Bowman achieved that honour by winning five Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, one with the Pittsburgh Penguins and three with the Detroit Red Wings, surpassing the record of eight previously held by Montreal’s Toe Blake.

Bowman is the subject of a great hockey book released in 2019: Scotty, A Hockey Life Like No Other, written by Ken Dryden. Dryden was Bowman’s goalie on cup winners in Montreal and an author in his own right.

The book hits close to home for some fans on the Prairies. It acknowledges Gordie Howe and Metro Prystai as great Detroit Red Wings of the 1950s into the 1960s, Johnny Bower as the super goalie with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s and into the 1970s and Bryan Trottier, Bob Bourne and Clark Gillies as productive New York Islanders in their reign through the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Bowman shared the story of the 1957 Ottawa Canadiens’ trip to Flin Flon, which was even more bizarre than the finals themselves. Three of the games were played in the most northern junior hockey city in Canada. It was not an easy destination to reach.

I was a sportswriter with the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix and the assignment was easily among the best sports trips I ever had with the newspaper. I didn’t meet Bowman during the series, talking mostly with Ottawa head coach Sam Pollock. But I met Bowman at the Hockey Canada Foundation’s gala golf and dinner event in Saskatoon in June 2017. He was recognized in Saskatoon with the Order of Hockey in Canada.

Bowman’s memory is out of this world. He respects hockey history and remembers the details, minute as some might seem, from every level where he played, coached, managed or has been a consultant. The truth is that the community of Flin Flon wasn’t prepared for a Memorial Cup atmosphere. Nor were the Ottawa Canadiens, who faced the daunting task of travelling from Winnipeg to Flin Flon by taxis and then back to Regina by taxis.

Leading up to the finals, Ottawa’s team landed in Winnipeg and Pollock refused to leave. The standoff with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association lasted for three days. Finally, the CAHA told Pollock to take his team to Flin Flon or go home. The taxi trip lasted 10 hours on all kinds of roads, all of them described as bad.

In Fin Flon, hotel space was at a premium and the Canadiens went to live in the dormitories of the Bombers’ sponsor, the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Corporation. The games were played in an arena which had seating for 1,141. Another 200 seats were added. With standing room, most games were seen by 2,000 people. A new arena was built a year later.

The eastern team had future NHLers like Ralph Backstrom, Murray Balfour, Bobby Rousseau, Gilles Tremblay, Andre Tardif and Claude Ruel. Flin Flon was led by goalie George Wood, defenceman George Konik and a strong first line composed of Ted Hampson, Mel Pearson and Paddy Ginnell.

Orland Kurtenbach was a western pick-up from the Prince Albert Mintos. He later was an NHL captain with the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks.

Flin Flon won the first game, 3-2, on a goal by Konik. Ottawa won the next two. Playing in Regina, Flin Flon won two more, Ottawa tied the series, and then the Bombers won the deciding game, 3-2, on a goal by Hampson with five minutes to play.

For me, it was a series of great reporting opportunities. Muzz Patrick, general manager of the New York Rangers, held court every afternoon at the King’s Hotel in Regina. Turk Broda, the legendary Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, was an automatic interview. Bobby Kirk, the Flin Flon coach, shared some stories of a previous coaching stint in Saskatoon and was an amazing source of knowledge.

Doug Dawson, the manager of the Bombers, would settle in Saskatoon three years later to become coach and manager of the Quaker juniors. The Bowman book is every bit as candid as you could expect from any hockey book. Bowman’s is better than most because he takes a deeper look.

Early in the book, he picks eight versions of what he calls dynasties. Then he dedicates a chapter to each one, proclaiming what made each of them worthy.

At the end, he and Dryden pair teams of closest styles: Toronto (1962-63) against Chicago (2014-15), New York Islanders (1981-82) against Edmonton (1983-84), Montreal (1976-77) against Detroit (2001-02) and Detroit (1951-52) against Montreal (1955-56).

After initial match-ups, the field is dissected again and ultimately, Bowman chooses the best team he ever saw. Time to run out and buy the book.

-Ned Powers