Although born in Halifax, Pokey Reddick grew up in Toronto. It was there that, as a lad, his father observed his son's tendency to move around the house like a slowpoke. As such, Eldon was replaced by the nickname "Pokey."
But when Reddick got between the pipes, there was nothing slow about his reflexes. His agility and quick glove hand caught the attention of the Peterborough Petes of the OHA. But for personal reasons, he refused to join the club, opting instead to play Tier II hockey.
He did, however, eventually labour his way through stints with weak junior clubs out west. He faced a trainload of rubber with the Nanaimo Islanders and the New Westminster Bruins before joining the Brandon Wheat Kings where he finally began to catch at least some professional attention.
Although Reddick was passed over in the NHL Entry Draft, he did sign as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets in 1985. After a year of seasoning with the Fort Wayne Comets of the IHL, he picked up his first full campaign with the Winnipeg Jets. Sharing the pipes with high-strung Daniel Bertiaume, Reddick was the laid-back stopper of the pair. He modeled himself after his idol, Rogie Vachon, a specialist at playing the angles.
Reddick's effectiveness at the NHL level, however, was uneven. He was bounced to the AHL for a brief stint and then returned to the Jets for one more complete season. He was then traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 1989. His stay lasted for only 14 games between trips to the minors.
In 1990, Reddick was sent to play for the Cape Breton Oilers, a move that marked the start of a long minor-league career, interrupted only by a two-game stint with the Florida Panthers in 1993. Since then, he had backstopped his way around the world of hockey with stints in Cincinati, Las Vegas, Grand Rapids, San Antonio, Kansas City, Fort Wayne, and Frankfurt, Germany.
