." And after two weeks with the rookies, Don Herriman went to Ottawa to join the pros for the Blazers' first exhibition. "I knew after two days with the pros that I could make this team," he admits. "I wasn't overconfident or anything. I knew I was in better shape than most guys and I had been skating two weeks longer than them." And his confidence has carried through the regular season. "To be honest with you, playing professional hockey is easier than I thought it would be," he says. "Everybody has a position to play and they do it. there's no running around like in the Eastern League." Of the six Eastern Leaguers signed by the Blazers only two, Herriman and Don Burgess, are still with the team. "We never played the Southern EHL teams too much, but in the North we always felt that Don Burgess was probably the best all-around player in that division," he says. "The other Eastern Leaguers we had weren't as good as they thought they were. Not that they might not become good pros in a year or two, but they couldn't adjust right away." In the beginning of November, Watson put Herriman, Lacroix and Lawson together. After 39 games, they had totaled 142 points. "I had never seen Danny Lawson play hockey until this year," Herriman says. "I had heard about him, that he was a great skater. Well, he's a fabulous skater, But I had never seen him play, not even on television. I had known Andy for about eight years. We had played junior together at Peterborough. As soon as we went on the ice together, we clicked. I feel that we can get two goals everv shift we're on the ice." Herriman's mid-way totals of 16 goals and 35 points put him third on the team, behind guess who. "I think I have to play a little more defense," he says. "You can't have two wings like Danny who are always flying up ice and can't get back right away. But our line hasn't been giving up many goals, either. If you check, you'll see we're ahead in the plus-minus count." Don Herriman probably won't equal the 40 goals he scored when he was on the Clinton Comets' big line, But he's not playing in Commack or Cherry Hill or Johnstown anymore either. And he's finally seen Danny Lawson play. |
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Excerpts from Zander Hollander's Guide to Pro Hockey, 1973-74 (by Reyn Davis & Charley Hallman)
Another of those involved in the Lacroix-Ward trade ... Herriman had fine rookie season in WHA with 24 goals and 48 assists for 72 points for Blazers ... Once property of both the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, native spent four straight years in the Eastern Hockey League ... Herriman scored 25, 40, 26 and 30 goals for the Clinton Comets ... Fine two-way player, known as excellent checker by foes ... Has fine high shot coming off left side. |
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