Goodbye Mr Ranger
Rod Gilbert‘s Ranger career was almost derailed before it even began. The 1959-60 OHA season was coming to an end, and Gilbert had received word he was an emergency call-up for the New York Rangers, but when he tripped over some debris in the season’s final game and crashed into the boards, all considerations for the NHL would be put on hold.
Gilbert required surgery to fuse three verterbrae in his back, and used that Summer to recover, and he was back on the ice again to turn out for the Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers for the 1960-61. Now 19, the young Montreal native finally got another chance on November 27th, 1960 with a one game call-up in the Rangers’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Gilbert would get the primary assist on the game-tying goal, combining with goalscorer Dean Prentice and Ranger legend Andy Bathgate to earn the club a point.