George was born and raised in
Melville, Saskatchewan. Born into a true western Canadian hockey family, he played minor hockey while growing up and joined the
Flin Flon Bombers in 1937. In 1946, choosing not to go professional, George returned to Melville to marry, start a family, and join his brothers Don and Lawrence in operating Abel's Cartage. In 1950, George joined the
Melville Millionaires. He played for Melville until 1952, gaining a provincial reputation as an exceptional stick-handler and prolific goal-scorer. For a time, he both coached the team and played simultaneously. At this time, George was known as "Mr. Hockey" in Saskatchewan. In 1952, he accepted an invitation to join the Edmonton Mercurys to play for Canada's National hockey team in the 1952 Olympics. The team toured Europe for three months, playing 50 or 51 games, where George earned the nickname "Mr. Production". In Olympic competition at
Oslo,
Norway, he scored the winning goal in the final game, securing the only
Canadian gold medal of the Olympics. A bona fide international Canadian hockey hero, George happily returned to a quiet, but busy, life in Melville, all the while remaining active in
hockey,
fastball,
softball,
curling and
fishing as a player or coach. He retired from Abel's Cartage in 1971. George's younger brother
Sid Abel (February 22, 1918February 8, 2000) became a
Canadian professional
hockey player and later coach in the
National Hockey League. His playing career spanned from the
1938–39 season until the
1953–54 season, playing for both the
Detroit Red Wings and
Chicago Black Hawks and was a member of three winning
Stanley Cups in
1943,
1950, and
1952 with the
Detroit Red Wings. George Abel's nephew, Sid Abel's son,
Gerry also briefly played in the NHL, and Sid's grandson
Brent Johnson is a
goaltender who last played for the
Pittsburgh Penguins. ==External links==