Earlier this week, Chris Bradford put together a list ranking the ten best fighters in Pittsburgh Penguins history.
Naturally, we can't let Wilkes-Barre/Scranton miss out on all the fun. In the team's 19 seasons, a number of strong enforcers have come through Coal Street, often earning fan favorite status in the blue-collar town.
Yes, fighting is on a decline in hockey. But the minor-league game is slower to make that change.
The NHL averaged .25 fights per game last season, according to DropYourGloves.com. That's the fewest fights per game in the modern era and a nine percent drop from 2016-17.
The AHL was averaging over a fight per game not that long ago, in 2010-11. Since then, the league has seen a slow decline in fights. In 2017-18, the league averaged .41 fights per game, a five percent decline from 2016-17, but still significantly more than the NHL. The AHL saw a 20 percent drop in fighting from 2015-16 to 2016-17 due to a number of offseason rule changes intent on minimizing the number of "staged" fights and limiting, well, goons.
Under the new rules:
• Players who enter into a fight prior to, at, or immediately following the drop of the puck for a faceoff will be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to other penalties assessed.
• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 10th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for one (1) game. For each subsequent fighting major up to 13, the player shall also be suspended automatically for one (1) game.
• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 14th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for two (2) games. For each subsequent fighting major, the player shall also be suspended automatically for two (2) games.
• In any instance where the opposing player was assessed an instigator penalty, the fighting major shall not count towards the player’s total for this rule.
The change wasn't well-received by the players in the league that made their living dropping the gloves. Wilkes-Barre's Tom Sestito wasn't pleased, judging from his immediate response.
@TheAHL Booorrrrrrinnnnngggggg
— Tom Sestito (@TomSestito23) July 7, 2016
We'll likely see another decline next season as AHL teams opt for more skilled players on their roster, and fewer aging enforcers. We'll always have grainy YouTube videos of the old days, though.
This list isn't based on fighting skill alone. The players' longevity, overall impact, and of course, amount of fights came into play as well.
T-10. TOM KOSTOPOULOS
TK is a legend. That's a fact. Dropping the gloves was far from his primary role, but he did it 41 times for Wilkes-Barre.
Was he a good fighter? Well, not really. Kostopoulos rarely pulled away with any decisive wins, and most were actually clear losses. That didn't stop him from stepping up and defending his teammates, even when his opponents were much larger than his 6-foot, 195-foot self. His fight card featured such heavyweights as Sean Thornton, Michael McCarron, and Mark Jerant.
T-10. PIERRE-LUC LETOURNEAU-LEBLOND
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound heavyweight was only in the organization for two seasons from 2013-15, but he sure made an impact.
"PL3" led the team and was third in the league in penalty minutes both of his seasons in Wilkes-Barre, racking up 259 and 241 minutes respectively. He dropped the gloves 37 times for Wilkes-Barre, and his fight card featured other heavyweights such as Steve MacIntyre, Zack Stortini, and Bobby Robins.
Leblond contributed away from games as well, sparring with his teammates after practices to teach them how to fight.
Leblond, now 33, retired following the 2016-17 season, but came out of retirement last season for a single game with the ECHL's Adirondack Thunder.
T-10. AARON BOOGAARD
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound forward played for Wilkes-Barre from 2007-10. After Dennis Bonvie retired, Boogaard was tasked with standing up to the other heavyweights of the AHL. He was no Bonvie, but he did it well.
Boogaard took on former MMA fighter and the league's best fighter at the time, Jon "Nasty" Mirasty, five times, one of which was a TKO.
Boogaard, now 31, retired from professional play following the 2012-13 season. For the past two years, he's played in the QVHL, a Regina-area senior league.
(His brother Derek, who was an enforcer for the Minnesota Wild before dying at 28 with significant signs of CTE in his brain, is a cautionary tale.)
9. ZACH SILL
Sill didn't have the greatest tenure in Pittsburgh, but from 2009-14 he was a popular character in Wilkes-Barre.
While it didn't transfer to the NHL level, Sill did contribute in ways other than fighting in the AHL. He chipped in offensively, and was one of the stronger penalty killers on the team. At 6-foot, 200 pounds, Sill wasn't as big as some of his opponents. He dropped the gloves 37 times, and only lost decisively four times.
Sill joined the Washington Capitals organization in 2015, and has been on the other side of Wilkes-Barre's biggest rivalry ever since.
8. STEVE PARSONS
Parsons was only in Wilkes-Barre for 56 games, but he dropped the gloves 36 times and recorded an incredible 378 penalty minutes in that span. He also played a large role in one of the most memorable games in team history.
The game that was played on March 17, 2002 against the Syracuse Crunch is now known in WBS Penguins lore as the "St. Patrick's Day Massacre", for good reason. The team racked up a combined 162 penalty minutes, a team record that still stands today. A full blow-by-blow breakdown of that entire game can be found here, for those unfamiliar with the game.
Parsons was the first Penguin to drop the gloves that night, standing up for Darcy Verot in the first period, and it wouldn't be his last fight of the evening.
The third period was when things really got interesting. Parsons' role in the whole thing can be seen 2:19 into the video below. Parsons, restrained by two officials, removes his gear to free himself and make a run at Syracuse's Brad Wingfield. The rest is history. Parsons received the harshest punishment of any player in the game, 12 games:
7. DARCY VEROT
Verot was in Wilkes-Barre for the franchise's first three seasons, and was another culprit in the St. Patrick's Day Massacre.
Verot's one fight of the evening came in the waning minutes of the game, earning himself a fighting major, a match penalty for intent to injure, and a two-game suspension.
Verot dropped the gloves a total of 52 times in a Penguins uniform, and is third all-time in penalty minutes for the franchise, with 830 in 172 games.
6. BOBBY FARNHAM
Bobby Farnham is absolutely one of the most popular Penguins in recent years. So much so, that fans chanted his name in Wilkes-Barre even when he was in Pittsburgh.
Simply put, Farnham was chaos on ice. At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, he was one of the smaller guys on the ice. But he played like a yappy little Yorkie that didn't really know how big it was, and would recklessly go after bigger dogs.
Bobby fought 52 times in his three seasons, and only decisively won seven of them, probably because he was significantly smaller than the majority of his opponents. But he'd laugh and smile the whole time, and everyone loved him for it.
5. JASON MACDONALD
MacDonald, a former Penguins captain, played 187 games in Wilkes-Barre from 2000-03. His 60 fights are the fourth-most in franchise history, and his 757 penalty minutes are the fifth-most.
Of course, MacDonald was another participant in the St. Patrick's Day Massacre, and his three fights resulted in a six-game suspension.
MacDonald's first fight of the night came in the first period, after being yanked down by Syracuse's Alex Johnston.
MacDonald dropped the gloves again in the third period, when the rest of the chaos was happening. MacDonald (who also took off his gear to evade the grabs of officials) was initially in a fight with David Ling, when Andrei Sryubko jumped off the bench and stepped in. Those fights can be seen below.
4. PAUL BISSONNETTE
Bissonnette was absolutely a fan favorite during his Wilkes-Barre days, and his jersey is still a common sight these days around Mohegan Sun Arena.
In his first three seasons in Wilkes-Barre, Bissonnette split time between Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling. "Biz" wasn't the most skilled player, no. But in his 161 games in Wilkes-Barre, he fought 63 times, or once every 2.5 games. He wasn't even that great of a fighter, earning a 25-20-13 fighting record according to DropYourGloves. He sure was fun, though.
3. DAVID KOCI
Koci was in Wilkes-Barre from 2001-06. He dropped the gloves a whopping 80 times, the second-most in team history, and is fourth all-time in penalty minutes for the franchise with 770 in only 194 games.
A massive presence on the ice at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Koci was a fan favorite during his days in Northeastern Pennsylvania, both for his role on the ice and his gentle, humble attitude off the ice.
"The key is in knowing how to punch," Koci once said of his strategy while playing in Norfolk.. "Not so much to hurt the other guy, but to keep from hurting your own hand."
2. DERYK ENGELLAND
Engelland was only in Wilkes-Barre for three seasons, but he sure made the most of his time there.
Engelland fought 42 times and registered 405 penalty minutes in 231 games for the Penguins. He didn't drop the gloves as often as some of the others on this list, but he was one of the most successful at it.
"I've played with him for three years in the minors, and I've seen him lose one fight," Ben Lovejoy once remarked. "And he just doesn't win fights. He kicks the crap out of people."
1. DENNIS BONVIE
There should be no doubt who No. 1 is here. Dennis Bonvie is one of the most, if not the most, popular guys to ever wear a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton uniform.
Bonvie had two stints in Wilkes-Barre -- the team's first two seasons in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, and he came back from 2005-08. He dropped the gloves 115 times for the Penguins, 35 more times than anyone else. He's the league's all-time leader in penalty minutes with 4,493 -- 1,553 more than the next guy.
Bonvie is also the runner-up in number of fights against a Wilkes-Barre player, with 13, mostly from his days as a Hershey Bear.
These days, Bonvie has made Wilkes-Barre his second home, and still lives there with his family. He hosts an annual hockey camp at the Penguins' practice rink. Local product Pat McGrath, who looked up to Bonvie as a kid and attended the camps himself years ago, is now the Penguins' current top fighter and helps lead Bonvie's camps.
Honorable mentions: Jesse Boulerice, Wade Brookbank, Steve MacIntyre, Dan Carcillo, Pat McGrath, Robert Bortuzzo, Ross Lupaschuk, Reid McNeill, Darcy Robinson, Tim Wallace, Tom Sestito
