Bentley, all 145 pounds of him, spent his NHL career making life miserable for opposing goalies. His speed, skill and desire more than made up for a lack of size.

The native of Delisle, Saskatchewan, was originally regarded as too small to play in the NHL despite possessing the kind of speed and shiftiness that enabled him to avoid larger defensemen. It wasn't until he was 23 that Bentley, a left wing, came to the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks (as they were known then) and scored 12 goals in 39 games as a rookie in 1939-40.

Younger brother Max Bentley joined him in 1940-41, and they later combined with center Bill Mosienko to form "The Pony Line," one of the most famous forward units in NHL history. All three finished their NHL career with more than 200 goals.

Doug won the NHL scoring title in 1942-43 with 73 points (33 goals, 40 assists) in 50 games; he was named a First-Team NHL All-Star and was runner-up for the Hart Trophy even though the Black Hawks finished fifth in the first season of the Original Six era. Bentley bettered those numbers in 1943-44, finishing with 77 points and leading the NHL with 38 goals, but wound up second to Herb Cain of the Boston Bruins, whose 82 points set an NHL record at the time. Bentley went on to help the Black Hawks advance to the Stanley Cup Final (the only time he played on a team that won a playoff series), finishing with 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in nine games.

Bentley missed the entire 1944-45 season due to problems crossing the U.S.-Canadian border during World War II. But he returned to Chicago in 1945-46 and picked up where he left off, scoring 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 36 games.

When Max was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs early in the 1947-48 season, Doug moved from left wing to center on a line with Mosienko and Roy Conacher and led the NHL with 37 assists that season and was third in the League with 57 points.

He retired from the NHL after eight games of the 1951-52 season to return to Saskatchewan to coach Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League, but was reunited with brother Max with the New York Rangers in 1953-54; the two combined for eight points in their first game in New York. He played and coached in the WHL until 1962.

Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964 and continued coaching in the minor leagues into the late 1960s. He died on Nov. 24, 1972.