ATD 2023 Bio Thread

[overpass]

Brian Leetch, LD

​

2x Norris Trophy winner
2x First All-Star Team
3x Second All-Star Team
1x Conn Smythe Trophy winner
Top 100 NHL Player

Norris Trophy Voting: 1 ('92), 1 ('97), 3 ('96), 4 ('91), 5 ('94), 5 ('01), 8 ('99), 9 ('02), 11 ('04)
All-Star Team Voting: 1 ('92), 1 ('97), 3 ('96), 4 ('91), 4 ('94), 5 ('01), 7 ('89), 7 ('02), 8 ('95) 8 ('99), 11 ('04)

NHL Stats
1028 points in 1205 NHL GP
97 points in 95 NHL playoff GP, x1 Stanley Cup winner

5x Top 10 Assists: 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
1x Top 10 Points: 9

Defensemen Scoring Placements: 1, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 8, 13
Defensemen VS #2 Scores: 119, 115, 111, 104, 96, 95, 95, 94, 94, 93, 89, 88, 62

Team Scoring Placements: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6

International Stats
13 points in 16 Olympic GP
4 points in 7 Canada Cup GP
8 points in 12 World Cup GP

Leetch was the captain and best skater on the 1996 US team that won the World Cup.

Career Retrospectives

NHL Top 100 Player Profile

People around hockey were always more impressed with Leetch than he ever was with himself.

"His skating ability was ridiculous," former NHL forward and United States teammate Bill Guerin said. "It was effortless. He could glide across the ice. His hands and legs would be going in different directions. He could pass the puck in stride, and laser-beam a puck across the ice on your tape."

…

"Smooth is the perfect word I would use to describe Leetch," said NBC Sports analyst Ed Olczyk, also a member of the Rangers' 1994 championship team. "He did everything at the same level. He could skate you out of trouble as well as any defenseman I've played with or against skating."

At 19, Leetch was the most skilled player on the United States Olympic team at the 1988 Games in Calgary.

"So much poise and control," said USA Hockey general manager Jim Johannson, who played on that team. "He probably had the best agility of anyone I've ever played with. He had a precision that no one also did."

...His signature move was a swivel-hip, side-to-side, shake-and-bake, which often ended with Leetch moving smartly around his opponent. He left many opposing players in his wake.

"He was a different type of puck-moving defenseman," Smith said. "He didn't race up ice like Paul Coffey or Bobby Orr. It never became all about Leetch where you wondered if he would go coast-to-coast and score, although he did do that at times. But once he got the puck the other team was in trouble. We were going to for sure get it out of our zone, and most likely we were going to end up with a scoring chance, even if he started in our zone."

…"He had the ability to go in whatever direction he wanted to go at the drop of a dime," Smith said. "He could avoid so much contact because of that ability."

It wasn't as if he was worried about getting waylaid by heavy hitting.

"He wasn't the slightest bit afraid," Smith said.

Smith said Leetch's offensive flair overshadowed the reality that he was always a dependable defensive player. Another gift he had was a superhuman-like ability to recover quickly from his shifts. He could play more minutes than anyone else on the team because he could regain his normal breathing pattern so quickly.

That was important, Smith said, because "we wanted him on the ice in all situations."

Greatest Hockey Legends

The key to Leetch's game was always his mobility and vision. He was a terrific skater and stickhandler. Everyone marveled at how he could sidestep the league's best forecheckers and make a great breakout pass, often creating something out of nothing. He was a good rusher too, and manned a power play point as good as anyone. Defensively he overcame relatively small size with impeccable timing and positioning. He was never adverse to the physical game either. He truly was one of the all time great defensemen.

Newspaper quotes through Leetch's career

Frank Brown, Daily News, Feb 2, 1992

“Brian is so laid back,” says ex-Ranger Bernie Nicholls, “that there could be a war going on outside and it wouldn’t bother him.”

On the ice, it is different. On the ice, Brian Leetch is a waiter at brunch, dodging and darting and weaving and hustling through the commotion without spilling a drop of steaming coffee. On offense, he sweeps and swerves and commands respect. On defense, there is an authority to him; it is as though he already knows your plans if you have the puck.

…On the ice, he is completely in control. All of him is there for all to see. There may not be a defenseman in the league who can keep the puck in the zone as well at the left point. There may not be a defenseman in the league willing to chance splitting the opposing defense and scoring a goal as Leetch will if the chance avails.

“The way he is on the ice seems to be the way he is as a person,” says his partner, Jeff Beukeboom. “He’s very in control.

“On the ice, it seems like whatever he does is so effortless,” Beukeboom continued. “Some guys, when they play, it’s push, push, push. It seems with him, he was just born to be a hockey player, and he’s just doing what his destiny is.”

New York Times, Dec 12, 1993

For most of his career, Leetch's incredible playmaking talent has earned him carte blanche on the ice. That's not so with Keenan around. Keenan has dramatically altered Leetch's role in the Rangers' system. Leetch is still expected to be the offensive catalyst on the power play. And he is expected to initiate plays. But he is also expected to play defense. And in five-on-five situations, he is expected to be patient, and conservative, and, if necessary, play the dreaded dump and chase.

"Brian has played exceptionally well in the last 20 games at least," Keenan said. "The thing that probably stands out most of all is that he's been playing excellent defensive hockey, especially one on one. We look at him to create offense, of course, but his one-on-one play and his penalty killing have been exceptional."

Leetch acknowledges that Keenan's instructions have made him a better all-round player, even if he's not particularly fond of the change. There are times when he gets the puck and aches to rush up ice, but knows he's not allowed. There are other times, though, when he looks at the team's record, and the balanced scoring, and can only feel good about what has happened this fall.

Frank Brown, quoted from The Post-Star, June 6, 1994

It doesn't matter how many people are in the rink or how much noise they are making. A moment will come in a game when Brian Leetch sees an opportunity and a little siren will sound a signal that you better watch him, because Brian Leetch is about to do something very special.

Sometimes Mark Messier will be holding the puck at the boards, a prize he has pulled out of a scrum and you almost can hear him saying, "Leetchie ... GO!" And Leetch, watching from the left point a few feet away, simply will jolt into action at top speed, because Leetch knows Messier will get the puck to him and Leetch also knows he can get back into position if Messier, by some accident, does not get him the puck.

And by the time Leetch has powered into the open, it is way too late for the other team, which was studying the puck when it should have been listening for that alarm to go off.

It happened again Saturday night, another night when Brian Leetch gave even more than you thought anyone could have when he helped give the Rangers a 5-1 triumph and more victories than they have had in any playoff since 1972.

Frank Brown, New York Daily News, June 6, 1994

Michael Jordan was no less great a player before his Chicago Bulls won an NBA title; that he carried a team up those last few steps of the mountain before the eyes of the entire basketball world merely validated the claims of greatness made for him. The same was true of Mario Lemieux before he helped the Pittsburgh Penguins take that journey: It didnt matter how many hundred points Lemieux scored in the regular season, how many plays he made to haul you out of your seat Doing it in the playoffs, under the harshest glare of the brightest spotlight, is what was needed for certification.

Brian Leetch is making that step now, striding forward and upward and making the Stanley Cup Finals his personal property. He is doing what you have been watching for so long in New York, but something the rest of the world has not had the opportunity to see.

…Colin Campbell played defense for the Canucks the last time Vancouver was in the Stanley Cup Finals. Mike Bossy, an opponent, dominated that series; this time, Brian Leetch is a player he coaches. "All year long and throughout the playoffs, the thing that's astounded me about Brian's game is his strength, physically, with the ice time he's getting, and how he can still throw a check in the third period or get in a one-on-one confrontation when the guy's trying to put the puck through his feet and still challenge the guy physically," Campbell said. "Most offensive defensemen, at that point, try and make it a puck game, instead of a physical game. That's one area where Brian's game has improved dramatically. And that's a giant step forward.

Brian makes the odd mistake and you ' kind of get mad and you forget that when you play 35 minutes a game, you're bound to have the odd puck bounce on you or the odd decision blow up in your face. But when you look at his ice time, and the chances to score that he generates and the chances against, it's incredible."

Cole, Cam. Edmonton Journal; Edmonton, Alta. [Edmonton, Alta]. 06 June 1994: D1.

Even when Canucks coach Pat Quinn starts mentioning Leetch in the same breath as Orr, as he did Sunday, your first reaction is: he's just blowing smoke, trying to inflate the opposition's sense of self-importance.

"Leetch is much better than I thought he was," Quinn said. "We were aware of his offensive skills, because his numbers reflect that, but he's clearly much better in leading the play and defending than I expected him to be. He's made very few mistakes defensively. He breaks up a lot of plays and steers it back the other way as quickly as any defenceman I've ever seen."

But Pat, we say, you played against Orr. You remember, goading him into fights, making him so mad he once took off his glove and threw it at you? Wasn't he the greatest ever?

"They're different players," said Quinn, chuckling. "Bob was a guy who could take it end-to-end at any time. You don't see Leetch do that as much, but he's better at jumping into (offensive) holes. I think he's better defensively (than Orr). He plays it more conventionally as a face-up defenceman. He breaks up more plays at his blue-line than Orr did. Orr usually took it off you after . . . well, he never took it off me because I never got that far with it."

And suddenly, you realize: he means it.

This isn't your standard Stanley Cup hype-induced testimonial, it is becoming a widely-shared belief.

There is a former NHL defenceman who is bound for the Hall of Fame who says that the three Norris Trophy candidates this year - Raymond Bourque, Al MacInnis, and Scott Stevens - could pool their skills and the composite wouldn't be as good as Brian Leetch.

No one on Quinn's team has been quite that complimentary, but so far in this Stanley Cup final, Leetch, who has eight screws in his left ankle and six in his right, has put them all to the Canucks.

The 26-year-old navy brat born in Corpus Christi, Tex., scored two goals in the Rangers 5-1 victory in Game 3, and has three goals and two assists in the final already, but what's really stunned those observers who had come to think of Brian Leetch as a talented, injury-prone, one-way player, is the tenacity of his defence.

The Edmonton Oilers had a talented, one-way player named Paul Coffey who we dared to mention in the same breath as Bobby Orr simply because he was on his way to passing Orr as the highest-scoring defenceman in the history of the game.

But the Rangers who knew Coffey best - Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Kevin Lowe - say Leetch is better.

"I've never seen a defenceman move on his feet the way he does," said Anderson, whose own skating stride has been the subject of instructional videos. "Coffey's more a glider and a power strider. Brian can change direction like Bure, Fedorov and Kovalev. He can turn on a dime and go in the other direction."

"Leetchie is dominating games the way the greats have done," said Messier.

"Coff had the great straight-ahead, blow-you-away speed," said Lowe. "Leetchie's a little more manoeuvrable. Coff would snap that great long pass to spring somebody or stand at the blue-line and flick a hard, accurate pass to Gretz at the corner of the net . . . but Leetch is just liable to beat three or four guys and then lay a pass right on the tape to somebody on the other side of the ice."

Luba, Frank. The Province; Vancouver, B.C. [Vancouver, B.C]. 06 June 1994: A40.

Everyone in hockey knows Brian Leetch can score.

But the Stanley Cup spotlight has revealed that the New York Rangers star who moonlights as an offensive threat is also outstanding at his day job -- playing defence.

Sure, the Broadway blueliner is tied for the playoff scoring lead with Toronto centre Doug Gilmour (both have 28 points) and he's set a flock of club post-season scoring records. But he's also leading in plus-minus (plus-23) and has defensively surprised the Rangers' Cup opposition, the Canucks.

"We're aware of his offensive skills because he's kept scoring and his numbers certainly prove it, but he's clearly much better at reading the play and defending than I expected him to be," Canucks head coach and general manager Pat Quinn said of Leetch.

"He breaks up a lot of plays and steers it back the other way very, very quickly -- as quickly as I've ever seen a defenceman do it," added Quinn.

Pap, Elliott. The Vancouver Sun; Vancouver, B.C. [Vancouver, B.C]. 09 June 1994: D1.

The Vancouver Canucks' game plan was to get physical with Brian Leetch.

Throw the puck in his corner, bump the New York Ranger marvel at every opportunity and try to grind him down. Alas, the Canucks are discovering you can't hit what you can't catch.

"He has such tremendous speed and if you're not watching him the whole time, he'll blow by you and all of a sudden he's in the play,'' Canuck centre John McIntyre said Wednesday, 24 hours after he became another Leetch victim on New York's first goal in the 4-2 Ranger win Tuesday.

"What we have to do with him is what we've done with Mark Messier, or Doug Gilmour in the other series, and that is to make sure we get a stick on him. Because he's a defenceman, you're not always facing him or swinging with him and then he sneaks up behind you. We'll have to make sure we have eyes in the back of our heads and help each other out.''

Leetch's sublime four-point performance was still the hot topic Wednesday as the teams winged their way here for Game 5 tonight. The Rangers, of course, will be looking to polish off the Canucks and win their first Stanley Cup since 1940. If they do, Leetch will likely be the toast of the ticker-tape parade.

"Leetch is making big play after big play and we haven't been able to keep him off the board,'' acknowledged Canuck boss Pat Quinn. ``Right from day one, we wanted the puck in his corner and wanted him to handle it as much as possible. We wanted to have some contact with him if nothing else but to tire him out. But it seems he's been indefatigable and he's risen to the occasion.

"He's been their best player by a big margin.''

McDONALD, ARCHIE. The Vancouver Sun; Vancouver, B.C. [Vancouver, B.C]. 15 June 1994: D2.

Leetch, who was born in Texas but grew up in hockey-happy New England, was selected by a panel of hockey writers. It was an easy decision.

He scored the Rangers' first goal Tuesday night and led all scorers in the playoffs with 11 goals and 23 assists. His 34 points are second in playoff history to the 37 accumulated by Paul Coffey of Edmonton Oilers in 1985.

His most amazing statistic, however, is that he was on the ice for 61 of the 81 goals the Rangers scored in the playoffs, including all three markers last night.

...The Canucks appeared to be getting to him when they won Games 5 and 6, but he turned in a solid performance in Game 7 and was notably effective when matched against the Canucks' quicksilver Pavel Bure.

"You need players of that calibre to make a difference, and he made a big difference,'' said Rangers' coach Mike Keenan.

Unlike the Canucks whose defencemen received relatively equal playing time, Leetch was the wheel horse for the Rangers. ``His stamina was amazing,'' said Keenan. ``In one overtime game he played 52 minutes.''

"He's the best two-way defenceman in the NHL today,'' said teammate Adam Graves. ``He threw some of the best hip checks I've ever seen. He's quiet, but he works very hard. He's probably the best-conditioned athlete on the team.''

New York Times, Feb 26, 1996

Coach Colin Campbell of the Rangers does not use the word superstar frivolously. That is why he calls defenseman Brian Leetch a near superstar. But Campbell is clearly convinced that Leetch can supplant Boston's Ray Bourque as the National Hockey League's next great defenseman.

"I think Brian Leetch can grab the torch," the coach said. "In my opinion, he is the premier defenseman in the league. Among his great strengths is his recovery rate after shifts and his ability to play a lot of hockey and thrive on it."

...And he is among New York's most effective penalty killers.

There is only one thing left on Campbell's wish list when it comes to Leetch: consistency.

"He did things that we needed him to do," Campbell said. "The down low, the hard, the penalty kills, the battling. And it all came against a hard, tough team."

John Dellapina, Daily News, Sep 29, 1996

“I realize Wayne and Mark are great players and very popular guys,” coach Colin Campbell said. “But with all due respect, we have two guys who were the two best players in the World Cup and it was not Wayne and Mark. It was Brian Leetch and Mike Richter.”

One is arguably the best defenseman in the game—if not then indisputably among the top three. The other has few peers when it comes to big-time, big-game goaltending. They are the motor and anchor of a Rangers team that won’t have had a successful voyage this season unless it ferries home a Stanley Cup.

Jim Matheson, The Province, Oct 19, 1997

He had 34 points to lead everybody in the '94 playoffs. He's got 650 points in 649 career games and another 89 in 77 playoff games. Nobody plays defence any better and today he's wearing the captain's C that Messier left behind when he joined the Vancouver Canucks.

Teammates say New York Rangers new captain Brian Leetch may be quiet, but he is one of their biggest leaders on the ice. Leetch has picked up two Norris trophies in his career. behind when he joined the Vancouver Canucks.

"He's a great leader," said teammate Wayne Gretzky. "Mark used to tell me before I came to New York that Brian was one of the greatest players he'd ever played with because of his talent and because he plays hard. "Brian has a tremendous amount of respect in the locker room as a player and a per son. You don't need to be a rah-rah guy to be a leader. A lot of times guys get the C and they do change, but he's the same guy."

The Journal-News, Oct 27, 1998

The Rangers insist there is no break and that Leetch will play tonight against Buffalo. However, he has not yet had X-rays taken.

But this is Brian Leetch, who played the last two rounds of the 1994 playoffs with one functioning shoulder (and won the Conn Smythe Trophy), played the 1996 playoffs with a foot that was broken, played the last part of the '97 playoffs and most of the 1997-98 season with damaged cartilage in his wrist, and has played before with a broken bone in his foot and a broken finger.

Stevens Point Journal, Dec 12, 1998

But Graves disputes the idea that Leetch's game is skating downhill. He feels that the numbers are not the best way to gauge what Leetch, the team's captain, means to the Rangers.

"When you talk about Brian Leetch, you talk about the cornerstone of the organization," Graves says. "He is a leader in every aspect of the game. You are talking about a guy who single-handedly can control the pace of the game, control every aspect of the game." Rangers coach John Muckler also feels that Leetch has not lost anything from his best years.

"He is every bit as good as a player as he was before," Muckler says of Leetch, a two-time U.S. Olympian. "He is a horse: He plays the most minutes on the team. He is a great leader; he's a winner. He competes every night, regardless of how the game is going. "I don't know what we would do without him. Brian Leetch is Brian Leetch, and that's pretty good."

The Record, Dec 16, 1998

In the past, shutting down the opposition's top offensive line was somebody else's responsibility. Now, when Eric Lindros and Jaromir Jagr jump on the ice, so does Leetch. That additional duty, along with his usual power-play and penalty-killing shifts, has increased his ice time to more than 30 minutes per game.

Not surprisingly, he's risen to the challenge. The same natural talent that's enabled him to become the Rangers' all-time leading scorer among defensemen also helps him match the speed of opposing forwards when they move in on the rush, push them wide and away from the net and, occasionally, rub them out with a crunching body check.

"It's nothing really new," said Leetch's defensive partner, Ulf Samuelsson. "I've always known how he's improved his defensive game since coming into the league. I remember watching him when he first broke into the league the first couple of years. He always was blessed with the offensive skills, but he quickly developed a strong defensive game, too. He plays as hard as anyone out there and he's just a perfect match against the good players he's playing against."

As Niedermayer is now getting noticed for his offensive accomplishments, Leetch is finally receiving the recognition he deserves for his defensive play. That may sound strange considering Leetch was twice voted the best defenseman in the league, but the Norris has become an award about points, and Leetch's diligence in his own end has often been overlooked.

"I always thought Brian was a good defensive player," Rangers coach John Muckler said. "I didn't see anything wrong with his defense. I think that's just a handle that somebody put on him, that he couldn't play defense. I never believed that. I believed he was the complete package and he's showing that he is."

But Muckler, who became the Rangers coach in February, did ask Leetch to change one part of his game. Leetch was often the one leading the rush, trying desperately to make something happen. One of the few strong skaters on what had become a slow team, Leetch felt it was his responsibility.

More often than not, though, it resulted in an odd-man rush for the other team.

So, Muckler requested Leetch stay back more and join the rush late, as he did when Mark Messier was on the team. It has prevented him from getting out of position defensively, and helped him handle the additional ice time. "It's easy," Leetch said. "You just headman the puck, get it up and wait for your opportunity. Plus, Muckler gives me as much ice, more ice really, than any coach I've been with before. I'm playing 30 minutes a game, so you have more energy to play in your own end and you still play the power play and the penalty kill and you're not as winded from getting caught up ice and having to backcheck and getting caught in between."

Meriden, CT Record-Journal, Nov 19, 2000

Because if the Norris awarded annually to the league' s top defcnseman were to be handed out today Brian Leetch would be a lock to win it for the third time in his career.

“He’s at the top of his game right now,” Mark Messier said after Leetch was named the second star in a dominant if losing effort in Vancouver on Friday night. “

"He's as good a player as there is in the game right now” Messier continued after the Rangers’ 4-3 : defeat. “He’s doing everything for us. Tonight we probably taxed him too much by taking too many penalties. But that’s how good he is: He can step in and play an unbelievable game defensively like he did tonight He is just unreal right now.”

Leetch played a game-high 31 minutes 33 seconds Friday night, an unheard of 13 minutes in the second period alone including the last 5:29. Consider that a normal shift is around 45 seconds to a minute! A period is 20 minutes. A game is 60 minutes. Leetch leads the league in ice time this season with an average of 30:07 a game. At 32 where other athletes are nearing the end of their prime, Leetch seems to have gained a step in the last few seasons. He is so fluid this season and the confidence is back in his shot. He is also hitting people all over the ice.

...Leetch moves around everyone else with ease. Friday night, on a one-on-one rush, he turned thte 24-year-old Jovanovski around like a puppet on a string with an outside-in deke. And Jovanovski is one of the top five or six defensemen in the league right now.

Scott Burnside, National Post, Nov 21, 2000

It is pretty much unanimous. Brian Leetch is Superman.

What remains to be seen is whether the pace the Rangers defenceman is setting at the quarter-pole will grind him into a meek Jimmy Olson by the time the playoffs roll around.

Preparing for their 20th game tonight against the Maple Leafs, Leetch has teammates and opponennts gaping at his play at both ends of the ice.

…He has already equalled his offensive numbers of last season and leads all NHL defenseman with 26 points, seven points more than Rob Blake. He is also blocking shots, killing penalties and leading the rush.

“That’s as good as a I’ve seen a player play in a long time,” Low said yesterday of the 32-year-old defenceman. “He’s not doing easy work. This is a grind and he’s handling it unbelieveably.”

Leetch is also leading the NHL in ice-time, averaging more than 30 minutes a game, a pace both the player and his coach acknowledged would be tough to keep up over 82 gamees.

National Post, March 5, 2004

Brian Leetch has always been a blur. Whether jumping into the rush, or wheeling out from behind his own net to lead one, the defenceman has been flashing past opposing players for almost two decades, and every man he has beaten along the way has seen the exact same sight: the New York Rangers' lettering on the front of Leetch's sweater as he approaches, and the No. 2 on his back as he passes by.

"When we went into Madison Square Garden, or they came to wherever I was playing, our rule of thumb on the right side anyways was to be a stick's length away from Brian Leetch because he goes everywhere," Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tom Fitzgerald said. "You usually don't see a man-on-man situation, but the team's I played for - really that was the only way you could cover him because he finds the holes and he finds open space."

New York Daily News, Nov 9, 2009

"It's perfect Brian to me has been underrated in a lot of ways for a long time, said Mike Richter, Leetch 's longtime Rangers and Team USA teammate who is in Toronto for the ceremony. 'You just started to expect great things from him every single night out, and he would still manage to deliver them. And I really think defensively Brian was far better than people ever gave him credit for. When you see the ice the way a (Wayne) Gretzky does, or a Brian Leetch does, you can be just a step ahead of everything.

"He'd put himself at risk by making those rushes that he did, but somehow he'd always be the guy to cover up. I remember times when he would lead a rush, and then if it wouldn't go right and the other team would get a 2 -on-1 out of it, he'd be the lone defenseman back. And you're thinking, 'How does he do this?"

Statistical Note

Brian Leetch was noted for being a great performer on the power play and penalty kill. Here are some statistical metrics from his prime, along with comparable defencemen.

Power Play Prime Performance

In his prime, Leetch was behind only Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Al MacInnis as a point producer on the power play. His teams' PP were 19% above average despite not being as stacked as Orr's Bruins, Potvin's Isles or Hedman's Lightning.

PLAYER	Start	End	Pos	GP	$PPG/82	$PPP/82	$PP%	$TmPP+
Bobby Orr	1969​	1975​	D	514​	12​	48​	97%​	1.51​
Denis Potvin	1975​	1981​	D	495​	11​	43​	99%​	1.22​
Al MacInnis	1988​	1994​	D	513​	9​	41​	88%​	1.26​
Brian Leetch	1991​	1997​	D	492​	8​	38​	96%​	1.19​
Sergei Gonchar	2002​	2010​	D	551​	8​	36​	94%​	1.10​
Paul Coffey	1989​	1995​	D	500​	6​	35​	85%​	1.22​
Erik Karlsson	2012​	2018​	D	492​	5​	34​	81%​	0.93​
Victor Hedman	2016​	2022​	D	506​	4​	34​	67%​	1.30​
Chris Pronger	1999​	2007​	D	506​	8​	34​	82%​	1.19​
John Carlson	2016​	2022​	D	489​	5​	34​	77%​	1.05​
Phil Housley	1990​	1996​	D	453​	7​	34​	91%​	1.10​
Paul Coffey	1982​	1988​	D	504​	10​	34​	85%​	1.11​
Ray Bourque	1987​	1994​	D	598​	6​	33​	90%​	1.06​

Penalty Kill Prime Performance

Leetch's penalty kill metrics in his prime aren't at the level of the very best PKers, but they're in the territory of strong first unit PKers. He was on the ice for an estimated 55% of the PK for units that were 7% above average.

Player	Start	End	Pos	GP	SH%	$TmSH+
Nicklas Lidstrom	2003​	2010​	D	559​	57%​	0.84​
Adam Foote	1998​	2004​	D	441​	57%​	1.00​
Chris Phillips	2006​	2012​	D	558​	57%​	0.87​
Dan Hamhuis	2006​	2013​	D	596​	57%​	0.88​
Rod Langway	1983​	1989​	D	534​	57%​	0.82​
Ryan McDonagh	2012​	2019​	D	572​	56%​	0.83​
Brian Leetch	1991​	1997​	D	492​	55%​	0.93​
Robyn Regehr	2004​	2011​	D	545​	53%​	0.97​
Kevin Hatcher	1991​	1997​	D	514​	53%​	0.89​
Teppo Numminen	1996​	2002​	D	547​	52%​	0.93​
Rob Blake	1998​	2004​	D	515​	52%​	1.01​
Duncan Keith	2010​	2017​	D	591​	51%​	0.96​
Brooks Orpik	2009​	2015​	D	484​	51%​	0.83​
Jamie Macoun	1987​	1994​	D	543​	51%​	0.97​
Kimmo Timonen	2004​	2011​	D	557​	51%​	0.87​

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[rmartin65]

Lester Patrick (player)

 

[overpass]

Eddie Shore, RD

Awards and Achievements:
2 x Stanley Cup Champion (1929, 1939)

4 x Hart Trophy Winner (1933, 1935, 1936, 1938)

7 x First Team All-Star (1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939)
Second Team All-Star (1934)

WHL First Team All-Star (1926)

2 x GM Voted First Team All-Star (1928, 1929)

Hart voting - 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 1st(1938), 2nd(1931), 3rd(1928), 3rd(1929), 5th(1939)

All-Star voting - 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 1st(1938), 1st(1939), 4th(1934)

Offensive Accomplishments:
Points - 10th(1929), 10th(1933), 13th(1931), 20th(1928)
Goals - 13th(1929), 20th(1931)
Assists - 2nd(1933), 5th(1935), 9th(1931), 12th(1930), 14th(1929), 17th(1928), 17th(1936), 18th(1927)

Points among Defensemen - 1st(1928), 1st(1929), 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 2nd(1927), 2nd(1930), 2nd(1936), 4th(1926), 5th(1939), 6th(1938), 8th(1934)
Goals among Defensemen - 1st(1926), 1st(1928), 1st(1931), 2nd(1927), 2nd(1929), 2nd(1933), 2nd(1935), 3rd(1930), 5th(1932), 5th(2939)
Assists among Defensemen - 1st(1929), 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 2nd(1930), 3rd(1927), 3rd(1928), 3rd(1938), 4th(1939), 5th(1934)

Scoring Percentages:
Points - 127(1929), 127(1935), 125(1933), 124(1931), 100(1927), 100(1928), 100(1930), 100(1932), 100(1936), 88(1926), 77(1938), 69(1939), 53(1934)

Best 6 Seasons: 703
Next 6 Seasons: 534

5-Year Peak: 1931-1935
1st in Points, 117% of King Clancy
2nd in Goals, 89% of King Clancy
1st in Assists, 135% of King Clancy

10-Year Peak: 1930-1939
1st in Points, 131% of King Clancy
2nd in Goals, 96% of King Clancy
1st in Assists, 154% of King Clancy

Shore was soon known to zigzag down the ice on a raid and wind himself around defenders like a piece of tape. He could also fly down the ice as straight and as fleet of foot as an arrow shot from a powerful longbow. Shore was there and back, covering more territory in one period than most forwards did in an entire game, even though he was a defenseman. Shore's body had now filled out to make him bulky as well as muscular, and his hockey skills had become noticeably more sophisticated. Shore blocked well, he seldom lost possession of the puck, and he passed with good judgement... Shore's defensive ability, combined with his never-tiring aggressiveness, caused him to be picked by the sports press as one of the stars of the WHL. Under no circumstances did Shore ever wilt, and he withstood checks that sent him clear over his war club and into the boards. He survived sticks wrapped around his head that laid him out flat, and which would have killed a lesser man.

....

Breaking up an attack, the galloping cowboy would circle his own net with the puck and then thunder off for the other end of the rink. Rounding check after check dished out by opponents, and leaving them all in turn as if they were standing still, Shore would split the defensive combination wide open and then, racing through the gap, and without slowing up for an instant, would fake the opposing goaltender out of position, smash the puck down the ally, and score.

....

Capable of superhuman feats of rushing and scoring, Shore was all too human when it came to making blunders. Two mistakes that he commonly made were being caught up ice when the play had reversed direction, and being confined to the cooler because of some pointless penalty that he had taken.

....

With an uncanny ability to perfectly place the puck on the tape of other Bruins' sticks, Shore was giving his colleagues every opportunity for easy goals.

....

Shore remained the fastest-breaking defenseman in the league, and he continued to show off every trick that he had. He could rag the puck to his heart's content at center ice, he could effortlessly pivot on a dime, he could reverse direction to avoid opponents and then reverse himself again to avoid another, he could fake this way and that, he could swerve around players just when contact seemed imminent, he could pass and shoot with pinpoint accuracy, and he could fight.

....

Eddie was soon leading power plays, knocking down rivals, and checking like a wildcat on skates. He was forever floating in on the play, intercepting passes, smothering shots, icing the disc, and hitting hard.

Absolutely fearless, totally talented and dedicated to his profession like nobody before or since, Shore was a defenseman who was so extraordinary a skater than he instinctively became an intrepid puck-carrier and thus added a new dimension to the game - defender-on-the-attack - decades before another Boston skater, Bobby Orr, would copy his style.

During an era when hockey featured more woodchopping than the Canadian northwoods, Shore was virtually indestructible. Opponents understood that if they could neutralize the Boston Bruins' defenseman the game would be theirs...

....

Shore's versatility as a rushing defenseman with the Boston Bruins has beclouded his crunching play behind the blue line.

Through tireless practice and study, Shore perfected a peculiar crouch in his skating that made him almost impossible to knock down.

....

Instead of shooting at the goal, he would aim a few feet wide and charge past a defender to pick up the puck on the carom. The best offensive defenseman of his era, Shore was even better on defense and he treated every incursion into the Bruin zone as an enemy invasion.

An imposing blend of raw talent and intimidation, defenseman Eddie Shore was one of the greatest ever to play his position in any era and his end-to-end rushes became every bit as famous as his crushing bodychecks and nasty disposition.

Shore joined the Boston Bruins in 1926 and went on to personify the most vigorous aspects of the rough and fast game of hockey. His explosive temper was only matched by his incredible talent. While setting up offensive plays he would literally knock down any opponent that got in his way. This of course led to many hard fought and legendary battles.

....

Absolutely fearless and unbelievably talented, Shore was indestructible. Perhaps the best way to describe him would be to say he was an early day Gordie Howe who played on the blueline. It certainly wouldn't be a stretch to say that. No one who hit as hard as he did was ever hit harder - or more often - in return.

....

Shore's style was all his own. Pugnacious and downright mean, he was also very skilled...

Almost as amazing was his ability to play the entire game! He would average 50-55 minutes a contest. Well, at least in games when he wasn't spending that much time in the penalty box!
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He was a powerhouse of a hockey player. He was a hard man to hit because he had that weaving style of skating.

Shore was a very colorful hockey player who put everything he had into the game but also used every subterfuge he could to win the sympathy of the crowd. He'd fake getting hurt and would lay down and roll around in agony. Then he'd get up and be twice as good as ever. To me, Shore was a country boy who had made good; he was a good skater and puck-carrier but he wasn't an exceptional defenseman like his teammate Lionel Hitchman who was better because he could get them coming and going. But there wasn't another character like Shore.

....

One night we had a game and Shore came skating out on the ice - wearing a bathrobe. It was crazy and I think Art Ross encouraged him; of course, Art himself was quite a character.
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Shore was the best of all. He was a lot like Ted Williams in that he could help a teammate if you wanted help. Eddie was very fair about things; if you asked him how to play this or that man, he'd tell you. He didn't withhold advice. Personally, I liked Shore. He was the greatest hockey player I ever saw. He could skate like this fellow Bobby Orr does today and he could shoot. And he was a great defenseman who could hit. He was a dynamic person who could really lift a team.

....

I know some people have said Shore was a vicious player but I don't believe they saw him play too much. Let's say he was a tough, rough player who could give it out as well as take it without complaining.
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I always describe Shore as both the Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb of hockey. He had skill and a charisma that made you never want to take your eyes off him, and also had a competitive ferocity that created this aura of imminent dread and contention that we always present. You always had the sense that something was going to happen when he was on the ice.

....

When the best player is also the best fighter and the best warrior on the team, that's an unusual combination.

Like a car with high-beams on. He'd take the puck from one end of the ice to the other, and they'd all spread out as if he were some bowling ball.

....

Most people of the day would skate down the side, but Eddie always went down the middle of the ice. People bounced off him like tenpins.

….

He was bruised, head to toe, after every game. Everybody was after him. They figured if they could stop Eddie Shore, they could stop the Bruins.
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Shore's abnormally long stride built up a momentum that carried him down the ice with frightening speed. His chilling disregard for personal safety enabled him to maintain the peak speed to a point well beyond the limit dared by lesser men. The result was that he came up consistently with plays that no other stars were lucky to duplicate once in a lifetime.

....

With his head lowered like a vengeful bull, he'd smash through the defense line as though it were so much paper, retrieve the puck as it came off the boards, and pass it back to his forwards.
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Eddie Shore, who was honored by the coaches by being selected to the first team in 1932-33 and to the second team last year, regains his position as top man among the defensemen by being chosen by eight coaches for the first team and by the ninth one for the second.

The dynamic wheat farmer from Saskatchewan is considered the greatest defenseman in hockey today by the majority of the managers, and some even claim he is the greatest backline performer of all time. Shore’s value to his team is well proved by the fact that when he was not up to his regular form after suffering a nervous breakdown in 1933-34, his club went all tu pieces, failing to finish in the play-offs. This season, however, with Shore blocking better than ever and acting as the spearhead of many attacks, his inspired performance has been the greatest factor in Boston’s much improved play.

The only other perfect score registered was polled by Eddie Shore, who has been one of the outstanding defensemen in the game for the past decade. Last season Shore polled twenty-six out of a possible twenty-seven points, this season he registered twenty-four.

....

If you have ever seen the Shore-Siebert defense in action you know what we mean. This bone-crushing pair of guards love the rough going. They are not only willing to hand it out, but take their share of the hard knocks and come back for more. They do not devote their time to playing rough hockey, but they are so robust that when they bodycheck an opponent they not only take him out of that particular play but usually weaken him for the rest of the period, if not for the entire evening.

Shore is a brilliant leader. As captain of the Boston club he is a constant source of inspiration to his men. He is absolutely tireless and frequently plays forty-five and fifty minutes a game. There are few better play-makers in hockey than Shore. He sets up scoring plays for his forwards in the same faultless style as the better centre-ice players.

“Iodine” Eddie Shore, although no longer the dashing figure on the attack of a few years ago, is still one of the best defensemen in the game. The Bruin veteran can still do everything anyone else can do on the ice. Concentrating chiefly on defensive tactics this season, Eddie no longer bears the title of the “Puck Prima Donna.” There was a time when Eddie would-crash heavily into a speeding forward, seize the puck himself and flash up the ice, his legs pumping at breakneck, speed. He usually got through for a shot, but when he was heavily dumped he invariably went into a “Dying Swan” routine which lacked only Saint-Saen’s music to make you think you were witnessing Sonja Menie give one of her inimitable performances. Although Shore has lost some of his “zip” he still brings the crowd to its feet when he goes hustling up the ice.

Some newspaper quotes from Shore's playing days:

Montreal Herald, Nov 24, 1929, Elmer Ferguson

Shore, already acknowledged the greatest hockey player in the game, set the seal on his courage by playing the last period with blood streaming down his face from a deep gash over his left eye, carrying on until he was at last literally smashed down when the brawny Babe Siebert high-sticked him across the face in the final minute.

Montreal Gazette - March 31, 1931 - Game 4 - Bruins win 3-1

For the winners the rugged figure of Eddie Shore stood out like a beacon. Already considered one of the greatest defencemen in the game’s history, Shore last night proved once more his rugged defensive ability and his tank-like attack to lead his team to victory. Dealing out stunning checks in the first period, especially to Lepine, Shore was the keystone of the Bruins in turning back the first Canadien threats.

It was too much Shore as far as Canadiens went last night. The great Boston player was brilliant on the defence and his stiff and fearless body checking played havoc with the Canadien forwards. On the offensive too he wielded his usual power, his goal capping the most effective performance of any player on the Boston team.

The Daily Advocate – Mar 18, 1933

Shore is equally valuable on offense and defense, which probably cannot be said of any other player in the league.

Boston Globe March 25, 1936 – Bruins win 3-0, game 1

Next to O’Neil, the standout player on the ice was, of course, Eddie Shore. He played himself practically senseless in one of his greatest displays. He rushed comparatively little except when the Leafs were shorthanded, when he led the Boston gang plays with headlong, irresistible energy. He passed to O’Neil for the opening score and made the second goal himself. And also he was superb on defense—as great as he ever has been.

Boston Globe, Dec 24, 1937 - Lionel Hitchman:

"Everyone these days is saying that Eddie has slowed up or slipped, but as far as I’m concerned, I think Eddie is a far better player this minute than he was when we played the points together back in ’29 and ’30—the time that you literary birds refer to as the Golden Era of Boston hockey.

Why do I think Shore is better now than then? Well, I, for one, don’t think he’s slowed up appreciably, and he’s a much better team man now than he was eight years ago. Shore nowadays plays a type of defensive game that no man has ever attempted before and that I don’t think any man except Shore could get away with. If you spend the night some time watching nobody but Eddie, you’ll see that his defensive zone covers something like half the rink.

Boston Globe - March 22, 1939 – Game 1 – Boston wins
The entire Bruins squad played fine hockey, but there were two who particularly stood out besides Brimsek…They were Eddie Shore and Jack Crawford…Shore, as usual, was Boston’s second goal tender as well as performing in impassable fashion on defense…

New York Daily News – April 4, 1939
Lester Patrick named Eddie Shore as the standout player of the series. “How that old guy kept up his marvelous play is beyond me.”

Newspaper quotes from after his retirement

The Windsor Star, Feb 21, 1947 (Shore inducted into the Hockey Hall Fame)

Whole articles could be written about each of the new hockey immortals, and have been done on several of them. But we'll just take one of the list now. That's Eddie Shore, the most applauded and most booed player in N.H.L. history. Eddie dominated hockey's big time in his playing days as much as ever Babe Ruth dominated baseball...He's 42 now, practically bald, and crammed with hockey know-how.

The Province, Feb 25, 1947

Red Dutton, former manager of the New York Americans and ex-president of the NHL said of Shore: "The only way to explain Eddie Shore is that he is in the category of a Jekyll-and-Hyde--brutal and murderously unrelenting in action but soft-spoken and easy-going off the ice. A body-check by Shore left no ill feeling. As soon as you were off the ice, Eddie would ask you if he had hurt you and then he would apologize for hitting you so hard."

The Montreal Star, Jan 27, 1950, Baz O'Meara

Who was the best player in all hockey history? Frank and Lester Patrick will tell you it was "Cyclone" Taylor. Tommy Gorman will plump for Frank Nighbor. Connie Smythe would no doubt vote for Syl Apps, while Frank Selke would rate King Clancy at or near the top of his list.

Dick Irvin would vary the discussion with praise for George Hay, the Regina and Portland flash. Old coast fans would be inclined to put Mickey Mackay as top man on their totem pole. Canadien fans would split their votes for Morenz or the Rocket, while, of course, there would be a rousing show of hands all round indicating that Eddie Shore was the class of the pack.

North Bay Nugget, Jan 8, 1951, Greatest of the Half Century - the hockey award

Generally accepted as the greatest defenceman in the game, Eddie Shore can very well be considered as the greatest hockey player -- period! Never a gentleman to the point of losing the puck or a goal, Shore nevertheless brought a tremendous amount of colour and talent to the game.

Chicago Tribune, March 4, 1970, Ted Damata

He has been described as a tyrant, a dictator, a rough, hard man, overpowering, self-willed, and a total social misfit. But next Monday, they will honor Eddie Shore, a Hall of Famer and the greatest defenseman who ever wore ice skates.

...And it is a tribute to Bobby Orr, Boston's current record-shattering defenseman, that they compare him to Eddie Shore.

Calgary Herald, Jan 10 1979, Jim Coleman

In the much-earlier era of hockey which I witnessed, meteoric Howie Morenz was the superstar of all superstar forwards and Eddie Shore unquestionably was the greatest defenseman. Morenz and Shore would have been equally dominant if they had been born into the present-day era. Both were equipped with the speed, strength, and magnificent hockey skills which are timeless.

Judged strictly on defensive abilities, Bobby Orr wasn't in Shore's class. Shore was the toughest, meanest, most durable son of a buck ever to come down the pike. He was adored by the hockey fans in Boston and he was hated in every other NHL city which the Bruins visited.

North Bay Nugget, March 26, 1985, Britt Jessup

Eddie Shore was one of the earliest of the rushing defencemen. He had tremendous stamina, excelled in the hard hitting, and was a fine playmaker. He was all over the ice, yet seldom out of position. He knew the game throroughly.

The Boston Globe, Dec 26, 1999, ranks Eddie Shore #6 in their top 100 countdown of New England sports figures of the century, behind only Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr, Larry Bird, and Rocky Marciano (and one spot ahead of Ray Bourque.)

As a player, he was both great and entertaining. Many an old-timer swears that the greatest sight in the history of Boston sport was that of Eddie Shore picking up the puck behind his own net and taking it to the far end of the ice. No one who hit as hard as he did was ever hit harder - or more often - in return. In his heyday, opponents seemed to save all their energy in order to deal with Eddie Shore. "He was bruised, head to toe, after every game," recalls Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt, a four-year teammate. "Everybody was after him. They figured if they could stop Eddie Shore, they could stop the Bruins."

No one ever stopped Eddie Shore. Operating from his customary spot at right defense, he incorporated offense into defense in anticipation of Bobby Orr, and did what he did so well that he was a four-time Hart Trophy (MVP) winner.

...He was Ty Cobb on skates, and hockey has never produced anything remotely like him.

Why didn't Eddie Shore's teams win in the playoffs during his peak years?

Simply put, the Bruins asked him to do too much. Shore was the highest paid player in a league that instituted a salary cap to survive the Great Depression, so Boston decided to count on him to play almost the full game, which allowed them to save money on their substitute defender or defenders. And they also counted on Shore's rushing to cover up their deficiencies at forward.

As a result, Shore's penalties hurt his team more than most because they didn't have a capable substitute to fill in when he was on the penalty bench. And when the playoff games went into multiple overtimes, it took more out of Shore than anyone else, because he covered more ice and played more minutes than anyone else in the league.

Boston Globe, March 22, 1930, after a 105 minute OT Bruins victory over Maroons
It is not known just how much weight the players lost, but it is safe to say it footed up many pounds, if one is to judge by reports circulated. Dunc Munro, manager of the Maroons, lost 7 ½ pounds and Nels Stewart dropped six, it is said. It would have been interesting to have placed the men on the scales, especially Eddie Shore, who played almost the entire game for the Bruins.

Montreal Star, Apr 4, 1930
Their big star, Shore, played a remarkable game in many ways. He fought hard and carried a great burden. His confrere, Hitchman, tired badly and lacked his old defensive qualities. A double burden was thrust on the Edmonton Express and he tried hard to hold up the rearguard, and one of his expeditions at the start of the game saw his caught up the ice when McCaffrey scored the first goal.

Montreal Star, March 27, 1931
For Bruins, Shore played a full 60 minutes, and has yet to be relieved in the series, while Hitchman was highly effective, and Thompson sensational as usual.

Montreal Star - March 30, 1931
Eddie Shore is the most valuable man on the Boston defence. Three goals sifted in while he has been on the bench.

Montreal Star, April 1, 1931
Eddie Shore, though he must be tired from his tremendous efforts in four games, will again be the mainspring around which Bruins’ attack revolve.

Playing a full game at defence wasn’t unique to Shore in this era. For example, Marty Burke played a full 77 minutes on defence in one of the 1931 games when Sylvio Mantha was injured. What was unique to Shore was that the Bruins relied on him to drive the attack while being their only right defenceman. And, judging by the number of goals scored while Shore was in the penalty box, neither Hitchman or Owen was able to adequately replace him at RD.


I don't have any quotes about Shore's minutes from 1933, but Victor O. Jones of the Boston Globe wrote a column remembering the 164 minute OT game 5, and wrote that Shore had played virtually without relief.

Boston Globe, March 25, 1949 - Victor O. Jones remembers the Bruins loss in 1933

I can see that goal even now. Eddie Shore, who had played virtually without relief all night, broke up a Toronto play near the Boston goal. Ordinarily, he would have rushed right back, for in those days he was the game’s greatest rushing defenceman. But he was too tired and a rush didn’t figure to pay off anyway, because the Leafs’ defence was in position.

Jones also commented on Shore’s effect on his defence partner.

(Alex) Smith was the Cinderella man of that hockey season. He’d spent most of his career as a not-too-brilliant defenseman on weak Ottawa teams which were already having financial troubles…Alex was paired with Shore and, like many another man in that position, suddenly caught fire and became almost a star.


In the 1935 and 1936 playoffs, the contrast between Boston and Toronto was striking. Boston played Shore into the ground, especially in OT games, while Toronto used four defencemen. The Boston Globe also recalls that fatigue on Shore’s part was a key factor in the Bruins 1933 loss.

Boston Globe, March 25, 1935
Save for its lack of defense replacements, Boston seems well able to take care of itself in such a series, and the Bruins Saturday handed out as much as they received.

This brings us, as usual, to Eddie Shore. Those who saw him play something like 53 of the first 60 minutes and then go through the entire 33 minutes of overtime without any relief, are wondering how any man can stand a schedule like that over a five-game stretch. Except that Babe Siebert isn’t quite as important to the Boston cause, the same applies to him. Toronto is better off in having four evenly matched defensemen.

Shore, of course, is a super-athlete and most of the rules which apply to ordinary mortals don’t apply to him. He thinks nothing of putting in hard physical labor for 14 and 16 hours a day on his wheat farm, and long years of this have given him a constitution which defies fatigue. Nevertheless, it is worth recalling that fatigue on Shore’s part ultimately cost the Bruins their playoff with Toronto two years ago—when, after a magnificent display throughout that killing series, Eddie was so tired that he made the careless pass which Andy Blair intercepted and which ultimately gave Ken Doraty his chance to end that 164 min, 46 sec final game.


Boston Globe, March 27, 1935, Game 2, Leafs win 2-0.
Dick Irvin, the Toronto coach, declared that the Bruins tired in the third period. “Shore and Seibert did very well to stand as much punishment as they did,” declared Dick, “and it was remarkable that they didn’t falter any earlier.”

Boston Globe, March 28, 1935
All year Boston has been lucky in avoiding injuries in key spots. There is no use talking about it: the Bruins this year didn’t have the necessary reserve power. They were built, essentially, on Tiny Thompson’s marvelous goal-tending, on Eddie Shore’s super play, and on the durability of Dit Clapper and Babe Siebert.

Thompson is still in there kicking ‘em out despite five stitches in his face. Shore is still in there, but he has a bad knee and is beginning to show the strain of his long campaigning. Siebert’s foot is improving, but he, too, is worn down.

Boston Globe, March 29, 1935
Game 3, Toronto wins 3-0 - Shut out for the second successive time, their best men crippled with serious injuries and all their punch left behind them in the strenuous regular season, the Bruins tonight are teetering on the brink of elimination.

Shore and Siebert looked fagged out and toward the end Frank Patrick was throwing on whatever effectives he could find on the Boston bench.

Toronto’s second and third goals were scored against Boston’s second-string defense, a spot the team has been weak in all year. But it was either use them or wear Shore and Siebert down into utter uselessness.

1935-36 - Once again the Bruins lost to the Leafs in the playoffs. This is the season where Shore was goaded into losing his temper, threw the puck, and was whistled for a ten minute misconduct. The Leafs scored 4 goals in those 10 minutes where Shore was off the ice to take the two-game total goals series. Their first 2 goals were also scored while Shore was in the penalty box, on the same minor penalty. Yes, it was a bad look for Shore to take himself out of the game for 10 minutes, but his team showed themselves completely incapable of playing without him.

Boston Globe, March 24, 1936 (before Leafs series)
Toronto, most people would agree, has better balance than the Bruins. But the Hub outfit has a handful of super stars and in a short series like this is apt to do as well as anyone.

Boston Globe, March 27, 1936
The backbone of Boston’s great defense, Eddie Shore, was canned for a total of 12 minutes in this period, and at one time sat for almost two minutes in the penalty box flanked by Peggy O’Neil and Bill Cowley as six Leafs blinded the four Boston players left with a barrage of goals. Before Shore got back the damage was irretrievably done.

...The second period, particularly its second half, was one of the most wild-eyed in hockey history, with Referee Cleghorn doing what the Leafs hadn’t been able to do for the whole series, get Shore off the ice for 12 minutes.

…Horner kicked the disc into the net with his skate and the light flashed, signalling a goal. The Bruins, of course, went wild. Thompson rushed out, so did Shore, so did all the other Bruins. They grabbed Cleghorn, begging him to disallow the goal, they skated to referee Bell. They went to Frank Calder who was sitting at rink side. No soap. Mr Cleghorn wouldn’t disallow the goal. Shore, of course, was mad and threw the puck into the crowd. With it he threw the game.

That was a gesture of contempt which, I suppose, merited a 10-minute misconduct penalty. But Cleghorn hadn’t given Clancy and Conacher and the other Leafs and penalties when they all but tore his shirt off protesting earlier decisions.

Of course a substitute was allowed for Shore, if you can conceive of anyone being a competent substitute for Shore.

The 1933, 1935, and 1936 playoffs all featured Shore at his peak, and Boston should have had more success. Instead each time they completely relied on Shore, played him too many minutes, and fell apart when he wasn’t on the ice. All this in contrast to Toronto who had more depth and used it.

The 1933 game in particular has some similarities to the Bruins losing Game 1 in the 1990 finals, which went to triple OT. In that game Boston played Ray Bourque for 58 minutes, over 15 minutes more than any Edmonton player played, which may have affected his play for the rest of the series. Petr Klima came off the bench to score in 1990, much like Ken Doraty coming off the bench to score in 1933.

Taking faceoffs

Eddie Shore took the key faceoffs for his team. Columnist and hockey historian D.A.L. MacDonald wrote his column "Sports on Parade", published in the April 21, 1956 Manitoba Ensign:

"Shore, in a way, was the original "power play" of present-day hockey. He had the power to break through the enemy's defence and carry the puck into the zone. He was always used, let it be remembered, for the face-off near his own or his opponent's net. When canny old manager Art Ross decided that possession of the puck from the faceoff was vital, it was Shore he sent in to get the draw."

 

[overpass]

Ernie "Moose" Johnson, cover point/left defence/left wing

- 5'11, 190 lbs
- Member of the HHOF
- Stanley Cup Champion (1906, 1907, 1908, 1910)
- Stanley Cup Finalist (1916)
- ECAHA 2nd All-Star Team at LW (1907, 1908)
- PCHA 1st All-Star Team at D (1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919)
- PCHA 2nd All-Star Team (1921)
- Named to the 1893-1926 All-Star Team on Defense by historian and author Charles C. Coleman

A long and spectacular career... was the speedy left wing for the Wanderers... In those days there he was described as a six-footer with terrific speed, a bullet shot and indomitable courage... He developed a marvelous poke check and was a very difficult man to get around... developed an extraordinary skill at playing the puck rather than the man, although he was by no means backward with his bodychecking... In his first years in the PCHA he was a hard man to keep in training, and was inclined to draw useless penalties for rough play. However, when he steadied down there was no better defenseman in the estimation of those who saw him perform...He played eleven years in the PCHA, and was chosen as an all-star defenseman ten times. He was never sold or traded, being too valuable an attraction... He earned the nickname "Moose" for the fortitude he displayed in brushing off injuries that would put other players out of action for weeks. During his career he had his nose broken twice, received three bad cuts over his eyes, a piece cut from a thigh, many ankle cuts, and a badly gashed foot. Black eyes, jammed fingers and bruises didn't count. In spite of these injuries, he missed only twelve games in ten years of play... at times he was unpopular for his rough play... He developed the poke check so well to such an art that in his last few years with Victoria, Lester Patrick used him frequently at rover to spearhead the defense. In his final years with Victoria he had regained all his popularity and the fans applauded him everywhere. Near the close of the 1921 season a special Johnson night was held in Victoria. He was presented with a trophy from the PCHA inscribed "To Moose Johnson as a token of appreciation of his brilliant career as the greatest defense player in the PCHA during the past ten years."

A magnificent and extremely popular defenseman for over a decade... certainly not named Moose because of his delicate nature... big, fun-loving, good-natured...

Moose Johnson was a tower of strength for Portland on both the offense and the defense, and it was his work that broke up the concerted attacks of Les Canadiens not once, but almost every time that he dove after the puck.

In the second period Moose Johnson began to show signs of his famous speed, and with ****** as his chief assistant, he made many daring and spectacular raids on the Canadian cage. Although time after time, these two players passed the defensemen of Les Canadiens, their shots to the cage were blocked by Vezina.

Johnson was stopping most of the attacks of Les Canadiens before they got within hailing distance of the Portland goal...

Oregon Daily Journal - Sunday, January 24, 1915

His name is "Moose Johnson", this man pictured below, and when he starts down the ice with the puck you can hear 'em sound the call of the north above the crack of the stick and the clank of the steel skate. The Moose is notable in ice hockey for the longest reach of anybody in the Canadian game, which has taken such a hold in Portland. Besides having the longest arm, the Portland defense man handles the longest stick in the game. It is from three to five inches longer than any other man uses. His stick from handle to heel is five feet one inch, and the extent of reach of the entire club is five feet three inches. His arm is 31 inches in length and by standing straight up and reaching out, allowing for the holding of the stick, the tape credits him with 81 inches. In his natural forward position, he can check nine feet of ice. He uses the push check instead of the hook check in the defensive game. The Moose is 5 feet 11 inches in height and weighs 195 pounds. Backing up his abnormal reach, Johnson is one of the cleverest players in the game, as well as one of the most popular. His middle name is nerve.

Oregon Daily Journal, February 28, 1915, page 18.

Johnson, the big defense man of the Rosebuds, is without equal as a defense player in professional hockey. He has played on the forward line and starred there; but from his arrival on the coast in 1911, he has been used continuously on the defense. Since coming to the western arena of hockey he has been picked for the All-Star team every season, and this year he has kept up his good work, occupying the calcium in most of the games. Johnson is an exceptionally clean player on the defense, and very seldom comes under the ban of the referee. He takes more bumps and comes up for more oftener than any other man playing hockey. This season he has not suffered very much in comparison with other years. This year he has participated in every game, although he has had the following list of injuries: A broken jaw, two fractured ribs, two stitches in right leg, two in the left ankle and a badly bruised thigh muscle. These little accidents did not stop the stalwart defense man. The fans are so used to seeing the "Moose" star that when he plays an ordinary man's game they think he is having an off night.

"Moose", at his worst, is far superior to some defense men in the professional game at their best. The only game in which he did not play last year was caused from a spike from the skates of an opponent which ripped down the front of his shin bone, necessitating 17 stitches to close the gap. He is all grit, and to quit does not exist in his makeup. He specializes in his famous poke check, which breaks up many a combination play. A favorite stunt of his is to get up speed and, when approaching an opponent, slam the puck to the boards and skate around the man and recover it. This is a common trick with hockey players, but the average player plays the puck close. Not so with the "Moose." He has the distance judged to a nicety, and will often shoot the puck against the fence when he is fully 30 feet away. Instead of following the puck, he will continue his course straight down the ice, receiving the puck as it comes back toward the center of the ice. The "Moose", when checking a man, usually skates backwards, meanwhile continually poking at the puck, and the chances are that he will capture it.

Calgary Herald, March 7, 1924

Outstanding Heroes in Canadian Hockey by A.N. "Tony" McKinley

He was then a left winger and so speedily did he wing his way from end to end that he used to be upbraided for throwing the whole line out of kilter. He held down this position on the team from 1905 to 1912, when he was kidnapped by Frank Patrick to help plant the seed of Canada's winter game on the international shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The absence of two fingers on his shooting hand very seriously handicapped him in this department of the game.

...In 1912 he went to the coast where chinooks or rainstorms do not interfere with hockey schedules. He played cover for Westminster, with Lehman, Tobin, Oatman, Ran. MacDonald and Jimmy Gardner, who were the first league champs.

After three years there the team was transferred to Portland, where he played for the next four years. He then joined the Victoria club, where he remained until he retired from the game in 1921.

He had the longest reach of any man in hockey. He used a stick with several inches spliced onto it, making his reach exactly nine feet, which was the distance opponents had to keep away from him if they desired clear sailing.

His great forte on defense was his wonderful poke check which he executed with lightning rapidity. His defensive tactics enabled him to use every inch of his reach when not using every pound of his weight, which happened to be 195.

During his career he got much more of his share of punishment, accidentally or otherwise, but he always "kept smiling."

He lost teeth and had seventeen stitches put in his league. He had his eye knocked out of the socket at Victoria on one occasion, but he had it bandaged up and finished the game after which he spent several weeks in a dark room at the hospital. He had several ribs cracked and when his jaw was smashed while with Portland, he got a head gear made and still kept playing and smiling.

He was invariably selected on all-star teams and has been given some of the most flattering write-ups in east and west that any star could wish for.

Montreal Gazette, Feb 27, 1934

Turning Back Hockey's pages by D.A.L. MacDonald.

The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search

Johnson played left wing and cover point for Wanderers. Jack Marshall who played point behind him consideres Johnson one of the best defencemen of his era. His only equals were Hod Stuart and Harvey Pulford, says Marshall. Big, rangy, and with a tremendous reach, Moose Johnson was particularly gifted for a defence position. "By the time they got around Johnson," explains Marshall, "the rest was easy. They were over somewhere by the boards." The Moose also had a tantalizing habit of "losing" his stick at the feet of the oncoming forward. In 1915?, Frank Calder had a rule put into the N.H.L. boook that if any player threw his stick it was a goal for the opposition. The rule still stands in the book, and although stick-throwing in the major pro circuit has almost died out, Ernie Johnson has left his mark behind him in the National Hockey League.

The Montreal Star, Feb 8, 1938, Baz O'Meara.

When Lester Patrick grows loquacious which he does with startling frequency he likes to hark back to the olden days. You cannot budge his opinion that Moose Johnson was one of the best defencemen of any era, a fit running mate for Hod Stuart who in the Patrick book stands alone.

Talking of Ching Johnson recently he remarked: "I do not think he could play as well as one side of Moose Johnson."

This may have been a slight exaggeration because when Lester waxes eloquent, simile, hyperbole, comparisons and adjectives are mere adjuncts to point a moral as well as adorn a tale.

(discussion of the poke check being a dying art, reference to Frank Nighbor, Jack Walker, and Pit Lepine).

...Which brings us back to Moose Johnson. Because many of the old timers including Alf Smith of the famous Silver Seven will tell you that Johnson had the first real full blown, sweeping poke check, when he operated from the defence.

Those who remember Johnson recall that he was skilful poking the puck away from incoming forwards.

The Victoria Daily Times, 1949

His style of play was spectacular and how the crowd loved to see him make his terrific lunge and hoist players high into the air. There has never been another poke check like his.

...When an opposing attack was developing, the Moose would wiggle around on his skates, figure out the play and as he saw the puck come near to him he would lunge. He seemed to reach half way across the rink. No forward could skate around him and some tried to hurdle him. Nine times out of ten, the Moose would poke the puck away, eliminating the attacker via the aerial route. Then he would spring to his feet and flash down the ice after a goal.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Anatoly Tarasov, Coach

​

We didn't bring over Canadians to teach us the game because we would then just be a copy of the Canadians - and a copy isn't as good as the original. We learned from watching and playing your teams but we've kept some things of our own.

Awards and Achievements

Hockey Hall of Fame (1974)
IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame (1997)

3 x Olympic Gold Medalist (1964, 1968, 1972)

7 x World Championship Gold Medalist (1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971)
3 x World Championship Silver Medalist (1958, 1959, 1972)
World Championship Bronze Medalist (1961)

16 x Soviet League Championship
(1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)




> Building: 1946-1953 & 1957-61 <
​

Tarasov was dismissed from the nationals in 1953 after his training regime left the team demoralized. Arkadi Chernyshov took over and won the World Championships and 1956 Olympics. However, he was then replaced in turn by Tarasov when the Soviets failed to win the 1957 World Championships.

​

The Soviet Union will make its bid for the 1958 World Amateur Hockey title with a completely revamped team, the Soviet weeky reported.

The famous forward line of Vsevolod Bobrov, Victor Shuvalov and Yevgeny Babich was dropped, and Anatoly Tarasov, himself a former member of the team, appointed new senior coach.

...

"We are devoting a great deal of our world championship preparations to preventing our play taking too much of a monotonous tactical pattern," coach Tarasov was quoted as saying.

"We are mastering several variants of attack and defense combinations. Of course, we have no intention of rejecting such a powerful weapon as speed, but for us it will not be and end in itself"
...

Anatoly Tarasov, trainer of both the Moscow army and Russia's national teams, said the Canadians played more as individuals than did the Russians. "The Canadians are magnificent ice hockey players," Tarasov said in an English-language broadcast by Moscow radio. "One cannot help admiring their brilliant technique, their coolness, their tight defense. Our teams have much to learn from them."

"However, we too have our strong side, primarily in speed and teamwork. The Moscow team, quite frankly, has made a poor showing but our rivalry on ice continues. It will be well if our games with Canadians become traditional. We shall always be happy to receive Canadians, the great masters of ice hockey, here in Moscow."

Coach Anatoly Tarasov of the Russian national hockey team was unperturbed last night after his heavily favored skaters had been held to a 5-5 tie in their U.S. debut at Madison Square Garden against the U.S. Nationals.

"Ah" said coach Anatoly Tarasov through an interpreter, "Both teams won. It was the sportsmanship that counted".

> Second Dismissal & Return, and an Improving Program 1961-63 <
​

Failing to win the World Championship or Olympic gold medal in 1960 led to the Soviets briefly dismissing Tarasov in favour of Chernyshev once again. However, Tarasov was back with the team again, assisting Chernyshev with an improving Soviet team shortly thereafter.

...
In charge are three coaches - Arkady Chernyshev, Alexander Vinogradov and Anatoly Kostryukov. This trio replaced
former chief coach Anatoly Tarasov who was fired.

Soviet officials gave no reason for his ouster.
...

The firing of Tarasov and his replacement by a team of coaches headed by Chernyshev indicates a return to the slick tactics of
the team which one the gold medal at Cortina in the 1956 Olympics.

Chernyshev was the national coach then and the accent was on superb stickwork, fast but controlled skating and short accurate passing. Observers of Russian hockey in recent times claimed it had "gotten quite sloppy with tactical ideas lacking both in defense and up forward".
...

...
"This was the first time we played against pros in our three tours of Canada over the years," said Anatoly Tarasov, one of two coaches with the Russians, through an interpreter.

He said Canadians "are still superior to us in hockey," but added:

"If we continue to get better, it could be that we might challenge National Hockey League teams some time in the future."

...
But young as they look, appearances are deceiving. Anatoly Tarasov, one of their coaches, let me in on a "secret" about them.

"This is the finest representative national team we have ever sent to Canada," he said. "The reason is that their collective level of intelligence and education is far superior to the others."

...

Seriously, what Tarasov meant was that the newest generation of Russian hockey players is even better, all round, than their predecessors, and I doubt if the news will be any consolation to the Canadian teams who will be playing them.

...

What also interested me was what method of training the Russians use in hockey, although even before I asked, I had a good idea.

The players, it turned out, don't smoke or drink (nothing was mentioned about girls, so I presume that Russians are just as red-blooded as Canadian hockey players) and they retire, like all other Russians, around 10:30pm every night.
...

Konstantin Loktev, the team captain and one of the few "veterans" on the team - he's about 24 - later enlarged on the training program.

"We start in September," he said, "although most of the boys play a lot of basketball and soccer during the summer. Eventually, the top 24 players are brought togther in a game, and a committee of coaches picks the team to come to Canada."
...

Interestingly, the Russians never once conceived - as so many other European countries did - of bringing over a couple of Canadian coaches to show them the ropes when they were getting started back in 1946.

"We felt that if we merely learned the Canadian way," explained Tarasov, with a straight face, "our game would be merely a copy."

...
The do-it-yourself plan was slower, according to Tarasov, but better in the long run. He didn't say it outright, but I got the message -- Russian-style hockey is better than Canadian, or will be shortly.

...
On pro hockey, Tarasov says: "We highly appreciated the individual technique, tactical skill, will, daring and striving for risky play displayed by professional puck-chasers.

"I like professional players for their fearlessness and high standards of skill, but our whole delegation had an unpleasant sensation seeing them tacking opponents roughly and starting fist-fights on the ice."

...

"Most of all we liked Bobby Hull for his explosive breakaway and lightning speed, and wide range of methods, all of which have been developed to perfection. Bobby Hull really merits recognition as an all-arounder."

Tarasov relates a conversation he had with Rocket Richard.

"We asked him what he would have done with our team if he had been its coach. Maurice replied unhesitatingly: "I'd give it a season of competition in our top league."

"He went on to say that what the Soviet team needed was not only training but more games, and only against strong professional sides."

Tarasov says Canadians still are superior in individual stickwork and "are heads taller" in variety of play but are no better than the Russians in passing and shooting.
...

> Winning: 1963-1972 <​

...
Russian coach Anatoly Tarasov, one of the men who introduced the game to the Soviet Union only 17 years ago, said "it'll be a good tournament all right, but I think we're a cinch to win. Anyway, there's only Russia, Canada, Sweden and Czechoslovakia with a chance -- and I place the Canadians in second."
...

...
"The interpreter, Nicholai Lebedev, explained that the players are not allowed to drink or smoke during hockey seasons. They may drink only water, fruit juices, and soft drinks."
...
"It's no wonder the Russian team stays in such trim physical condition," said Knight coach Don Lebelle. "We have no way of checking our players as closely as they do, so it's up to the individual to help take care of himself in this league."
...

...
A Russian newsman pointed out that Chernichov serves essentially as tactician, while Tarasov is the leader, the organizer and the give-'em-hell guy who demands, and often gets, perfection.
...
We congratulated Tarasov on this fine team that he has brought to Innsbruck.

"At this point," he answered, "We like critics better than fans."

Obviously he was concerned about laudatory press clippings, which you must admit is distinctly a switch for the Russians, whose coach was battling over-confidence preceding the big match with Canada.

"Hockey in the Soviet Union," said Tarasov, "is only 18 years old. Like any child of 18, it wants to be liked by everyone - by its parents, by outsiders and by itself.

"Our team has made a strong try for this adulation, and the pressure is great. The hockey games we are playing in Innsbruck are being watched on television by a hundred million people in the Soviet Union."
...

Tarasov was fired again in 1969 for a brief time after an incident where he delayed a televised game. He was back again by the end of the year and continued on until 1972 when both he and Chernychev were finally dismissed.

The tempermental head coach of the world champion Soviet ice hockey team, Anatoly Tarasov, has been fired, a Soviet newspaper revealed today.
...
Tarasov had been "disciplined" last month for delaying a nationally televised hockey game because he disputed a penalty called by an official.

He was attacked in the sports daily newspaper, Sovietsky Sport for that incident and was stripped of his title, Merited Coach of the U.S.S.R.
...

The flamboyant coach of the world champion Soviet National hockey team, Anatoly Tarasov, has regained his position after a public scolding and now appears to control the team again.

Tarasov was in trouble last spring after he held up a nationally televised game in Moscow for more than 30 minutes in a dispute over a referee's call.
...
But Nov. 13 the annual appointment of coaches to the national teams was announced and Tarasov was named as "coach," under the figurehead "senior coach," Arkady Chernyshov, the same rank as last year.

Observers at the current international hockey tournament in Moscow have noted that Tarasov controls the team, choosing substitutions and directing strategy.

His title as "merited coach" also was restored with no fanfare this autumn.

...
Now, the Russians summarily have given the boot in Anatoly Tarasov and Arkady Chernyshov, co-coaches of the Russian national hockey team. The dismissal of the colorful Tarasov and the lugubrious Chernyshov comes less than two weeks after they coached the Russians to their third successive Olympic championship.
...
Actually, Chernyshov always was the senior coach of the Russian national team. However, he usually sat quietly in the general vicinity of the Russian team-bench while Comrade Tarasov leaned over the boards, exhorting his players sharply and writing voluminous notes in his ever-present black notebook. Foreign reporters always sought out Tarasov as the official spokesman for Russia's hockey team although, in point of fact, Chernyshov outranked his talkative colleague.
...
Tarasov has been suffering from ill health for several years. He had a mild heart attack during the 1969 World Tournament in Stockholm. He had a heart attack of another type, a few weeks later, as the Russian hockey politburo suspended him when, in a rage, he ordered his Moscow army team from the ice during a national playoff game.
...
Certainly, no coach in the history of hockey can match Anatoly Tarasov's record. His teams have dominated their little "world" for 10 consecutive years.
...
Anatoly Tarasov probably would have been a flop as a coach in North American professional hockey. Can you imagine what Boston Bruin players would say if Anatoly ordered them out of bed to jog around Boston Common at seven o'clock in the morning?
...

> Ready to Challenge <
​

One of the most formidable - and most likable - Russians I have met here is Lt-Col Anatoly Vladimirovitch Tarasov of the Soviet Army. When I was introduced to him at the Central Army Sports Palace he was not wearing his army uniform but a red sweat-shirt and sweat pants. A hockey whistle dangled from a white cord around his neck. He greeted me with the kind of crushing handshake you might get from a gorilla.
...
Tarasovo continued: "Let us make this story only that which will promote good sportsmanship and hockey between Russia and Canada."
...
When the Russians first began playing ice hockey seriously at the end of World War II, I think they regarded Canadian hockey teams with a good deal of respect and admiration. In recent years we have done much to dissipate this respect and goodwill. Partly because of the brand of hockey that has been encouraged in Canada. And partly, if I can believe the stories I have heard here, because we have sent over some players and officials who have behaved like hooligans. I asked Tarasov's opinion of the latest Canadian team to have played the Russians, the team coached by Rev. David Bauer.

"That was a new type of team," said Tarasov, "created by a new coach. Your earlier teams were a combination of individuals. But well prepared and strong. In this new time I would underline intelligence. They played less roughly. It is perhaps a team of the future. They lacked experience and didn't make full use of their technique."
...
Tarasov now asked me a question that startled me. "Why won't the National Hockey League teams play our Russian team?"
...
"When Mr. Patrick, of the New York Rangers, was a guest in our hotel room in Stockholm, I asked him about playing the New York Rangers. He said, first, no one would want to see the game. Second, that we would be beaten 15 to nothing. And, anyways, the Rangers could not fit the game into their schedule. Do you think no one would want to see the game?"

"If the game took place in Canada," I said, "I think every Canadian hockey fan would want to see it."

Tarasov said: "I agree. And if we get beaten 15 to nothing, that is our business. Never matter the score. We are just interested to see how our hockey compares with the professional. We will talk more about that later."
...

I began to ask Tarasov questions about Russian training methods. He explained that in the middle of the summer the ice was not yet in the nearby arena. Therefore he was conditioning the team with outdoor calisthenics. Already that morning, they had done some barbell work.
...
The exercises resumed with a warm-up period of running around the open-air basketball courts. The players ran perhaps half a mile, meanwhile tossing heavy medicine balls back and forth as they ran. As a breather they tossed the medicine balls back and forth across a volleyball net, passing the ball behind their backs or under their legs before returning it. One group stood in a circle, seeing how long they could keep a soccer ball in the air, at one point using only their feet, another time using only their heads.
...
Tarasov blew his whistle again, and divided his men into six teams for relay races, again using a heavy medicine ball instead of a baton. He himself scampered about amid the sweating athletes, shouting "Bistro! Bistro!" (Faster! Faster!)

Occasionally he would take a playful kick at the ball, knocking it out of someone's reach, and complicating the game. He was driving his men, but with such good humor he had them laughing frequently and enjoying the workout.

Next he broke the men into three groups and began a combination of games on three separate basketball courts. On one court, two opposing teams played a combination of soccer and basketball simultaneously. They used both a soccer ball and a basketball and body-checking was not only permitted but encouraged.
...
The inexhaustible Tarasov ran from court to court, booting the ball and throwing the odd body check into an unwary player. It was a great game for teaching a hockey player to keep his head up. If he didn't he was liable to lose it.

When he saw a good play, Tarasov would shout, "Wot tak! Wot tak!" (That's it! That's it!)

On one court the combination was soccer and field hockey, which made it rough on the goalkeepers.
...
After an hour of this grueling work, Tarasov blew his whistle and cried "Punza!" This meant a five- or 10-minute break for everyone, except those whom he had singled out for special attention.

One such group was a bunch of youngsters, still in their teens, apparently trying out for the army team for the first time. During the body-contact games they took quite a roughing-up from the bigger and older players. They had gathered together during the rest period and were muttering about the manhandling they had received.

Tarasov game them a pep talk. "You got angry with it. These men are heavier than you, it is true. But endure when you are beaten. In this case, your weapon should be passing. That would equalize you. You, Viktor, you slowed when near the goal. Drive faster then, don't be afraid of collision. It's good you are fighting these wolfhounds as equals." When he left this group, he had done much to restore their spirits.
...
His three goalkeepers did not take part in the body-contact games, but Tarasov had them all working on the sidelines. Yuri Ovtchukov, his regular goalie, was playing a game of solitaire tennis against a backboard, to strengthen his stick arm. Viktor Tolmatchov, another goalie, was juggling three tennis balls to improve his eye and co-ordination. For a while Tarasov had these two batting a tennis ball back and forth at each other, using a goalie's stick held in one hand, obviously to develop the muscles of that arm.
...
When the grueling two-hour conditioning period was finished, some of the sweating players made their way to the showers. But some, still full of energy headed for the tennis courts.

I said to Tarasov: "Once you start skating, will there be as much exercise and calisthenics as this?"

"More," said Tarasov. "This is only the appetizer. During the hockey season, we go in for much more extensive exercise."

I shook my head. "Then it's no wonder the Russian teams are in such wonderful condition. I've never seen a Canadian team work out like this."

Tarasov said: "We must catch up to the Canadians. I would trade 50 percent of our condition for 15 per cent of your technique."
...
Now Tarasov returned to the subject of the National Hockey League. "We are going to Canada on Dec. 1. We want to play any National Hockey League team who will play us."
...
"Now," went Tarasov, "here are three reasons we want to play. Number one, I think it will be interesting for Canadian audiences. Number two, the aim is just to compare the level of amateur and professional sport. Number three, the natural result is to see which is better. "
...

Add the name of Bill Folk to the growing list of observers who think the touring Russian national team would be a success in the National Hockey League.

Folk, coach of Regina Caps of the Western Canada Senior Hockey League, made his statement in the dressing room after his club took an 11-2 whipping from the Russians Tuesday night.

"I'm convinced the Russians would be a good fourth-place club in the NHL. They could beat New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. Id' bet money they could win as many as three games out of 10 against the other NHL clubs."
...

...
The Russian dressing room was a bedlam of jubilation after the final game. Soviet coach Anatoly Tarasov said: "I am proud of this team beacuse they are champions, but most of all because they are good Russian boys playing a Russian style of hockey."

"The Canadian professionals have said they could beat any European team by 20 or 30 goals," Tarasov said, "We say let them come, and we shall see."

The Russians, world champions since 1963, led the eight-country championship group with six victories and one tie in seven games. In the last four years, they have dropped only one game in these championship tournaments, a 2-1 defeat by Sweden in 1963.

Russian hockey teams, according to Lorne Davis, are wizards at the art of antagonizing opponents, particularly Canadians.

They use everything from psychology to brawn to upset high-strung Canadians says the veteran of international competition who handles the dual rule of player and assistant coach for Regina Caps of the Western Canada Senior Hockey League.

Davis echos the feelings of Anatoly Tarasov, coach of the Russian national team. "Canadians don't play with their heads," says Tarasov, who should know after annual clashes with Canada's national team.
...
"The Russians are bigger than other European teams, but they're not what we would call dirty," said Davis. "They're sneak, and often try to kick your skates out from under you, but they're only doing it to get you worked up."

Canadian tempers are known to fray easily in international competition. Russians play on them, exploiting an age-old fact that mad hockey teams rarely win.

Russians won't stand and argue. They turn a deaf ear to any lip, though they often understand exactly every word being said.
...
"The Russians are a funny hockey club," said Davis. "If you give them an elbow in the ear and draw a penalty, they make you feel as if you've done them a favor. Most of them are wonderful physical specimens, and they can absorb physical punishment without answering back."

Davis is of the opinion that Canadian teams are gradually educating themselves to Russians' ways. It could be for the betterment of the game if it means cleaner standards.

Versitility is a key Russian weapon. "They don't stress specialists over there like we do." said Davis. "Their powerplays and penalty-killing teams are exactly the same lines that are due to go on the ice. I'm sure the Russians could lose a centerman and one of their goaltenders could step into the breach without much inconvenience."
...

...
The laughter, from a clutch of Canadian reporters, stopped abruptly when they realized what Tarasov - the czar, if the Soviets will pardon the expression, of Russian hockey - was up to.
...
All Tarasov was trying to do that day - and at all other practices - was to improve the percentages by turning this situation into a regular play and, by constant repetition, into reflex action.
...
This sort of attention to detail, which they apply to all facets of the game they first imported from Canada only 20 years ago, is the big reason the Russians are in a class of their own in a world of amateur hockey. It is also one reason many open-minded Canadian hockey men, both amateur and pro, are quite convinced that if the Russian national team were dropped into the NHL it would make the playoffs in either division.
...
But they didn't acquire this ability all on their own. They are also the products of good coaching. And it says here that Russian coaching is light-years ahead of Canadian coaching.
...
Canadian methods and ideas remain frozen in postures that have hardly moved since innovators such as Frank and Lester Patrick, Art Ross and Jack Adams changed the face of the game 35 and 40 years ago.
...
Years ago the Russians brought the laboratory, and the movie projector to the rink. They studied various methods of binding pads to the legs to find the one that would least restrict the blood flow, thus helping to speed up recovery time from exertion on the ice.

They measure the heart waves of players to determine their physical potential and how close they are coming to it.

They prescribe copious amounts of garlic in the athletes' diet because it helps increase the haemoglobin content in the red blood corpuscles. Haemoglobin is the substance that carries oxygen to the tissues. The more oxygen, the less fatigue.

They are not concerned with the pre-game steak on the afternoon of the game. They are much more anxious that players eat sugar cookies or cake about an hour before game time. Instant energy is the aim.

In books and movies, ironically enough featuring top NHL performers in many instances, they have analyzed the mechanics of skating step by step - the start, the thrust, the glide, the turn, the stop, plus such esoteric considerations as points of support and the moving centre of gravity.

They reason that if skating techniques are all-important in figure skating and speed skating, the same must apply to a considerable extent in hockey. Youngsters in Russian hockey therefore get skating lessons as well as hockey coaching.
...
Eddie Reigle, a former pro from Toronto who now coaches West Germany, has been to Moscow with his club and watched the Russians training at their own rink.

"They work incessantly on eliminating individual weaknesses," he says. "One time I saw them devote an entire day to individual shooting drills. They had a dozen sets of goals set up around the rink and a goalie to shoot at. If his weakness was a backhand to the lower left corner, that's all he practiced. He just kept at it until he could do it."

The man behind this approach, the man in complete charge of the Soviet hockey program is Tarasov, a pudgy cheerful individual in his mid-50s who has always taken the positive approach.
...
"We are learning," he would say. "We are closing the gap. One day we will beat you, then we will keep beating you."
...

Former Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Carl Brewer has been used as a guinea pig by the Russians to learn the intricacies of tNational Hockey League play.

Russian coach Anatoly Tarasov talked Brewer into working out with the Russians last September and wrote about the experience in a Soviet weekly sports publication.
...
Tarasov said in the article he talked with Brewer in a Helsinki motel room after the Russians has defeated Finland 12-3 in a game and persuaded him to practise withi the Soviet team the next day.

Tarasov wrote that he had seen Brewer play in the NHL and for Canada in the 1967 world championships at Vienna and had great admiration for his skill.

"For the first time I could observe a Canadian professional, make him perform all the exercises, get to know his manner of playing and compare it to ours," Tarasov said.

The Russian coach used Brewer as a forward in preliminary scrimmaging, putting him with two of his best players because "he will be pleased with such companionship... and I will be able to compare his technique and hockey culture with that of our masters."

"First we had limbering up, where Brewer together with Alexandrov and Firsov had to waltz and perform other athletic tricks: jump, squat, pass the puck, take it in different ways from the opponent. Our players are used to these exercises, that is why they over-did Brewer in them.

In the tactics exercise with three forwards attacking the goal against two defencemen, Brewer (on defense) was quite at home. I made no remarks at first. Each forward tried to get the upper hand over Brewer alone by skating around him, but would be driven to the corner and done with. But then I changed the tactics. They danced around Brewer with different rhythms, rushed to him unexpectedly, tried to hit him before he hit them, and sometimes our guest was rather at a loss.. but more often he was brilliant.

"He was a real fighter, decisive, thoughtful, self-possessed. Coming close to him our fellows would get into sort of a trap, with their sticks, arms or even heads clasped under his arm, or his stick stuck between their feet."

Turning to the intra-squad game that followed, Tarasov wrote: "... Brewer was superb in his zone especially when the opponent was slow and awkward. He not only took the puck, but also knocked the player down. But when the player was quick and active, Brewer was rather in difficulty."

The Russian coach said he asked Brewer how the Soviet team would do against NHL teams and Brewer replied the Russians would win at first and then lose later.

"Professionals wouldn't consider you worthy opponents until you beat them," Brewer said. "And the point is that your tactics and ways are unfamiliar to them, so at first that would be to your advantage. But after you beat them once they would change their tactics. So you could only win because you really play another brand of hockey."

Anatoly Tarasov, coach of Russia's national hockey team, may have th eperfect system to cure potential cases of morale-wrecking big-shotitis.

If a fellow doesn't get much time on the ice, he can hardly become a star. And if a player doesn't get a star rating, there's hardly any reason for him to get an inflated ego.

Valery Kharlamov might have been getting the Tarasov treatment at Memorial Arena Tuesday night while Canada's national team was getting the Russian hockey treatment and going down to an 8-3 defeat.

Kharlamov is the 21-year-old newcomer to the Tarasov terrors who excited Canadian fans and journalists with his fluid skating, slick stick-work and scoring skill while the Soviets were winning their first two games in their current cross-country series with the Canucks.
...
"Do not spoil Kharlamov with too much publicity," said Tarasov through an interpreter and team manager Gyorgy Danilov "He's only a boy."
....

Over the route, the Russians were just too much for the lighter, younger Nationals. With the superior physical strength and stamina developed by their exceptionally rugged training program, they refused to be pushed off the puck and they seldom allowed the Canadians time to organize properly.

It was like tangling with a buzz-saw, the Soviets never stopped skating in high gear and their fine positional play, combined with sharp passing made them dangerous every time they controlled the puck.
...

The coaches of two Soviet national hockey teams that have just finished giving Canada's national team a few lessons may go to Canada next year to help train the Canadian team.

Gordon Juckes of Melville, Sask., Canadian Amateur Hockey Association manager, said Saturday that Anatoly Tarasov, coach of the Soviet No. 1 team, and Arkad Chernishov, mentor of the No. 2 team, have offered "to go over to Canada as advisers for one month next year."
...
Juckes said the Russians would "show us how they train their players - differently from ours - and how they get their physical conditioning."
...
Team coach Jackie McLeod said in the dressing room after Saturday's game that the players now see what they will be up against in the world championships in Stockholm, Sweden, next spring. Said McLeod:

"I had tried to tell them over and over back in Canada, but they wouldn't believe me. They thought I was trying to frighten them.

Now they know how tough these guys are."

The Soviet amateur hockey team today renewed a challenge to Canadian professional players and suggested the Canadians are afraid to play them.

In an article headlined Pride or Cowardice?, Anatoly Tarasov, coach of the Soviet team, said: "We have repeated our challenge several times now, we have tried to find words so strong that they would provoke a response. We have said that we and not you are the champions of the world... Let's play and see if you can win from us and prove that you are the strongest in the whole world, not just in the Western Hemisphere."
...
Tarasov said Canadian amateurs no longer are a match for the Soviet team.

Clarence Campbell, president of the National Hockey League, said today it would be some time before an NHL team gets around to playing an international series with the Russians.

"There hasn't been an informal invitation let alone a formal one," he said. "So far, all the challenging has been done through the newspapers."
...

...
The Russian approach to the game, however, is much the same as basketball. They have offensive plays - screen plays, the old give-and-take - and each player must play his position. "The Russian player does exactly as he is told," says Huck. "He is told not to fight, so he doesn't fight. It's an uptight society they live in. They toe the line."

This, really, is the main reason why the Russians will continue to improve until the day they are the equal of the NHL - maybe better. No player in North America could show the same amount of discipline. If Tarasov tried coaching an NHL team the way he controls his world champions, the NHL players would tell him to take a walk. The Russians take it - playing hockey is the best life they can manage.

"The Russians would make the playoffs in the NHL's western division," Huck says. "And there are lots of players over there who could play in the eastern division."
...

> Later Years <​

Now that the New York Rangers' front office is exploring the possibility of importing Soviet hockey players, it also should consider hiring a Soviet hockey coach, at least as an advisor. The logical choice would be Anatoli Tarasov, who is to Soviet hockey what Paul Brown is to pro football.

Many people in the National Hockey League believe that it has only three coaches with stature as strategists - Scotty Bowman of the Montreal Canadiens, Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers (a disciple of Anatoli Tarasov) and Al Arbour of the New York islanders. All the others don't really coach, they just have the title.
...
If anyone could help the Rangers install a system, it is Anatoli Tarasov, the coach of the Soviet national team that won three Olympic gold medals and 10 world amateur championships. Now 61 years old, he is somewhat in eclipse in Moscow where he writes for Sovietski Sport, a national magazine, but he helped develop the players that the Rangers and all other NHL teams now covet - Vladislav Tretiak, the 25-year-old goaltender; Alexander Yakushev, the 30-year-old left wing; Valeri Kharlamov, the 29-year -old left wing; Vladimir Petrov, the 30-year-old center; and Boris Alexandrov, the 22-year-old right wing.

Perhaps it would not work out. Perhaps the Ranger players would resent a Soviet coach working them like laborers. Perhaps the language problem would create too much confusion.

But then again, perhaps it would work out.
...
Anatoli Tarasov has been known to speak with the hockey stick that he always carried during practices as the Soviert national team's coach. Before he dropped the puck for a face off in a workout once, he lifted his stick across the face of one player and shoved an elbow into the other player's chin.

"We do these things," he explained later, "so our players get used to the tactics of the Canadians." But he respected the tactics of the NHL player, almost all of whom are developed in Canada.

"We still have to gain what you have - the individual style," he told some Canadian and American visitors in 1976. "We grow up in collectives, we live in groups. that's why our teamwork comes so naturally. But watching you play, I admire the Canadian hockey players for their fire. During 60 minutes on the ice, they forvet everything to play the game."

He also understands the value of intimidation which flourishes in the NHL, but not in the Soviet.

"The Canadian player," he said, "has an influence on a opponent like a big snake on a rabbit."

Anatoli Tarasov understands discipline even better. He once suspended a Soviet star, Konstantin Loktev, for smoking a cigarette. Two other players escaped with a reprieve after they apologized and promised never to do it again. Their jury was the other members of the Soviet team.

"It was a most revealing meeting," Anatoli Tarasov once said. "It tested out teaching that no individual can be bigger than the welfare of the team."

But quietly, Anatoli Tarasov also has a sense of humor. In his repartee with Canadian newsmen, he often was asked jokingly if a player who misses the net on a breakaway was exiled to a Siberian salt mine. But one day he noticed that a Canadian team was accompanied by a Catholic priest.

"You have a priest with your team," the Soviet coach said with a smile. "We don't say every Canadian who misses the net on a breakaway will be ex-communicated."

More than anything, Anatoli Tarasov is a hockey coach. He has written more than two dozen books on tactics and strategy, unlike NHL coaches who prefer to keep their strategy secret if they have any. He is a coach in the mold of a good American football coach - studying films, analyzing players. Soviet hockey technology is far more advanced than the NHL's non-systemized style. And he also have several disciples in the Soviet hockey culture.

​

...
Tarasov, 61, called Canadian professional coaches arrogant and stupid for refusing to adopt the new technology and philosophy developed by the European community.

It was a lame excuse to argue that some Russian training methods were unacceptable in Canada for social and political reasons, he said.
...
"If I started with two teams of young boys, one working 90 minutes a day on the ice and one working the same period on dry-land training and conditioning, the latter team would win every game," Chernyshev said.
...

The greatest Russian hockey coach leaned over the seats at the Coliseum with his red notebook and red Detroit Red Wings' shirt and bowed to Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky saluted with a thumbs-up sign.
...
"As far as I am concerned Gretzky is our national hero in the Soviet Union," said Tarasov. This line of thought doesn't jibe with that of current Soviet superstar Vladimir Krutov, who blasted Gretzky a year or so ago.

"His comment was a negative one from a hockey player. He doesn't see things through the eyes of a coach," said Tarasov. "You have had players like Lafleur, Richard, Howe, Hull, Espositio, Orr. They've all had a type of individual player but Gretzky, he encompasses all of those qualities of the others. The closest to him would be Howe."
..
He's not coaching anymore, here with the current Canada Cup edition as an advance scout scribbling notes in his red notebook furiously. Writing with the same dedication put forth in his 29 books on the game.

When he first came to Canada in 1957 (10 years after taking over the Russian hockey program), he wasn't accorded much respect, however.

"I remember sitting in the Montreal Forum watching a Canadiens' practice with Maurice Richard," said Tarasov.

"At that time I watched the Canadiens for the whole session but they only watched our workouts for 12 minutes. It was very discouraging for a young coach. They laughed at our practice sessions."

"Look at some of the workouts now. You'll probably notice that 85 per cent of the entire workout is based on passing. That was my theory in 1957," said Tarasov, watching the current Team Canada weaving in five-man units, passing up the ice. "Before you would see players standing around for great lengths of time. Now there is great movement, that's what we wer doing back then."
...

...

"When a player is at a low level," said Tarasov, " and he raises his level, it is easy to write about him. But when you are at Gretzky's level, which is the highest you can be, what can you write about him when he isn't scoring goals?"
...
"Gretzky has raised the level of hockey everywhere he has played. It's why I would like to see 30 teams in the Canada Cup instead of six... just to raise the level of hockey.

"Anyone who would criticize Gretzky is a fool," said Tarasov.

> Russian Style <
​

...
The Eagles will be strongly tested by the Russian brand of hockey as taught by renowned coaches like Arkady Chernyshov, Bobrov and especially Anatoly Tarasov. The components of the Soviet style center around speed, technique and teamwork. The emphasis is on moving and passing the puck, and on defense.

By North American standards the Russians tend to pass when they should shoot. Their rationale is that they pass until they have created the opportunity to shoot and score. In their offense, the center is the spark plug.

The Soviet technique of the "Spartak" style of offense - a merry-go-round of forwards which has tended to mesmerize defensemen, goalies and fans - should be interesting to watch.
...

They are shourded in mystery, these hockey playing visitors from the Soviet Union, and there is irony in that. Because technically speaking, no team at these 1980 Winter Olympics is more shamelessly obvious in its plan of attack.

No matter the score, no matter how much time remains in the period or the game, the Soviets play the same lines, in the same rotation, with the same form they always do.
...
No secret whatsoever. Oh there are little things: perhaps you didn't know it is said the Soviets do not show emotion because they are taught that any muscle tension, even of the facial muscles, wastes energy. That's why they always show the blank expression to which everyone adds an aura of intrigue.

Despite that undertone, opposing coaches always know who's going to play. And they know how.

Virtually all Soviet offense generates from the center. Block off the middle, as Finland did for the first 54 minutes, 59 seconds of their 4-2 loss to the Soviets, and the chances for a victory aren't bad at all. Another thing the Soviets love to do is have one or both of their wings break up the ice at their blue line, criss-cross behind the opponent's defense in the neutral zone, and take a long pass for a breakaway.
...

...
The Oilers - one of the foster children of Anatoly Tarasov, father of Soviet hockey - use the exact three-on-two drill during which Aleksanr Maltsev broke a bone in his hand Wednesday night.

But even among NHL teams using more traditional North American modes of practice and attack, forwards have greater liberty now than B.C. (Before Communists).
...

"Back when I was playing in Detroit, the wingers were expected to go up and down the wing and nothing more," said Bruce MacGregor, Edmonton assistant general manager. "Jack Adams had an imaginary line on the ice, and he expected his wingers to skate on it."

"But now everybody is picking up the flow, the rhythm of the Soviets. Forwards are crossing, changing wings, and our defensement are more mobile, although there is still a difference between the two systems. Montreal always was the most free-flowing team, but their defencemen move the puck ahead and then hang back while the Soviets are more of a five-man unit."
...

> More Info <​

To me, a top class hockey player should be an all-round physically developed athlete with speed and strength plus. Such a player has an explosive starting reaction and a will that is as strong as iron. His bag of technical tricks should be big and varied, enabling him to perform his role in the line-up and make lightning decisions in tactics at any and every moment of the game. And all these qualities in modern hockey are absolutely out of the question if the sportsman lacks a high culture of the game: I have in mind tactical intuition, precision work with his partners, perfect orientation, a feeling of the game, the ability to see, understand, and even anticipate the actions of the closest and furthermost opponents and partners. And what is most important, all these qualities must be retained and put into use in the toughest moments of the game, when the pitch of a game is at its highest, when the emotions of players are as taut as bow strings.

I don't think it's possible to play a defensive game against a strong team and win, except perhaps once, by sheer luck. Because, when you play a defensive game, you forfeit the main thing: initiative. And it is initiative that most often decides who will win.

We must try to avoid solo actions and keep it a team effort. In teamwork we are the best.

We have to hunt in groups. One player body checks, the other takes the puck away.

It is important for an athlete to always look at himself with impartial assessment, to look at himself, not with admiration, but with the stern eyes of a critic.

The second conclusion I made then was that the centre forward had to be the best player on the team.
....
There is simply no place in the game for cowards, squeamish or weak-willed people - there is simply no reason for such people to come out on the ice.
....
He defines courage as industriousness. Never being lazy on the ice. Patience and "constancy."
....
Together, with Arkadi Chernishov we give ratings to each player after every game.
....
Hockey is not a game of speed or courage, but of minds.
....
He goes into a section about stars. Basically they have to selfless and be willing to fit into the team concept. Having players that are better than the others is fine, as long as they buy in.
....
The essence of our teamwork? Passing!
....
He focuses a lot on how he believes stick-handling is the most important aspect of hockey.
....
Arkadi Cherishov has an easier nature than mine. He is more soft-spoken, he is more prone to forgive a person. But I have a reputation for being more than harsh.
....
for our creative type of hockey, powerhouse hockey is out of the question. I prefer to see our boys strong and smart at the same time, even sly, in the good sense of the word.
....
He really doesn't believe in puck-carrying when leaving the defensive zone. He mentions that he wants no more than two strides before a defenseman whips a pass up to another player who already has a head of steam.
....
The number of passes in the offensive zone must be constantly increased.
....
An attack should be built up rationally.
....
Sometimes I have been asked if pressing [ed. note: his system] is a defensive or offensive system...Does this answer lie only in the difference of level of their technique and skills? I believe the answer lies in the following: one team employs attacking pressing, while the other resorts to defensive pressing.

Reasonable employment of all players at all stages of the game - and in attack and defense, and in the fight for the puck in the neutral zone, and in the assault on the "enemy" gate, and dedicated and competent protection of its own - will characterize hockey future.
....
I have already said that the fundamental difference between the tactics of pressure in our execution is that Canadians engage in this tactical idea with three players, and we - five players. Two of their athletes aspire to join the combat, the first - going for a military clash, the second - trying to pick up the puck and if the partner is missed, correct his mistake. Third - works for the insurance, covering, usually free next board to rival could prokinut puck, throw it out of the zone.
....
And the defenders? Defenders, lying on long positions only contemplate this fight attackers, they fear. And if the action forwards sometimes seem wasteful, it is the right impression Canadians attacking play at times risky, because they worry about their rear.
....
But is there any guarantee that the founders of the world hockey will also base their actions and in the seventies? Hardly! I strongly believe that the desire to retain the area to keep it, the desire to experience, test the strength of our defense force them to follow a set of forwards all the players to play with personal care, covering all possible moves.
....
With TALO be, we have to find new ways to succeed, to change something, something strengthened. In particular, I believe, we will strengthen our front-speed maneuver the attackers. Their functions will be included as a compulsory and a maneuver that would allow them at least for a moment to be free from the defender and get the puck.
....
I have no doubt that by the time our leadership team, including the national team, will move to the "system".

He was exacting, passionate, a personality unlike other Russians.

In Tarasov the Russians had their ice doctor, their hockey Buddha. Anatoly Tarasov, his mind an inferno, was half-wisdom, half-bluster a quack to some, a genius to others. A theatrical man, built like a pear, he roared and brooded among his players, impulsively setting them to all kinds of strange training regiments.

His deep-thinking, creative approach to the game found a would-be imitator in North America with the mid-seventies antics of Pheladelphia coach Freddie Shero. "the Fog" as he was labelled, studied Tarasov and fell into his own seeming trances, once sending his players at practice to skate for as long as possible on one leg. With help from gangland warfare, as well as Tarasovian teachings, Shero's Flyers captured two Stanley Cups.

Tarasov stressed athleticism, all round physical excellence in preparing the hockey player: weightlifting, dry-land training in other sports, relentless conditioning. He was trying to create his own Sparta. His gladiators would be the best-conditioned, the most technically superior, and, in keeping with the collective philosophy, they were to have a quality that gave rise in the West to the notion that they were automatons, robots - they were to be even-tempered, emotional yet unemotional. The individual personality was supposed to merge into the personality of the whole, the mass. Tarasov desired quiet courage, imperturbable efficiency. He would achieve it, he vowed, by stepping up the intensity of training so that the athleticism of a player would be perfected, so that his character would be “tempered from day to day like steel is tempered.

...

Speed on defence was always a higher priority in the Tarasov school than bodychecking. Unlike in Canada, where the custom was to change forward lines and defensive pairings reparately, the Soviets liked to play in five-man units. The idea was that a player should not only have an intimate feel for the moves that his forward partners, but his defencemen as well.

...

So after innumerable hours over a model ice rink, Tarasov and Boris Kulagin, then his assistant on the Central Army team, came up with an altogether new concept: a one-two-two formation. There would be one deep defenceman as a backstop, two helter-skelter rovers, traversing all over the ice as the occasion necessitated, and two forward wingers whose responsibility was only to attack and score.

...

Arkadyev simply announced one day that the Central Army soccer team would change to a three-three-four formation. But the team members, consistently winning under their normal set-up, saw no reason for such an overhaul. Their resistance soon prompted the esteemed coach to drop the plan.

Mindful of this, Tarasov tried to usher in the new system slowly. He too was dealing with an Army club that was consistently winning with its traditional style.

The "father of Soviet hockey", Tarasov demonstrated to the North Americans that European creativity could be used to advantage in the NHL. His teams were among the first to persuade both Canadian and American fans that the best hockey was not necessarily played on this side of the Atlantic.

When Tarasov began coaching in the early 1940s, Canada was the premier team in international hockey. Tarasov studied the highly physical Canadian style of play and combined it with the finesse of Russian hockey, creating a unique blend of skill and aggressiveness. In addition, Tarasov developed what became known as "the great Soviet hockey machine,"a system of early recruitment and training of young athletes. His methods proved highly effective as his teams dominated competition, winning 18 national titles and 11 European championships.

In 1958, Tarasov took the reins of the USSR nationals for the first time, and his team gave up the gold at two World Championships and the 1960 Olympics. The veterans of the Central Red Army temporarily ousted him and once again Arkady Chernyshev came to the helm of the national squad. He didn't win either. But before the 1963 World Championship, Chernyshev and Tarasov appeared as a duo to lead the national squad. They went on to sweep every championship for the next 10 years, topping that winning streak off with the 1972 Olympic title.

Tarasov was very ambitious, perhaps even too ambitious for a model Soviet citizen. Hockey, previously a curiosity from overseas, offered him the chance to express himself 100%. With no precedent to follow for the development of the game in the Soviet Union, hockey in Tarasov's hands became the clay out of which he molded whatever came to mind. He rigorously copied the methods of the best coaches in soccer and other sports and, some would say, even drew upon some of the lesser qualities of politicians. Tarasov could act and he could charm people - whoever and whenever necessary. He also knew how to leave a person speechless, and how to compel a person to think profoundly.

He squeezed every ounce of energy and performance out of his players. Even the slightest hint of self-importance was dealt with immediately. According to Tarasov, egoism on the ice was the gravest of all sins. In the end, Tarasov must be given credit for his work in creating a phenomenon in Soviet hockey unparalleled elsewhere - superstar forward lines. The members of those lines interacted with one another apparently without the slightest effort, as if they had no need to see each other and could function purely on instinct.

By the end of the 1960s, many of the Soviet leaders had had their fill of Tarasov, complaining that he'd built a state within a state and crowned himself king in an autocratic USSR. To make matters worse, he led his Central Red Army team off the ice in 1969 during a decisive game against Spartak - and in the presence of leading statesmen. For 40 minutes, they tried to talk Tarasov into sending his players back out on the ice, but he objected to the referee's disallowing a goal scored by his team. He did lead the team back onto the ice but lost the game, and Tarasov was subsequently stripped of his Merited Coach title. He handed the reins of the Central Red Army over to second coach Boris Kulagin, who quickly established himself as the main coach and began rejuvenating the lineup.

In subsequent games, however, Tarasov began sitting closer and closer to the Army bench. And in the final match to determine the Soviet entry at the European Championship, with the Central Army losing 5-3 to Spartak and the whole country watching at home, Tarasov could no longer contain himself. He went over to the bench and in a fit of temper began running the show. The Central Red Army suddenly came back to life and whipped Spartak 8-5. To add insult to injury, Tarasov gave Kulagin a public tongue-lashing for "bringing such a glorious team to ruin by senselessly reshuffling the lineup."

Tarasov and Chernyshev left the national team in the winter of 1972, half a year before the Summit Series. Tarasov worked with the Central Army club for another two years, but after losing the championship in 1974, he stepped aside to make way for Konstantin Loktev. He ended his career behind the bench before exhausting a coach's best years. After that, he conducted hockey competitions for young amateurs throughout the country. He did some teaching and became a hockey observer for the leading newspapers.

Whenever I think about Anatoly TARASOV, the words of my professor in Theater Arts University in Moscow come into my mind:
"Arthur, get ready for the time when you'll become a theater director and no one will like you."

In a way, it's true for the coaches in the elite hockey of the Soviet times. Their success was measured not by who personally liked or personally disliked them. On Tarasov's level, it was mostly about his winning track, gold medals at the Olympics, World and National Championships. Looking back from nowadays to his time in hockey, one can be easily appalled by his coaching methods. He was a dictator. Hockey players were treated like chess pieces in the game that Tarasov played. Whether one played for the Team USSR or the Red Army club, he demanded total dedication to HIS hockey and HIS team. Things like personal matters, being tired, impossible training or game tasks simply had never been accepted by Tarasov. He was ruthless on his road to success. Some players were psychologically broken by his methods. Some managed to become champions.

Tarasov was a legendary coach. In a way, he was the "father" of the Soviet hockey. Together with the other legendary coach, Arkady Chernyshev from Dynamo Moscow, Anatoly Tarasov laid down the foundation of what now is branded as the "Soviet hockey school". Although most experts refer to Tarasov's innovations in the theory of the game, he wasn't exactly a typical scholar. He was rather a practical coach who relied more on his instincts than on what was written in the books. He was definitely very innovative but, as descibed by one of the famous Soviet journalists of that time, Tarasov didn't read much and mostly listened to the radio. It's interesting that the "father" of the Soviet hockey got his Ph.D. in Education with only a high school diploma for his educational background.

Both Tarasov and Chernyshev retired from coaching the national team after the Soviet squad won the gold at Olympics in Sapporo in 1972. It was Vsevolod Bobrov and Boris Kulagin that led the Team USSR at the 1972 Summit, but most of the players were still graduates of Tarasov's hockey universities. Whether one likes or doesn't like Tarasov's approach to hockey, it doesn't seem to be fair to underestimate the role of one of the greatest Soviet coaches while paying tribute to the impressive performance of the Soviet team in September 1972.

Anatoli Vladimirovitch Tarasov is regarded as the architect of the Soviet Union's hockey power. Yet he alienated the Soviet hockey higher-ups enough to land him in hot water several times, including for the 1972 Summit Series.

Tarasov was a product of Soviet hockey himself. He was a workmanlike winger who was overshadowed by the flashy Vsevolod Bobrov. Tarasov lacked Bobrov's natural skill, but made up for with an incredible understanding of the game and a willingness to experiment.

The two would continue their mostly friendly rivalry for years off the ice as well. Both became successful head coaches. Tarasov coached his country's national team to nine straight world amateur championships and three consecutive Olympic titles before he retired after his team's gold win at Sapporo in 1972. He was the undisputed king of Soviet hockey until he was abruptly unseated shortly after the 1972 Olympic win and shortly before the 1972 Summit Series showdown with the Canadians. He was replaced by Bobrov.

But why?

According to Lawrence Martin's book The Red Machine, the final straw between Tarasov and the political bosses he answered to. Tarasov, with a history of insubordination if he felt it was beneficial for the team, clashed with the head of the Soviet Sports Committee, a fellow named Mr. Pavlov, over money accepted from the Japanese. The Japanese offered Soviet players $200 a piece to play 2 exhibition games prior to the Olympics. This of course was very unacceptable in the Communist world. Pavlov, who was closely monitored by the Kremlin, was furious.

Following the Olympics Tarasov, and his national team assistant coach Arkady Chernyshov, asked for time off to rest from the rigors of coaching. Pavlov agreed, but gave them both a permanent break. In essence they were fired from the national team. Tarasov was replaced by the skating legend Bobrov behind the bench.

Initially it looked like a bad move for the Soviets. Bobrov led them to the silver medal in the World Championships. For most nations that would be a major accomplishment but that marked the first time the Soviets had finished without the gold in a decade. To make matters worse key players Anatoli Firsov and Vitaly Davydov protested by not playing for the national team.

Bobrov ultimately wouldn't last long. He relaxed the stringent and rigid game Tarasov had preached and was so successful with. The players quickly grew to appreciate the freedom and responsibility, and it showed in the performance at the 1972 Summit Series. However the political bosses would favour a young up and coming coach named Viktor Tikhonov

He disappeared from hockey after his dismissal. He continued to coach the Red Army club team until 1974 and supervised the Soviet Gold Puck tournament for boys. More than 1,000,000 youngsters were registered for the various youth competitions.

Tarasov also travelled the world attending seminars and making personal appearances. In 1987 he served as a coaching consultant to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks during training camp.

I trusted Tarasov, trusted his every word, even when he criticized me for letting the pucks in my net during practice. There was a method to his madness. My coach didn't want me to be indifferent to being scored on. He wanted me to feel that each puck in my net was a personal defeat.

...

Tarasov's demands never seemed unreasonable to me, however, because I understood, then as now, that Tarasov had only one goal: to make Soviet hockey the best in the world.

Anatoly Tarasov was a very well-organizaed person. He knew his purpose in life and didn't like lazy people. I owe very much to that man.

...

I can honestly say that there wasn't one practice to which Tarasov came without new ideas. He amazed all of us every day. One day he had a new exercise, the next an innovative idea, and the next a stunning combination to remove the effectiveness of our opponents.

...

I will never forget Tarasov's lessons. Now, looking back after many years, I clearly understand that he was not only teaching us hockey, he was teaching us life.

...

He taught us to be noble and proud of how hard we worked.

An outstanding Soviet coach, Anatoly Tarasov, is widely known as the father of Russian ice-hockey. His innovative methods of coaching established the Soviet Union as the dominant force in international competitions. He led this country's national squad to the victories at three Olympic Games and nine world championships.

Our colleague Carl Watts, who happened to be a rink announcer at many hockey tournaments, says:

I got acquainted with Anatoly Tarasov many-many years ago. He was the Head coach of the Soviet Army team, and I was doing the rink announcing. I was told later by people who sat beside him that he asked, "why did you invite an American to do the announcing on the ice?" And they said, "Anatoly, this is our guy." "Introduce me to him." So they introduced me to Anatoly Tarasov. He was a great man, he was a great coach. One of the seasons when he was head coach of the Soviet Army team, the season lasted for forty games. The Army team won every game. You could bet on the Army team. Everybody betted on what score they would beat the other team. And I remember when he had the work-outs with the players, after a work-out they could barely make it to the dressing room, because he took everything he could out of his players. Yes, he was hard-tempered, he maybe used some foul language, but nobody heard it. Anyway, when he was on the ice, he was a commander. He was the best coach I think that we had in the Soviet hockey period. When somebody speaks about the greatest hockey coach we had in the history of this country, naturally, everyone will say Anatoly Tarasov.

Those who knew Tarasov describe him as a remarkable personality and a born leader. Beginning as a successful bandy player in the 1930s, he soon developed an interest in coaching. After the Second World War, Anatoly Tarasov, together with his brother Yuri, began playing the "Canadian" hockey, at that time a newly-adopted sport in Russia. As an on-ice coach of the Soviet Army team, he won 100 games, scoring 106 goals. That speedy and dangerous sport became his life-time passion. "For me hockey is always new, everlasting and unique," Tarasov wrote in one of his books. He imparted much of his enthusiasm and fervor to his trainees. For nearly thirty years he coached the stellar Soviet Army team, whose players made up the backbone of the Soviet national squad. Under his supervision the Soviet Army Club won the USSR champion's title 18 times. Together with another coaching legend, Arkady Chernyshev, Tarasov founded the world-famous Soviet hockey school. He developed his own system, based on skating skills, speed, and precision passing - the system he polished for years and that yielded remarkable dividends, witness brilliant victories of the Soviet national team in many international tournaments.

Tarasov's training methods are regarded by many as ruthless. A tireless worker and a maximalist by nature, he made his players exert themselves to full capacity, always setting them for victory. Having won the reputation of a "tough coach", Anatoly Tarasov, nevertheless, was able to mould unique personalities and make star players. During his career he coached dozens of world-class masters, many of whom became world and Olympic champions. One of them, the legendary Valery Kharlamov, recalled: "It was very interesting to play for Tarasov. It was very hard. You always felt stiff with him. But it was worth it." "I love my guys very much," Anatoly Tarasov said. "That's why I demand so much from them, as no one else would do." For one, Tarasov insisted that his trainees continued their education. "It's easier to work with educated people," he would say. The great coach was convinced that a hockey player had to be a versatile athlete, so his off-ice training program included long-distance running, soccer, swimming, and weight-lifting. He had the same requirements for both the beginners and experienced players, a tough discipline and total dedication to hockey and to the team he was in charge of. And that was the team of like-minded persons, according to Yevgeny Mishakov, one of Tarasov's ex-trainees. Tarasov never wasted words. When he was angry, he could be deliberately polite, addressing his players in a quiet chilly manner. At such moments they knew: Tarasov is enraged. For Anatoly Tarasov hockey was not just a game. He believed sports must bring aesthetic pleasure. He compared good hockey players with gifted actors, and the profession of a coach, he said, was akin to that of a conductor of an orchestra, where all the musicians bend to his will.

A tough instructor on the ice-rink, Anatoly Tarasov was also strict to his two daughters, especially to Tatyana, now a famous figure-skating coach, who inherited from her father love of sports and strong character. He taught her to swim in a very simple way, as she recalled. When the girl was five, he just threw her out of the boat. Anatoly's wife, Nina, whom he met when he was a student of the Higher School of Coaches in Moscow prior to the Second World War, was his life company until his death in 1995. She staunchly shared with her celebrated husband the bitterness of defeats and the joy of victories.

After retiring from big sports in the 1970s, Anatoly Tarasov organized and conducted competitions for young amateur players, raising future hockey stars. He was one of the first Russians to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. His outstanding legacy is still studied by hockey schools in Europe and overseas. One of the divisions of the Continental Hockey League bears the name of Anatoly Tarasov, the architect of Soviet ice-hockey. In May of 2008, after a break of 15 years, Russia’s national ice-hockey team won the World Championship in Canada, reviving the traditions of the great Tarasov, who taught his players to win.

When Anatoli Tarasov became a coach, he changed Russian hockey forever. He masterminded creating his own version of hockey - a game of speed, endurance and winning. He was the master of the team and his players were like chess pieces. When the USSR entered its first team into the World Championship in 1954, they won. Likewise, the Soviet team finished first at the 1956 Olympics. Once Tarasov took over the national team's reigns, the CCCP team won gold at the World Championships in Stockholm in 1963. That was just the beginning of nine consecutive World Championship victories, through to 1971. During that timespan, the Soviet Union also won eight European Championships and three consecutive Olympic gold medals (1964, 1968, 1972). The Soviet hockey program was recognized as the premier in the world and earned the nickname “The Big Red Machine.†Tarasov also coached the Central Sports Club of the Army (CSKA), to seventeen league championships from 1947 to 1974. Tarasov's colleague, Arkady Chernyshev also played an influential role in the development of Soviet hockey.

...
Mr. Tarasov was widely regarded as a coaching genius. He helped introduce the Canadian version of hockey into the Soviet Union in 1946 and, eight years later, his team won the international amateur hockey championship. He adapted the Russian version of hockey, which at that time resembled outdoor soccer on ice, to the style that is played indoors on smaller rinks. He then defeated the Canadians and Americans at their own game.

Still, he often regarded the play in the National Hockey League as "primitive." When the prevailing Canadian style would be for a skater to plow his way by a defensive player, Mr. Tarasov's team would try to finesse and find a way to pass the puck and skate around him.

Before he dropped the puck for a face-off in a practice once, he used his stick against the face of one player and shoved an elbow into another's chin. "We do these things," he explained later, "so our players get used to the tactics of the Canadians."

He was widely known as the "father of Russian hockey" and coached the Central Army club for 29 years. Under his leadership the Soviet team won every world championship from 1962 to 1971. His teams won the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics, plus 11 European championships.

Mr. Tarasov, who retired after the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, explained the Soviet's loss to the United States "Miracle on Ice" team in 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., by saying, "We let you win every 20 years to have good relations between our countries."

Both Canadian and American hockey coaches attempted to copy his highly successful methods, and many of them saw him as a composite of the American football coaches Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi. Mr. Tarasov was the first European coach to have his portrait in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

He also wrote more than two dozen books on tactics and strategy. In 1987, the last-place Vancouver Canucks hired him as a consultant. Mr. Tarasov virtually mesmerized N.H.L. coaches with his intricate maneuvers and dazzling skating and passing. His brand of hockey became a chess game on ice.

"Even though there is a limit on how fast a hockey player can skate," he said, "there is no limit to creative endeavors and progress."

A visiting American coach asked him in 1974 to reveal his coaching secrets. "Do you think we have secrets?" he replied. "Today's secret is tomorrow's common knowledge. All you have to do is look. There is no secret in hockey. There is imagination, hard work, discipline and dedication to achieving whatever the goal is. But there are no secrets, none at all."

He said a hockey player "must have the wisdom of a chess player, the accuracy of a sniper and the rhythm of a musician." But more important, he said, "He must be a superb athlete."

* much of this bio is built on the earlier one by Dreakmur

 

[BraveCanadian]

Vladimir Krutov, LW

Nickname: The Tank
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 190 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Date of Birth: June 01, 1960
Place of Birth: Moscow , Russia, USSR

Soviet League Champion (1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989)
Soviet First All-Star Team (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
Soviet Most Valuable Player (1987)
Olympic Gold Medalist (1984, 1988)
Olympic Silver Medalist (1980)
IIHF WJC-A Gold Medalist (1979, 1980)
WJC-A Best Forward (1979, 1980)
WJC-A All-Star Team (1979, 1980)
IIHF WEC-A Gold Medalist (1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989)
IIHF WEC-A Silver Medalist (1987)
IIHF WEC-A Bronze Medalist (1985)
IIHF WEC-A Best Forward (1986, 1987)
IIHF WEC-A All Star Team (1983, 1985, 1986, 1987)
Canada Cup Gold Medalist (1981)
Canada Cup Silver Medalist (1987)
Canada Cup Bronze Medalist (1984)
Canada Cup All-Star Team (1987)
Russian Hockey Hall of Fame (1981)
IIHF Hall of Fame (2010)


​

> Domestic League <

​

Top-10 Scoring (2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 8th)
Top-10 Goalscoring (1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 9th)
Top-10 Assist (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 7th, 9th, 9th)

​

Seasons​	GP​	G​	A​	PTS​	PIM​
12​	439​	288​	215​	503​	210​

​

> International Games <

​

(Exhibition Game, Olympics & World Championship)

Games by Opposing Countries

Country	GP	G
Czechoslovakia	50	26
Sweden	49	33
Finland	41	16
Canada	40	24
West Germany	27	15
United States	13	10
Netherlands	8	8
East Germany	7	5
Poland	4	2
Switzerland	4	4
Italy	3	1
Japan	3	1
Norway	3	2
Austria	1	2
Yugoslavia	1	1

> World Championships <

​

# Participation​	GP​	G​	A​	PTS​	PIM​
7​	68​	44​	34​	78​	68​

> Olympics <

​

GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
22	16	15	31	6

> 1981 Canada Cup <

GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
7	4	4	8	10

Krutov was instrumental in the Soviet Union's sensational 1981 Canada Cup victory at the Forum in Montreal.

The 1981 tournament marked the Red Army's only Canada Cup victory. Krutov led the squad in goals with 4, and finished third in points with 8 in 7 games.

> 1984 Canada Cup <

GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
6	3	5	8	4

In 1984, Canada regained the Canada Cup, but Krutov established himself as perhaps the best Soviet forward. After going undefeated in the round robin, the Soviets were upset by the Sweden. Krutov led the team in scoring with 3 goals, 5 assists and 8 points in 6 games.

> 1987 Canada Cup <

GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
9	7	7	14	4

It was the 1987 Canada Cup when the man they call "The Tank" achieved his prime. In a tournament often compared to that of the 1972 Summit Series, Krutov kept pace with the torrid scoring pace set by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Krutov scored 7 goals and 15 points in 9 games, compared to Gretzky's 21 points and Lemieux's 18. Krutov, along with Gretzky and Lemieux were named to the three forward positions on the tournament's all star team.

> Rendez-vous 1987 <

GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
2	2	0	2	2

> Contemporary Research <

The undefeated Soviet Union team came from behind to defeat Sweden 2-1 in the final match of the tournament Wednesday to capture the world junior hockey championship.
...
Vladimir Krutov clinched the title for the Soviets, scoring both goals after Sweden had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by Thomas Steen in the first period.
...
Two players each from Finland, Sweden and the Soviet Union were named to the tournament all-star team. They were goaltender Jari Paavola and defenceman Reijo Ruotsalainen of Finland, defenceman Tomas Jonsson and left-winger Hakan Loob of Sweden, and right-winger Vladimir Krutov and center Igor Laryonov of the Soviet Union.

...
Aleksei Kasatonov shot from inside the blue line and Vladimir Krutov, a 19-year-old dynamo, tipped it by Craig's short side.

...
The USSR then turned the game into a devastating route as Vladimir Krutov carried the puck from one end of the rink to the other, faked defenseman Larry Robinson and scored from 30-feet, making it 5-1.
...
After Tretiak had completed another series of glittering saves, the Soviets broke a scorless deadlock at 4:56 on brilliant teamwork by young forwards Larionov and Krutov on only the sixth Soviet shot of the game.

Krutov corralled a clearing pass and broke in the slot where he lost his hold on the puck. After retreiving it behind the net, Krutov passed to Larionov, who caught Liut going the other way from 10 feet out.

Like many amateur hockey players in North America, Vladimir Krutov sometimes thinks of playing in the NHL.

"Yes, I'd like to play in the NHL someday," the 22-year-old center said Tuesday night after scoring two goals to spak the Soviet All-Stars to a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

Krutov, catching a look from Soviet assistant coach Vladimir Yurzinov, quickly added, "if the circumstances were right."

Krutov said the red uniform he dreams of wearing bears one large 'C' with a small 'H' in the middle, rather than the CCCP of the Soviet sweaters.

"I'd like to play for Montreal," he said.
...

...
The Soviets made it 2-0 at 15:03 when Vladimir Krutov demonstrated why he was the team's top scorer and all-around player.

Krutov dug the puck out of the corner and centered it to Victor Tiumenev, who tipped it to defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov - the Soviets' Bobby Orr - at the point.
...

It was Star Wars, a hockey battle between two superpowers.

And on Friday night the Russians pushed all the right buttons. Moscow's Central Red Army outgunned the Edmonton Oilers 6-3.
...
Vladimir Krutov, described by the Oilers as the Soviets most North Americanized player (tough in the corners), also had a pair on Moog.
...

...
9. Vladimir Krutov (KROO-tov), 25, left wing: Best left winger in the Soviet Union. Top Soviet scorer in last year's Canada Cup (three goals, five assists).
...

...
There were few surprises in the six-hour lottery. New York took a kid named Joe Ranger in the 10th round which brought a guffaw from the crowd. When the Canucks took one of the world's best wingers Vladimir Krutov in Round 12 it brought a roar.

"I think the Scottish kid we took (Tony Hand) has a better chance of playing in the NHL," laughed Oiler chief scout Barry Fraser.

...
Vladimir Krutov - No. 9, RW, 5-9, 180, 26 years old. Central Red Army. Good shooter, scorer. Has 53 goals in 86 matches. One of 23 Soviet "Honored Masters of Sport."
...

...
9 Vladimir Krutov, right wing
26, one third of the famous Krutov-Larionov-Makarov line regarded as the best anywhere, he is the second-highest career scorer against NHL teams with 19 goals and 19 assists in 27 games. Drafted last year by the Vancouver Canucks in the 11th round.
...

...
VLARIMIR KRUTOV (VLAD-i-meer KROO-tov), 27, left wing: A bruiser on skates. His strength and his shot make him difficult to stop. Certainly the best left wing in the game, and if Makarov isn't the best winger in the world, Krutov is. In 62 world championship and Olympic games, he has 38 goals and 34 assists for 72 points.
...

...
There was talk that most of the Soviet stars were on the downside of their careers, that coach Viktor Tikhonov's neck would be stretched from here to Siberia if the Soviets didn't repeat as Olympic champions
...
There were strong indications that Soviet hockey was in for a thorough housecleaning if the boys didn't come back to Red Square with the gold.

It was thought that the fabled KLM line, Igor Larionov, flanked by Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov, was wearing down and was due to be put out to pasture (i.e. allowed to play in the NHL).
...
Larionov had even taken the extraordinary step of speaking out against the rigid Soviet training system and saying that the players were completely bored.

Comrades, it was all a smokescreen.

The old champs, invigorated by glasnost, the promise of luxury model Ladas, NHL paycheques or whatever, have rolled over weak and mighty opponents alike...

...
Vladimir Krutov - No. 9
Left wing. Shoots left. 5-9, 196.
Born: June 1, 1960 in Moscow.
Vancouver's 11th pick '86 entry draft

A prolific scorer who ranks 11th on the all-time Soviet goal-scoring list with 411 goals. Built like a fire hydrant, but speedy skater. Left wing on the KLM line. Scored the winning goal against the Islanders Thursday night. Scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Soviets' 5-3 victory in game 2 of Rendez-Vous '87. Had 7 goals and 7 assists in nine games in 1987 Canada Cup.

Soviet league totals: 404 games, 268 goals, 194 assists, 198 penalty minutes.

National Team totals: 271 games, 86 goals, 148 assists, 238 penalty minutes.
...

...
The list includes Fetisov and buddy Sergei Starikov, who are a defensive pairing in New Jersey;Vladmir Krutov and Igor Larionov...
...
How will they do?

"There's a lot of unanswered questions but you can't deny they're world-class players," said Oiler Mark Messier. "If they were brought up under our system they would be superstars. At this stage of their careers, if they can adapt, it's a tremendous feat. To come from a much different culture with a different schedule ... if they can still excel it'll be a credit to them being great athletes."

...

"They're no different from Swedes or Finns or Czechs," said Muckler. "Some will play well, some will fail. They'll have a difficult time with the culture change, the language barrior, the family life.

"They'll be no different from anybody else. Mogilny may have the easiest adjustment. He's not married. He's only 20. He doesn't have a wife and kids to worry about when he's on the road."

Nobody's questioning their ability to play the game, except for maybe Balderis, who spent last year coaching in Japan, which is a long way from prime time.

If our planet had to put together a team to play another one. Fetisov, Krutov, Larionov and Makarov would be on the all-earth team," said New Jersey assistant coach John Cunniff. "They'd be in that group with Lemieux and Gretzky, (Paul) Coffey and (Raymond) Bourque."

Muckler doesn't deny that. "They'd be on earth's team. But I disagree with the talk that Larionov, Krutov and Makaraov is the world's best line. Better than Gretzky, Lemieux and whoever else we had there in the '87 Canada Cup. I don't think so."

Moiseev agreed it obviously would be more interesting to compare players at the peak of their careers, not when they are coming over at 30.

Muckler figures there's been too much hype about the Soviet organization, that it's had too much of a mystique.

"I think we've found that the Canadian player is superior to what they have in Europe," he said.

But he's always loved skilled players, whether they're from Brantford or Voskresentsk. He really admires Krutov.

"He's the best of their so-called famous four coming over," Muckler said. "He's suited for the NHL, he's an aggressive player. I like Larionov, too. He's not more than 170 pounds, if he's that.
...
Moiseev, who used to be the assistant coach at Red Army, also has a soft spot for Krutov.

"He's like a block. He's my favourite forward. They will try to push him around but he can handle any checks. To me he's the sharpest player, the one who plays the most complicated game."
...
Keenan isn't so sure, though. "I don't know how they'll adjust to the lifestyle of a North American player, 80 games over 200 days going coast to coast."
...

...
The biggest challenge for the Soviets will be withstanding the grueling NHL schedule and the physical play on smaller rinks. Offensive players must pay a stiff price for scoring in this league.

"To Russian guys, the puck is like a toy," said Minnesota North Star Dusan Pasek, a Czech. "Here, the NHL is hard work. The puck is not a toy."

Paul Coffey of the Penguins wondered how quickly the Soviets would adapt. He told the Pittsburgh Press, "Fetisov isn't used to dumping the puck around the boards or anything like that. He's used to always having a guy there to give it to. If they're the hockey players everybody says they are, they'll be able to adjust."

Some NHL players resent the Soviet invasion, because some North Americans will lose their jobs and the Soviet government will benefit more from the signings than the players.

...

"There are plenty of folks in North America who still have the feeling that these are bad guys, and that they are going to come over here, take away jobs, and then take their money back home and build atom bombs and kill us," NHL Players association chief Alan Eagleson said.

"Perestroika is great, but I don't believe people want to see four, five Russians on one team," Hartford Whaler Kevin Dineen said.
...

On his finest night as a Vancouver Canuck, Vladimir Krutov could not be coaxed into sharing his thoughts with the public.

"No understand" he told the media relations director Darcy Rota before slipping out the side door, leaving Bob McCammon to handle the honors.

McCammon didn't mind a bit. In fact, the Canuck coach may still be babbling to himself about the night the real Vladimir Krutov finally showed up.

For 15 thoroughly frusting games, the Silent Soviet had done little but confound everyone with his lack of production and his apparent bewilderment at having to check.

But it all changed Thursday. Krutov, playing without injured comrade Igor Larionov, ignited the Canucks to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

"Vladimir was more involved tonight and for the first time I thought he really showed some emotion," said McCammon. "It's been coming every day. He's been trying to speak with people, he's trying to fit in and I think the other players have accepted him. The one thing hockey players have in common is the fact they need the respect of their peers.

"I mean this guy is a world-class athlete and he's probably sat up a few nights and thought 'Hey, I have to start making this happen'"

Krutov set up picture goals by Kevan Guy and Steve Bozek, the latter a Wayne Gretzky behind-the-net special, and created glorious chances for Tony Tanti and slumping sophomore Trevor Linden.
...

"Tonight Vladimir Krutov played the way he can. It was good to see him go out there and take charge. I was happy for him" - Canuck goaltender Kirk McLean.
...

...
Life in North America is a whirlwind of new activities for the Soviets, a transition that shapes values and ideals. It isn't without some difficulties, however, including inconsistent play by Igor (Larionov) and Vladimir (Krutov).

"Igor feels pretty comfortable in North American society," said interpreter Dusan Benicky. "He has the personality and ability to adjust."

Krutov, also 29, has run into the language barrier. While the personable Larionov speaks passable English, Krutov often remains withdrawn, with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Vladimir is lost in some strange societ," said Benicky. "It has hurt his hockey."
...

Another intepreter, Beth Novokshonoff, insists the Krutovs will handle the situation equally well once the language is less of a hinderance.

"They are having difficulty because they had never been outside the Soviet Union," said Novokshonoff. "Nobody really knows them yet."

The Krutovs did venture out without an interpreter a week before Christmas for a dinner engagement and apparently handled the language situation better than expected.

"We, too, are happy here although still adjusting," says Vladimir. "We are learning new words every day."

...

Lifestyle is a constant challenge to the Soviets, says (Stan) Smyl who, as captain, was handed the responsibility of welcoming the newcomers and showing them around.
...

Former Soviet star Vladimir Krutov, deemed physically unfit for the NHL, will not begin the season with the Vancouver Canucks.

Krutov reported to training camp overweight and did not practice with the club on Tuesday.

...

Krutov scored 11 goals and had 34 points in 61 games during his first NHL season. He was often benched when coach Bob McCammon determined Krutov was not in top physical condition.

"We wanted Vladimir Krutov to come here and show up in condition.. like he committed to in his contract," (Pat) Quinn said. "That didn't happen."

...

"We believed he was a world-class player who would come here and play like a world-class player," Quinn said. "We gave him every opportunity to show that."

"It is a disappointment because everyone was pulling for Vladimir Krutov to make the hockey team," McCammon said. "He came in [to camp] in very poor condition and he has not improved to the point where he deserves to play.

"I just think his 11 years with the Red Army team took its toll. I don't think he has it in him to do it at the National Hockey League level at this point."

History and hindsight leave no doubt: the Vancouver Canucks did, indeed, get stiffed in the Vladimir Krutov deal.

...

But they did not make a mistake in going after him, or in signing him. Given the situation at the time they did what any other team in the NHL would have done if it had the opportunity. They pursued and signed a man who was considered among the two or three finest players in Europe.
...

NHL scouts differed on how many could play at the NHL level - but almost to a man they agreed that the guy with the best chance was the barrel-chested Tank of the fabled KLM line, Vladimir Krutov.

He could skate, pass, and shoot at NHL level. In his case the usual doubts about European inclination to go into the corners never surfaced. He flourished in the rough going. He was rough, tough and pleasingly mean. In the previous world tournament he had been named the all-star left winger. If there was a Soviet player with C.O.D. NHL tatooed on his butt, that man was Vladimir Krutov.
...

There's no point in rehasing the old argument about whether Krutov was in shape when he got here, or whether he gave the team his best shot. The record says Larionov fit in even as he struggled to find his accustomed footing in a league he'd badly underestimated. Vladimir Krutov did not.

Had Krutov been playing previously in a North American league the Canucks would have had a better off-ice profile, a better handle on how he would react to starting over in a strange country where he didn't speak the language.
...

They've always said Vladimir Krutov's stomach kept him out of the NHL, but his old coach Bob McCammon says it was his heart. He was burned out by the time he got to Vancouver in 1989.

"Krutov was a great player. I felt sorry for him. Igor (Larionov) understood that he'd been to a couple of rehab centres back in Russia, something they never do over there. He had kidney problems and Igor said he'd taken steroids," said McCammon.

"Tikhonov just wore him out." he said. "He just lost all his drive by the time he got to Vancouver. I don't think he was drinking too much there but he was eating."

But even when he did chow down, he'd work his butt off to lose it, but couldn't. "He'd ride the bike for two hours after practice and couldn't lose a pound. I guess it was his metabolism. It caught up to him."

McCammon patiently played him. But Krutov just never looked like the player he was in Russia, an unbelievable talent who did things effortlessly with the Soviet national team. But nothing worked when he got to Vancouver.
...

Vladimir Krutov was remembered Wednesday as an excellent Soviet hockey player but not one suited to play in the NHL or live a western lifestyle.
...
"I think Kruts was the proverbial fish out of water," said Paul Reinhart, a former teammate on the Vancouver Canucks.

"He just never really got adjusted or acclimitized to the North American world and, therefore, he was never able to produce. But he was as good a player all through the 1980s as anybody in the world. I think the shame for Kruts is that he was not suited to leave Russia. And that's unfortunate."
...
While the other four had significant NHL careers after coming over, Krutov reported to the Canucks overweight and out-of-shape and lasted just one season in Vancouver, scoring 11 goals in 61 games. Pat Quinn was Canuck GM during that time and he recalled dealing with a miserably unhappy player.

"Larionov was very urbane, worldy educated sort of guy and was excellent in English, while Krutov not so much," Quinn explained. "He didn't have any English and was a peasant in terms of his upbringing. He was certainly a good hockey player but, unlike Larionov who was able to make the transition quite easily and welcomed it, Krutov was homesick right away.

"It was a terrible experience for him. He really wasnt' enjoying it all and he didn't want to be here. You could see flashes of his hockey ability from time to time, but not enough. He couldn't sustain it. He wasn't conditioned well. His passing is sad. We never got to know him really well."
...
"I'd say I probably played against Kruts maybe 10 times, including the 1981 Canada Cup and a number of world championships," said Reinhart, now a mining executive in Vancouver. "He was an absolute bull of a player. He was a plug in terms of how strong he was. With his combination of skill and strength on his feed, he was exceptional. When he was here with the Canucks, we never saw him at his best, or anywhere near it."
...
"We tend to forget how hard it was for the Russians coming over," continued Reinhart, five months older than Krutov. "They were not only leaving their own system and culture, they were coming to a culture that wasn't necessarily welcoming. What I mean by that is the fact Kruts and Larionov were among the first Russians, the pioneers, to come over here. There were some reservations by Canadians, Canadian hockey players and media in terms of 'Hey, what are these Russians doing here, stealing our jobs and our money?'

"I'm not suggesting that was a main factor in Kruts not adjusting," added Reinhart, "but it certainly was an underlying one. He left a very rigid environment that he was very controlled in. He just had a very tough time adjusting to the freedoms."

Reinhart is convinced that Krutov's disastrous one season with the Canucks has unfairly tarnished his image.

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely," Reinhart responded. "He was an unbelieveable player, as good as those other two guys on that line."
...

Vladimir Krutov, a husky Russian hockey player who combined speed, strength and lightning-quick wrists to become a critical component of the superb Soviet teams of the 1980s, earning the nickname the Tank died Wednesday in Moscow. He was 52.
...

> Misc <

Rendez-Vous '87, the 2 game exhibition series between the Red Army and the NHL all stars. Krutov scored twice for the Soviets, and was a standout in both games.

Vladimir Krutov is without any doubt one of the best forwards ever to play the game. Anatoli Tarasov, the dean of Russian hockey coaches, once concluded that a forward had to keep an eye on every move his partners made while not losing sight of the beautiful women sitting in the 10th row of the stands. According to Tarasov, there were only two players who could accomplish as much, Valeri Kharlamov and Vladimir Krutov.

Together with centre Igor Larionov and winger Sergei Makarov, Krutov formed arguably the best and most elegant forward line ever to perform on the international scene. His resume says it all: Two-time Olympic champion (1984 and 1988), one Olympic silver medal (1980) and five IIHF World Championship gold medals where he was named Best Forward on two occasions. He was selected to the World Championship All-Star Team every year between 1983 and 1987.

He totaled an amazing 139 points in 114 major international competition.

Krutov amassed a truly unbelievable 503 points in 438 games with his club team CSKA Moscow, the national champion eleven times during Krutov's career.

Krutov was a cannonball of a forward, nicknamed Tank because of his stout nature and robust play. With a double chin at the age of the 19, he didn't look like a typical Soviet athlete. His crafty play was matched by a hard competitive edge, resembling the great Boris Mikhailov. With his speed and strength he was one Soviet forward who was very effective along the walls and in the corners. I can't decide which was more impressive - Krutov's astonishing rocket bursts from a stand still or his piercing wrist shot.

So don't judge Vladimir Krutov on his lackluster performance in one NHL season dominated by his tough adjustment to capitalist life. If you ever get to watch the 1987 Canada Cup on video, you'd agree, Krutov was an incredible hockey player, perhaps the best on the Soviet team.

---

But we need not look any further than Larionov's own wingers to find two equally deserving Hall of Fame inductees, perhaps even more worthy - Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Krutov.

Ready to take those brilliant passes were Krutov and Makarov, the wingers with the speed and offensive arsenal of fighter jets. They were explosively spectacular players, blessed with incredible skating and puck handling ability.

Krutov was a cannonball of a forward, nicknamed Tank because of his stout nature and robust play. With a double chin at the age of the 19, he didn't look like a typical Soviet athlete. His crafty play was matched by a hard competitive edge, resembling the great Boris Mikhailov. With his speed and strength he was one Soviet forward who was very effective along the walls and in the corners. I can't decide which was more impressive - Krutov's astonishing rocket bursts from a stand still or his piercing wrist shot.

Igor Larionov was the unselfish and brainy chessmaster of the KLM Line. With his help, both Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov harnessed their near-limitless raw talent and became the best players in the world.

I am absolutely convinced that both Krutov and Makarov are among the top 5 wingers of the 1980s. I would suggest only Mike Bossy and Jari Kurri would challenge either for top billing, with Michel Goulet maybe rounding out the top 5.

Vladimir Krutov a stocky and strong left wing was discovered by the great Valeri Kharlamov. Krutov was a home grown CSKA product which was pretty rare back then for the Army club.

Vladimir Krutov was the guy with the temperament. He was called "The Tank" partly for his 5'9", 195 lbs frame but also for his style of play. He was a very dangerous player in front of the net.

> Quotes <

I'm very happy that I'm not forgotten at the international level. And I would like not to be forgotten in Russia as well. We were hard workers. Speaking frankly, we were the same human beings as everybody else, but we were fond of hockey and we gave our best for the game. It was a great pleasure for us to play hockey.

Vladimir Krutov is the master in front of the goal. He's the one who seeks challenges and battles and on most occasions comes out on top.

* - borrowing heavily on the earlier bio by EagleBelfour

 

[tinyzombies]

Beefing up our PP1 and adding some meanness. The guy who took out Gretzky's back (I was at the game...), @Stanky Marmalade and I will go with: 6-0, 215lb of nasty:

Gary Suter

Biographical Information courtesy of Gary Suter Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Salary, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

Position: LD ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-0 ▪ Weight: 215 lbs.
Born: June 24, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin

Stanley Cup winner
Calder Trophy winner
Norris record: 3,7,7,8
AS2
50 VsX7-assists

Powerplay:

Powerpl Pts/82

PP% (hi)

TmPP+ (hi)

29

80%

1.13

Stats courtesy of Gary Suter Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Salary, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

-844 points in 1145 career games
-90 career power play goals
-4 time all star
-1985-1986 Rookie of the Year
-2 time Olympian

Legends Of Hockey is currently down, when it comes back up I'll post snippets of Suter's bio.

Joe Pelletier:

Having been passed up in both the '82 and '83 entry drafts, Suter (a product of the University of Wisconsin) spent the following summer lugging cases of beer at a brewery in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, wondering if he would ever get a chance to play in the big leagues. Finally, he was selected by Calgary in the 9th round of the '84 draft. Although neither Suter nor the Flames were terribly ecstatic at the time, this turned out to be one of the best late-round investments ever.

In his inaugural season (1985-86), Suter exploded offensively with 68 points (highlighted by a 6-point night against Edmonton), earning him the Calder Trophy. Two years later, he topped that mark by setting a career high 91 points (scoring in 16 consecutive contests), and he finished third in Norris Trophy voting after Ray Bourque and Scott Stevens. During eight and a half seasons in Calgary, Suter tallied 60 or more points six times, finished fourth among league defensemen in scoring six years in a row, and was offered a spot in the All-Star Game four times. Injuries precluded him from skating in both the 1986 and 1989 Stanley Cup Finals; nevertheless, he understood what it meant to be a big-time player and consistently carried his scoring touch into the playoffs.

During his years in Calgary, Suter roomed with and manned the point alongside Hall of Famer Al MacInnis. Together, they provided one of the best defensive pairings (if not the best) in the NHL. Said former Flames Assistant GM Al MacNeil, "[both Gary and Al] were magic on the powerplay." While Big Al's booming slapshots tended to overshadow Suter's floating wrist shots, Suter was still respected as one of the best defensemen in the league. When he left Calgary in 1994, he ranked second all-time in team scoring behind MacInnis (making Calgary the only club ever to, at any particular time, have two defensemen as its top two all-time scorers).

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

Announcing the ATD debut of

Leon Draisaitl

Born: Köln, Nordhein-Westfalen Germany- 27 October, 1995.

To date, the most internationally important German-trained Hockey Player of All-Time. Developed his early junior game in his homeland under watchful eye of three-time Ice Hockey Winter Olympian father Peter Draisaitl. Became available for Canadian Major Junior Play in the 2012 CHL Import Draft, where he was selected behind Ivan Barbashev (whose fate will parallel Sam Bowie in being a really cool answer to a trivia question) by Prince Albert. The Raiders later traded his rights for a set of five parts (none of whom will be good answers to trivia questions) to the Kelowna Rockets. In 2015, Kelowna would go top of table in the Western Hockey League, then narrowly fall short in the Memorial Cup Final against Oshawa. Won the "other" Smythe Trophy (Stafford Smythe) for Memorial Cup tourney MVP- making clear that Kelowna's near-miss should not be put down to him- a theme that (as we will see) repeats.

At the time that Draisaitl was making his deep run with Kelowna, Draisaitl already has NHL-play under his belt, making his arguably-rushed NHL-debut in the final weeks of 2014. The Edmonton Oilers selected him 3rd overall in the 2014 entry-draft (behind Aaron Ekblad & Sam Reinhart- who deserve better than to be remembered as answers to trivia questions [do you recall "Be Bad for Eklblad?!]- but history can be unforgiving, that way).

In 2014-15, Edmonton employed time-honored near-ubiquitous expedient of playing him less than 40 games, to preserve a year off his Entry-Level Contract. Growing pains were evident, doubtless not aided by an entropic coaching and front-office situation- another ongoing leitmotif in his pro-career.

Personal career fortunes improve markedly with arrival of Connor McDavid in 2015-16. plus natural development and adjustment to the NHL-grind. Team as-a-whole appears to turn significant corner in 2016-17... and Draisaitl, although clearly not the biggest part of that, remains a rather significant part as he plays all 82 games and begins his multi-positionality detour, as he finds himself at the face-off dot more often than teammate McDavid, yet receives serious AS consideration at RW (4th, behind Kane, Kucherov, Tarasenko), Furthermore, Draisaitl comfortably leads team in Playoff Points in the two-round Playoff Run for the Oilers.

2017-18 is something of a lost year for both Draisaitl and team, as Edmonton's defensive decay sets in, just barely missing being bottom-of-conference in that regard. Draisaitl's offense numbers dip as well- but one key part of his career development is that Leon flips the script on his face-off percentage numbers that year- and has not looked back since.

2018-19- in spite of coaching change, defensive misfortune continues to plague Edmonton, as they again miss The Playoffs with the next-to-worst Goals Against in the Conference. Draisaitl returns to Multi-Positionality Cove, as he receives significant All-Star support at LW [4th- behind Ovechkin, Marchand, Gaudreau]. Trivia note- if Draisaitl's votes at C & RW were added to his LW totals, he would have finished 3rd. (Yes, I DID take into account Gaudreau's misplaced RW consideration into this equation, as well. Not apropos of anything... but- can somebody pull the credentials of some of the folks that vote this way, already?!) Draisaitl's 2018-19 season-line: 51 Goals (2nd Overall to Ovechkin), 55 Assists [T5-6 among LWs, behind Marchand, Gaudreau, Giroux, Panarin, and tied with Teravainen], 105 Points [4th Overall, behind Kucherov, McDavid, and Kane].

Leon Draisaitl builds on previous year's success with massive breakout year in 2019-20, benefitting from being slotted back in at Center, and enduring the COVID-bubble to top the league in multiple key offensive statistics, Draisaitl's 2019-20 season: 43 Goals [4th, behind Ovechkin, Pastrnak, and Matthews], 67 Assists [1st, ahead of Teammate McDavid, and Panarin), 110 Points [1st, over a dozen points ahead of teammate McDavid.] Hart Trophy, Lindsay Award, AS-1. In Playoffs, McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and aging James Neal drive team offense to the extent that the rest of the team combined and quintupled doesn't equal their output, Team Goaltending also fails as Edmonton improbably falls to Chicago in The Playoffs.

2020-21 shows McDavid cresting 100 points and re-assuming the mantle of team's top offensive threat. However, Draisaitl is league runner-up in Assists and Points, (to McDavid), as well as finishing 4th in Goals (behind Matthews, McDavid, and DeBrincat), and (for the first time), Draisaitl leads the Oilers in plus/minus, possibly reflecting continuing growth as an even-strength force, Leon's 2020-21 line-stats: 31 Goals [4th], 53 Assists [2nd], 84 Points [2nd]. Edmonton's brooming out of The Playoffs comes in spite of Draisaitl leading the team AND tying for leading the series in points. [Sort of improbable given that it was a sweep.]

2021-22 returns Draisaitl to the count of at-or-near level-pegging for Goals and Assists. 55 Goals, [2nd behind Matthews], 55 Assists [eking into top 2-dozen), 110 points [4th behind McDavid, Huberdeau, and Gaudreau], plus AS-3 at C (behind Matthews and McDavid). Also, in a post-season run that's so unprecedented as to likely be unique, he was 2nd in post-season points with 32 (behind McDavid), in spite of the fact that they didn't make The Final, AND in spite of Leon playing through a significant ankle injury limiting mobility. If anyone thought that McDavid was destined to be a Playoff Disappointment, OR if anyone thought that Draisaitl's courage was subject to question, those thoughts should be banished, based on what transpired last year.

I will save the space for this season- and hope to enter more information later- because I believe in the Kenny Rogers stanza about not counting one's money while you're sitting at the table. Let's just introduce a video here- and would ask anyone so viewing to screen it WITHOUT taking notes- then come back the text on the other side:



Now, without looking, what highlights were the most memorable? The end-to-end rushes were nice- but those have been seen before. For me, I was impressed by the solo-cycle in front of the net before passing away for a goal, the no-look, back-to-the-play backhand-pass for a goal, and the score that combines a Sakic release with Kane angle-ownage to finish.

Leon Draisaitl- 17th Round draft-pick of the GIMLI Whisky-Thieves, ATD 2023