Saying Goodbye To The Man I Know As 'Mosh'

I was saddened to hear of the passing of NHL scout Doug Mosher. Mosher died of cancer on Monday. I have nothing but fond memories of my time with Mosher in my first year as the play-by-play voice of the Swift Current Broncos. Mosher was the GM of the Broncos at the time, and often traveled with the team. The seating arrangement in the bus had Mosher and I sitting together. We were both able to enjoy two seats in the bus, but they were facing each other. So whether I was in the mood or not, Mosher and I had numerous talks on trips to far away places like Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. I remember Mosher always taking off his shoes, planting them on the seat beside me and wiggling his toes in the air with glee, like he had the best seat in the house. Something tells me he did, as he loved the game of hockey and cherished his role as the GM. I recall Mosher being more upset after a win than a loss, and was often critical of players who didn't pull their weight during a lopsided victory. Yet the majority of the time that I knew 'Mosh', he always had a smile on his face. He would often rib me about the funny shoes or tie I was wearing, and loved to deliver jokes and laugh along. That's the Doug Mosher I knew as I was cutting my teeth as a WHL broadcaster. Mosher would eventually become the GM of the Medicine Hat Tigers before taking a scouting job with the Minnesota Wild. When I moved to Kelowna to join the Rockets in 2000, Mosher would always show up at the rink in Medicine Hat to make small talk with me and have a chat with then Rockets head coaches Marc Habscheid and Jeff Truitt. He loved to talk hockey, and even in his ailing years he was always found with the scouts at the Medicine Hat Arena no less than an hour and a half before game time. He was a fun loving guy who couldn't get enough of hanging out at the rink. I think the best story I can remember about Mosher was when he scouted with the Broncos in 1993. The Broncos were WHL champions that season and Mosher provided color commentary for Broncos radio man Eldon Moberg at the Memorial Cup. Mosher, during a stoppage of play, commented that it was nice to see the Broncos executives at the Memorial Cup watching from the stands with their arms firmly wrapped around their wives. Mosher was fully aware that the Broncos executives had left their wives at home back in Swift Current, yet wanted nothing more than to get a rise out of them as they listened to the broadcast on the radio. Mission accomplished. It was classic Doug Mosher. I will admit that when the Kelowna Rockets bus arrives at the Medicine Hat Arena this season and I enter the scouts room to pick up my press notes and pizza, one thing will be missing. It will be that quick wit and smile on the face, that only Doug Mosher could deliver.

Mosher was 71. His funeral is Thursday in Maple Creek Saskatchewan.