Dit Clapper's all-star team in 1945
Goal:
Tiny Thompson
Defense:
Earl Seibert, Eddie Shore
Left wing:
Harvey (Busher) Jackson
Centre:
Milt Schmidt
Right wing:
Bill Cook
Lionel Conacher in 1953
First team
Goal:
Roy Worters
Defense:
Eddie Shore, Eddie Gerard
Left wing:
Aurel Joliat
Centre:
Milt Schmidt
Right wing:
Bill Cook
Second team
Goal:
Chuck Gardiner
Defense:
King Clancy,
Ching Johnson
Left wing:
Harvey Jackson
Centre:
Howie Morenz
Right wing:
Charlie Conacher
Aurel Joliat in 1955 (we have his teams from 1936, 1948, and 1962, why not include this one too.)
Joliat gave the best players of his time, he was unwilling to include current players because he didn't watch a lot of pro hockey.
Goal: My old comrade
George Hainsworth was the steadiest,
Clint Benedict,
Georges Vezina, and
Charlie Gardiner were excellent and just as good.
Defence: My old playing companion
Sprague Cleghorn with
Eddie Gerard, then
Eddie Shore and
Reggie Noble
Centre:
Howie Morenz, without equal in centre and also the best player of all time
Left wing:
Harvey Jackson
Right wing:
Bill Cook
The modern game is not as good as the game we played in our time and I sincerely wonder if the immortal Howie, the greatest player I have ever seen, could do himself justice under today's system.
They say the current game is faster, maybe, but I haven't seen another Morenz or Hector Kilrea since those two speed merchants retired. And another thing, when we skated with the puck, we skated straight toward the net and we didn't go off into the corners of the rink. Since when did they put the nets in the corners?
Sylvio Mantha gave his all time team in the same 1955 article.
Goal:
Bill Durnan
Defence:
Eddie Shore and
Lionel Hitchman,
Shore for his full-speed runs and Hitchman for his truly unbeatable defensive science
Centre:
Howie Morenz
Left wing:
Aurele Joliat
Right wing:
Bill Cook
It gives me pleasure to say for publication that Joliat allowed me to extend my career by three years, as he helped me so much in defense. Often it happened that enemy forwards outwitted me, Aurele almost always came back in time to save the situation.
