Frank Turik

Frank "Putsy" Turik grew up in Trail and played his minor hockey in the City.  In 1944, Frank was a member of the famous Trail Junior hockey team that played in the final of the Memorial Cup championship against the Oshawa Generals.  Despite the team losing the finals to the more powerful Generals, Frank was a standout and in 1945 he was invted to play for the St. Michael's College of Toronto Juniors, who went on to win the Memorial Cup.  He was the tournament's leading scorer with an amazing 3 hat tricks in 5 games.

He then moved to the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Senior League and was selected to the League's all-star team in 1947.  The following year, he had a trial with the Montreal Canadiens.  After not making the team, he returned to Trail to play with the Smoke Eaters for the next 12 years.  With the WIHL, he was the first player to score 500 points and was noted for his skating abilities and his slick stick handling.

Frank played two years with the Rossland Warriors but returned to the Smoke Eaters for the Allan Cup drive in 1960.  He was a member of the 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters World Championship team, however did not travel to Europe.

Following retirement from hockey, Frank coached the Smoke Eaters and was Referee in Chief for the WIHL.  Frank continued to play old timer hockey with skill until he was 65 years old.  Frank passed away in 2009.