Douglas Wagner Bentley was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professional career that spanned nearly three decades.
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Doug Bentley made NHL history when he played on the league's first all-brother line with Max and Reg in 1943.
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Doug Bentley was the fifth of six boys and one of thirteen children.
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Doug Bentley's father Bill was a native of Yorkshire, England, who emigrated to the United States as a child and became a speed skating champion in North Dakota before settling in Delisle.
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All of the Doug Bentley children were athletes, and all six brothers played hockey.
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Bill Doug Bentley believed that all six boys could have played in the National Hockey League, though responsibilities on the family farm resulted in the eldest four boys spending the majority of their careers playing senior hockey on the Canadian Prairies.
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Doug Bentley learned his trade with his brothers as they constantly played street hockey in the summers and on the ice in the winters.
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Doug Bentley's father flooded a sheet of ice that was the length of a regulation NHL hockey rink but much narrower, forcing the boys to develop the ability to maintain control of the puck while making fast, hard turns to reach the net.
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Doug Bentley had previously been placed on the protected list of the Montreal Canadiens, meaning they were the only NHL team eligible to sign him to a contract.
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However, by the time Chicago signed him, Doug Bentley had established himself as one of the top forwards on the prairies.
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Doug Bentley appeared in 39 games in his rookie campaign with Chicago, scoring 12 goals and 19 points.
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Doug Bentley was the first Black Hawks player to finish as the scoring leader, and finished second in voting for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player.
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Doug Bentley was given permission by military authorities to return to his family farm for the duration of the war, and signed on to play with the Laura Beavers of the Saskatchewan Intermediate Hockey League.
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Doug Bentley thought about retiring following the deal but felt he could give Chicago at least one more good season.
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Doug Bentley gave them several good seasons, finished the following three seasons with 57,66 and 52 points respectively, was named to the second All-Star team in 1949, and appeared in four more All-Star Games in 1948,1949,1950 and 1951.
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Doug Bentley played 20 games with the Rangers, scoring 12 points, but returned to Saskatoon to coach the team in their playoffs once the Rangers' season ended.
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Doug Bentley initially agreed to continue as a player, but when the team announced as his replacement a player who was formerly subordinate to him as coach, Bentley felt it best to leave to avoid embarrassing his successor.
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The 39-year-old Doug Bentley immediately received offers from other Western Hockey League teams, including the New Westminster Royals.
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Doug Bentley chose to finish the season with the Brandon Regals.
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Doug Bentley was named an assistant coach midway through the year and even played when injuries forced players out of the lineup.
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Doug Bentley returned to his Saskatchewan home in 1964 to coach the senior Saskatoon Quakers for one season.
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Doug Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame that same year.
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Doug Bentley battled cancer in his later life, first requiring surgery in Edmonton in 1969.
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