Alex Singbush

This is Alex Singbush, one of the least known Montreal Canadiens of all time.

Mr. Singbush hailed from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He played his junior hockey in Winnipeg before heading to Ontario's Nickel Belt region to find work and play senior hockey with the Sudbury Refinery ORC. In three seasons there he made quite a name for himself as a rugged bruiser of the blue line. He was always a penalty minute leader, leading the entire Nickel Belt Hockey League with 64 PIMs in just 17 games in 1938-39.

There is always a need for physical defenders, and the 5'11" 180lb Singbush cashed in when he had a pro offer from the New Haven Eagles of the IAHL. He would play the better part of 4 seasons in New Haven (and part of a season with the Philadelphia Ramblers).

Meanwhile NHL rosters were being depleted due to World War II. Many of the players joined the Canadian military. That opened up jobs for players in the minor leagues. Players like Alex Singbush. The Montreal Canadiens purchased his contract and employed him on their blue line alongside the likes of Ken Reardon.

Singbush played in 32 games that season, collecting 5 assists but no goals. He was relatively well behaved, by his standards, collecting just 15 penalty minutes. He added another 4 PIMs in 3 playoff games, but no points.

In fact, the most interesting numbers of Alex Singbush's NHL career may be his jersey numbers. For some reason he used three different numbers in his only NHL campaign - 10, 18 and 21.

After that season Montreal sold his rights off to the Washington Lions of the AHL. He also spent some time with the Providence Reds before returning to Sudbury to play senior hockey. He also briefly played with Hull in the Quebec Senior Hockey League.

Alex Singbush retired from hockey in 1946. He passed away on March 8th, 1969.