“Greg was first and foremost a tremendous competitor”: Friend

A Prince George Sports Hall of Famer is still in shock over the death of his close friend and former NHL player Greg Polis.

The 67-year-old passed away over the weekend after a battle with cancer.

One of his best friends was Dave Jenkins Sr. who reflected on Greg’s competitive spirit.

“Greg was first and foremost a tremendous competitor and was one of the few guys I ever saw who from this neck of the woods was able to take a handball game of the world’s number one player at the time from the States by the name of John Bike.”

Polis had 343 points in over 600 NHL games.

He left the northern capital and moved to Vancouver Island in 2015 to be closer to his children after being diagnosed.

Jenkins adds Polis was never one to openly share his feelings.

“I think in some ways he saw the writing on the wall and he was a pretty private guy, I think he knew something was wrong but I think he wanted to keep it to himself.”

“He had some shortcomings just like everybody else and Prince George will miss him sadly.”

Polis suited up for ten years in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues.

He was drafted seventh overall by the Penguins in the 1970 Amateur Draft and played in the All-Star games in his first three seasons, eventually winning a Dodge Charger in 1973 when he was named game MVP.

Unfortunately, several knee injuries prevented him from taking his game to the next level and forcing him to retire in 1980.

Jenkins believes had it not been for the injuries his handball career could have been even more dominant.

“Had it not been for his knees and legs having been broken up as they were through hockey he would have had an even better career with the things that he loved like handball, but more than that he was just full of life.”

He mentioned Polis had a previous bought with cancer a few years ago and it came back last week and one of his friends took him to the hospital and passed away a couple days later after being admitted.

Polis also played junior hockey in Saskatchewan with the Estevan Bruins in the Western Canadian Junior Hockey League finishing near the top in scoring each season trailing only Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach of the Flin Flon Bombers in consecutive seasons.