Brendan Witt vs. Dan Kordic – 3/9/97
My introduction to Dan Kordic came when I taped a preseason game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins some time in September of ’94. Knowing ahead of time that Bruins minor league tough guy Bill Armstrong would be dressed and of course with full knowledge of how tough the teams were that Philly usually iced, I was looking forward to a few tilts. There were a few scraps and one was a goodie. My Bruins Heavyweight prospect “Big” Bill Armstrong took on the Flyers young tough guy Dan Kordic. I was only vaguely aware of Kordic at this time. I knew he was John Kordic’s younger brother but not much else. The fight was a pretty good swing out with Armstrong rating an edge perhaps. I remember Fred Cusik getting all excited at Kordic going down. I was impressed with Armstrong standing in there like that and I wanted to see more. I also took notice of this lanky kid from Philly.
Now “Big” Bill Armstrong never did get the call from Boston. He spent the remainder of his career down in Providence of the AHL. Outside of a few Providence fights I never saw much of Bill Armstrong after that. But Dan Kordic, on the other hand, made an impression. He didn’t play in the NHL that year and would spend the bulk of the next two seasons down with the Flyers AHL affiliate in Hershey. After the 95-96 season, the Flyers ended the Shawn Antoski experiment and traded him to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. For the upcoming year they were going to go with Dan Kordic who was just patiently waiting in the wings.
Kordic would go on to have a fantastic year in 96-97. He had a number of great fights and put himself up there with the Top-10 best fighters in the league. He was markedly different from his brother John. “Rambo” had been a machine gun southpaw who was in the 6’,200+ range. Younger brother Dan was 6’5 and lanky who could throw from both sides. He had a penchant for the toe to toe style brawls and that was alright by me. It was a breakout year for Kordic and the cherry on top would be one of the best fights of the year vs. Washington’s rugged D-man Brendan Witt.
Now Brendan Witt seemed to come out of nowhere to me. I don’t even think I heard the name before he got into a pair of Fight of the Year style fights near the end of the 96-97 season. He fought first Philadelphia’s Dan Kordic and then Chicago’s Ryan VendenBussche only days apart and they were both just terrific fights. The first of that pair with Kordic was a real eye opener for me and would likewise serve as my introduction to this tough western Canadian lad who hailed from Humboldt, Saskatchewan.
Witt wasn’t an enforcer like Kordic. He was a first round pick in the ’93 entry draft. He was a physical stay at home blueliner who could drop the gloves and get into FOTY style fights when needed. The Washington Capitals at that time had guys like Craig Berube, Chris Simon and Kevin Kaminski on that team. On top of that they still had a very tough Mark Tinordi on the blue line so Witt didn’t need to serve in that enforcer role. After a few years they’d bring in Stephen Peat as well to do the heavy lifting.
The Capitals and Flyers were noted rivals with March 9, 1997 at the Spectrum in Philly being just another episode of that long running feud. There’d be a few fights in that game but none bigger than Witt-Kordic. It was in the first period right after Chris Simon fought Philadelphia’s Joel Otto that Kordic went right after Witt and the fists started flying. These two held nothing back as they immediately began firing away with piston-like right hands. Amazingly these two stood right in there and gave and received punishment in equal measure. These two scrappers were coming right down the middle; there were no wild looping punches here. There was no grappling or hugging it out in this one.
After that electric exchange, the two paused briefly to readjust and catch their breath, before they began another toe to toe exchange. Seeing both fighters going the extra mile in this one was awesome and truly a sight to behold. After that final flurry both fighters were exhausted and the linesmen came in and broke up the heated battle. Kordic sported a bloody nose as he went to the box while Witt smiled and got a high five and pat on the back from Chris Simon upon entering his. It was one of the best fights of the year and everyone knew it. A true pier sixer that makes you scratch your head because Witt had done nothing even remotely like that to that point in his young career. Perhaps Kordic and Witt were just a great style match up. It’s like they say, styles make fights.
Kordic would have another good year the following season but injuries derailed his career and forced him to retire prematurely. It’s a shame because when given a shot he proved he could be one of the better fighters in the league. I also think he proved he was no longer in brother John’s shadow. Dan was an entirely different kind of fighter who used his hand speed and ability to switch and gain an advantage in fights. From 96-98 Dan really made his mark and you really have to wonder what could have been had he not had to retire so soon.
Brendan Witt would continue on as a tough rugged D-man who took the body and dropped the gloves on occasion. He’d play another 12 years with Washington, Nashville and the New York Islanders. He’d of course get into more fights but none like those two barn burners he got into late in the 96-97 season. Oh, he got into some good ones here and there during his career but none had that FOTY electricity to them. Not even close, but when you set the bar so high…