Parkhurst may have jumped the gun in 1961-62 when they
released their hockey card set with Larry Keenan included. Keenan came into
1961-62 with no National Hockey League experience and ended the season with two
games as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs under his belt. He would never
play with the Maple Leafs again and would not play another NHL game until
1967-68.
Larry Keenan – 1961-62 Parkhurst #13
The Larry
Keenan rookie card is valued as a common card. His second NHL hockey card
did not appear until the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set as a member of the St. Louis
Blues. In 1961-62, Keenan played two games with the Maple Leafs, his first two
in the National Hockey League and his only two with Toronto. That year, Larry
played 57 games in the American Hockey League with the Rochester
Americans. This was his first pro hockey after four years in the OHA with
Toronto St. Michael’s.
Larry Keenan – Junior
Keenan played with Toronto St. Michael’s for four years from
1957-58 to 1960-61. It all came together for Larry and the Majors in his final
year. In 1960-61, Keenan scored 31 and assisted on 38 for 69 points over 48 regular
season games. He was second in the team in goals and points, while leading the
team in assists.
St. Michael’s was solid in net with Gerry
Cheevers and Dave Dryden sharing duties. In the Robertson Cup playoffs,
Keenan put up incredible numbers with 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points
over 20 games. The Majors beat out the St. Catherines Teepees in the opening
round before taking out the Hamilton Red Wings in the semi-finals. St. Michael’s
met up with the Guelph Royals in the finals and took the championship.
The Majors then advanced to the Eastern Canada Memorial Cup
finals and easily took out the Moncton Beavers. In the Memorial Cup finals, St.
Michael’s met up with the Edmonton Oil Kings and took the series in six games
to be crowned major junior hockey champions of Canada.
Larry Keenan – NHL
Despite the large gap between his first two NHL games in
1961-62 and his third game in 1967-68, Keenan managed to get into 233 regular
season games in the league. Over that time, he scored 38 goals and assisted on
64 for 102 points. Larry also played an impressive 46 games in the Stanley Cup
playoffs, scoring 15 and assisting on 16 for 31 points. All those playoff games
came with the St. Louis Blues in their first three years of existence. In each
of those seasons between 1967-68 and 1969-70, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup
finals.
Keenan was picked up by St. Louis in the 14th
round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 84th overall. He played in
the NHL until 1971-72, also appearing with the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia
Flyers.
Larry Keenan – Minor Pro
Larry’s minor league career was much lengthier than his NHL
career. Between 1961-62 and 1973-74, Keenan played in the AHL, WHL and CHL.
Most of his success came in the WHL with the Victoria Maple Leafs in 1964-65
and 1965-66.
In 1964-65, Victoria placed fourth in the six team league
but reached the finals against the first place Portland Buckaroos. Portland won
the championship in five games. Keenan tied for fourth in the WHL with 35
goals, three behind leader Willie O’Ree of the Los Angeles Blades.
The following year, Victoria finished second with Portland
once again finishing atop the WHL. The two teams once again met in the finals.
This time, the Maple Leafs came out on top with the series going the full seven
games. In fact, all three playoff series in 1965-66 went the full seven games.
