Steve Durbano (born December 12, 1951 in Toronto, Ontario; died November 16, 2002 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) was a professional ice hockey player noted for his villainish behaviour on the ice and his larger-than-life persona off it.

Career

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Born in Toronto, Durbano rose through minor hockey to a place on the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association. He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round of the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. He never played a game for the Rangers, though, and was traded to the St. Louis Blues where he began his career. Durbano quickly gained a reputation for being one of the toughest players in the league, and his on-ice antics were said to have inspired the characters of the Hanson Brothers in the movie Slap Shot. He played 220 NHL games over the course of his career for St. Louis as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies, along with 45 games in the World Hockey Association for the Birmingham Bulls.

Retirement

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In 1983, shortly after he retired, Durbano was implicated in a scheme to import half a million dollars worth of cocaine into Canada and was sentenced to seven years in prison. After his release, Durbano still couldn't keep straight - he was arrested once for shoplifting, and once was suspected of running an escort service in Welland, Ontario. He moved to the Northwest Territories late in life in an effort to find peace, but died there of liver cancer in November of 2002.

1951 births | 2002 deaths | National Hockey League first round draft picks | Toronto Marlboros alumni | St. Louis Blues players | Pittsburgh Penguins players | Kansas City Scouts players | Colorado Rockies (NHL) players | Birmingham Bulls players