Pals from the Pass

	Pals from the Pass
	There must be something in the mountain air of Crowsnest Pass. How else could two hockey pals from the Pass, Darcy Wakaluk and Doug Houda, have beat the odds and both lived their dream of playing in the National Hockey League?
Both began their hockey careers at the age of 5 and played as team mates in the Crowsnest Pass Minor Hockey System until they were Bantam age. Both started their careers as defensemen (Darcy later became a goal tender after telling his father at age 10 that he wanted to be a goalie because goalies were “the most important players in the game.”) Both were drafted in Montreal in 1984. Houda by the Detroit Red Wings and Wakaluk by the Buffalo Sabres. Although the NHL was their final destination, they followed different pathways from age 14. Wakaluk (right), as an under-aged Midget hockey player, was scouted and drafted by the Kelowna Red Wings after he was selected as the most valuable goaltender in a prestigious Medicine Hat international tournament. He played two seasons with the Kelowna wings and two additional seasons for the Spokane Chiefs once the Kelowna franchise was sold to Spokane interests. After being drafted by Buffalo in 1984, he joined the Rochester Americans, Buffalo’s American League affiliate, and became the first goaltender to score a goal in a professional hockey game, three days prior to Ron Hextall scoring in the National Hockey League.
	Doug Houda (at top) played Junior B for Pincher Creek as a 14 year old, with the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League as a 15 year-old, and with the Calgary Wranglers for the better part of his Western Hockey League career. After being traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers in his final season, he joined the Glen falls Red Wings, the affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. Since 1988, when he began his career with the Detroit Red Wings, he has played for the Hartford Whalers, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and most recently the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Despite the distance between their two winter homes in Anaheim and Phoenix, Doug and Darcy reacquaint themselves every opportunity they get. Best men at each other’s weddings, the continuation of their friendship has continued to be a priority to each of them. Neither has forgot his roots nor his family and friends in the Crowsnest Pass. Both have contributed generously of their time and reputation to help worthwhile causes in the Crowsnest Pass. It goes without saying that the residents of the Pass have good reason to be proud of Darcy Wakaluk and Doug Houda, The two pros who have remained Pals from the Pass.
Other sites to visit: The Hockey Hall of Fame The LCS Hockey Page The Official NHL Homepage