# Greg Polis

Gregory Linn Polis (August 8, 1950 – March 18, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Polis played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals.

## Early life

Born in Westlock, Alberta, Polis grew up in Dapp, a nearby prairie town with a population of 75. With few other children in town, he would bring his pet Labrador Retriever to chase down and retrieve the puck. Statements such as "Greg's dog used to chase pucks for him in his childhood" - with associated cartoon - were an annual highlight of his Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey cards in the early 1970s, the repetition of which became a source of amusement to hockey card collectors over the years.

## Career

Polis played for the Estevan Bruins in the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League and Western Canada Hockey League (precursors of the Western Hockey League) for four seasons, and was regarded as one of the best players to come out of that junior level organization. He was named as a league all star at left wing three times, and finished second in scoring in the league twice.
After advancing through the junior levels, Polis was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins as their first choice in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft (seventh overall). He played in the All-Star Game during his first three years with the Penguins. He played with three other teams during an injury-plagued career. Polis served his last pro season with the Washington Capitals in 1979–80.

## Death

Polis died of cancer in Courtenay, British Columbia on March 18, 2018.

## Awards and achievements

* WCHL All-Star Team (1969, 1970)
* All-Star Game: 1971, 1972, 1973
* All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: 1973
* Pittsburgh Briere Award (Rookie of Year): 1970–71

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1966–67 | Estevan Bruins | CMJHL | 54 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 83 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 1967–68 | Estevan Bruins | WCHL | 59 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 124 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 |
| 1967–68 | Estevan Bruins | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 1968–69 | Estevan Bruins | WCHL | 60 | 40 | 85 | 125 | 94 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| 1969–70 | Estevan Bruins | WCHL | 60 | 48 | 56 | 104 | 69 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1970–71 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 61 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 30 | 19 | 49 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972–73 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 78 | 26 | 23 | 49 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 41 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 37 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974–75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 26 | 15 | 41 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1975–76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1976–77 | New York Rangers | NHL | 77 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 37 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | New York Rangers | NHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 19 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980–81 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 615 | 174 | 169 | 343 | 391 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |