Former Kings Prospect Bruce Landon Inducted into AHL Hall of Fame

Landon, born in 1949, was a successful goaltender in the Ontario Hockey League for the Peterborough Petes before being drafted into the NHL by the LA Kings in 1969.  Never being fortunate enough to suit up for the NHL Kings, he spent 3 seasons in the AHL with the Springfield Kings, including in 1971 when he helped win the Calder Cup for the Kingdom with future 4 time Stanley Cup Champions Butch Goring and Billy Smith.

During what turned out to be his final training camp with the Kings, Los Angeles GM at the time (the infamous) Larry Regan informed Landon that due to this amazing play during the camp, the Kings had decided that he had finally made the cut and was going to be on the final team roster to start the NHL regular season.  Excited, Landon told everyone he knew about the good news, (friends, family, random strangers, the barber down the street) but before the regular season started, Regan called Landon to break the bad news that even though he was the best goaltender the Kings had during that camp, instead of using him as promised, the Kings were trading him away to another team.  Disappointed and feeling betrayed, Landon signed on with the rival World Hockey Association and never ended up playing a game in the NHL.

After retiring as a player, Landon continued his AHL Hall of Fame career when he returned to Springfield, Massachusetts when the Springfield Indians (no longer named the Kings or affiliated by the NHL Kings) hired him to be their broadcaster and then later as an executive.  Acclaim followed with awards including the AHL’s
Ken McKenzie award for “the individual who best promoted his team,” and the James C. Hendy Award for the AHL’s “Executive of the year.”  Landon eventually gained the positions and responsibilities of the general manager for the team and helped build the Springfield teams that won the Calder Cup back to back in 1991 and 1992.

In 1994, the Indians were sold and moved out of Springfield (to nearby Shelbyville?) and Landon orchestrated and united a team of investors to create a new expansion team to replace the departed Indians in Springfield, MA.  The Springfield Falcons were then born (or hatched!)  Now the co-owner, president and general manager of the Falcons, Landon and the Falcons were never able to win another Calder Cup but had a fruitful 20 years of success. So much so that AHL held a “Bruce Landon Day” on November 3rd, 2007 in his honor and now with a much deserved induction into the AHL Hall of Fame. On behalf of CaliSports News we offer congratulations to Mr. Landon on this honor and prestigious achievement and to say sorry about the Kings’ GM Larry Reagan not keeping to his word.  The Kings have become A LOT better at that since then.