Joseph George "Joey" Kocur (born December 21, 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. He is best known for his activities as a fighter and

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then-

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

teammate

Bob Probert Robert Alan Probert (June 5, 1965 – July 5, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Probert played for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including bei ...

, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

Known for his physical play, Kocur was one of the most penalized players in

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

history, amassing a career total of 2519 penalty minutes in stints with the

, the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. Kocur officially retired at the end of the 1998–1999 season. He served as a video coach to

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

from the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

season until Bowman's retirement following the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

season. Under head coach Dave Lewis, Kocur served as an associate coach along with Barry Smith; he was not asked to return after the hiring of coach

Mike Babcock Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

. Kocur was best known for his devastating right-hand punch; he so frequently hit players with his right hand, often landing blows on their helmets or teeth, his right hand was often in poor condition. In an interview,

Donald Brashear Donald Brashear (born January 7, 1972) is an American former professional hockey player who played for five organizations in the National Hockey League (NHL) over a 23 year pro career, in which he played the role of an enforcer. He was among the ...

described how Kocur cracked his helmet with his punches; though his helmet absorbed most of the blow, he still felt serious pain in his gums even on the other side of his face, leaving him unable to eat for a day or so. Kocur's punches often seriously injured players, such as Brad Dalgarno of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

, whose

orbital bone In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...

cheek bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from grc, ζῠγόν, zugón, yoke), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is si ...

, and

jaw The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...

were fractured by Kocur. Kocur left the NHL following the 1996 season and was playing in the International Hockey League when the Red Wings brought him back during the 1996–97 season after captain

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

recommended him to head coach Scotty Bowman. Although he did not fight as much as in his younger days, Kocur brought an element of toughness to the Wings that had been lost with the departures of Probert and Stu Grimson. Kocur scored goals in the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup finals series, helping the Wings win the Stanley Cup both times. Kocur had previously won a Stanley Cup ring as a member of the 1993-94 New York Rangers.

Post hockey career

Kocur is president of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association and is active in its efforts to raise money for children's charities in

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

. In 2010, he created Kocur Enterprises and is a manufacturer's representative of specialty products serving commercial, industrial and municipal markets in several states. In 2012, he started his own charity called "The Joe Kocur Foundation for Children". The foundation holds an annual charity softball game in Highland Township Michigan every August.

Family

Kocur lives in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

with his wife Kristen, son Liam, and daughter Kendall. Kocur is a cousin of former NHL player

Wendel Clark Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

and former NHL player and coach

Barry Melrose Barry James Melrose (born July 15, 1956) is a Canadian–American broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player and head coach. Melrose played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). After retiring from pl ...

as well.

In media

Along with former teammate

, Kocur is featured in a book entitled ''Bruise Brothers'' by Bob Duff . Kocur makes occasional cameo appearances playing adult league hockey in Waterford, Michigan. On December 31, 2013, Kocur appeared in the second game of the NHL Alumni Showdown at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival leading up to the 2014 NHL Winter Classic. Kocur, who wore the number 26 sweater during his playing days, honored his deceased Bruise Brother, Bob Probert, by wearing Probert's number 24 sweater. Kocur and his Grind Line Detroit Red Wings teammates were honored Fall 2021 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in Detroit.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

Achievements

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Champion ( NYR) *

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Stanley Cup Champion (

) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Stanley Cup Champion (Detroit) *

Stanley Cup Champion (Detroit as video coach) *2016

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kocur, Joe 1964 births Adirondack Red Wings players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Detroit Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Living people New York Rangers players People from Kelvington, Saskatchewan San Antonio Dragons players Saskatoon Blades players Stanley Cup champions Vancouver Canucks players Yorkton Terriers players Canadian ice hockey coaches