The older of the Plager brothers played his junior hockey with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (then named Ontario Hockey Association) before spending 6 seasons in the minor leagues, cementing a reputation of hard-nosed defenseman, a reputation he really gained himself when he fought his brother Bob Plager in a memorable brawl right before Christmas 1960, as his Petes faced Bob's Guelph Royals. His brothers Bob and Bill Plager were his teammates with the Blues, the first for 11 seasons, the second for 4.