Kirk Bowman travelled across North America and Europe to play hockey but his heart never left home ice in Leamington.

After a professional career, Bowman shared his love of the game with boys and girls at every level of minor hockey in his hometown. Not many organizations can boast a former NHL player as a mentor to coaches and players at the youngest (Timbits) level of the game but Southpoint Minor can.

Bowman coached the Leamington Junior C Flyers and founded the Kirk Bowman Hockey School. An instructor with CanAm Hockey Schools for more than three decades, he offered advice to many of Leamington’s best players, including his daughter, Shannon and son Kerry who both played NCAA Division I hockey. Shannon also played for Team Canada U22 and Kerry played two professional seasons in the IHL.

A slick-skating forward, Bowman led the Leamington midgets to the 1968 OMHA AA championship. The Toronto Marlboros scooped him up to play Junior B the following season and after Junior A stops in Sarnia and Guelph, he launched a pro career in the International Hockey League.

Bowman played in 11 different leagues, including a brief stop in the World Hockey Association. After putting up 107 points in 78 games for the IHL’s Flint Generals, the speedy center signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, playing two seasons (1976-78)   there and sharing a dressing room with the likes of Bobby Orr and Stan Mikita.

Small by today’s standards (five-foot-nine, 178 pounds), Bowman flourished when he moved to larger European ice surfaces in elite leagues in Germany and Switzerland, scoring 30+ goals in five of eight seasons.

He’s now scored a place in the builders’ category with the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame.