Resch played in the NHL from 1973-74 to 1986-87 with the Islanders, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers.
Chico was not drafted into the National Hockey League and had to make it the hard way. He played four years in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota in Duluth from 1967-68 to 1970-71.
Resch got his pro start with the Muskegon Mohawks of the IHL in 1971-72. His impact was immediately felt. Glenn played in 59 of Muskegon’s 72 regular season games, posting a 3.09 goals against average. That was the lowest GAA in the league and earned him the James Norris Memorial Trophy. He was also awarded the Garry F. Longman Memorial Trophy as the IHL’s Rookie of the Year.
As for the Mohawks, Resch’s performance did not get wasted. The team finished first overall in the eight team league. Muskegon then reached the Turner Cup finals before falling in six games to the Port Huron Wings.
Two years later, in 1973-74, Chico found himself in the Central Hockey League with the Fort Worth Wings. He played 55 games for a mediocre Fort Worth team and recorded a 3.18 goals against average. Despite the Wings finishing fourth in the six team CHL and exiting the playoffs in the opening round, Resch was named the league’s most valuable player. More importantly, he played his first two games in the NHL as a call-up to the Islanders.
The next year, 1974-75, he played 25 games for the Islanders, backing up Smith. For the next five years, it was Billy that was Glenn’s backup. However, the duties were fairly shared with neither playing in more than 46 games in a single season over that time. In 1979-80, Resch played on his only Stanley Cup winning team, playing just four games in the playoffs.
He got his chance to play a lot of games after being traded to the Colorado Rockies for Mike McEwen during the 1980-81 season. After two years in Denver, Resch followed the franchise as they became the New Jersey Devils. The Devils in turn traded him to the Flyers during the 1985-86 season where he backed up rookie sensation Ron Hextall before retiring after 1986-87.
In the short lived history of the Canada Cup, Chico is the only player to appear on the rosters of both Canada and the United States. In 1976, he was the third string goalie for Canada and didn’t see any action. In 1984, he played two games for U.S.A. He also played for the U.S. on the international stage in 1982 at the IIHF World Hockey Championships.
The Glenn Resch rookie card appears as number 353 in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued at about ten times more than a common card. Topps did not produce a Glenn Resch hockey card until the following year when he appeared on card number 145 of the 1975-76 set. This card is valued at about six times more than a common.
His final card as a player came as number 158 in the 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee set. This card is valued as a common card. He is shown as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers but the uniform looks to be airbrushed on.