ATD2011 Bio Thread

[Velociraptor]

Bob Pulford, C/LW

Position: Center/Left Wing
HT/WT: 5'11", 185 lbs
Shoots: Left
Nickname: "Pully"

- 4-time Stanley Cup winner
- Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame (1991)
- 281 goals, 643 regular season points in 1079 games played.
- 25 goals, 51 playoff points in 89 games played.

Pulford is one of my private headaches, because he has to be classed as one of hockey's greatest forecheckers. There's a deep knowledge of the game in his forechecking, hook, poke check, strength of arms, quickness, the whole bundle of wax.

He played with Toronto for 14 seasons and won four Stanley Cups with the Leafs during that time. Pulford scored one of the more important goals in Leafs history when he beat Rogie Vachon at 8:26 of the second overtime period to give the Leafs a 3-2 win over Montreal in game three of the 1967 finals.

Bob was one of the most reliable players in the NHL during his16-year NHL career that spanned over three decades.

His value to his teams couldn't be measured in stats. He reached the 20 goal plateau only four times and the 50 point plateau three times. Bob was considered one of the best fore-checkers in the NHL with a knack of scoring important goals. He thrived under pressure and was especially valuable during the playoffs when the checking got tougher.

Legendary Montreal coach Toe Blake was once asked who he would pick from the Toronto team if he could. Toe didn't pick Frank Mahovlich, Dave Keon or Tim Horton, but he chose Bob, and when asked why, his simple explanation was, "He's the heart of that hockey club." Bob sure was, and he was a stubborn man when principles were involved. Bob once refused to play an exhibition game with Toronto in Los Angeles because he hadn't reached an agreement on his contract with the club. Other players, in the same circumstances, played. But Bob sat out because he felt he was right, knowing he would be suspended. He got suspended by Punch Imlach but signed soon, on his terms.

Bob was no superstar but a player who could be counted on to show up night after night and play exactly after the coach's instruction.

 

[overpass]

Harold "Bullet Joe" Simpson

Morning Leader, Jan 11, 1923:

As we announced yesterday, our selection for the position of right defense on the Leader's all-star prairie league hockey team will not likely cause much controversy.

He is Harold "Joe" Simpson of the Edmonton Eskimos, of whom there is no better all-round defense player in the circuit.

Simpson has all the requirements of the ideal hockey player. Besides being good on the check and fast on his skates, he is a clean, conscientious player and is in the game for the full sixty minutes.

Simpson is probably best known for his "corkscrew" rushes which first earned him fame when he helped the 61st Battalion win the Allan Cup.

Simpson was out of hockey for two or three years during the war and signallized his return to the game by helping the Selkirk team, composed largely of juniors the season before, qualify for the Allan Cup final at Toronto in 1919. The Selkirk boys lost out to Hamilton but only after a game struggle.

The following year Simpson played brilliant hockey on the Selkirk defense and it was no fault of his that his team was beaten to the tape in the Manitoba league by the famous Falcons. When the Selkirk team toured the west at the tail-end of the season Joe was the first member to attract special attention, but he refused to turn pro until he became disgusted with the talk in Winnipeg that he was staying in the amateur ranks for monetary gain. Then he hiked to Edmonton where he has become the idol of the hockey public.

Simpson is easily the most dangerous defense man in the prairie league. He ranks high among the goal-getters and possesses the punch to come through with a tally when it is most needed.

We may be wrong, but our guess is that our choice of Joe Simpson will receive the endorsement of 90 percent of the railbirds on the prairie circuit.

Simpson's performance in the Stanley Cup Final of 1923 against Ottawa (held in Vancouver, a neutral site).

Game 1

Edmonton started red hot favorites with the crowd. Every time little Joe Simpson came down the ice with his sensational bursts, the six thousand fans cheered him to the echo

A corkscrew rush down the right wing by Simpson resulted in a snappy shot on Benedict.

Simpson went down the right wing and held the puck until he was within a few feet of Benedict. His shot was saved by pretty work.

Edmonton went into the lead when Morrison scored, subbing in for Keats, went in with Simpson and took a pass close in from Joe, which he shot past Benedict like lightning.

Simpson made a rush which carried him in for a shot. The Ottawa defense picked up the puck but Simpson had caught them before they had crossed the blue line and returned for another shot.

Game 2

"Little Joe" Simpson was the star of the Esks. He made thousands of friends by his brilliant dashes and his undeniably sporting spirit. He played the man and the puck in equal proportions but he played with conspicuous regard to the rules. Newsy Lalonde's expressed opinion that Joe Simpson is the greatest hockey player in the world will find general support in the coast country. He is a wonderful athlete and a gentleman on and off the ice.

Every time he rushed in Saturday's game he was given an ovation. His work was the outstanding incident. He was half the Edmonton attack, and his uncanny faculty for keeping his feet and his legs under difficulties is amazing. He was given a rough ride all evening by the Senators. All the penalties incurred, including Benedict's, were caused by attacks on "Little Joe." The first period alone, Clancy, Benedict, Nighbor, and Broadbent brought him down with trips or slashed wickedly at his form as it gyrated around them or flashed past. Benedict tried to separate him from his legs behind the goal and the fans razzed the tall iceberg as Ion banished him for two minutes. Judging by the support accorded him Simpson could displace Mayor Tisdall if he sought the job of bossing Vancouver.

A moment later Simpson passed to Keats in front of Benedict. The Edmonton centre missed the pass.

Simpson carried the puck the length of the ice and passed to Gagne, Gagne missing.

Joe Simpson stickhandled his way all through the Ottawa defense for what seemed to be a certain goal but lost out by Benedict making a sensational save.

Memories of Simpson's career from later

Billy Finlay, Vancouver Sun, Nov 10, 1932:

Simpson was the "Babe" Ruth of the Western Canada circuit. His presence on the ice was always one of the big attractions wherever he performed. The flashy defense star was one of the most colorful players ever to perform at the Arena, and that is saying a lot when it is considered the many outstanding puck chasers who have flashed forth in the past twenty years.

"Newsy" Lalonde, who had many a mixup with the former Edmonton puckist when managing Saskatoon Sheiks, and who is now coaching the Montreal Canadiens, recently remarked that Simpson was one of the best defense men he had ever seen in his career.

We well remember when Simpson started his career. In fact, we were refereeing a senior amateur game in Winnipeg when Joe blossomed forth as a rover for a Winnipeg team. He had previously performed in junior hockey in the town of Selkirk, 25 miles east of the Manitoba capital.

Simpson wasn't any standout as a rover, but when he got his chance on defense it wasn't long before he had the fans sitting up and taking notice and it took some pretty smart playing in those days to outshine the opposition in Winnipeg hockey.

It was after he joined the army and played hockey for the 61st Battalion that Simpson really came to the front. His wonderful playing both on defense and attack had more than anything else to do with the team capturing the Allan Cup, emblematic of the amateur hockey championship of Canada. It was that year that he became famous as "Corkscrew" Joe, owing to his style of dodging through the opposition.

Simpson never showed his real class in the National Hockey League. He was a bit past his prime when he moved east after Frank Patrick disposed of the Western Canada league players. He gave earnest service to the New York Americans, but never the same scintillating flash that marked his career in western hockey.

George Mackintosh, Edmonton Journal, March 6, 1941:

Says Baz O'Meara in the Montreal Star: "Someone was writing about Stanowski as the nearest approach to Joe Simpson that has been seen in years...the Joe Simpson who played in the east was only a shadow of "Bullet Joe" who thrilled western audiences...It was too bad so few sport writers in the east saw him at his best. They would have seen a player who could break faster than Hamby Shore, skate faster than Clancy, handle a stick like Gottselig, shoot like Sprague Cleghorn...But the east did something to him...He became a wobbly skater, put on about 20 pounds that he never seemed to be able to shed, and was always too amiable to be impressive...Stanowski is a greater rusher but is still a long way from being a Simpson as Joe was at his peak."

Mr O'Meara is right. "Joe the Bullet" was past his best by the time he went east, but when he was with Edmonton the guy was the biggest attraction in hockey. There's been no player quite like him since, and it's doubtful if another like him ever will come along. From the strict defensive angle there have been plenty of better performers than Simpson, but none his equal at serving up rushing thrills.

Simpson had a hard shot. Gorde Hunter, Calgary Herald - Dec 15, 1962:

If I'm not mistaken, the shots of that era (Babe Dye, Bullet Joe Simpson, Duke Keats) were just as hard as the ones propelled by Hull, Howe, and Mahovlich today.

Was Simpson the best offensive defenceman in the world at his peak?

He scored 99 points from 1921-22 to 1924-25, first among all defencemen. Georges Boucher and Harry Cameron would also be up there.

He appears to have been better than his western competition, Lloyd Cook and Art Duncan.
Calgary Herald, March 21, 1923

Joe Simpson, reputed to be one of the greatest hockey stars in the game today, is better than either Duncan or Cook, but he hasn't a mate that completes a pair equal in strength to the Vancouver couple.

Joe Simpson for Frank Nighbor - the trade that almost was

In the summer of 1924, Ottawa and Edmonton agreed to swap Frank Nighbor and Joe Simpson straight up, before the deal fell through.

Remember while reading this that various sources certainly have agendas, so not everything can be taken at face value. But it certainly appears that the trade was very close to being made.

Aug 16, 1924, Calgary Daily Herald

Latest advice from eastern sport circles give foundation for the report that Ottawa is after Joe Simpson, Edmonton hockey defence flash, and it is said that the Senators have gone so far as to offer Frank Nighbor, noted hook-check star and centre man of the Ottawa club, in exchange for Simpson.

Kenny MacKenzie, Eskimo manager...does not look with any great favor on the idea of trading Nighbor for Simpson. He figures Nighbor has seen his best day.

In fact, Simpson's play would drop off sooner than Nighbor's. Not that surprising - both were 31 years old at the time, so it was definitely a deal where both players could be expected to be on the decline. MacKenzie's statement is probably just negotiating through the press, in any case.

Ten days later, the same paper carried the following report:

Calgary Daily Herald, Aug 26, 1924

When the curtain rolls up on the 1924-25 hockey season—and that's only in a matter of a month or so—there will be one famous flashing figure missing from the lineup of the Edmonton Eskimos, the same being Joe Simpson. If it had not been announced by Manager MacKenzie some time ago that he was willing to trade Simpson, the news that the greatest defense man in the game was to leave the club would have been a shock not only to Edmonton hockey fans, but to fans all over the Western Canada circuit

Simpson will perform for the Ottawa Senators during the coming season, and in exchange the Eskimos will get Frank Nighbor. one of the most brilliant forwards in the National League. According to information given out by Manager MacKenzie, the deal was consummated yesterday, and it’s an even trade. Simpson for Nighbor. with nothing to boot either way. Tongues will wag over this deal as probably they have never wagged before since the inception of the Western Canada League.

Simpson was obviously very highly rated out west. And Ottawa must have seen something they liked also.

An Eastern paper the next day gave some reasons why Ottawa might want to do the deal.

Aug 27, 1924, Montreal Gazette

In the first place, the Canadian Press wire carried a despatch from Calgary, where the western magnates have been in session, stating that "Bullet Joe" Simpson, sensational defence man of the Edmonton Eskimos, had been traded to the Ottawas for Frank Nighbor, centre man of the Senators, who was voted last winter the most valuable all-round player in the National League.

...

Right on top of this came an announcement from Toronto that Reg "Hooley" Smith, brilliant centre man of the Canadian Olympic hckey team, had signed with the Ottawas.

...

It is quite evident that the Ottawas plan a big shake-up and it is said that they have offered several of their players to Cecil Hart for the new club in Montreal.

Looks like Smith was to replace Nighbor at centre. Other speculation from the Journal via Morning Leader had a potential lineup with George Boucher and Joe Simpson on defence, and King Clancy back as a substitute.

Aug 27, 1924, Morning Leader

The Journal states that it has learned unofficially that the Senators are also after Frank Boucher, of Vancouver, and he may be in an Ottawa uniform before the new year, and it also claims to have learned unofficially that it was doubtful if Nighbor will go west. There are rumors that he will retire from the game.

The Journal then goes on to speculate on the following lineup for the 1924-25 season: Joe Ironstone, goal; George Boucher and Joe Simpson, defence, Cy Denneny, Hooley Smith, and Punch Broadbent, on the forward line. Hitchman will be spare defence player and Clancy Finnegan and probably Frank Boucher substitute forwards.

The speculated lineup looks pretty heavy in defensive talent, with Boucher and Simpson starting, Hitchman as a sub, and Clancy as a forward sub. The last paragraph in the above quote suggests another possibility - Ottawa was planning to move some of their defensive depth to Montreal. Montreal coveted Clancy, according to this article.

In any case, the deal ended up falling through. Some reports had Nighbor possibly refusing to report to Edmonton, upon which the deal was conditional. And in the end, the deal was blocked by the Toronto club.

Morning Leader - Aug 28, 1924

Where the Edmonton Eskimos will stand when the season gets under way about December 8 was not revealed at the miracled meeting. But one point seems fairly well disposed of - Kenny Mackenzie will not be able to put over his trade of Joe Simpson for Frank Nighbor. Toronto St. Pats appear to have settled that little matter by their statement that they will refuse to waive the Ottawa star out of the N.H.L. The National League, it may not be generally known, has adopted the major league baseball plan of waivers, and no player can be sold or traded out of the circuit unless all other members of the loop are offered and refuse to purchase his services.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Russell "Dubbie" Bowie

Once again I must give credit to Dreakmur for graciously sharing his research after I poach his pick.

Russell Bowie, who toiled at center ice for the turn-of-the-century Victorias, has been called, by hard-line old-timers, the greatest pivotman to play the game…was a perpetual All-Star.

He played for over a decade with Victorias and at that time was easily the best scorer in hockey as well as being the outstanding stick-handler of the epoch.

Bowie was recognized as the trickiest player on skates, and the most effective scoring player in the game.

Bowie, who from 1905-09, was the Howie Morenz of his day, once refused the fabulous offer of $3000 plus $4 per minute for a 12-game season with a professional club.

It took more than the ability to score goals to get by against such stalwarts as Frank McGee, Harvey Pulford, and the Smiths, but even in this company, Bowie, over a period of ten years, was the leading scorer of the Eastern Canadian Hockey Association. Bowie was probably the shiftiest player that ever carried a puck. He could nurse the puck between his own skates and swing through the opposition, avoiding checks with a deftness that beggars description. He was probably the brainiest player who ever handled a stick… It would take columns of space to tell of his scoring feats…

Perhaps one of the greatest players to ever don a pair of skates…. Feared by such greats as Frank McGee, Harvey Pulford, Harry Westwick, Alf and Harry Smith, Billy Gilmour and Arthur Moore of the Ottawa Silver Seven…. Bowie is listed in what is believed to be the first all-star team ever selected in major hockey in 1905.

Of the 4 forwards mentions (on the 1905 All-Star Team), Bowie is perhaps the slowest skater. But Bowie does not win games with his skates. His head and hands have brought him the reputation he holds as the most effective scoring player in the game.

…Bowie dashing in on the net, banged in a rebound… Bowie, coming through like a flash, picked it out, and, swinging around to the front of the nets, placed his team in the lead for the final time.

From the Vics’ point of view, there was only one man on the ice. That was Russell Bowie. Speedy, a beautiful stickhandler and a rattling shot, he won the match for the Vics.

When you look at these last three quotes I think the latter two put the first of the three in perspective. He was not slow, so much as many other top players were very fast and that he did not rely on speed for his success, but when needed he could. Likely indicating high acceleration but less top speed.

…known from ocean to ocean, and was even celebrated in the United States, as many judged by the fact they called Hobby Baker the American Russel Bowie.

Bowie picked the puck out of a scuffle and gallantly broke clear of the melee.

…and then when the results were assured. Bowie was covered by Frank Glass like a home player on a lacrosse team, and cross-checked and buffeted about every time he came near the Wanderers goal. Once he was provoked to retaliation, with the result that both he and Glass were banished to the box for a five-minute rest.

Nothing could keep Bowie away from the nets, and his eyes and wrists are apparently as quick as ever. He tired under the close attention he was receiving, however, but even then, when he looked all in, he would break away with a fine show of reserve strength.

The close checking from both sides was one of the features of the game… Bowie is always a closely watched player, but he was given more than the average amount of attention Saturday night. Every time the Irishmen’s goals were threatened there were cries from all parts of the rink to “watch Bowieâ€. But the Vics star was in great form in the first half, beating out ________ for three of the Vics goals and giving the Shamrock goaler close calls on half a dozen other occasions. He was right in the nets at every opportunity, ready for one of those lightning shots that would follow a pass from the side. Besides this, in the first half, he did more than his share of carrying the disc through the Shamrock defense… The checking was very close and a good deal of it was foul work. The Shamrocks used their sticks pretty freely early in the game, and the officials let things go a while without penalties.

I think this set of quotes tells us two things:
1. While there is no indication he was an instigator, he did not shy away from physical hockey.
2. He had a real nose and hunger for goals and to do whatever it takes to get them, much like a Rocket Richard.

Bowie, in the minds of the rooted who have followed the game for year, is the trickiest hockey player that ever stepped on the ice.

Russell Bowie is certainly the king-pin of the Vics, and one of the best stickhandlers who ever put skates on.

Russell Bowie, captain of the Victorias…

… Russell Bowie, the stellar rover of the Victorias...

Awards and Achievements:
Hockey Hall of Fame (1945)

Stanley Cup Champion (1899)
Allan Cup Champion (1909)
Montreal Victorias Captain

6 x Scoring Leader (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1908, 1909*)

Charles Coleman's 1893 to 1926 All-Star Team from The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1 (ahead of Cy Denneny, Frank Foyston, Didier Pitre, Gord Roberts, etc)

Ultimate Hockey’s “Best Sniper†of the 1900s.
Ultimate Hockey’s “Best Stick-Handler†of the 1900s.

Scoring:
Points – 1st(1901), 1st(1903), 1st(1904), 1st(1905), 1st(1908), 1st(1909*), 2nd(1900), 2nd(1902), 2nd(1906), 2nd(1907), 3rd(1899)

Goals - 1st(1901), 1st(1903), 1st(1904), 1st(1905), 1st(1908), 1st(1909*), 2nd(1900), 2nd(1902), 2nd(1906), 2nd(1907), 3rd(1899)

Assists - 1st(1904), 1st(1908), 2nd(1906), 3rd(1903)

Scoring Dominance
From 1899 to 1908, Bowie scored 239 goals in 80 games.
Blair Russel, the next closest scorer, had 109 goals in 67 games.


1901 – Bowie scored 24 goals and the next guy only had 10
1903 – Bowie scored 22 goals (next had 14)
1904 – Bowie scored 27 goals (next had 19)
1905 – Bowie scored 26 goals (next had 19)

Here's how Bowie stacks up, head to head, with the other top offensive producers of his time:
Frank McGee vs. Russell Bowie (1903-1906)
McGee = 71 goals
Bowie = 106 goals

Ernie Russell vs. Russell Bowie (1905-1908)
Russell = 90 goals
Bowie = 127 goals

Tommy Phillips vs. Russell Bowie (1905-1908)
Phillips = 94 goals
Bowie = 127 goals


Bowie's League/Competition:
Bowie played in the CAHL and the ECAHA, which were actually the same league under different names, between 1899 and 1908, which were not the only leagues in the world, but they were certainly the best leagues in the world. This line of leagues would eventually change its name to the NHA. The vast majority of hockey's top talents of the time were playing in these leagues.

With the exception of a few teams - Winnipeg Victorias and Kenora Thistles were from out west an the Ottawa dyasty went to the FAHL for the 1905 season - the Stanley Cup was almost always controlled by a team who played in the CAHL or ECAHA. Not only that, but very few serious Cup Challenges were played that were from outside those same leagues.

- In MLD2010, I drafted a guy whose dominance offensively is similar to Bowie's and made him my first line center. Whether his leagues were the best or not was also questioned. I picked a season in the middle of his career and I showed that after 1104 picks, 70% of the picks who were active in that season were playing in the EC(A)HA. Which is especially impressive considering the IHL was around, and it took some great pros away for a while. (Even still, if they couldn't outscore Bowie when they played against him, it's unlikely they'd have posed a threat in the IHL years had they not left)

- The NHA and PCHA had about 95% of the very best (ATD and MLD-caliber) players between them, probably about 50% in the NHA and 45% in the PCHA most seasons. So it could be argued that they were even weaker than the EC(A)HA.

After 1100 picks, of the approximately 45 players active in 1906 that were deemed ATD/MLD-worthy, 70% were in Bowie's league. It was the best league and it wasn't close. (this assumes that we do a good job of player assessment, otherwise, the logic can be considered circular, but after 13 drafts at hf I am very confident in myself and my study buddies)

Other Fun Facts:
Here is an account of the 1903 Stanley Cup Challenge, where we know Bowie was suffering from a bad ankle injury. Based on the article these quotes come from, Bowie set up the Vics' only goal of the series.

Russell Bowie played and gave an excellent performance in spite of the many difficulties under which he labored.

Allen and Bowie appeared to do the lion’s share of the attack…. Bowie performed several neat feats but was unfortunate and again he was well watched.

The Victorias indulged in several rattling combinations that were good to look at. Bert Strachan, Bowie, and Allen were responsible for most of this style of work and it was done in good order too…

Play had hardly started when Fairbanks handed out a stiff cross-check and went off; Bowie dropping back to cover.

In 1906, Bowie considered retirement. The reason is no documented, but this is the same time that many players and teams started turning professional, and we know Bowie was vehemently opposed to professionals in hockey. Either way, here are some quotes talking about his "retirement":

Russell Bowie did not play with the Vics, and is considered to have robbed them of a victory.

When the Victorias appeared, Russell Bowie was there, and this gave rise to the story that he will play again this season. It is quite true that the former captain has repeatedly said he is out of the game, but his presence at two practices seems to indicate he has more than a passing interest in the team. Russel, Cavie Howard, and Gilbert will play, so that if Bowie would come out, it would make a sturdy forward line, and give the Victorias an attack that would face any line set against them and be able to flourish to the maximium of excitement.

 

[Velociraptor]

Jack Darragh, RW

Position: Right Wing
HT/WT: 5'10", 168 lbs
Shoots: Left

- 4-time Stanley Cup winner
- Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame (1962)
- 66 goals, 112 points in 121 regular season games played.
- 13 goals, 15 points in 19 playoff games played.
- 124 goals, 141 points in 132 NHA regular season games played, 6 goals in 7 playoff games. (Assists were rarely recorded.)
- Scoring finishes: 9th, 9th, 5th, 10th, 18th

Taking a 3-0 lead over the Buffalo Sabres, the Ottawa Senators are looking like likely Stanley Cup finalists for the first time since the 1920s. But if the Senators are to win the Stanley Cup in 2007, they'll need to find a hero to emerge. A hero like original Senator Jack Darragh.

Jack was a speedball with a great knack for goal scoring. His backhand was particularly lethal, often surprising goalies as that was a largely undeveloped tactic in those days. He also pioneered the "wrong wing" theory, as he was a left handed shot playing on the right side. Jack, one of the cleanest players of his era, had some fine years in the old NHA, scoring 124 goals (and 17 assists, which were rarely recorded) in 132 games.

Much like a modern day Glenn Anderson, Darragh was able to take his game to a higher level in Stanley Cup competition.

In 1920 Darragh led the Senators to their first Stanley Cup championship as a member of the NHL. He had the game winner in all three of Ottawa's victories among his five goals. With the series tied he took over with a hat-trick and was the big star in the series clincher. In addition to three winners he had a first goal and two unassisted tallies to his credit.

He was a rarity in that he played right wing but was a left-hand shot. While not an unusual strategy today, in the early days of the century, playing on the "wrong wing" was pioneering. He was a superb skater, a very clever stickhandler and had a good backhand shot. As a result, Darragh was a prolific scorer. In 1919-20, he scored 22 goals in 23 games, and over his 13-year pro career he averaged better than a goal every two games. In an era of fierce and often violent hockey, Darragh also had a reputation for being a pacifist.

In the spring of 1920, the Sens were champions of the new NHL and played the Seattle Metropolitans for the Stanley Cup. Although the best-of-five series was supposed to have been played entirely in Ottawa, mild weather forced the final two games to be shifted to the artificial ice of Toronto's Mutual Street Arena. In game one of the series, Darragh scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win, and in the fifth and deciding game for the Cup, he scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 clobbering of the Mets.

The next season the Sens again won the Cup, and again Darragh was the hero. The best-of-five series was played in Vancouver that year and once more the Cup was decided in the fifth game. Darragh scored both Ottawa goals in a 2-1 win and the Senators became the first NHL team to win consecutive Cups. In all, Darragh had seven goals in seven playoff games in 1921.

Darragh took the entire 1921-22 season off, but when he returned to the Senators the next year, it was as though nothing had changed. The Sens beat first the Millionaires and then the Edmonton Eskimos to win their third Stanley Cup in four years. Darragh played one more full season in the NHL, but in the summer of 1924 he succumbed to peritonitis.

Jack scored both goals in a 2-1 deciding final against Vancouver in 1921.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Gordie "Doc" Roberts

Four time top 10 in NHA Scoring: (3rd, 3rd, 6th, 9th)
Three time top 10 in PCHA Scoring: (1st, 2nd, 5th)

Every time the Westerners broke away they found either Walsh and Ridpath or Roberts and Stuart skating between them to intercept the pass or take the puck away. Coupled with this wonderful following back of the Ottawa forwards...

Gordon Roberts, the former Emmett player, however, was the real sensation of the night. Roberts stacked up against the great "Hay" Millar, and what he didn't do to the curly haired broncho buster from the wild and wooly isn't worth mentioning. Suffice to say that Roberts checked Millar to a standstill, and in addition notched no less than four of the Ottawa goals-a phenominal performance for a youngster. Roberts' stickhandling, his shooting and following back were beautiful, he driving two of Ottawa's goals past Winchester in the last half from very difficult angles.

Gordie Roberts as he was known in the bygone days of hockey was probably the greatest left-hand shot the game ever knew. Some say Babe Dye or Harry Cameron were just as good as Roberts when with Toronto St. Pats. Others say Roberts stood alone.

All hockey addicts and who isn't, remeber Gordie Roberts who carried more smoke in his left hand than probably any hockey player that ever laced on a skate. Roberts was a great left wing, one of the greatest that ever shuffled down the left side and let fly without telegraphing at some hapless goal tend who crossed his path.

Clint Banadict once swore by the beard of his grandfather that Roberts could curve a puck and he always had that reputation.

He had a swaying style of skating and he hunched his shoulders as he loomed up before the defence and just let blaze a shoulder high shot that had a habit of streaking down below the waist.

Malcolm Brice, one of the brightest little men that ever tapped a typewriter in sport and a sport editor who stood at "tops" when he ran the old Free Press sheet here, always maintained Roberts had the hardest and most deceptive shot in hockey.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

LW Dick Duff

7x NHL All Star Game Participant
6x Stanley Cup Champion
Hockey Hall of Famer
5x Top 20 Goals (8, 9, 11, 16, 20)
2x Top 20 Points (17, 18)
4x Top 10 Playoff Goals (4, 5, 7, 7)
6x Top 10 Playoff Assists (3, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
5x Top 10 Playoff Points (3, 4, 8, 9, 10)
Conn Smythe Runner Up 1969

Dick was one of the central figures as the Maple Leafs re-built the team through the late-fifties, enjoying three consecutive seasons with 25 or more goals for Toronto between 1956-57 and 1959-59...Duff played a pivotal role in the Stanley Cup championship won by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962... Dick scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal on April 22, 1962, as Toronto edged Chicago 2-1... Having the chance to play for the Canadiens revitalized Duff's spirit and his play. With the Canadiens, Dick was part of four more Stanley Cup championships, winning hockey most treasured prize in 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969.

-loh.net

...Dick Duff had carved out a reputation as a guy who came to play every night. Pound-for-pound one of the toughest men in the game... Too small to be considered a power forward, Duff still managed to play like one. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound left winger did everything expected of bigger forwards. He battled for the puck, carried it through traffic and staked a claim to his spot in front of the enemy net.

The determined play and drive to win that made Duff a pivotal member of successful Toronto teams was not something he had left behind... Duff quickly became a fan favorite and an essential component of the Canadiens team that won the Stanley Cup in the spring of 1965, picking up nine playoff points along the way.

Long recognized as one of the NHL’s most dogged competitors, Duff took his game to another level when the stakes were raised... Playoff pressure, while weighing heavily on many players’ shoulders, simply drove Duff to new heights

-ourhistory.canadiens.com

Dick Duff was known as one of the best "money players" of all time. He tasted the sweet smell of Stanley Cup success six times during a 18-year NHL career. He always seemed to reach his peak in the playoffs where he earned his reputation as one of the greatest clutch playoff performers of all time.

Duff was a small and fast player. His was also the ultimate team player. He never made an All-Star team or won an individual trophy; wins and Cup titles were more important to Duff.

By no means was Duff the most spectacular player on the ice, but when the game was on the line, Duff was the go-to guy. Though small he was scrappy and determined. He had a little bit of Glenn Anderson or xxx in him with his flair for the big playoff goal.

-Pelletier

He did well in his rookie year, scoring 18 goals and, in his aggressive play drew quite a few penalties... proved himself a good penalty killer. He was of somewhat slight build but did not hesitate to go into the corners with some of the hard rocks in the league. It was said, he wanted to Emulate the fiery Ted Lindsay.

-Trail of the Stanley Cup Vol. 3

Jean Beliveau once said that Duff was uncanny around the goal, while Yvan Cournoyer loved playing alongside Duff because of his playmaking skills...He was a rare player who excelled during the regular season yet managed to raise his game to another level when The Stanley Cup was on the line... The Habs squeezed Chicago in game 7 in 1965 for the Cup. Duff Led the way with a goal and two assists in that deciding game... His heart was the biggest part of his body, and his skill was virtually limitless. He was hands down a player any coach in the league would have wanted on his team. Winning was his greatest strength.

-Honoured Canadiens

He could be used on any line and fill any role. In 1969, Duff led the team in goals with six and finished second to Jean Beliveau in points with 14, and also finished second to Serge Savard in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

-Habs Heroes: Greatest Habs from 1 to 100

A smallish but tough LW

-Fischler's Hockey Encyclopedia

A couple of Leafs showed some life when Dick Duff got under the skin of Rocket Richard (the Canadiens star roughed up the Leaf player and when Duff tried to retaliate, the Pocket Rocket intervened)

-Cold War: A Decade of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry, 1959-1969

Still holds the record for the fastest two goals from the start of a playoff game (68 seconds), Indicative of his superior play when the Cup was at stake.

-Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide Of Everyone Who Has Ever Played In the NHL

Tiny but tough... an aggressive player and was effective both offensively and as a penalty killer...

-Hockey's Glory Days

Duff was as tough as nails and never hesitated to drop the gloves if he had to... he was simply determined to score goals.

-Maple Leafs Legends

Another problem, one that related directly to Mahovlich, was the fact that, offensively, Dick Duff had been carrying the team singlehandedly

-The Big M

Speedy Dick Duff, to the confusion of many, hadn't been used much... "One thing I'll always wonder about this series, is why Toe didn't use Duff more", Boom Boom Geoffrion said afterwards.

-'67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and The End Of An Empire

Duff had a move that would drive defenders to distraction. He would come in quickly and low, kick the puck into his skates and through a defenseman's feet, and pick it up again behind the opponent. In effect, he was passing to himself, and it worked more often than not. He'd make that move while driving toward the net or crossing the ice out at the blueline, opening up miles of room for Yvan and myself.

-Jean Beliveau: My Life in Hockey

In Montreal, Duff blossomed again as one of the best money players in the game, the most dangerous man on the ice when there was a big game to be won, especially in the playoffs. He still is, for my money.

-Hockey is a Battle

(thanks to seventies for that part of the bio)

A prime catalyst in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 1962 Stanley Cup win...

A splendid two-way player

http://books.google.com/books?id=wp...cQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=dick duff hockey&f=false

Former Leafs star Dick Duff...

http://books.google.com/books?id=lc...EQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=dick duff hockey&f=false

The miracle Leafs of 1959 reached the Finals against Montreal but managed only one win on an overtime goal by none other than Dick Duff

http://books.google.com/books?id=Lr...ook_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBg

Dick did all the work. He got past two guys and made a perfect play to set me up.-George Armstrong

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7355,5629775&dq=dick+duff&hl=en

Toronto coach Punch Imlach said after the game the Blackhawks found "they can't push us around."

The man he singled out for special mention was Duff. Although Duff had no goals, "he was really going in after the puck. He sure was going hard."

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7165,2122917&dq=dick+duff&hl=en

The Toronto Maple Leafs, with Dave Keon and Dick Duff pacing their blistering attack...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3382,1379595&dq=dick+duff&hl=en

 

[MadArcand]

Harvey "Busher" Jackson

Harvey "Busher" Jackson, LW

"Something special- That extra bit of speed, the size and strength, packed into almost perfect physique"
Red Barnett, a writer for the Toronto Star

Harvey "Busher" Jackson was a flashy member of the Kid Line, the Toronto Maple Leaf trio that dominated the National Hockey League in the 1930s. Along with big Charlie Conacher and the slick-passing Joe Primeau, Jackson established himself as a star on the left wing with his flair and wicked backhand.

Jackson was a great rusher, with good size and a pure ability to score goals. He was famous for his backhand, which was lethal as he darted across the ice from the left side. With his physique and natural talent, Jackson avoided serious injuries even though he had a driving, entertaining style of play.

Jackson signed with the Maple Leafs in 1929, joining his Marlboro teammate Charlie Conacher, who'd turned pro just a few games before him. At 18, Jackson was the youngest player in the league, but he was brash and confident. In his first game - against the Montreal Canadiens at the Mutual Street Arena - he knocked down his idol, Howie Morenz. From the ice, Morenz offered his opinion of the awestruck newcomer: "You'll do."

A handsome kid with a quick smile, Busher got his nickname when he was injured and the team's trainer, Tim Daly, asked him to carry sticks, as was the tradition. "I'm not here to carry sticks. I'm here to play hockey," replied Jackson. "You ain't nothing but a fresh busher!" Daly retorted. The name, which could be mistaken to mean he was from the bush leagues or the back woods, stuck for the rest of Jackson's life.

He (Joliat) picked an all star team (at the request of W.A. Howard, a writer for Canadian National Magazine) confined to players who played against him during his 16 years as a professional. He puts Benedict or Gardiner in goal; Shore and Noble on defense; Nighbor at centre; with Cook and Jackson on the wings. It's a well balanced unit.

Awards:
Art Ross Trophy (1932)
1931-32 NHL NHL All-Star Team (1st)
1932-33 NHL NHL All-Star Team (2nd)
1933-34 NHL NHL All-Star Team (1st)
1934-35 NHL NHL All-Star Team (1st)
1936-37 NHL NHL All-Star Team (1st)

Top-10s:
Goals
1931-32 NHL 28 (3)
1932-33 NHL 27 (2)
1933-34 NHL 20 (6)
1934-35 NHL 22 (3)
1936-37 NHL 21 (4)
1937-38 NHL 17 (10)

Assists
1931-32 NHL 25 (3)
1933-34 NHL 18 (9)
1936-37 NHL 19 (10)

Points
1931-32 NHL 53 (1)
1932-33 NHL 44 (2)
1933-34 NHL 38 (7)
1934-35 NHL 44 (5)
1936-37 NHL 40 (5)


​

 

[EagleBelfour]

With our 8th selection, the 317th overall in this year All-Time Draft, the Detroit Falcons are extremely please to select defenceman Bertram Orian Corbeau

Name: Pig Iron, Blonde Giant
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 200 lbs
Position: Defense
Shoots: Right
Date of Birth: February 09, 1894
Place of Birth: Penetanguishene , Ontario, Canada
Date of Death: September 21, 1942 (Age: 48)

Stanley Cup Champion (1916)
Stanley Cup Finalist (1917, 1918, 1919)
Team Captain (1925, 1927)
Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame (1987)

- Voted best body-checker of the 1920's by Ultimate Hockey


National Hockey Association (1914-1917)

Seasons|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
3|60|15|6|21|256

Top-10 Assist (9th)
Top-10 Penalty Minutes (1st, 2nd)
Top-5 Scoring among defenceman (6th)
Top-5 Assist among defenceman (4th)
Top-5 Penalty Minutes among defenceman (1st, 1st)

Playoffs|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
2|16|4|2|6|89

1915-16: I could only find the playoff statistics of the Montreal Canadiens. Corbeau recorded 1 assist and 67 penalty minutes in 10 games. He finished 6th in scoring, 3rd in assists and 2nd in penalty minutes on 10 players.
1916-17: The Montreal Canadiens played against the Ottawa Senators. Corbeau recorded 4 goals, 1 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 6 games. He finished 2nd in points and 2nd in goals, only behind Didier Pitre. He also finished 4th in assists and 5th in penalty minutes on 20 players.


National Hockey League (1917-1927)

Seasons|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
10|258|63|49|112|629

Top-10 Assist (3rd, 6th, 11th)
Top-10 Penalty Minutes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th)
Total Scoring among defenceman (3rd, 3rd, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 6th*, 8th)
Total Goalscoring among defenceman (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th*, 8th*, 10th)
Total Assist among defenceman (2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th*, 5th, 5th, 6th, 8th*)
Total Penalty Minutes among defenceman (1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd)

- Excluding 1926-27
- * Low total (3 goals or less, 3 assists or less, 5 points or less)

Bert Corbeau's competition:

Players | Team | Years | Age Georges Boucher | Ottawa Senators | 1917-1927 | 21 to 31 Harry Cameron | Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St-Pats, Montreal Canadiens | 1917-1923 | 27 to 33 King Clancy | Ottawa Senators | 1921-1927 | 18 to 24 Sprague Cleghorn | Ottawa Senators, Toronto St-Pats, Montreal Canadiens | 1918-1927 | 28 to 37 Eddie Gerard | Ottawa Senators, Toronto St-Pats | 1917-1923 | 27 to 33 Harry Mummery | Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Arenas, Quebec Bulldogs, Hamilton Tigers | 1917-1923 | 28 to 33 Reg Noble | Toronto Arenas, Montreal Maroons | 1918-1919; 1925-1927 | 22 to 23; 29 to 31 Ken Randall | Toronto St-Pats, New York Americans | 1919-1920; 1924-1927 | 29 to 30; 34 to 37

Playoffs|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
2|16|4|2|6|89

1918-19: The Montreal Canadiens played against the Ottawa Senators. Corbeau recorded 1 goals, 2 assists and 13 penalty minutes in 10 games. He was the highest scoring defenceman of his team (Joe Hall and Billy Coutu).
1924-25: Corbeau recorded 6 penalty minutes in 2 games in what seems to be a very eventless playoff for him.

Corbeau was a big man in his day, noted for his physical presence and goal scoring ability from the blue line. I liken him to a bit of a cross between the modern day Hatcher brothers. Corbeau had big Kevin's penchant for offense, but was more of Derian's mentality - mean and aggressive.

A 5-foot-11, 200-pounder from Penetanguishene, ON, Albert “Bert” Corbeau spent eight seasons patrolling the Montreal blue line, playing a significant role in the Canadiens’ early successes.

Seeing regular action in all 24 games, he proved to be adept at leading a rush up the ice, finding the twine seven times, a mark he would match or better in all but two of the other winters he’d spend in Montreal.

Corbeau also showed he knew how to make effective use of his size, leading all Habs with 134 penalty minutes as opponents around the league found out for themselves just how tough he could be when challenged.

A reputation for rugged play solidified after a 1916-17 season that saw him once again finish tops among Habs with 103 penalty minutes, and Corbeau was able to concentrate on more offensive aspects of the game. A capable playmaker in an era when assists were much rarer than the goals they accompanied, he lit the lamp nine times in the NHA’s final season.

Bert Corbeau was halfway between a rhinoceros and a junkyard dog. Young King Clancy told of how he was introduced to the NHL body-belting after a run-in with the big bugger they called "Old Pig Iron"

And things were different back then. Gregoire says that Corbeau was known for his toughness and ruthlessness.

Corbeau was 5'11 and 200 lbs. in his playing days -large for his era -and Gregoire says that his rivalries with opposing players were legendary. He would spear, slash and hook opponents, who would return the favour.

(Corbeau) will have the distinction to have form the first version of the ''Big Three'' with the Montreal Canadiens with all-star defenseman Sprague Cleghorn and Billy Coutu. Moreover than all three had lightning-like shots, all three of them measured at least 5'10'' and weight more than 190 pounds each.

There was Bert Corbeau, who also played with Montreal at the time. He was a great big roughneck who later come to be a good friend of mine. The first time I played against Corbeau in Montreal, he cross-checked me across the back of the neck and sent me flying into the chickenwire. I fell down and of course he fell in top of me - knees first. Only his relative would of called it an accident! When I was able to stagger on my feet, I wanted to remind Corbeau that he shouldn't get the idea that he could throw me around like an empty flour sack anytime he felt like it. I swung my stick at hime and splintered it across his broad back. He didn't even flinch. I don't think he even noticed! Both of us were thumbed off to the penalty box. I still had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, so when he stepped into the box I gave him a push from behind and down he fell in the aisle. Scrambling to his feet, he turned on me like he was about to murder me on the spot. He could of made my first year also my last one, because he was a huge bulk of a man who'd been around enough to know all the tricks. I showed him some of the bob-and-weave I'd learned in Ottawa but was smart enough to not wade in.

Finally he cooled off a bit and sat down. When he got settled away in the penalty box with a big policeman in between us (for whose protection? I wonder), Corbeau turned to me and growled: ''I don't know you kid. I don't even know your name. But you're living on borrowed time because you'll last about two weeks in this league the way you play hockey.'' As it turned out, Corbeau was a better pugilist than prophet, because I lasted in that league a good deal longer than two weeks. But if he'd ever caught me with those big meathooks of his, I'd be lucky to last two minutes!

Toronto had some good players, fellow like Babe Dye, Reg Noble, Bert Corbeau, Hap Day, Corbett Denneny, and Jakie Forbes who played in goals. This was quite a hockey team.

Conn Smythe finally assigned his 210-pound defense- man Bert Corbeau the task of stopping Morenz [...] a player who was often called "150 pounds of muscle and conversation" and who had been around the NHL for 9 seasons. Corbeau braced himself at the blue line as Morenz swept in and caught Howie with a terrific check that sent him sprawling. As Morenz hit the ice, Corbeau grinned over at the Leafs bench and yelled at Smythe: ''See that, Mr. Smythe? I stopped him for you.''

Their early heroes included goalie Georges Vezina, defenseman Bert Corbeau and the forward line of Newsy Lalonde

(In his time in Toronto) and Bert Corbeau, the team's star player.

The 1921-22 version of the Canadiens was tough featuring the likes of Sprague Cleghorn and Bert ''Pig Iron'' Corbeau.

Corbeau didn't earned his nickname from fancy pirouettes or sparkling plays. He was a strong, aggressive defenceman who could bodycheck an unsuspecting opponent into the middle of next week, as well as contribute a respectable amount of offence for a blueliner.

We'll see how fast Frank Foyston and Jack Walker are moving once Bert's start to throw his weight around.

Bert Corbeau and Harry Mummery put up great game on the defence. Bert probably the best game he has shown this season. He was in the thick of the battle from start to finish and also is credited in scoring the Flying Frenchman's initial tally. Corbeau checked hard and took a big hand in the offensive movement of his team. He was cut over the eye when Darragh shot, while ''Cy'' Denneny opened up a big gash of his throat by jabbing him with the butt end of his stick, but he came back each time.

Pitre and Corbeau rushed the puck down the ice. Pitre drew the Ottawa defence out, and then passed over to Corbeau who, notwithstanding the fact that Benedict got down on his knees in an effort to save, slipped the puck into the twine for the first tally.

There's a possibility that Bert Corbeau, husky defence player of the flying frenchman.

(Report before the 3rd game of the Stanley Cup Final) Bert Corbeau and Frank Foyston have been the most valuable man to their teams so far.

Bert Corbeau, the hockey player mention in the following in the Toronto News, is a brother of E.C Corbeau in this city. Bert is a big fellow, standing well over six-feet and can skate like a whirlwind. Some of the small ''bad men'' in the National Hockey League have taken advantage of Bert's size, but herewith he serves notice on them to lay off him for the balance of the season.

Bert Corbeau, the big brother of E.C. of this city, and who is known as the ''Blonde Giant'' of the National League, showed himself to be every bit as good as he is reputed to be according to the reports from the east. Both on the defence and on the attack Bert showed his speed and stickhandling ability. During the game, Bert scored three goals and made one assists.

He is a brother of E.C Corbeau formerly of Regina and Bert Corbeau, of the Montreal Canadiens, rated as one of the best defence men in the game today.

(As Corbeau was supposed to quit the team prior to the 1920-21 season) The Loss of Corbeau to the Canadiens is undoubtedly a big blow to the team.

Jack Adams, the veteran center player, reported with considerable less surplus weight than he customarily commences the season with, as did Bert Corbeau, St-Pats sterling defence player.

St-Patrick hopes for victory was blasted when it was learned that Bert Corbeau had received injuries forcing him our of the game. St-Patricks' defence was noticeably weak without Bert's service.

Babe Dye, Bert McCaffrey and Day stood out for the losers, with Bellefeuille playing a hard, useful game. Corbeau was great defensively.

Bert Corbeau, the Evergreen defence stalwart.

Standing out in the fine showing made by the Irish was the brilliant defensive exhibition given by the veteran Bert Corbeau. [...] Ottawa pressed hard, but could not pierced St.Pats defence. Corbeau got a hand for a sensational rush, but Connell saved.

Herbie Gardiner, rugged defence star of the Canadien team, stand out as a relic of the days when such ''Iron Men'' as Eddie Gerard, Bert Corbeau in his prime, Harry Mummery, and other stalwarts held sway.

Frank Selke, manager of the Ravinas of the Cam-Pro League, made no mistake by when he signed up Bert Corbeau, the veteran defence man, release by the Toronto Leafs to his club, and appointed him as captain of the new team. Corbeau has been on the ''big club'' for 16 years and may have slowed up a bit, but there was never a more honest player in a pro uniform than the same Corneau. Win, lose or draw, he gave his employers the best that he had in him all the times, and you can bet all the shillaleighs in Ireland that he will give Selke 100 percent at all time.

Biography & Personal Life:
Bert Corbeau was born on February 9, 1894 in Penetanguishene, Ontario, a little town located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. In 1913, after playing minor hockey in Penetanguishene, Corbeau ventured to Halifax to sharpen and expand his hockey skills in a minor league. He signed his first professional contract with the Crescent of the Maritime Professional Hockey League. That league, the MPHL, was one step below the National Hockey Association, the forerunner to the National Hockey League. The next season, Corbeau signed with the Montreal Canadians, a team for which he would play the following eight season.

At the time, Bert was not the first Corbeau to play in the National Hockey Association. Indeed, his brother Con, 9 years his senior and even heavier than his little brother, tipping the scale at 225 pounds, played in various professional league during the 1900's and 1910's. Most notably, Con won the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA in 1914. Unfortunately, Con died of a heart failure on June 14, 1920, at the young age of 35 years old.

In 1916, only two years after his older brother won the Stanley Cup, Bert won his first and only Cup with the Montreal Canadiens. Three years later, in his fourth consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, the playoffs were marked as the only time in NHL history that a Stanley Cup champion was not crowned. With the championship series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans tied 2-2-1, the rest of the series was cancelled due to a serious outbreak of influenza. It turns out that was the closest Corbeau ever came to playing for a championship team in the NHL.

The atmosphere in pro hockey rinks in the early 1900's was far more reckless than the laid-back mannerisms displayed by most of today’s fans. As historian Waxy Gregoire tell us: ''In those days, being close to an opponent’s ice surface could be dangerous. They threw everything. In one game, Corbeau got in an incident in a game in Ottawa, and the fans were tossing frozen turnips, carrots and empty bottles onto the ice!''

Also, as the ''Pig Iron'' was one of the biggest player of his generation, he was continuously speared, hooked and cheaply attacked by the smaller players who thought the big Corbeau wouldn't retaliate. They were not wrong, as Corbeau let those kind of behaviour flew for a certain time. However, during the 1918 season, after a particularly vicious game, Corbeau have had enough of these behaviour, and warned in the newspaper the ''bad man'' who were attacking him. The news said: Bert Corbeau, standing six feet in height, wearing a number 18 collar, a number 10 glove, and with a seven inch chest expansion, hereby serves notice through the Montreal Herald upon each and every ''bad man'' in the national hockey league that the aforesaid ''bad man'' have gotta quit kickin' Corbeau's dog aroun': ''I'm all cut with butt-ends, slashes, kicks and wallops.'' said Corbeau, as he plodded his weary homeward way after the Ottawa game saturday night, the while making a few experiments to discover whether or not a poke from Harry Hyland had left all his innards in their proper place. ''I'll say I have enough, and also plenty. I have lost a piece of toe, I'm bruised from the neck down; I've been hooked across the throat so hard that I can't swallow and walloped on the back of the neck so it's black and white, and look as if I stopped washing at the ears. These birds are taking advantage of my size. It looks like a game thing for a bantam to take a crack at a big fellow but if the big fellow hits back the crowds will call him a big rough-neck and a bum. Why, when Denneny clouted me over the head I didn't hit back - I only held him. The little fellow has all the best of it. But I should worry what the crowd say the next time anybody take a wallop at me, big or little, I'm going back at him.''

Before the 1920-21 season, Corbeau was supposed to quit the Canadiens to move to a new league, the CHA, a league that seems to have never materialized. Because of that, he stayed another two seasons with les Habitants, prior to joining the Hamilton Tigers for one complete season.

In 1923, he joined the Toronto St-Pats, a team he would play for in his last four seasons in the NHL. In 1927, Corbeau would play under coach Frank Selke with the Toronto Falcons of the Can-Pro. The next season, he would act as the general manager, head coach and veteran defenceman for the London Panthers: it would be his final season of professional hockey.

After announcing his retirement on November 6, 1929, Corbeau would be added to the NHL officiating staff. He would play the role of referee for the major part of the 1930's, for most of three seasons in the NHL, and then in the Ontario Hockey League and International Hockey League. Then, Corbeau returned to coaching with the Atlantic City Sea Gulls of the Eastern Hockey League from 1939 to 1942. Afterwards, Corbeau finally left hockey and returned to Penetanguishine, where he lived and worked as a plant superintendent at the Midland Foundry and Machine Company, supporting Canada in World War II.

Bert Corbeau's death:
Bert Corbeau died on September 21, 1942, in one of the most tragic off-ice death a hockey player ever suffered. Indeed, Corbeau, alongside 24 other passengers, drowned in the water of Georgian Bay, after a boating accident.

In 1938, Corbeau purchased an 87-foot steel vessel known as the Wawinet. Built in 1904 by the Polson Iron Company of Toronto, the propeller yacht was known as being somewhat ''tender'', her stability always a question. But Corbeau had been at her helm in several gales and was confident of the Wawinet’s ability to make her way in any weather.

After a successful work order was completed, Corbeau issued a memo for his men:

You are invited to attend a stag party.

Aboard my boat on Monday Sept. 21 at 4 P.M.

For a buffet lunch and refreshments.

Come one and all.

Prizes Will be awarded to the best fishermen.

Plant Superintendent

B. Corbeau

Weather wasn’t an issue that first day of autumn, 1942. Making their way across the bay to Honey Harbour, the 41 men on board fished over the side while enjoying coolers filled with cold drinks. Stopping in at the Delawana Inn to refresh their supplies, the Wawinet turned west into the growing gloom of 22:00 o'clock, heading home to Penetang.

What happened next is still unknown. Some reports claim that the night was turning stormy with rain squalls racing across the bay. Other maintain it was calm, still, and relatively clear when the Wawinet run aground on a sand bar off Beausoleil Island. Some say today that a rogue wave struck the Wawinet while others, remembering Corbeau's sense of humour, believe that he was playing with the wheel, rocking the boat back and forth to the amusement of his passengers. It was also reported that the ballast had been removed from the Wawinet’s hull, making the vessel top heavy.

No matter. The Wawinet listed suddenly to one side. With the lower portholes open and under water, the yacht filled rapidly, slipping beneath the waves in less than two minutes. Forty-one men were in danger of losing their lives. In the dark, the confusion was all encompassing. Some men jumped off the side of the Wawinet, heading for the first land in sight, Present Island. Others managed to swim the half mile to Beausoleil Island, some using the few available life preservers, staggering onto shore, nearly hypothermic but alive.

Stewart Cheetham, who made his way to Present Island, later described his ordeal to a newspaper reporter. Cheetham recalled, ''I was on the boat when it suddenly swerved and soon started to sink. I jumped into the water and in the moonlight could see an island ahead of me. The water was much warmer than the air and was calm, so I knew I could make it if I took my time and I didn’t get excited. I finally reached the shore and then made my way to the end of the island where I knew there was a guard's cabin. I found it and woke him up and later he took me across to Beausoleil, where I joined the other sixteen. I did not see or hear any of the others from the time I started swimming.''

The survivors spent the night on the two islands, watching in the moonlight as the bodies of their co-workers drifted onto shore. When the Wawinet was noticed missing from her berth, the alarm was sounded as scores of tugs, pleasure boats, and fishing smacks set out to find the scene of the tragedy.

Seventeen men were found alive. Twenty-five, including Bert Corbeau, lost their lives that night. With most of the dead from Midland and Penetanguishene, the twin communities were devastated. What had just happened turned out to be the worst noncommercial disaster in the history of Georgian Bay.

There was, of course, an inquest. But the survivor’s memories were clouded with the suddenness of the accident or maybe, a surfeit of alcohol ingested that night. Since Corbeau had run the overcrowded Wawinet onto a sandbar in an area he knew well, his sobriety was questioned. Still, the results of the inquest proved inconclusive.


Corbeau's Famous Hockey Card:

Corbeau is a particular case in the world of cards collector.

Where the name of Bert Corbeau become interresting is from a hockey card collection of the 1923 William Paterson v145-1. This collection is considered the holy grail of all collection. Back in 1923, those cards were inserted in the ''Paterson hockey bar'' chocolat bar, sold by the Brantford company based in Ontario. Behind every packet you could read that the company would give a new pair of skates for every complete collection of 40 cards, so you had to at least buy 40 chocolat bars to complete the collection.

The company decided to distribute a limited edition of the #25, Bert Corbeau card to minimise the number of prizes that they would distribute. Also, every time the Bratford company would receive a complete collection, they would punched a hole in the Corbeau card to control the number of prizes they would give away.

In 2008, the Corbeau card, evaluated at over 20 000$, help skyrocked an auction at over 116 000$ US when the former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jacques Lapperiere put his own complete collection on sale. It is estimated that the next collection that will be sold could go as high as 160 000$

Fun and Interesting Facts:

- Corbeau was the first player to play for both the original NHL Canadian teams: the montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs
- During the 1926-27 season, Corbeau became the first NHL player to reach the 100 Penalty minutes plateau in a single season


Signing, Trades & Injuries:

- On December 1, 1914, Corbeau was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens (NHA)
- On November 26, 1917, Corbeau's rights are retained by the Montreal Canadiens after the NHA folded (NHL)
- On December 21, 1918, he missed one game due to a family illness
- In 1919, in the first period of the third game of the Stanley Cup Final against the Seattle Metropolitans, Corbeau tried to bodycheck a Seattle player but went into him awkwardly and fell on the ice, suffering a sprained shoulder. He would not play for the rest of the game. Newspaper also stipulated that he was cut on the knee with a skate the same night
- On October 1, 1922, Corbeau was traded to the Hamilton Tigers by the Montreal Canadiens for cash (NHL)
- On December 14, 1923, Corbeau was traded to the Toronto St-Pats by the Hamilton Tigers with Amos Arbour and George Carey for Ken Randall, the NHL rights to Corbett Denneny and cash (NHL)
- On February 9, 1926, he missed one game due to cracked ribs
- On March 27, 1926, Corbeau was suspended by NHL for one game and fined $50 for match penalty received against the Montreal Maroons
- On October 20, 1927, he was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Ravina Falcons after clearing NHL waivers (Can-Pro)
- On May 1, 1928, he was traded by the Toronto Ravina Falcons to the London Panthers for $2,000 and was named the head-coach (Can-Pro)

Coaching:

As a coach, Bert Corbeau was known as a perfectionist. On September 11, 1929, after a 16-22-4 record in his only season with the London Panthers of the Can-Pro, Corbeau was fired. That year, he wore the dual hat of player and head-coach. From 1935 through 1942, Corbeau coached various team in the IOHA and the SOHA. Most notably, he coached the Atlantic City Seagulls of the EAHL for three season.


Miscellaneous:

- The dressing room got noisier once the other players showed up. They all seemed to like joking around: ''Big game tonight, Joe,'' Bert Corbeau said: ''You ready, old man?''
At thirty-six Joe Hall was one of the oldest players in hockey: ''Readier than you'll ever be,'' he said to Corbeau, his twenty-four-year-old defence partner.
''Hey Odie,'' Bert said: ''give us some dirt on your brother. What can we say to get him really riled up?''
''You don't want to get him riled,'' said Odie Cleghorn ''He gets better when he's angry.''
''Unlike you. You just get stupider!''

Abbreviation:
Can-Pro: Canadian Professional Hockey League
CHA: Canadian Hockey Association
EAHL: Eastern Amateur Hockey League
IHL: International Hockey League
IOHA: Intermediate Ontario Hockey Association
MPHL: Maritime Professional Hockey League
NHA: National Hockey Association
NHL: National Hockey League
OHL: Ontario Hockey League
QHL: Quebec Hockey League
SOHA: Senior Ontario Hockey Association
SSHL: Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League


Internet Sites:
http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12328
http://www.sihrhockey.org/member_player_sheet.cfm?player_id=761&mode=0
http://habslegends.blogspot.com/2009/02/bert-corbeau.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Corbeau
http://www.simcoe.com/sports/article/910017--bert-corbeau-s-rich-hockey-life-chronicled
http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/player/Bert-Corbeau
http://www.midlandfreepress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2838680
http://www.ticky-box.com/crashingthenet/?p=39
http://www.fanatique.ca/lnh/bert-corbeau-un-joueur-oublie+3457.html
http://www.owensound.library.on.ca/page.php?PageID=120

Special Thank You: JFA87-66-99, Seventieslord

 

[jarek]

Frank Patrick, D

- 5'11, 185 lbs.
- Stanley Cup (1915)
- Stanley Cup Finalist (1918, 1923)
- PCHA First Team All-Star (1912, 1914)
- PCHA Second Team All-Star (1917)
- PCHA Assist Leader (1913)
- Top-10 in PCHA scoring 4 times (2nd, 4th, 6th, 10th)
- 2nd in defense scoring in 1908 ECAHA and 1910 NHA
- PCHA defense scoring leader all 4 full PCHA seasons he played (1912, 1913, 1914, 1917)

Legends of Hockey

As a player, Frank was revolutionary, much like Lester, who was then a star with the Montreal Wanderers. In the years prior to the Patricks' rise, the position of defense was used strictly to protect a team's own goal. Together, they were the first defensemen to rush with the puck and play an offensive role. The family moved to Nelson, British Columbia, where the brothers continued to win converts to their rushing style.

...When Frank was introduced as a Millionaire, he was called the best defenseman in the world.

...Patrick scored six goals in one game, establishing a record that has never been surpassed by NHL defenders. Frank was the leader, on the ice and in the boardroom, of a Vancouver team that won the Stanley Cup.

Ultimate Hockey

In his earlier days, Patrick was a top-notch defender... never shied away from the rough stuff... a strong skater whose stickhandling ability allowed him to indulge his fondness for the rush... Frank was a standout for teams such as the Montreal Victorias, Renfrew Creamery Kings and Vancouver Millionaires.

...with his team headed for a championship, he could not stay off the ice. He played a pocketful of games that year and when Si Griffis broke his leg, Patrick hopped over the boards yet again. He scored two goals as Vancouver swept the series from the Ottawa Senators in three straight games.

The Trail Of the Stanley Cup

He was not the equal of Lester as a player but nevertheless he was a very good defenseman. A rugged and well-built athlete, he did not mind mixing it up with players like Joe Hall. He holds one record that has stood for 50 (now 90+) years, being the only player to score six goals in a game while playing defence... He performed as a regular player himself on the Vancouver team. He was good enough to make the PCHA All-Star Team... In 1915 he decided to devote full time to his official duties. When his team was headed for the championship he could not keep off the ice. He played a few games of the regular schedule and then when Si Griffis broke his leg, Patrick took over his defense position and swept Ottawa in three games, Patrick scoring two goals.

Offensive Skills

Patrick was a good stickhandler and had a splendid shot. - Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 21, 1920

Frank Patrick is still over-weight, but his speed was marvelous and within a few days he will be right back in the form which made him such a tower of strength in the Victorias of Montreal two years ago. - Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 22, 1909

Possibly there is something in his contention (that 6 man hockey ruins combination plays), but the players with the speed and stick-handling abilities of Ernie Johnson, "Cyclone" Taylor, Frank Patrick, Tommy Dunderdale, etc. do not require a half-acre sheer of ice in order to evade a body check. - Saskatoon Phoenix, Apr. 3, 1913

The retirement of (Frank) Patrick from the game means the passing of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, player who ever handled a puck in Canadian hockey. ... As a defence player there are few better than Patrick. A wonderful stickhandler, fast on his skates and possessing wonderful judgment, he has played brilliantly during the many years of services with the various teams. ... Patrick and Griffis proved the most formidable pair of defence players in the Coast League since the inception of the game in these parts. Patrick has not only proved himself one of the most wonderful puck chasers of the last decade, but he has clearly won honor as one of the best leaders in the history of the game. - Calgary Daily Herald, Dec. 10, 1917

The above also mentions that he has wonderful judgment, and I take that to mean that he knew when he had to stay back and defend and when he could rush up ice to join the attack without hurting his team defensively. The leader bit mostly talks about his work as a president/manager, but I can see that easily extrapolating to being a good captain too.

To validate the above a bit, from 3 years earlier:

The fine team from Vancouver of the PCHA, which will represent the far west in the sectional conflict for titular honors, will include, among others, Frank Patrick, who is undoubtedly the most sensational player in Canada. - NY Times, 3/8/1914

A superlative combination of athletic prowess, philosophical ingenuity and vision... a formidable puckhandler and rushing defenseman. - Hockey Hall of Fame Legends

Lester and Frank Patrick delighted the railbirds with their beautiful stickhandling and skating. - The Renfrew Millionaires, quoting newspaper report

Some in game accounts of his speed and stick handling:

Frank Patrick and Griffis were in the limelight with many speedy rushes. - Morning Leader, Mar. 21, 1913 (during exhibition game between NHA and PCHA)

Frank Patrick played a great game, and time after time he carried the puck from end to end, only to be foiled by the wonderful work of Lehman. Patrick's stick-handling and skating was a revelation to the fans, and they applauded it heartily. - Calgary Daily Herald, Mar. 18, 1913

The outstanding feature of the Renfrew team's performance was the gilt edged work of Frank Patrick at point. Patrick was head and shoulders over any other player on the ice, his sensational goal-to-goal rushes being directly responsible for three or four Renfrew goals. Frank seems to have hit his championship clip for in every movement, he showed the same speed and cleverness which made him such a tower of strength to the Montreal Victorias two years ago. With Lester he electrified the crowd time after time. - Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 20, 1910

Fred Whitcroft at left wing put up a fine game, nevertheless, he and Frank Patrick often making many a dangerous rush. Several of the Renfrew goals were scored on individual rushes. In this respect Frank Patrick, Lester Patrick and Fred Taylor shone. - Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 5, 1910

The rushes of Joe Power and Frank Patrick were features of the team's play, and their clever stick-handling and fast skating won them applause. - Montreal Gazette, Jan. 1, 1908

Was he good defensively?

Cyclone Taylor seemed to think so:

The brothers, Lester and Frank Patrick, were really good ones. Lester was a classical player in every phase of the game whereas Frank was strong defensively. But Frank could also carry the puck from one end of the rink to the other if he had to, and he often did.

Some in game examples:

The Victoria forwards were unable to do much against the Vancouver defence, Griffis and (Frank) Patrick, intercepting many rushes, while Taylor was to the fore in leading attacks on the Victoria goal. - Saskatoon Phoenix, Dec. 19, 1912

Seattle put up a better brand of combination than they have shown this season; they checked back as hard as ever, but they lacked the power to finish work well begun, largely because Lehman and (Frank) Patrick and Griffis put up their usual line of defence. - Morning Leader, Jan. 31, 1916

The thing that sticks out at me from the above is the "usual" part, which implies that, at the very least, the group that Patrick was a part of normally were very steady defensively.

Frank Patrick was easily the most conspicuous man on the ice, the youngster showing up in brilliant form. His long combination rushes with Whitcroft were features of the game, while his defence play was of a high class. - Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 5, 1910

Cook and Frank Patrick were in great form on the defence and were hard to beat. The rushes of both of them were of the spectacular order. - Backcheck: A hockey retrospective, regarding game 3

This is about the only instance that I could find of Frank being blamed for being out of position, and even then, it's ambiguous at best:

Between the work of Fred Lake and Frank Patrick, the rival point players there was little difference. Both rushed repeatedly and while Patrick was more successful as far as scoring went and while he got within shooting distance oftener than the Ottawa point man, Lake was perhaps better on the defensive, Patrick erring when he rambled away from his position in the second overtime period. Lake and Patrick are the two best point men in the National association, both being very aggressive. - Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 14, 1910

The above also shows some more on his toughness as well. As far as him being out of position, the article wasn't clear as to what it went, but it didn't mention that his being out of position caused a player of the other team to get a scoring chance or anything like that, so I don't know exactly what it means.

Toughness

He seemed to be more than willing to stick up for his brother. In fact, he didn't hesitate at all to take on Joe Hall:

One night Lester went down on the ice under a mass of kicking, struggling players, among them Bad Joe Hall, one of the roughest hockey players of all time. Frank leaned over the prostrate Lester, his eyes focused on a gash on his brother's forehead. "Who did it, Lester?" he asked grimly. "Was it Hall? Never mind answering. I'll take care of him." Actually Lester didn't need any help at all. He was bigger than Frank to begin with. But in less time than it takes to tell the tale Frank had Bad Joe stretched out on the ice, listening to the sweet tune the birdies sing. - New York Times, Nov. 18, 1943

More rivalry with Bad Joe:

Through the contest, Hall and Patrick had been exchanging pokes and chops, and already bloodied by a swipe from Patrick, Hall had had enough. After taking one more of these knocks, Joe went splashing up the ice after Frank, who hit him again. Hall stopped and struck back with his stick, slicing Frank's cheek. A lively scrap ensued, during which Hall received yet another nasty gash, this time over his eye. - The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family

Bod Joe was constantly running at the Patricks... Frank had fought back, too hard, insisted Hall, who said that he had been crosschecked by Patrick earlier, without a penalty being called... Hall was continually frustrated in his attempts to corner Frank Patrick. The latter was retaliating... Their lively scrap terminated when Hall dropped his stick and hit Patrick, who retaliated with a Jeffreys punch. - The Renfrew Millionaires

He also didn't mind taking on Lalonde either:

For some reason, perhaps because of his deceptively quiet manner, Frank was always being "tested" by the opposition, and Newsy was one of the best testers in the business. On this particular occasion, it was Lalonde, frustrated at what he felt to be Frank's overenthusiastic checking, clubbed him on the side of the head with the butt of his stick, opening a gash beside the ear. Staggered by the force of the blow, Frank had wheeled, reeled, and while going down had expertly countered with an almost identical blow to the base of Lalonde's skull. Newsy also went down, and out. It may have been the first time that both protagonists in a two-man brawl were carted off the ice together. - The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family

And a bit on Art Ross too:

Frank patrick filled in on the defence himself and took keen delight in jousting with his old pal Art Ross. - The Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. 1 - game 1

When Cyclone Taylor was being bothered, Frank went to help him out too:

One particular Haileybury fan was most obnoxious. Not only did he shout obscenities at the players as they skated close to the boards in the area where he was perched, he would also shove a stick through the wire screen in an attempt to poke them. Renfrew players had become aware of him and warned eachother of his habit, wondering aloud as to why such fans were allowed into the game. He seemd to be especially primed to goad Taylor and when The Cyclone was sandwiched between two Haileybury players, causing him to fall heavily to the ice, the fan jmped up next to the screen. He pounded on the mesh with his hands, shouting a stream of obscenities at the dazed and windless Cyclone. He moved along the boards, and reached the ara directly above where Taylor lay. He hovered over the writhing form, separated only by the screen which his face pushed against, the steady torrent of abuse continuing.

Frank Patrick, normally a mild-mannered individual, bent over his teammate, disgusted at the individual. Suddenly he wheeled, the butt-end of his stick smashing against the screen in the exact location of the insensitive screamer's face. A spatter of blood spurted from his nose and sprayed the screen, boards, and ice. The suddenly quieted disturber slowly slumped out of view.

Even after Frank Patrick butt-ended the foul-mouthed fan, Haileybury's Art Ross skated over towards him and surreptitiously offered his congratulations and thanks for having quieted the troublemaker. - The Renfrew Millionaires

That 6 goal record would not have been set if he wasn't resilient:

It wasn't until half an hour before game time that Frank had even decided to play. He had sustained a deep cut under the eye five days before against Victoria, and although the stitches had been removed, the eye was still badly swollen. Against New Westminster, the cut was reopened in the 3rd period and began streaming blood, but he stayed on the ice for the full game and beat ******** for his sixth goal just before the final whistle. - The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family

Some in game stuff:

Genge and (Frank) Patrick were not gentle with their checking when Foyston got in to close quarters ... - Toronto Sunday World, Mar. 20, 1914

Poulin, of Victoria, had his hand broken in the first period as the result of a hard check by Frank Patrick and he will be out of the game for the rest of the season - Morning Leader, Feb. 20, 1915

General Stuff

An outstanding defenseman and equally outstanding as a keen student of hockey. - The Renfrew Millionaires

Although Ernie Russell scored five times for the victors, Frank, who bagged a pair of goals for the losers, was named the outstanding player. - The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family

The score was tied 1-1 when Frank Patrick broke through the entire Ottawa team to score a sensational goal. The Senators never recovered, and were beaten 6-2. - The Stanley Cup, quoting The Vancouver Sun's account of game 1

And some fun with numbers:

Patrick played 4 full PCHA seasons and led all defensemen in points each time. He also played 19 more games as required over 5 other seasons as he focused on administrative duties.

PCHA all-time defense points-per-game leaders, min. 80 GP

Name|GP|Pts|PPG
Frank Patrick|87|101|1.16
Lester Patrick|142|127|0.89
Lloyd Cook|223|166|0.74
Art Duncan|159|102|0.64
Si Griffis|110|64|0.58
Ernie Johnson|191|92|0.48
*******|210|86|0.41
*******|82|33|0.40
*******|82|32|0.39
*******|186|72|0.39

 

[EagleBelfour]

With our 7th selection, the 237th overall in this year All-Time Draft, the Detroit are extremely please to select Winger Cecil Graham Dillon

Nickname: Ceece, Diny
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 173 lbs
Position: Right Wing / Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Date of Birth: April 26, 1908
Place of Birth: Toledo , Ohio, United States
Date of Death: November 13, 1969

Stanley Cup Champion (1933)
Stanley Cup Finalist (1932, 1937)
NHL First All-Star Team (1938)
NHL Second All-Star Team (1936, 1937)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1937)
Conn Smythe Trophy (1933**)

- Ranked #33 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats

Seasons|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
10|453|167|131|298|105

Top-10 Scoring (4th, 5th, 11th)
Top-10 Goalscoring (2nd, 4th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 6th)
Top-10 Assist (3rd)

Playoffs|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
9|43|14|9|23|14

Top-10 Playoff Scoring (1st, 8th)
Top-10 Playoff Goalscoring (1st, 4th, 9th)
Top-10 Playoff Assist (5th, 6th)


Awards Nomination:

Lady Bing Trophy:
1934-35: 5th position (Frank Boucher) (-66.9%)
1935-36: 3rd position (Doc Romnes) (-32.3%)
1937-38: 3rd position (Gordie Drillon) (-44.2%)

Dillon was a model of consistency, not missing a single game in eight years.

Playing in the shadows of the likes of Frank Boucher and Cook brothers, Bill and Bun, it is easy to understand how a player like Cecil Dillon was one of the most underrated players of his day.

A right winger with a left handed shot, Dillon made a name for himself early playing on a line with Butch Keeling and Murray Murdoch. The trio were instrumental in the Rangers' 1933 Stanley Cup championship, especially Dillon. In 8 games he scored 8 goals and 10 points in 8 games, leading all NHLers in scoring. Had there been a playoff MVP award back then, Cecil Dillon was sure to have won it that spring.

Winger from the checking line was the dominant player in the playoffs. He had goals in his first five playoff games including the winner in the opener of the finals against Toronto, then picked up the first goal in a 3-2 loss to the Leafs and was selected one of the games stars in a 1-0 overtime winner for his work in holding the Primeau-Conacher-Jackson line to no goals in the final.

As a right-winger with a scoring knack, "Ceece" lasted 10 seasons in the NHL with the Rangers New York Rangers (1930-39) and Red Wings Detroit Red Wings (1939-40). Five times he topped the 20-goal mark. He led the Rangers in goals 3 times and points 3 times. By the end of the 1930's he had become one of the top scorers in Rangers history.

The husky Rangers left wing player is recognized to have one of the deadliest shot in the National Hockey League.

In addition to these scoring feats, Dillon played a great defensive game and his clever checking helped the Blue Shirts on many occasion when penalties left them a man short.

Trailing 1-0 with less than six minutes remaining in the second period, Cecil Dillon, recruit winger from Springfield Indians, gave the Rangers the needed scoring punch when he terminated a four-man combination thrust with a hard shot, which clearly beat Gardiner.

Dillon's two goals against Toronto, bringing his total to seven in the play-off series, set a record which was the more unusual in that he is a member of a second-string forward line that was supposed to be weak. In the preliminary series against the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings, he had helped eclipse the Rangers famed first-string forwards (Frank Boucher and the Cook brothers. Bill & Bun)

Added to all this is the strong possibility play-off scoring records will be shattered by Cecil Dillon, black-thatched checking pest of Rangers.

It was little more than three years ago when Patrick decided Rangers needed the peppery, black haired youngster. [...] Dillon hasn't any apparent weaknesses on the ice.

Tall, black-haired young Cecil Dillon, again was the spear-head of the Ranger attack [...] Dillon scored two goals, his sixth and seventh of the play-offs, assisted Murdoch in another and fairly ran the Leafs ragged with his back-checking when penalties left his team shorthanded.

Dillon's individual skill brought the fourth goal and showed the Leafs how badly beaten they were. [...] Ching Johnson finally got the puck and drove it far down the ice where Dillon and Happy Day racing for it. Day got there first, but as he circled the net and circled down the ice again, Dillon caught up with him and hooked the puck nearly off his stick. The young Ranger feinted three times before the veteran Chabot finally plunged out of the goal mouth, then he swung neatly past the cage guardin and poked the disc home.

Dillon, who seldom the rise and fall of Ranger fortunes to affect his consistant scoring.

In only two cases the voting was close for the first team. Conacher beat out speedy Cecil Dillon of the New York Rangers for right wing by a narrow margin.

Cecil Dillon, speedy Rangers wingman.

In the fourth minute, dangerous Cecil Dillon slapped home the tying goal.

Then Cecil Dillon, Rangers' dangerous left hand shooting right winger, broke up the game with what proved to be the game winning goal. He did it all alone, swinging down the right side with two mates accompanying him as decoys on left wing. Dillon, known as an unselfish player, crossed up the Maroons defence by not passing, and stepped around Stew Evans to walk right in on Beveridge and score.

Cecil Dillon, speedy, sleek-haired wingman of the New York Rangers, who has been rated one of the National Hockey League's best back-checkers ever since his debut in 1930, is coming to the front as a contender for the scoring title.

Only one member of the squad, the fast-skating Cecil Dillon, was 30 years old. The others were between 29 and 22.

ONE reason why the Rangers are doing a little better than all right for themselves on ice this season is that the Two-Gun Terror from Thornbury, Ont., Cecil Dillon, has his eye on the target again. Gordon Drillon of the whirling Maple Leafs is topping the league in scoring points, but Sharpshooter Cecil is tied for second place

Manager Jack Adams of Detroit Red Wings announced his club have bought the veteran Cecil Dillon from Rangers, giving his wing one of the game's highest scorer.

Quotes:

- ''Beat that record Dil!'' - Rangers fans screaming at Dillon during the 1933 playoffs

- ''Dillon and Patrick are skating faster than ever before.'' - Bill Cook, before the opening of the 1936-37 season

- ''He always was a natural and all I could do his develop his knowledge of inside hockey. It's the same, you see, in this game as it is in baseball or any other sports. The difference between the minor league and the major league, often, his from the neck up. All Dillon needed was finish and he has been a perfect pupil. He knows now exactly what to do. Three time in this year's play-offs alone he's done the most spectacular of hockey's scoring plays - stealing a puck down deep in the enemy's defence, sweeping it on the goalie alone, feinting him out of position, then beating him clearly for the goal. Like a big league pitcher, he's learned to mix is stuff. He's going to be the greatest player in hockey.'' - Lester Patrick, raving on Cecil Dillon during the 1933 playoffs

- ''There is the perfect hockey player.'' - Lester Patrick, pointing at Cecil Dillon in his first appearance at the Madison Square Garden. (That glowing phrase has been reiterated by Patrick many time since (The Montreal Gazette (03/06/1933))


Biography & Personal Life:

Cecil ''Ceese'' Dillon was one of the very few American born players in the early days of the NHL. Dillon was born in Toledo, Ohio on April 26th, 1908. In 1914, at the age of six years old, Dillon moved to Thornbury, a small town in southwestern Ontario, where he took up hockey.

His ascension into the professional hockey world started in 1927, when he played senior hockey for the Owen Sound Greys of the Senior Ontario Hockey Association. The next season, the skinny teenager asked the Sprinfield Indians coach Frank Caroll, of the CAHL, a tryout with his club. A two time Allan Cup winner in the 1920's, Caroll accepted the request, gave him a pair of skates and a hockey stick, and Dillon impressed enough to play under Caroll's team for the next two and a half season. In his second and last complete season with the Indians, Dillon finished second in scoring, only behind Gene Carrigan, who would play part of three season in the NHL.

Midway through the 1930–31 season, coach Lester Patrick, a big supporter of Dillon's play since he first wore the blue-and-white jersey, inserted him in his lineup for the first time. For the next eight and a half season, the husky Dillon would play an intricate part his team success. That same year, it has been reported that Dillon played part time as a center, mainly alternating with Frank Boucher, one of Rangers most acclaim player.

For the first few season with the club, ''Ceese'' had to play mostly second violin to Bill Cook and the notorious ''Bread Line''. Indeed, Frank Boucher, flanked by the Cook brothers, Bun and Bill on both side, were the most electrifying trio of forward in the 1930's. Thus far, having played all his career on the left wing, the left shooting Dillon found his niche playing on the right side, playing second shift on most night with Murray Murdoch, another very resilient forward who played more than 500 consecutive games, all with the Rangers, and center Butch Keeling. It was Patrick idea to try Dillon on his off-wing, as they were too much left winger on his team, and the move paid out. Dillon is one of the first left handed shooter playing on the right side.

Dillon probably played his best hockey during the 1933 playoff, where he lead the league in goals and points. Playing a beautiful two-way game, it was reported in various newspaper of the time that Dillon outright outplayed the famous New York Rangers first line and was the most significant contributor of his team in both of his series, against the Montreal Canadiens in the semi final and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final. If a trophy rewarding the most brilliant playoff performer existed at that time, there is no doubt that Cecil Dillon would of been the recipiency.

In his time with the Rangers, Dillon was known to love Frank Boucher's stories, most of them completely fabricated, about his days in the RCMP. He was also a superstitious player. Indeed, one time in 1939, Dillon was so superstitious that he refused a new pair of skating boots after he had been badly cut. Figuring that a new pair of skates in the middle of the year might jinx him, he ordered the old one to be patched up.

He also had a humorous side, as Clint ''Snuffy'' Smith recall: ''Cecil Dillon never read the sports page. Everytime he picked up a newspaper all he read was the funny pages. One of his favourite comic strips starred Barney Google and an ornery hillbilly named Snuffy Smith. As soon as I scored, Dillon went over to the announcer, and said: ''Tell ‘em Snuffy Smith scored that goal!'' Well, damn if he didn’t say it over the loudspeaker!''

As veteran Bill Cook was ageing, it should come as know surprise that Dillon took more place on the New York Rangers and soon enough, became the main trigger-man for the team. In 1935, after finishing second in goals scored, only behind the excellent Charlie Conacher, Dillon received a second all-star berth the next season, as he was narrowly beaten by Charlie Conacher in the voting 16-11 to 12-11.

After receiving his second all-star selection in 1937, Dillon receive his only first all-star selection of his career in 1938. In a feat that only happen once in the history of the National Hockey League, both Dillon and Gordie Drillon of the Toronto Maple Leafs received exactly the same number of first and second vote position, thus making them the only duo to receive a first all-star selection on the same year.

From 1936 to 1938, as Dillon took the reign as the offensive cataclyst of his team, he led the Rangers in scoring in those three consecutive years, joining an exclusive club formed by Frank Boucher, Bill Cook, Andy Bathgate, Phil Esposito and Wayne Gretzky as the only players to do so. Of those six players, only Dillon is not enriched in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The 1938-39 season was the last season in a Rangers uniform for Dillon. The ageing veteran was sold to the Detroit Red Wings by Lester Patrick, who decided that his team needed some young blood. it was the end of an incredible sequence for Cecil. Indeed, Dillon never missed a single regular season game in his nine season with the club. In 409 consecutive games, he scored 160 goals and 281 points with the club.

After an uneventful season with the Red Wings, Dillon played another two years of professional hockey before retiring. In 1940-41, he played 49 games with Indianapolis of the AHL and 51 games with the Pittsburgh Hornet in 1941-42, collecting 13 goals and 23 assists.

Dillon returned to Thornbury after his hockey career and worked for the local phone company. He was a fisherman born and he could sit for hours listening to cowboy songs with a great yearning. No one remember ever seeing him on a horse, though. He also admitted being an expert at making palatable home brew. He died in Meaford, Ontario on November 13, 1969, at the age of 61. He left behind him his wife, his two children and numerous Rangers supporter remembering him as one of the winger in New York Rangers' history.


Fun & Interesting Facts:

- Dillon scored at least 20 goals in five of his ten NHL seasons
- In 1938, both Cecil Dillon and Gordie Drillon received the same amount of first and second vote position for the all-star selection
- His 8 goals in the 1933 playoffs was at the time an NHL record. It took 10 years for Don Grosso to equal it and two more to be beaten by Maurice Richard, with 12 goals


Signing &Trades:

- On January 1, 1931, he was traded to the New York Rangers by the Springfield Indians for cash (NHL)
- On May 17, 1939 he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings by the New York Rangers for cash (NHL)
- On December 15, 1940, he was traded to the Providence Reds by the Detroit Red Wings with Eddie Bush for Harold Jackson (AHL)


Abbreviation:
CAHL: Canadian-American Hockey Lague
AHL: American Hockey League
NHL: National Hockey League
RCMP: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
SOHA: Senior Ontario Hockey Association


Internet Sites:
http://www.sihrhockey.org/member_player_sheet.cfm?player_id=6770&mode=0
http://nyrangerslegends.blogspot.com/2009/10/cecil-dillon.html
http://www.beehivehockey.com/profiles_03.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847306,00.html
http://tomhawthorn.blogspot.com/2009/05/clint-snuffy-smith-hockey-player-1913.html
http://www.hhof.com/html/newsconn.shtml
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A15F73A5A157A93CAA8178AD85F4C8385F9

** Retroactive award attributed by the Society of International Hockey Research

 

[BillyShoe1721]

The Philadelphia Firebirds are happy to select RW Ken Hodge

6x Top 7 All Star Voting Among RW (1, 1, 3, 6, 7, 7)
2x Stanley Cup Champion
3x NHL All Star Game Participant
4x Top 16 Goals in NHL (4, 4, 4, 16)
4x Top 12 Assists in NHL (4, 8, 12)
3x Top 10 Points in NHL (3, 4, 5)
3x Top 6 Goals in NHL Playoffs (1, 5, 6)
4x Top 8 Assists in NHL Playoffs (4, 4, 6, 8)
4x Top 8 Points in NHL Playoffs (4, 4, 5, 8)
4x Top 10 Power Play Goals (3, 3, 4, 10)
66 points in 67 playoff games during peak, 2nd in points and goals, 1st in assists among RW during peak in playoffs
491 points in 434 games during peak, 1st in points and assists(ahead of Cournoyer & Gilbert), 2nd in goals among RW
+241 during career (37th all time)

Hodge played on the Bruins' number one line with Esposito and Wayne Cashman and his confidence exploded. He started to use his strength to hold onto the puck and create scoring chances instead of fighting, and he became one of the best scorers in the league because of his excellent shot. In 1968-69, he scored 45 times, one of the best seasons in league history.

Hodge helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972 and he was with the team for nine seasons. His scoring began in earnest when coach Harry Sinden stepped down after the 1970 Cup win and Tom Johnson took over, giving Hodge more power-play and ice time.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12959

This is Ken Hodge, a great member of the Boston Bruins who could never seem to win over the Boston Gardens faithful, or his Boston coaches.

The British born superstar played in 881 games, scoring 328 goals, 472 assists and 800 points. He formed a special connection with the great Phil Esposito, serving as his RW during the team's great seasons in the 1970s. Hodge is often overlooked in comparison to Espo, Bobby Orr, xxx and Wayne Cashman on that team, but the two time all star was a key component of that offensive juggernaut to be sure.

The problem with the fans was that they always expected more out of Hodge. When he arrived in Boston via Chicago he was one of the biggest men in hockey at 6'2" and 215lbs. They wanted him to use every ounce of muscle to bang away the opposition, but that was never really in Hodge's make up. He tried to fill that role, but he was much more successful as an offensive forward on Boston's top line.

As more success came, so did more criticism. He worked tirelessly to improve his skating so he could skate on that top line with Espo and Cash, and it paid off with seasons of 45, 43 and 50 goals, not to mention Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972.

http://bruinslegends.blogspot.com/2008/01/ken-hodge.html

Some critics claim Esposito merely reaped the rewards of playing with such able cornermen as Ken Hodge

http://books.google.com/books?id=-X...ook_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA

Ken Hodge amassed a total of 105. Notable, because he was the only one of the quartet who didn't play regularly on the power play. . . That, teammate Phil Esposito estimates, is worth 30 points at least. . A big, strapping fellow, Hodge moves efficiently on the ice and he's a rough man to meet in the corners.

1971-1972 Bruins Yearbook

Hodge was one of the larger forwards of his era

Hodge scored a spectacular 45 goals and 45 assists to match Esposito's record season of 126 points. His production fell off significantly the next season (although Boston won the Stanley Cup bolstered by Hodge's skilled play), but the 1971 season saw the Bruins launch the greatest offensive juggernaut the league had ever seen, breaking dozens of offensive records. In that flurry, on one of the most feared forward lines of the era (with linemates Esposito and Wayne Cashman), Hodge would break the league record for points in a season by a right winger with 105, and finish fourth in NHL scoring. Bruins Esposito, Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk and Hodge finished 1–2–3–4 in league scoring—the first time in NHL history such a feat was accomplished.

The 1972 season saw Hodge slowed down by injuries, although he recovered again in the playoffs to help the Bruins to their second Stanley Cup in three years. In 1974 he scored 50 goals and 105 points to place third in league scoring, and with Esposito, Orr and Cashman likewise finished 1–2–3–4 in league scoring for the only other time in NHL history such a feat was accomplished.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hodge

Ken Hodge gained prominence as Phil Esposito's right-hand man, nothing more than 400 assists while the two played together. With the Bruins, Hodge the right-winger, and Wayne Cashman, the portsider, would work the corners with one thing in mind: Feed the puck to Espo.

If, as many hockey observers claim, hockey games are won in the corners, Hodge is one of the most valuable Bruins.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wp...ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=ken hodge&f=false

There was a general free for all. Ken Hodge jumped him and knocked him down again.

http://books.google.com/books?id=lW...kQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ken hodge hockey&f=false

The Nitro line of Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Wayne Cashman became the most explosive offensive force in NHL history

when they tallied 336 points, powered by Esposito's record setting 152 points. The feat was even more amazing considering Hodge and Cashman rarely played on the power play.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Xu...6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=ken hodge hockey&f=false

Virtuosos such as Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, xxx, Ed Westfall, Johnny Bucyk, and Wayne Cashman helped the Bs to Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.

Cam Neely was the new Ken Hodge.

Coach Harry Sinden placed Espo and Ken Hodge on the same line and finished off the trio by adding xxx. The threesome decimated opposing defenses...

"I would sit on the bench, and watch xxx and Ken Hodge shoot...I would pick out their strong points and try to imitate them in practice."-Famous Undrafted

xxx, Ted Green, Wayne Cashman, and Ken Hodge all contributed to the club's aggressive image.

The Bruins had decisively weakened their foe with punishing bodychecks...Ken Hodge almost decimated Vic Hadfield.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Zf...6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=ken hodge hockey&f=false

Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge were great players for the Boston Bruins for many seasons.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Vu...k_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBTgU

Facing the likes of Orr, Esposito, Hodge, and Bucyk-the most awesome offensive force at the time-

http://books.google.com/books?id=iy...BA#v=onepage&q=ken hodge hockey tough&f=false

Ken Hodge had a tremendous shot, he had a really hard shot.

http://books.google.com/books?id=82...gK#v=onepage&q=ken hodge hockey tough&f=false

Needing a bigger and more aggressive team, Schmidt acquired Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge...

http://books.google.com/books?id=Lr...k_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAzgK

There was less than half a minute remaining in the 1st period when the brawl started with Boston's Ken Hodge and xxx touching it off.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...oNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4232,3121959&dq=ken+hodge&hl=en

The Boston Bruins' Jumbo Line is really putting it all together this season...The rugged trio of 200 pounders...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5368,2702951&dq=ken+hodge&hl=en

Ken Hodge, the burly Boston right winger...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5235,5368811&dq=ken+hodge&hl=en

Left winger Ken Hodge knocked in his second consecutive game winner...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=7151,1114461&dq=ken+hodge+shot&hl=en

No need to remind Ken Hodge of the old hockey adage about not being able to score from the penalty box. The rugged right winger of the Boston Bruins...

Toronto coach King Clancy stopped by the Boston dressing room after the game to offer his congratulations. "You played a helluva game kid," he told Hodge.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=6857,1696154&dq=ken+hodge+hard&hl=en

The physical presence of Phil Esposito's big wingers Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...J&pg=3033,2386266&dq=ken+hodge+physical&hl=en

The Bruins are good in the corners and throw as much hefty weight around as the Flyers, especially when Ken Hodge is playing well. Hodge is practically unstoppable when he puts his mind to it.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AJ&pg=838,1756300&dq=ken+hodge+physical&hl=en

Ken Hodge, xxx and John xxx were throwing their from the start, ... "We're going to try to be physical through the whole Stanley Cup . ...

http://www.google.com/search?q=ken+...tart=10&sa=N&bav=on.1,or.&fp=1de43bdcbbdc6ace

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Herbie Lewis, LW

Summary

Herbie Lewis was born in Calgary, Alberta, and was to become known for his relentless defence and blinding speed during an eleven-year career in the NHL. He was rough for a little guy, a good defensive winger and accurate playmaker, and considered the fastest skater in the NHL in his day with his trademark short, mincing steps.

One of the most electrifying players in the 1930s,

A small, quick left-winger, Lewis possessed blazing speed on his blades and had a reputation as an accurate playmaker and a gentlemanly player.

-Inducted into the HHOF in 1989
-Stanley Cups in 1936, 1937
-Red Wings captain in 33-34
-Elected as the starting LW in the very first first NHL All-Star game
-7 Time 30 point scorer in an era when that was a significant accomplishment

Top 25 finishes:
1930: 18th in goals, 24th in points
1931: 20th in goals
1932: none
1933: 7th in goals, 14th in points
1934: 15th in goals, 24 in assists, 16th in points
1935: 18th in goals, 4th in assists, 5th in points (only 4 points behind 1st)
1936: 20th in goals, 4th in assists, 9th in points
1937: 23rd in goals, 15th in assists, 16thin in points
1938: 22nd in assists, 23rd in points

12th in NHL scoring from 1929-30 to 1937-38 with 279 points. 7th place had 283 points. This is effectively equal to Paul Thompson and Hooley Smith over this timeframe, and 15.7% behind 2nd place Marty Barry, all in similar numbers of games:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/pla...val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=points

General Quotes:

He participated in the first NHL All-Star game in 1934 (the Ace Bailey Benefit Game) and went on to lead the team in playoff scoring with five goals. He played in the longest NHL game on March 24-25, 1936, when Detroit defeated the Montreal Maroons 1-0 after six overtime periods. The Wings went on to capture the 1936 Stanley Cup and won it again the next year as Lewis combined on a line with Marty Barry and XX XXX to dominate almost every game of the finals.

Lewis was once described by coach XXX XXX as "a sportsman of the highest type. I defy baseball or football or boxing or any other sport to produce an individual who can eclipse Herbie Lewis as a perfect model of what an athlete should stand for."

(1933-34) was also this season that Lewis and right-winger Larry Aurie, his regular linemate, represented Detroit in the first NHL All-Star Game, a benefit match for Toronto forward Ace Bailey, whose career was cut short by a head injury suffered in a game against Boston.

When XXX picked up Marty Barry from Boston to center Aurie and Lewis, the trio immediately clicked, sparking Detroit to successive Cup wins. Toronto manager Conn Smythe described the unit as, "The best line in hockey, coming and going.

More on Playoffs:

. The lethal combination of Lewis, Barry and Aurie led the Wings to back to back championships in 1936 and 1937 - the first two championships in Detroit's history.

Lewis captained the Red Wings to their first Stanley Cup final appearance in 1933-34 and scored the first Stanley Cup final goal and first playoff overtime marker in club history. He finished as the leading goal scorer in that spring's post-season.

Lewis was a star before he ever came to the NHL:

Long before he made the leap to the NHL, Herbie Lewis was a wanted man. The Montreal Maroons signed him in 1926, but the deal was voided by NHL president Frank Calder, since Lewis was already under contract to the American Hockey Association's Duluth Hornets.

Lewis was a star with the Hornets, leading the team in scoring in 1925-26, earning the nickname "The Duke of Duluth" in the process. He was the league's biggest drawing card and its highest-paid performer.

Detroit manager Jack Adams astutely scooped up this budding star through the 1928 inter-league draft and Lewis blossomed in the Motor City.

 

[seventieslord]

With the 54th pick in ATD2010, The Regina Pats are pleased to select:

King Clancy, D

- 5'7, 155 lbs
- Member of the HHOF
- Stanley Cup (1923, 1927, 1932)
- Stanley Cup Finalist (1933, 1935, 1936)
- NHL 1st All-Star Team (1931, 1934)
- NHL 2nd All-Star Team (1932, 1933)
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th in All-Star voting
- Had at least 5, and perhaps as many as 7 All-Star-caliber seasons prior to the introduction of ASTs
- Top-8 in Hart voting 7 Times (3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 8th)
- Top-3 in Hart voting among defensemen 5 times in the pre-AST years (1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd)
- Top-6 in scoring among defensemen 13 Times (1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th)
- Top-20 in scoring among all players 3 Times (10th, 13th, 13th)
- Top-4 in playoff scoring among defensemen with at least two points (1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th)
- NHL All-Star game participant (1934, 1937)

- #52 on THN's top-100 NHL players of all-time
- #51 on HOH top-100 (2009 edition)
- #19 in Stan Fischler's all-time list "Hockey's 100"
- #15 among defensemen in THN's top-100 players by position

Francis King Clancy was a tremendous competitor whose immense contributions on the ice were equalled by his extraordinarily effusive personality off ice during his lifelong association with the game. His consistent effort and rapport with the fans lasted throughout his career as a player, referee, coach, and executive.
The Ottawa native first gained local attention by excelling with St. Joseph's High School and the city's munitions junior squad. In 1918-19 he began his first of three solid years with the senior St. Brigids squad in Ottawa before signing a pro contract with the NHL Ottawa Senators. Clancy became a regular with the club after the retirement of Eddie Gerard, and he quickly established himself as one of the top players in the league.

Between 1921-22 and 1929-30, the affable Irish-Canadian starred on the Sens and was a key component in the club's Stanley Cup triumphs in 1923 and 1927. He hit double figures in goals three times and was known for utilizing every trick in the book while defending his own zone. Although he weighed only 155 pounds, the feisty defender took on all comers and even challenged a few unruly fans along the way, losing most fights but never giving an inch or backing down.

In 1930, Clancy was the centrepiece of what became known as "the best deal in hockey" when he was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Buds' manager Conn Smythe paid the unprecedented sum of $35,000 and two players to acquire the ingredient he felt would put his club over the top as a Stanley Cup contender, a sum he acquired by winning a bet on a racehorse named Rare Jewel. Clancy repaid Smythe's faith in him by constantly bringing the Toronto crowd to its feet with bodychecks, rushes with the puck, and boundless enthusiasm.

The rambunctious defenceman helped the franchise win its first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs in 1932 in the team's first year at Maple Leaf Gardens and was voted on to the NHL first and second all-star teams twice each during his career. He also participated in the Ace Bailey benefit game in 1934 and the Howie Morenz memorial match three years later.

On December 17, 1921, King Clancy debuted as the youngest player in the NHL to that date. He was seventeen years old and weighed 150-pounds. "This was my introduction to the professional game," King continued. "I played with some wonderful fellows on that Ottawa team. And it's a funny thing, but although they were tough on me and gave me a rough ride when I first worked out with them, once I got to be a bona fide member of the team, I got more encouragement from the players on the Ottawa club than I ever thought was possible."

...The Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup again in 1927, with Clancy playing an integral role as a leader on the team. Although a defenseman, King was a strong puck carrier and contributed significantly to the Ottawa offense. Then, after nine seasons with the Senators, Clancy was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11, 1930. "I talked to Mr. Smythe, who told me he polled some of the fans and newspapermen in Toronto to find out who they would like to see on his hockey team. Some of those he consulted had brought up my name," Clancy recalled. Smythe, who had purchased the Toronto franchise in early 1927, didn't have the money to secure Clancy at that time. But a day at the track changed the climate for his team. Smythe owned a racehorse named Rare Jewel, who ran at seemingly insurmountable odds. But astonishingly, Rare Jewel won its race with Smythe having bet a great deal of money on his horse. With odds at better than 200-to-one, Smythe collected more than $15,000 and, packaged with a further $20,000 from the team and Leaf chattel Eric Pettinger and Art Smith, the Maple Leafs were able to secure King Clancy from the Ottawa Senators. "To this day, I'm surprised at the amount of money involved in the deal that brought me to the Leafs," Clancy admitted in 1968. "I heard how much money Mr. Smythe had handed over to Ottawa and I must confess, I thought he was a foolish man." Ottawa fans were disheartened to learn of the loss of their star. Toronto fans were ecstatic to hear that their nemesis would be joining their team. "I must stress that when Mr. Smythe bought my contract and brought me to Toronto, I never looked back on any aspect of my career. A few years after I left Ottawa, the Senators folded. By then, I was a member in good standing with the Toronto Maple Leaf organization."

...At training camp in 1936, the Maple Leafs were alarmed to realize that Clancy was unable to keep weight on his already smallish frame. "After sixteen years in the league, I didn't want to injure my health," King claimed. "The check-up revealed nothing, but when Dr. Johnny Rush told me I was taking too much out of myself by playing, I decided that perhaps the time had come to consider retiring. The main reason was my health, but I had also discovered that fellows I could ordinarily stop were getting away from me with no trouble at all." Just six games into the 1936-37 campaign, King Clancy made the decision to conclude his playing career. "I was thirty-three and the highest-paid player in the NHL when I announced that I was hanging up my skates. I'll never forget the date — it was November 24, 1936. I was through as a player but not finished as far as the Toronto Maple Leaf organization was concerned. Mr. Smythe gave me a job as a goodwill ambassador and that kept me in touch with the game I loved."

Despite being an imp of a hockey player at just 5'7" and 150 pounds, Clancy was an electrifying on- ice presence. As wonderful a skater and stickhandler as he was, King was equally vigorous without the puck. When he reigned as one of the NHL's best blue liners with the old Senators, everyone admired him..

...The Leafs were vastly improved with the pugnacious yet charismatic Clancy on their blue line. Much like the Wayne Gretzky trade to Los Angeles many years later, Clancy brought excitement and success to Toronto and set the standards for excellence for decades to come. He instilled a winning attitude complete with a Stanley Cup championship - the franchise's first while known as Maple Leafs - in 1932

So many great stories involve King Clancy, especially when his temper got the better of him.

Weighing only 150 pounds when he broke into the league, Clancy was never afraid to take on players much larger than himself. Legend has it Clancy once even challenged an unruly Boston fan to have it out with him after the game ... only to be told he had tried to pick a fight with Jack Sharkey, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Clancy never did stop annoying people, and rarely faired well in any one on one fisticuff.

Another incident involved ***** also of the New York Rangers. ***** was an extremely physical blue liner who also suited up as a professional wrestler. Some people might say that should be reversed: he was a pro wrestler who also played NHL defense. In a certain game, legend has ***** picking Clancy up over his head in the old and famous wrestling hold the "airplane spin." Starr would then proceed to toss King over the boards into the lap of a spectator.

Clancy was an outstanding rushing defenseman, totaling 136 goals and 143 assists before retiring early in the 1936-37 season. Though primarily a defenseman, Clancy played every position including goal! In these old days if a goaltender got a penalty he had to serve the time in the penalty box. This happened twice - December 27 1924 (allowing no goals in 2 minutes) and on March 15, 1932 (allowing 1 goal against in 1 minute played).

Frank Clancy is probably the smallest defensemen that ever play professional hockey… Despite his size he stood up to the biggest and toughest men in the game, although frequently winding up on the short end of exchanges.… He started with Ottawa in 1922 where he played as a substitute for his first two years but became a regular with George Boucher on the retirement of Eddie Gerard.… Ottawa's last great team was the top winter of 1927 on which of course Clancy was very much to the fore. The team began to slide with the departure or retirement of the great veterans Nighbor, Denneny, Broadbent & Boucher but they still drew crowds with Clancy as the main attraction… What was heralded as the biggest hockey deal ever made at that time took place before the start of the 1931 season, when Clancy was sold to the Maple leafs for the reported sum of $35,000 and two players… He became the inspirational leader of the team that won the Stanley Cup in his second year with them. They were always contenders while he was around. His defense partners were Hap Day, Red Horner, and ***** but he outshone them all. He received many cuts and bruises that would've forced other players out but not this indomitable man.

Young Clancy was game for every bit of bruising which his light weight and lack of height made him heir. He joined every scrub team and play on every local frozen pond, for or against boys of every size, as long as they let him play. Many a winter evening he would wobble home on tired legs, and standing in the light of the supper table, would frighten his mother and even give his data shock as he smiled at them through a battered, blood smeared face. "Well I guess I showed them today, pop," he would announce proudly, and turn away to wash, he would try his very best to keep his voice and weary legs from shaking and giving his secret away. Clancy was every inch an Irishman – even when he could barely stand he would not let one tier squeeze through…

The years slipped by. Young Clancy continued to play hockey. He had long ago one his father's admiration for his uphill fight. Moreover, in spite of his small stature, Clancy turned out to be "natural" hockey player, and no matter how hard he crashed to the ice, he always bounce right back into the fray. He began to believe in himself with a quiet confidence born of struggle and self-discipline, and he counted as nothing the many blows and bruises he gained on the way along. His courage in speed and nervy play began to gain him a reputation among fans and players alike…

Clancy played his dazzling defensive game. Although he spotted almost every player who ever charged his goal at least 40 to 50 pounds, Clancy's smashing, crashing spearhead attacks, pressing up the ice with the speed of a greyhound in the drivable bulldog, earned him brilliant fame. His ready tongue and quick temper cost him many a trip to the penalty box, with his temper went to determination to win the made him an invaluable player on every team for which he played. Clancy never lost heart in a game until the final whistle blew, and then, if his team and lost, the most dejected player to leave the ice would be King Clancy.

… Today the stories told of the dressing room talks which Clancy delivered to the team, and the never say die playing attitude of little Ottawa Irishman, are legend. Clancy and the Maple Leafs will be associated together until the final records are in, for the fiery defense and fought and talked and lived his greatest games with the finest teams the Maple leafs ever have… .He will always be remembered as a driving, fighting, talking, pushing, 60 min. player – one of the truly great of the game

Few players in any era matched King Clancy's competitive spirit and charisma… He came to terms with the fact that he was below average size and a rough sport. Clancy was taught to use his stick as a means of defending himself, and with it the Irishman managed to annoy short tempered foes throughout his career.… Clancy spirited play, stickhandling and relentless back checking continually endeared him to the fans in the capital. He was unquestionably one of the quickest players in the league because of his unrivaled acceleration.

It was not uncommon to hear a despairing neighbor complain, "Tom's youngster will never be the athlete his father, he's just too small." But Frank developed an indefatigable spirit, which was embellished by his natural hockey talent. Despite his size, he joined the best amateur club in Ottawa, and, according to one observer, "his courage in speed and nervy play began to gain him a reputation among fans and players alike."… The manager had difficulty suppressing his laughter when he saw the 155 pound Clancy. "And you want to play defense?" He chortled with amazement. Gradually the senator's boss realized that his deprecating manner did not faze Clancy.… When they realized what a surplus of gutsiness Clancy required even to dare to skate with them, they obliged by passing from the Park to see what the kid could do.… The manager handed Clancy a contract as the substitute player and said: "we'll put 50 pounds of rock salt in your shirt to weigh you down!"

"When Clint Benedict drew a penalty, Clancy volunteered to take over his job and I let him do it. Not only did he stop Edmonton but he almost scored on them while he was playing goal. King had made a save and saw loose puck in front of his cage. He dashed out got a stick on the Park, wiggled past Edmonton attacker and start to rush down the rink." ******* kept yelling at Clancy to get back in the net, but the King paid his boss know he didn't moved in on the enemy defense. "He pulled one of Edmonton defenseman out of position, and then fired a shot. Then, grinning happily, he scooted back to his own end of the rink to resume business as a goalie."

Such was the manner of Clancy, a man of infinite humor, and ability and guts. At a time when defenseman such as Eddie shore and other Goliaths of the rink would as soon carved their initials into an opponent brow and score a goal, the lilliputian Clancy backed away from no one and also emerged as the definitive backliner who was twice a first All-Star and played on three Stanley Cup winners.

More than Shore, Doug Harvey, red Kelly, or Bobby Orr, Clancy offered exuberance to the game that had a more positive touch than Maurice Richard's almost sinister pursuit of the almighty goal. There was an "I love life, I love hockey" aura about the king that was as infectious on any team that had Clancy playing defense.

Toronto columnist Ted Reeve observed Clancy of the rookie with Ottawa in 1921 to his final game with the Maple leafs in 1937 and he had this to say about King's style: "his main forte was his ability to break fast, to come leaping off the blue line as though it was a springboard, with the loose puck tossed out in front. He could pass on the dead tear, though not a graceful skater [he was almost running on his blades at times], and he had a wicked shot. It was that indefinable something – the competitive spirit – that made Clancy so valuable to the leafs. And the God-given gift of fun in him that would bring them out of the doldrums with the whoop and a holler. That high-pitched sort of husky voice, his piping exclamations and infectious grin."

No player in the long and distinguished history of hockey has made as great a contribution in so many areas of the game over so long period of time. Clancy started his affiliation with the league in 1921 with Ottawa I continued unchecked for 65 years until the day of his passing. Along the way, he was a Hall of Fame player, coach, general manager, referee, referee-in-chief, Stanley Cup winner, All-Star, father of an NHLer, and ambassador for the game. He never had a drop of alcohol in his life, but anyone who came in contact with him was sure he was drunk on life and hockey, such was his ever heightened state of happiness.

He was as aggressive the defenseman as there was. He often picked fights with the toughest players in the league, and although [legend has it] he never won a single one he always came back for more. His heart and competitive spirit won him fans across the country. He was also a superb defenseman, a rusher with the puck and skilled as a scorer and passer. He also had excellent speed.

Clancy was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 and is the only man to play in, referee, and coach an All-Star game.

How he ever got the moniker is a mystery, But it seemed to bother Frank Clancy not one whit that he should be dubbed "Little Mervich" at the start of his pro career in 1921 – 22. He was just happy to be in the big time. In fact he was a happy person, period. Why shouldn't he have been? Here he was, 19 years old, discovered and signed, playing in his hometown for the team he idolized. As of January 11, 1922, his team was in first place, and though he was not yet a starter, at least he was in the lineup and was making the most of his chances. In his first game, the opening of the schedule in Hamilton, he had watched from the bench through three periods as his teammates struggled in a 3 to 3 tie with the Tigers. To Clancy's astonishment, he was ordered onto the ice in overtime. Shaking his initial nervousness, he asserted himself well with his speedy skating and deft stickhandling before veteran Broadbent scored the senator's winning goal.… In only his third game, replacing Boucher who had broken a lace, he delighted the crowd by scoring his first professional goal in a 10 – zero rout of the Canadiens. He did so with what was to become his trademark spunk. Driving the puck at Georges Vezina, no less, he skirted the feared defense combination of ******* and Sprague Cleghorn, retrieved the rebound, and punched the puck home. To the coach and manager, it was no secret, they had their differences when it came to player evaluation, but one thing they could agree on was that in Clancy they had a diamond in the rough. Break him in easily, allow him to observe the pros and action, put him in the game at the right moments, nurture his development. This they could afford to do. Veterans Boucher and Gerard, after all, were still two of the game's finest defensemen. They were content to be patient with Clancy.

...Whether on the eyesore from his spot on the bench in his first professional year, Clancy learned a great deal about hockey and what it takes to win… Clancy was also exposed to something that he could use a little further tutoring in: discipline. At one point in the season they had gone an unheard-of six straight games without incurring a penalty.

... Clancy was a favorite with Madison Square Garden fans and did not disappoint the 10,000 on hand. "The brilliant Ottawa defenseman Drew Wilde plaudits from the crowd in the early minutes with some superb runs." It was a telling observation because, fan pleasing though they were, the solo – as were fruitless. The Senators had withdrawn into a defensive style of play and were showing little interest in any sort of coordinated attack.

The 1923 playoffs were remarkable for the number of injuries suffered by the senators, and the emergence of 20-year-old Frank Clancy as a star performer for Ottawa… With his teammates cut, bruised, and battered, Clancy stepped into the breach and sword from substitute to star overnight. In the two-game final, he played both defensive positions at all three forward positions. He also took a turn in goal when Benedict was penalized in the second game, and stopped two shots. One of them was a long shot... Clancy dropped his stick, caught the Park baseball style with both hands and casually tossed it aside. "He's the greatest kid in the world," the veteran Gerard exclaimed after Ottawa's 1-0 victory. "He was the hero of the series," added maroons coach ********.

King still consideres that the greatest performance of his life. "I guess I had the puck for 15 minutes in that period," he says. "I'd get the puck behind my own net, skate up to centre, stickhandle around, go back behind my net, out to centre and back. I had those Edmonton guys crazy."

"He was a damned nuisance", recalled Aurel Joliat. "He could really get people worked up with that mouth of his."

"There were few defensemen in NHL history as small as he," recalled Globe and Mail writer Trent Frayne in 1986, "or with a heart as big. His play was inspirational. He'd get the puck in his own end, and he'd run five, seven, eight quick little strides to accelerate, and then he'd be whirling down center, eyes wide, eyebrows halfway to his hairline."

"That battling gamecock King Clancy dug up a new lease on life from somewhere," wrote Toronto daily Star columnist Louie marsh in March 1932 after Clancy help the leafs defeat Chicago to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. "The boy is worn to a shadow from an unselfish season's work. He was in the forefront of all the early battling and took some terrific punishment at both ends of the ice, but he was still fighting when they finished."

"The King was a great player, a spirited rusher and a grand blocker," read the announcement of his retirement, "but his effectiveness did not end there. Clancy's quick thinking won many games."

King Clancy has done so much and is had so much written about him that it is impossible to chronicle all of his achievements in a short article. Most importantly, he has to be the most beloved man in the history of the game. "King is the best thing that ever happened to the NHL," Hap Day was quoted as saying. Wherever he goes he leaves people who are chuckling with him or ask him. He even outdid Bob Hope. In Vancouver, Hope was falling Clancy at one of Clancy's numerous speaking engagements. On hearing the King, hope could only say, "how do you follow that?"

King Clancy played his amateur hockey with St. brigid's athletic club of the Ottawa city league. It was here that he realize just how much smaller he was than the other lads. One of his teachers, Mr. Moriarty, once asked the puny Irishman was hockey stick was used for. Clancy, ever the smartass, replied, "why sir, you can handle the puck with it, you can shoot with it, and you can pass…"

"Very good, Clancy. What else can you do with it? "
"Gosh, Mr. Moriarty,. I guess that's just about all you can do with it."
"No, Frankie. It's not all you can do with it. You're just a little fellow, so I want you to remember this. In order to take care of yourself when you're on the ice, this thing is always the equalizer. The hockey stick is always the equalizer."

There was a night in Boston, the Senators against the Bruins, when Clancy riled Sprague Cleghorn, a volcanic blowtop. Cleghorn broke away , on a clear path to the ottawa goal. Clanyc, backchecking for Ottawa, drew near Cleghorn. "Give 'er to me now, Sprague," he called, and Cleghorn passed the puck on a perfect line to Clancy's stick. the ruse ruined Cleghorn's scoring chance. The period ended and players for both teams headed to to their dressing rooms through the same exit. Clancy was about to exit when he heard a voice, "Hey Clancy!" He turned around, and bongo, Cleghorn landed a fist full of knuckels on Clancy's nose. Clancy went down, his beak bleeding fluently. Sprague stomped off to the Boston room. Clancy staggered off, where the trainer said, "For Christ's sake, King, I never saw you get hit on the ice." - "I didn't", Clancy said. "I got hit in the hall!"

Clancy was as determined and effective as any defensemen in the league… He combined his hockey prowess with clownlike theatrics. He once provoked Boston's notorious Eddie shore into dropping his gloves, then shook sure his hand enthusiastically while grinning and said: "good evening, Eddie. How are you tonight?" Everyone, including shore, was left laughing. Although Clancy engaged in plenty of fights over the years and dished out hits indiscriminately, he didn't make many lasting enemies.

Clancy was a little guy by any standard, but he never shirked his defense responsibilities, going after the biggest bruises of his day. What he lacked in stature, he made up for in skill, cunning, and devilry. As the Kings to say, "I don't finish fights, I just start 'em."

The ideal solution was King clancy, whom Smythe called "probably the best all-round man, as far as morale, ability and effort for his team is concerned, that ever was."

Babe Siebert, "the berserker left winger", as the Gazette called him, was throwing his weight around effectively. He flattened King Clancy repeatedly, although the indestructible Ottawa defenseman bounced back every time."

...Soon there were raging fights between Nels Stewart and King Clancy... When Clancy went to ******'s aid, he was hit with a flying tackle by *****.... as soon as the pain left Stewart's face (from the dislocated thumb), Clancy took a swing at him and the brawl was on again...

Clancy was the one you naturally picked up first. He was colorful – an exciting puck carrier, a tenacious stick checker, a leader whenever he was on the ice, and the player who sparked the team when they hit a slump.

"Let's say I paid a fortune," Conn Smythe might have said, speaking of the trade that brought Clancy to the Leafs in 1930, "paid a fortune for a heart, the gamest heart, the kindest heart in pro hockey. I didn't go shopping for a strong back or sturdy legs. I brought heart, character, courage and devotion."

It wasn't merely Clancy's wit and sense of fun that made him such a favorite with the fans, the management and his teammates. He also happened to be a superbly gifted hockey player. He was small, particularly for a defenseman. But he was wiry, fairly sturdy and always beautifully conditioned, he made up for any physical drawbacks of brains, guile and sheer nervy gall. He didn't hesitate to throw his weight around on defense, even if it was only 150 pounds. He was a busy body checker because, as he said himself, "I found out that I seldom got hurt. Sometimes the big forwards I hit would get injured, but it didn't happen to me very often." He was a handy checker with his stick, too, and he used to "lay the wood to the forwards," to quote one of his favorite expressions, whenever he couldn't hit them with his body checks. He was cagey about the way he handled his stick, and Frank Selke has always maintained that red Horner, Clancy's frequent defense partner with the leafs, often served penalties for tripping infractions that had actually been committed by Clancy.

"King Clancy was a faster skater than any other star defensemen I knew," Frank Selke has written. "He would dash up the ice, using a rival defensemen's legs as a partial screen, and let drive his low, left-handed shot, which was frequently lodged in the net before the opposing goalie saw it coming."

And when King couldn't lick opposing teams with his clever shooting, swift skating and gutsy checking, he could always best them with his fast thinking.

Clancy caught a taste of crude play in his rookie season during a game in Montréal when *******, of brute of a player, cross checked him over the back of the neck and sent him flying into the chicken wire at the end of the arena. Clancy picked himself up, raised his stick and broke it over ********'s back. The referee handed the two of them penalties; when ****** made the mistake of stepping into the penalty box first, Clancy clipped him again and not to the sprawling into the aisle. "I don't know you, kid," ******* said to Clancy after the two were finally settled in the penalty box with the policemen separating them. "I don't even know your name. But you are living on borrowed time because you'll last about two weeks in this league playing back kind of hockey." ********* was wrong in every particular. Clancy lasted in the NHL for 16 years playing precisely the kind of rugged hockey that so enraged *******, and for all of those 16 years, everybody knew King Clancy's name.

… He established himself as one of the most formidable offensive defensemen in the league. He hit double figures again in goals in 1929 and 1930, and all the while he was improving his defensive work, especially his stick checking which gradually took on a deadly effectiveness.… In the early 1930s, he reached absolute maturity as a hockey player. He was generally ranked in those years as 1-2 with Eddie shore among the league's defensemen. He was a ferocious checker, a high scorer, and a team leader.

Clancy was the nearest thing the NHL had to shore in terms of showmanship, lightning dashes, great breaks, fighting qualities, and overall color… On the ice, Clancy carried a heavy, handcrafted stick, and he would use it to paint his adversaries up against the wire screen. "Put the wood to him" was how Clancy termed it. Clancy was a holy terror, tearing down the ice, gritting his teeth, and glaring at opponents as if about to kill them. "He always appears fierce and determined", John Kieran of the New York Times explained. "He seems to take great joy in shunting arrival wingman across the ring on his year. When he charges down on the goal with his black hair standing on end he looks as though he regretted that he didn't have an ax with him. It is really wild moments the fans would hardly be surprised if he pulled a couple of guns from somewhere on his person and began shooting everybody in sight, including the referee in several innocent bystanders."

A few passages from two of Clancy's biographies:

the 1924 season started off well, with Clancy still playing as a sub but somehow managing to be on the ice most of the time, his greatest attribute showing forth: "if there are any faster players in Canada's winter pastime, they are not in the NHL; but this boys powers of endurance are being tested to the breaking point." One of Clancy's later teammates, red Horner, remembers one game in Toronto where King did go until you literally collapsed behind the net and started to hallucinate. Montréal sportswriters were equally laudatory: "Frank Clancy gave the greatest exhibition of speed ever seen here. King had the Canadien forwards skated to exhaustion and their defensemen baffled at times." He was starting to acquire another nickname "man-o'-war", after the great racehorse.

Through it all, Clancy's career soared. By 1925 he was classified as Ottawa's superstar, having propelled the senators to another first-place finish. One goal description, from a game in 1927, reiterates his speed and determination: "in a flash the flying Clancy was past him with the disk on his stick. Down along the fence he flew, breaking past the maroon forward line. Carson tried to stop him, but Clancy literally skated over the top of him and with the puck sliding ahead of him continued on towards the corner. As Dutton came over, Clancy slipped the puck past him, and shaking the attempted body check, streaked across in front of the Montréal net. Benny started out, but he was not quick enough. As the King reached the puck, he backhanded it, knee-high, into the net, for the only goal of the game."

November 7, 1928, marked another training camp. "King Clancy should have his greatest year. He has never appeared as big and strong and his old enthusiasm has not diminished any." But on February 14, George Boucher, the Senators captain, was traded to the Montréal maroons. At that time, the captain was chosen by secret ballot amongst the players. It was not only an honor to be selected, it was also an increase, or bonus and salary. Needless to say, the choice was Frank Clancy.

March of 1929 brought voting for the NHL All-Stars, chosen by the managers of each team, excluding their own. The highest number of votes possible was nine, the highest achieved was eight, for Clancy.

While still a senator, the with their season complete, the able Clancy was loaned to the Vancouver Lions for an exhibition series in their city against the Boston Bruins. The Vancouver province of 1930 was highly laudatory: "he is the greatest hockey player in the game today. Every move on Clancy's part was the signal for a tumultuous outburst of applause. He is in the game, fighting from start to finish. There is no theatrical biplane to Clancy's work. Once that whistle blows, he forget the crowd and all else, except that there is ice under his feet, a puck to be followed, and that he possesses a pair of superstrong legs, a hockey stick, and Eagle eye, and a vision that functions every second."

Clancy was described as "a going hound on skates, fearless to the nth degree, possessor of a wicked shot, and carried more above his shoulders than his years. His great determination and his bulldog spirit has carried the senators over many a tough spot in the NHL road." The Toronto Globe called him "one of the most colorful players in the world today, along with Howie Morenz and Eddie Shore. Opinion is divided as to which is the most effective, but the majority agree that as far as being a team leader is concerned, there is only one King Clancy. In Clancy, Toronto gets the player they need. He will give them the strongest defense they've had in years, and he will also be the team leader, as he couldn't keep in the background under any circumstances. His duels with Eddie shore will alone be worth the price of admission to the arena gardens. There is one thing he delights in more than any other it is bodychecking the Bruins star." The telegram rated him "among the best hockey players in the world. Many deem him the best defensemen of any, a few picking Eddie shore as his peer. He's the hardest working defensemen, he rarely rests, going at top speed all the time he is on the ice. A brilliant rusher and a deadly shot." For all the comparisons to, and on ice confrontations with, Eddie shore, Clancy claims, "I had no problem getting along with him off the ice."

The leafs were not destined to be league champions that year, but they did make the playoffs, and one of the most important games late in the season to get them there was also one of Clancy's best. The headline of the Toronto telegram read; "Babe Ruth of Pro hockey needs leafs in five – two victory" over New York Rangers. "Clancy stood out as the best player on the ice. He was on the warpath in this game and his part in the scoring of for Trenton goals during the last. Was a treat to watch. The leafs rallied to Clancy's warcry and follow the greatest defensive player of modern professional hockey on a merry hunt for goals."

… Again, much of the credit was given to Clancy. To quote sportswriter Louie marsh, if there was one place the leafs stood out it was on defense. King Clancy sparkled all night. The mighty man from Ottawa, just a wan drawn shadow of the sturdy warrior who started out last November for the leafs, made into every Ranger attacker who came roaring down his side of the defensive end." There was one maneuver for which King was particularly noted in his playing. Developed from his small size but great speed, it became known as the recoil check. To start, he would dig himself in on the blue line, pick up the largest opponent to is approaching the fastest, and throw himself into the air. "When the bodies crashed, the puck carrier is often momentarily off his stride. Clancy is always knocked momentarily, or longer, into midair but when he lands, he is invariably still on the inside of the rubber or at least near enough events to clear the rebound." According to George Hainsworth, the leafs goalie, it was not always successful, there were times he had to clear both the puck and Clancy!

The press did not always praise Clancy. Sometimes they had fun with him to. One such occasion came as the result of an advertisement he had agreed to lend his name to. Lou marsh just could not resist: "and now the secretive Kings verdant youth is out. Always careful in his mode of living and a man of exemplary habits, it will be noted that he long ago realized that and half feet, like Napoleon's army more than a century ago, fights on his stomach. And so it is that Frank Clancy was a living, driving, speeding atom of energy because he has long been a devotee of Eno's fruit salts."

It was less than two months after his wedding, and still unknown by the public or press, that Ted Reeve wrote: "King Clancy is probably, at this age, the most valuable man on the team with his playmaking, his chatter, and his accidental tripping. Why he doesn't spend the largest part of the season and the penalty box for the way he pushes skates out from under puck carriers, or hangs onto them around the goalmouth, is more than we can figure out. But for all that, or maybe because of that, he is a mighty handyman to have around."

One incident, which red Horner well remembers, was the time Clancy imitated his boss in the dressing room peptalk. Smythe was noted for these. According to Horner, he would tell the team stories of some war hero he'd fought beside, how badly injured man had been and what a tragedy it was; he'd almost have the boys in tears. Then he would turn the tone right around and tell how the poor fellow rallied, his fighting spirit came to the fore, and he single-handedly won the battle. Now the boys were ready to hit the ice and fight! Thinking Smythe was nowhere around, Clancy hopped up on a bench, clad in only a towel, and proceeded to mimic Smythe's gruff and raspy voice, telling some ridiculous war story he had invented. It turned out smite was at the door right behind him and witnessed the whole incident. But he had such a soft spot for his prize catch, he quickly forgave, and simply said to him, "all I want you to do is play."

"Clancy again show the customers why the $35,000 the beefs expended for him wasn't ill spent. He was up and around and attending to his own business and butting into everybody else's. And with it all, he just showed that extra little finish which makes him a Clancy keeps him above the others, who are just defensemen."

… This is consistent with the way red Horner remembers Clancy as a player. "It was not just his fierce determination on the ice. He was always getting everyone all fired up in the dressing room. He could always get a laugh. He would come walking in the that big cigar in his mouth, knowing full well that smoking was taboo in the dressing room. But with that impish grin he could get away with anything. We all knew Smythe favored him over all the others, but we didn't mind, as we liked him too."

Conn Smythe: "Clancy was going to retire last year, but felt he had another good season in his system, and so did we. Any man who is given so much to the game is Clancy should be given the ungrudgingly to decide for himself such an important step. We also want to be sure his health doesn't suffer. He's the best player we ever had, and ends his career without a blemish. He will be the goodwill Generalissimo and used to bolster the morale of the team, at home and on the road. I hardly need tell you that King was one of the gamest, hardest working players in the big time. We'll need him around for a long time yet, to inject the spark of fight when the going is toughest.

Here Conn Smythe tells of Clancy's indomitable spirit as a player: "King Clancy was probably the best all-around man, as far as morale, ability, and the effort for his team is concerned, that ever was. I cannot remember any instance in the several years he played for me which would not bring credit to the King. The sign printed in the gardens dressing room, "defeat does not rest lightly on their shoulders," applied to a great number of good hockey players who played from that room, but none of them were entitled to wear the banner with more pride than King Clancy. I remember playing at Chicago and being eliminated in the semifinals by sudden-death overtime goal. In those days to get off the ice he skated through an opening at the end of the rink and down into the cellar. Our team disappeared like snow in the rain when the sudden-death goal went in, and I had to walk around the promenade preparatory to get to the dressing room. All the way around I was thinking of something to cheer them up and show that the manager had a stiff upper lip, which was, of course, absolutely untrue. When I approach the dressing room I was amazed to hear a roar, and on stepping in, here was King Clancy, as naked as the day he was born, with only a towel around him – but which was waving in the breeze – standing up and saying, "those so-and-so's will never beat us again, will never see the day when they can stay in the same rink! In fact, if we could only get at them now we would murder them!" And the game had only been over for 3 min. on the next season was seven months away! A man who is had the leafs for 25 years has to be proud of all the great players who bore the uniform, but always standing in the front rank will be the irrepressible Irishman from Ottawa, Frank "King" Clancy."

Frank Selke: "Clancy was not a defensive bulwark Like Shore, Day, Mantha, or Gerard, but he sized up an opening so quickly that he would leap into the breach from his rearguard position, frequently scoring important goals as a result of his hair trigger brain. All in all, King Clancy has been a tremendous force for the good of hockey. I bless the day I learned to call him a friend."

There was another time that season when Tommy Gorman took me aside, but it wasn't for something I had done but rather something he wanted me to do. "Clancy, of the job for you tomorrow night," he said. "You know Babe Dye has a wonderful shot and that he's been giving us a lot of trouble on that wing. So, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you $50 if you'll cover him tomorrow night and he doesn't score goal." Dye was playing right wing for Toronto, so I played on the left wing that game, and every time Dye stepped onto the ice I stepped up there with him. After a while he must've felt like he was surrounded by Clancy's! He tried a few tricks to shake me, like skating over to the bench and getting into the box only to jump right back onto the ice again. But I would do exactly the same thing, and I stuck to him like a leech. The only way we could have been closer together would be if we were hugging each other. Luckily, he didn't come close to scoring a goal and I picked up my $50 the next day. And now we come back to Toronto for the return game. "King, I want you to do the same thing," said Mr. Gorman. "Don't let that Dye shake you four-minute." By this time he was sick and tired of having me for shadow. He finally hit me a whack on the chin with his stick, a real good wallop that opened up cut, and I had to retire to the dressing room for repairs. I hurried in there to get my stitches from the doctor, and I couldn't wait for him to get the job done. "Hurry up, Doc!" I kept repeating. "I'm going to lose $50 if dye happens to score well I'm sitting in here!" He laughed. "Don't worry, King, he is in the penalty box." "Yeah," I said, "but he's only going to be in there for 5 min. How long is it going to take you to get this cut stitched up?" "A lot less than that", he replied. Sure enough, I was out of the dressing room and ready to play again before he came out of the box. Again he didn't score and once more I earned another $50 for my efforts. It didn't matter to me that I'd have no chance of scoring while taking care of Mr. dye. As long as I could make an extra dollar by keeping him from getting a goal, I was all for that. This was the sort of challenge I really enjoyed.

When you get a hockey stick and lay it on somebody, they have to know they've been checked. Of course, I used mine in good stead. When I get player in the corner I'd wrap it around him, and if I wanted to keep them there, I put the stick up against the fence and just hold onto the other end. He couldn't get away; it was just like I had him chained up. And I knew there was no give to that stick. If you wanted to do a thing like that now, you break the hockey stick as soon as you give a push on it.

I remember coming back up the ice to check Howie Morenz one night and couldn't catch him, but I got close enough to reach him. I tapped him on the side of the knee with my stick and he dropped so fast I fell over him. He didn't stagger at all – just drop like someone hit him with a bullet. When I talked with him for a moment after the game, he said, "what did you do? I got a shock from that that went for my toes right up to my shoulder." "Well I don't know what I did to you," I said. "It must've been the weight of the stick because I didn't hit you hard." "It was just like someone hit me with a mallet on the side of the knee," said Howie. I know I must've hit him on the nerve, but I could never duplicate what I did. I tried often on other players but it never worked again.

"if you don't mix it in hockey... if you don't run into fellows and try to knock them down - you're missing a big part of the game."

And finally, a few superfluous newspaper clippings:

the defense work of George Boucher and King Clancy could not be improved upon. There was method in every movement they made and they gave Connell the strongest kind of support... Supporters of hockey throughout the Calder circuit always expect a sensational performance from King Clancy and tonight the King gave them one of his best demonstrations. It was through his rushes that Ottawa's first two goals were registered and it was largely due to his dashing speed and back checking the the flying Frenchmen were transformed to into a slow-moving team.

rated one of the best defensemen of all time, Clancy will team up on the defense with another speed artist, Clarence "Happy" Day, who has been with the leafs since turning professional. The pair will form one of the fastest rear guards in the league.

Clancy is one of the most colorful and brilliant players in Pro hockey, a great player with a dynamic personality. He was the spark plug that inspired the Ottawa Senators and Hustlin' leafs of Toronto will find that he is just the man to give them the punch that was lacking in the team the year before. The square chinned star is one of the fastest skaters in Pro hockey. Many Toronto hockey fans doubted that "connie" had made a wise move but it won't take long after they see him on the team. Clancy is a fighter – but not belligerent and is a clean sportsmanlike player, who will battle out the play to the last ditch. With Clancy and "Hap" Day, the leafs defense will be one of the fastest and most sensational in the NHL.

on the ice King is a clean player, but Like Shore, uses his 160 pounds with telling effect on opposing players. Of Clancy, Howie Morenz, Canadien center of the All-Star team, once said he was the hardest defense player in the NHL to pass, and as leading scorer, Howie doubtless knows his chief obstacles.

King is a 60 min. man if necessary, and making definite defense combinations of Clancy on the squad is useless. In a tight game he should be, and usually is, on most of the time.

so King Clancy, at 33, has decided to hang up his skates. It won't be the same without his name in the hockey lineups, and it is hard to get used to the idea that he will know more rush impetuously down the ice as of yore. Big-league hockey without Clancy will be like big-league baseball without Babe Ruth. It will get along without him, but his memory will linger on, for all time associated with the mighty men of the game. When you calmly consider the matter, however, it is really not very surprising that the day has arrived for the King to call a halt. He always played with every ounce of his energy. He is always fought to the last whistle, unwilling to admit defeat. While there was still time left, the great heart of his never knew what it was to slacken its driving, let alone quit. In that way he was an inspiration to all who played with him or saw him play. How he could stand it season after season was the subject of speculation many a time. And because he did not spare himself, the springs of his superb power did not well forth as freely as of old. 16 years of the kind of dogged playing Clancy displayed were found to have their effect.

MOST TIMES 1ST OR 2ND AMONG NHL DEFENSEMEN IN SCORING:

Paul Coffey - 9
Bobby Orr - 8
Ray Bourque - 8
Eddie Shore - 8
Nicklas Lidstrom - 7
Red Kelly - 7
Bill Gadsby - 7
King Clancy - 6
Denis Potvin - 6
********* - 6
Pierre Pilote - 6
Doug Harvey - 6
Sergei Gonchar - 5
Al MacInnis - 5
Harry Cameron - 5

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their second round pick (66) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Guy "Pointu" Lapointe, D

Lapointe quickly established himself as one of the game's all-time great defensemen. He was a solid checker and opposing goalies feared his slapshot, which was particularly effective on the Habs' lethal powerplay of the '70s.

-Legends of Hockey


Career Highlights:
6 time Stanley Cup Champion 1971,1973,1976,1977,1978,1979.
1st Team All Star at D (Post Season) 1973.
3 x 2nd Team All Star at D (Post Season) 1975,1976,1977.
Member of Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series, 1976 Canada Cup, 1979 Challenge Cup.
Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame 1993.



Vitals:
Born: March 18, 1948
Position: D
Height: 6-0
Weight: 205 lbs


Regular Season:
3-time 20 goal scorer from the blueline.
Career high 28 goals is still a Canadiens record.
+329 Career rating is 21st all time, 14th among defensemen.
Norris record: 72-73: 2nd (to Orr), 74-75: 3rd, 75-76: 4th, 76-77: 4th,77-78: 5th,78-79: 5th.



Playoffs:
Shares the Canadiens playoff record with 25 goals by a defensemen (Robinson is the other).
Second in playoff points by defensemen all time with the Canadiens (Robinson is 1st).


Statistical Analysis:

Guy Lapointe: Hard to know what to make of his ES on/off numbers with the Big 3 situation. I think he was probably the weakest of the 3 at ES, but was very good on both special teams, especially the PP.

- overpass http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=30601164&postcount=285



Quotations and Perspective:

"I love hockey so much, I'd play it for nothing."

- Guy Lapointe

"He's just so strong. Not just when he shoots, but in everything he does. He does everything strong,"

-Jean Beliveau.

Guy Lapointe was a skilled puck handler and skater who was equally effective at both ends of the ice. He was also known as a solid body checker and a team leader.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

He really quarterbacked the Hab's fearsome powerplay during the late 1970s. His hard and accurate slapshot from the point was the key to the power play's success.

-Greatest Hockey Legends

His strong skating, smooth puck-handling and powerful shot gained him respect as one of the league’s top defensemen.

- http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/player/Guy-Lapointe

I knew Lapointe would show up. I know Lapointe always gets keyed up for a game. He puts so much into hockey, so I was sure he wouldn't miss the chance of playing in such an important series like this."

- Scotty Bowman (on Lapointe's indecision before the 76 Canada Cup) Calgary Herald Aug 11, 1976.

I think Scotty showed a lot of confidence in me this year. He used me on the powerplay and in penalty-killing -- that shows a player that a coach has confidence in him. And there were a lot of little things. I'd find myself on for important faceoffs.

- Guy Lapointe on Scotty Bowman's increased confidence in him during his third season.
Windsor Star Apr 23, 1973.

Defensemen Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe controlled the puck flawlessly and Pierre Bouchard, like Robinson, sprouted muscles and raised a few welts. Almost any one of them could have been given the Smythe trophy and been deserving.

-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette May 18, 1976.


Other:

noted as the one of the most notorious practical jokers of the 1970s. In the 1976 Canada Cup, Lapointe taped Phil Esposito's shower flip-flops with yards of tape. Since Espo was extremely superstitious and wouldn't take showers without his beloved footgear, he spent nearly an hour unwrapping them while grumbling all the way about players thinking this sort of thing is funny.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/htmltimecap/t7gp07.shtml

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their third round pick (95) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Walter "Turk" Broda, G

Regarded as perhaps the best clutch goaltender of all time, Walter "Turk" Broda was "Mr. Maple Leaf" for 16 seasons, with two years lost to Canadian armed forces duty in World War II.

-Greatest Hockey Legends


Career Highlights:
5 time Stanley Cup Champion 1942,1947,1948,1949,1951.
Vezina Trophy winner 1941,1948.
2 x 1st Team All Star at G (Post Season) 1941,1948.
2nd Team All Star at G (Post Season) 1942.
#60 on The Hockey News 100 Greatest NHL players (1998)
Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame 1967.



Vitals:
Born: May 15, 1914.
Position: G
Height: 5-9
Weight: 180 lbs
Catches: Left.


Regular Season:
Broda led the league in regular season wins in 1941 & 1948.
At the time of his retirement, Broda was the career leader in regular season wins with 302. Currently 23rd.
Was 6th in career shutouts at his retirement. Currently he is ranked 15th in career shutouts with 62.



Playoffs:
Career playoff record: 60W - 39L, 1.98GAA, 13SO, 5 Stanley Cups.

Broda was a member of the famous 1942 Leaf squad that was down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup finals but rallied to win 4 straight games and capture the Cup. He recorded a shutout in game 6 and allowed only one goal in game 7.



Quotations and Perspective:

he is without doubt one of if not the greatest money goalie of all time

- Greatest Hockey Legends

The bonus money for winning wasn't much but I always needed it. Or maybe I was just too dumb to know the situation was serious.

- Turk Broda, jokingly and literally, a "money" goalie

Broda’s rise to the top was completely unexpected. He was a pudgy fellow and a poor skater, yet he contained an incredible enthusiasm for playing hockey. As a boy he was always stuck in net because of his poor skating. Although he wasn’t overly refined, he stuck with the game admirably.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

I couldn't beat him. Toe Blake couldn't. None of the Canadiens could

- Maurice Richard said after the 1951 series where all 5 games went to OT.

Broda’s reign as the top goalie in the league was put on hold in 1943 when he spent 2 and ½ years in the military during World War II. He would return late in the 1945-46 season.

Broda’s second tour of duty with the Leafs proved to be more successful than the first. The Leafs emerged as one of the greatest teams of all time. Broda would be the puck stopper in each of the Leafs Stanley Cup wins in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951. He was very good during those regular seasons, but come playoff time he somehow was able to take his game to a new level – he led the entire league in wins and shutouts in each of those Stanley Cup years, and in goals against average in 3 of the 4.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their fourth round pick (146) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Clark "Jethro" Gillies, LW

Clark Gillies was the power forward of the 1970's and 80's. He did not only bang in goals from the slot, but he was great in the corners, a very good two-way player, could fight, worked hard, had fine leadership qualities, had a huge heart and was a winner. GM's today would kill to have a guy like Clark on their roster.

-Greatest Hockey Legends


Career Highlights:
4 time Stanley Cup Champion 1980,1981,1982,1983.
2 x 1st Team All Star at LW (Post Season) 1978,1979.
Captain of the New York Islanders from 1977-1979.
MVP for the NHL in the 1979 Challenge Cup series vs. the Soviets.
Member of Team Canada for the 1981 Canada Cup.
Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame 2002.



Vitals:
Born: April 7, 1954.
Position: LW
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215 lbs
Shoots: Left.



Regular Season:
6-time 30+ goal scorer.
Reached the top 10 in the NHL in points (9) in 1978-79.



Playoffs:
Gillies always seemed to rachet up in the playoffs. During the Islanders 5 straight Cup Finals appearances, Gillies had .76PPG in the playoffs vs. .72PPG in the regular season.

As a rookie, Clark took on Dave Schultz in the Stanley Cup semifinals against the eventual champions Flyers. Schultz had just set a new NHL record with 472 PIMs and was the "terror of the NHL" at that time. Clark destroyed Schultz and sent everyone around the NHL a clear message. Nobody messes with Clark Gillies or the up and coming New York Islanders.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

And as the Islander's dynasty was fading, Gillies stepped up his play dramatically from his poor regular season, helping them reach the finals for the 5th straight time:

Gillies, the big New York Islanders winger from Moose Jaw, Sask., suddenly is in the battle for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League playoffs. Playing on four lines and killing penalties, Gillies says he's having fun because his shots are finally bouncing in. He's got 10 goals in the playoffs to lead all the Islanders scorers. He scored just 12 goals for the entire 1983-84 campaign.

- The Windsor Star (Dave Hall) May 14, 1984


Quotations and Perspective:

The first one was by far the greatest. If you look back at all four of them, we went through more in the way of blood, sweat and tears in the first one than we did in the other three. When you have to beat Boston and Philly to win the Stanley Cup, that's pretty tough. But when you're sitting in the locker room so tired you can barely drink a beer to celebrate, you know you've really accomplished something.

- Clark Gillies, Regina Leader Post http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderp...=bf8cd5f0-5554-4a2b-a725-e1743a4097d7&k=90616

I'm really glad that Clark played on the left side and not the right. You would have a tough time going into the corners with him.

- Rod Langway during their Hall of Fame induction.

He was a relentless competitor who was virtually unstoppable when the opposing team raised his ire.

- Legends of Hockey

He didn't dazzle you with his speed or his stickhandling. He had a hard shot, but his best trademarks was his great two way play, hard work, leadership and the respect opponents had for his fists. Clark didn't have to drop em' very often, but when he did there was virtually nobody who could beat him. Clark destroyed the reputation of quite a few so called enforcers.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

Clark Gillies' leadership qualities and hockey ability was a large reason why his teams won championships at both the amateur and professional level. ... As an intimidating presence on the ice throughout his career, Gillies appeared to elevate his level of play when the opposing team raised his ire. He was a dependable competitor who was virtually unstoppable while playing his rugged style of game. This quality provided his Islander linemates the extra space to work their magic and achieve individual success. Gillies earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and peers despite not realizing points earned and reflected in a season's or career's statistics. He still concerted himself as an efficient NHL scorer as he scored 30-or-more goals six times in his career and assisted on 30-or-more goals five times.

- Legends of Hockey

​

 

[Velociraptor]

Barclay Plager, D

Position: Defenseman
HT/WT: 5'10", 180 lbs
Shoots: Left
Nickname: "Barc the Spark"

- Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1974.
- 44 goals, 231 points in 614 regular season games played.
- 3 goals, 23 points in 68 regular season games played.

From the HOH board, intangibles resource gathered from surveys answered by NHL coaches.

BARCLAY PLAGER

Best bodychecker | T-1st | 1971
Best bodychecker | 1st | 1974

As a hockey player, Barclay Plager was know as "Barc The Spark" because of the competitive fire that burned within his average-sized frame. Growing up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario meant either working in the local mines or hitting the ice for a ticket out of town. Plager opted for the latter in spite of his obvious lack of skill.

When the St. Louis Blues were born in 1967, Plager finally got a shot at full-time NHL employment. He wasted little time in establishing himself, along with his equally bruising brother, XXX, as the heart of his team's defense. In those early days, he was the Blues leading shot blocker, body crusher, and blueline scorer. In all, he lasted nine seasons with the Blues, winning the hearts of the fans that admired his fierce competitiveness and gutsy style of play. Over the 614 games he played for St. Louis, Plager complemented his 1,115 penalty minutes with 44 goals and 187 assists. Part of the price he paid for all his time in the penalty box was 15 broken noses and hundreds of stitches.

Barclay, oldest of the Plager pugilists, is by XXX's own admission, "the best hockey player among us."

In addition to his family trait of aggressiveness and a knack for picking up penalties, Barclay has also been an adept scorer. His 32 points last year for St. Louis was high for a defenseman on that club.

"For some reasons, Barclay never really got a chance to prove himself in the NHL, despite his fine minor league record, We knew all along that he had fine puck-handling ability to go alonger with his reputation as to go along with his reputation as a fighter. It was no surprise that he's done as well as he has."

 

[overpass]

Coach Dick Irvin Sr

From Matthew Dibiase's profile on Dick Irvin Sr. He ranked Irvin as the 2nd most accomplished professional hockey coach.

Dick Irvin, Sr.
Coaching Experience:
Chicago Blackhawks, 1929, 1930-1931, 1955-1956
Toronto Maple Leafs, 1931-1940
Montreal Canadiens, 1940-1955
Regular Season W-L-T: 692-527-230
Playoff W-L-T: 100-88-2
League Championships: 1943-1947
Canadian Division Titles: 1932-1935, 1937-1938
Playoff Appearances: 1931-1947, 1949-1955
Stanley Cup Finals Appearances: 1931-1933, 1936, 1938-1940, 1944, 1946-1947, 1951-1955
Stanley Cup Victories: 1932, 1944, 1946, 1953

Dick Irvin Sr. is an obscure figure in Montreal Canadiens history; a hockey coach overshadowed by more luminous personalities like Scotty Bowman and Toe Blake; a rather unfair view especially when you look at his record. He was the most successful NHL coach during the 1930s and 1940s and was third best in the 1950s. In 1945 he surpassed Lester Patrick as the most successful head coach in hockey history and remained so until the mid-1990s. When his coaching career ended in 1956 he was the greatest hockey coach that ever lived at that time.

Irvin took two struggling franchises and made them not only contenders but flagship franchises as well. He was rebuilding a third struggling franchise when his career and life were cut short suddenly. He was the most innovative hockey coach of his time—indeed, a coach way ahead of his time—using systemic approaches to the game that put most other hockey coaches to shame. He was the greatest coach of offensive hockey of his era; and he introduced hockey fans to some of the greatest players that ever stepped on the ice.

It was Irvin who established the traits that defined the Habs for decades to come: speed; depth; superb two-way skills for his forwards; aggressive checking from his defensemen; and superb goal-tending in the nets.

Dick Irvin Sr. led his teams to seventeen consecutive playoff appearances (an NHL record) and made twenty-four playoffs appearances overall in twenty-seven seasons of coaching. Sixteen times his teams reached the Stanley Cup finals. Not only is that an NHL record (which will never be broken). It is also a record in all four major North American sports. No other head coach in the history of professional baseball, football, basketball, or hockey has made that many championship finals appearances.

There's a lot more good stuff in the linked article. I won't quote it all here.

The Montreal Canadiens were the worst team in 1939-40 (last in the NHL with a 10-33-5 record) and on the verge of folding, with very poor attendance the major problem. Fortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to change their coach, and manager Conn Smythe phoned Canadiens owner Donat Raymond about hiring their bench boss, Dick Irvin. Raymond knew a good thing when he heard one and shortly thereafter Irvin was signed on as Habs coach. For the next 15 seasons, Irvin would patrol the Canadiens banch, giving the team three Stanley Cup wins and some of the most exciting hockey Montreal has ever seen.

The first thing Irvin did was to give the Canadiens clear objectives and a winning attitude, which he brought with him from his successful tenure as Leafs coach. An admirer of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, Irvin stressed conditioning, discipline, and a work ethic.

- Canadiens Legends: Montreal's Hockey Heroes

From BM67's profile on Irvin:

In 1940-41, Irvin was hired to revive a Montreal Canadiens franchise that was floundering on the ice and at the box office, and became one of the key reasons behind the club's return to prominence. In fact, it has often been said that his leadership and vision helped him to save the team from bankruptcy by turning its fortunes around in short order. Irvin was demanding but fair as a bench boss. He quite enjoyed seeing the players practise with vigor and take their frustrations out on one another. The bottom line was that his teams skated with passion. Soon after he took over as coach, Maurice Richard emerged displaying the level of conviction on the ice that Irvin was looking for.

- HHoF Bio

A full-fledged NHL star with the Blackhawks, Dick Irvin's career was curtailed when he suffered a fractured skull... It was then that he turned to coaching., first with the Blackhawks and then with the Maple Leafs. Toronto's young crew was well suited to Dick's accent-on-speed philosophy. "As long as they play this game on skates, " Irvin would say, "you have to be able to skate to win. Personally, I'll take a young pair of legs over an old head anytime."

- Who's Who in Hockey

Bert Olmstead:

Let me say something about your dad. When I first went to Montreal, players would tell me a little about this. Many of them told me that Lach, Bouchard, Richard, Durnan, Blake, and ********* all said they'd never have been the hockey players they turned out to be if it wasn't for Dick Irvin. And I can say the same thing. Even today, when I go back and I'm day-dreaming while doing a job or have some sort of problem, I can always relate to Dick.

People ask me who was the best coach and of course I have to say Toe Blake, because we won all those Stanley Cups with him. But in the next breath I say that it's only because he was taught by your dad.

- The Habs

Dick Irvin gets a bit of a reputation from the end of his career and the contrast with Toe Blake coming into Montreal. Don't judge him too harshly by the end of his career. A lot of coaches have looked bad at the end of their careers. In his day, Irvin was a great, innovative coach. He built the Toronto Maple Leafs into a perennial contender in the 1930s, and repeated this feat with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s.

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their fifth round pick (175) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Richard David "Nifty" Middleton, RW

"You just continue to talk in superlatives," said Boston coach Gerry Cheevers of Middleton. "He's unbelievable. It's not just the goals he scores. He should be the cinch winner of the Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward."

- Calgary Herald (AP) Apr 21, 1983



Career Highlights:
2nd Team All Star at RW (Post Season) 1982.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner 1982.
Member of Team Canada for the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup series.
Co-Captain (for home games) of the Boston Bruins with Raymond Bourque 1985-1988.
Tied with Ken Hodge for the Bruins points record by a RW with 105.
Holds the Bruins record for most points in a playoff year with 33.
Boston Three-Stars Leader: 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84




Vitals:
Born: December 4, 1953.
Position: RW
Height: 5-11
Weight: 170 lbs
Shoots: Right.



Regular Season:
Finished top 10 in goals three times and in points twice.
12 times scored 20+ goals, 8 times 30+ goals, 5 times 40+ goals.
Recorded 5 consecutive 40+ goal and 90+ point seasons during his prime, twice reaching 100 points.
Hit the magical 50 goal mark in 1982 with his career high of 51 goals.
Career shooting percentage of 19.7 ranks 6th all time.





Playoffs:
Has 100 points in 114 career playoff games, including a monstrous 33 points in 17 games during 82-83.
During his big 1983 run, Middleton set the record for most points in a single playoff series with 19 against Buffalo.
His Bruins reached the Stanley Cup finals 3 times (77,78,88) but ran up against dynasty teams in the finals each time.




Quotations and Perspective:

Middleton credits much of his success in hockey to Cherry, who very early in his career encouraged him to work on his defense. Without a doubt, Middleton was one of very few players in the NHL who was strong on both the power-play and as a penalty killer.

- Legends of Hockey

"He's the best player in the league at his position," Brad Park said. "I've seen all the forwards and I can't see one who can compare with him right now."

- The Windsor Star (CP), Feb 2, 1981 (Park reacting to an all-star game snub of Middleton)

Gretzky praised his line-mate Rick Middleton for the work he did in the corners. In fact, it was Middleton's diligence that setup Perreault for the key goal of the final period.

- Ottawa Citizen (CP) Aug 25, 1981 (Canada Cup Series)

"Rick Middleton is a superstar of the brightest magnitude. He and Wayne Gretzky (of Edmonton) have been our two best players" said coach Scotty Bowman

- Boston Globe Aug 30, 1981 (Canada Cup Series)

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their sixth round pick (226) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Eric Desjardins, D

He was quietly the anchor of Montreal's defense, and later Philadelphia's.

- Legends of Hockey



Career Highlights:
2nd Team All Star at D (Post Season) 1999,2000.
Stanley Cup Champion 1993 & Finalist 1997.
Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers 2000-2001.
Member of Team Canada for the 1991 Canada Cup, 1996 World Cup and 1998 Winter Olympics.




Vitals:
Born: June 14, 1969.
Position: D
Height: 6-1
Weight: 205 lbs
Shoots: Right.



Regular Season:
Finished top 10 points by defensemen twice (4,8).
Played 3 NHL All-star games 1992, 1996, 2000.





Playoffs:

The 1992-93 season still stands out in the mind of Eric Desjardins as the Canadiens surprised most hockey pundits by winning another Stanley Cup, this time a five-game finals victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Desjardins was a major offensive contributor to the championship, scoring 14 points in 20 games. Individually, game five of that series stands out as the best memory of his career as he scored all three Montreal goals in a 3-2 overtime win.

- Legends of Hockey

The above quote demonstrates Desjardin's offensive value in the Habs cup win but is actually incorrect. Desjardins scored the clutch hat trick including the overtime winner in the pivotal game 2 of the '93 Finals series where Marty McSorley's stick was found to have an illegal curve.

Desjardins overtime tally also made him the first defenseman to score a hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history.




Quotations and Perspective:

He was never really equated with the elite defensemen of the game, yet he was not far off, either, providing a lot of steady minutes. His brilliance was not necessarily obvious, rather subtle and understated, much like himself.

Desjardins had good size at 6'1" and 205lbs, but he never played an overly physical game, perhaps making him less noticeable to the casual observer and easy to under-appreciate. Instead he relied on near perfect positioning and an active stick to check effectively. He was not thunderously noticeable, but he was efficient. He was clean and controlled, never panicked and rarely took a bad penalty.

He was as cool as a cucumber while under pressure in his own zone. He was excellent at head-manning the puck out of the zone and capable of handling (not necessarily rushing) the puck out himself.

On offense he was a power play quarter back, a rare right-handed one at that. Like Raymond Bourque he had a low, heavy slap shot that somehow always found it's way from the point on to the net, creating countless opportunities for rebounds and deflections.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

​

 

[Dreakmur]

Mahovlich excelled as a stickhandler, playmaker and penalty killer, and considering his awkward size was a good skater. What he lacked in speed and agility, he made up for with a crafty and industrious approach to the game that rarely left him out of the action.

….

Pete Mahovlich would continue to be a very solid supporting cast role player for the next 4 seasons. He contributed solid scoring totals while establishing himself as one of the league's most outstanding checkers and penalty killers.

His checking abilities doubled with his size and hockey sense earned hockey's giant a spot on Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series showdown with Soviet's Red Army.

With a long-legged, deceptively quick stride and superior puckhandling skills, he had no difficulty proving his rightful place on the big stage. Little M’s 35 goals and 61 points in the regular season coupled with his 181 penalty minutes were indicative of his versatility. Mahovlich could be a smooth skating, playmaking center or he could drop the gloves for a bout.

Pete Mahovlich !!!​

Awards and Achievements:
4 x Stanley Cup Champion (1971, 1973, 1976, 1977)
2 x NHL All-Star (1971, 1975)

Regular Season Scoring:
Points – 5th(1975), 6th(1976)
Goals – 10th(1974), 11th(1971), 13th(1972)
Assists – 2nd(1976), 3rd(1975)

From 1971 to 1980, Mahovlich was 8th in Points and Assists

Play-off Scoring:
Play-off Points – 4th(1975), 9th(1971), 9th(1973)
Play-off Goals – 3rd(1971), 7th(1975)
Play-off Assists – 3rd(1975), 7th(1973), 7th(1976)

From 1971 to 1977, Mahovlich was 4th in Points, 8th in Goals, and 7th in Assists

Coach's Polls:
1974 - 1st Best Penalty Killer
1976 - 5th Best Stickhandler

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their seventh round pick (255) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Alger Joseph "Radar" Arbour, coach

​

He is a brilliant motivator, strategist and teacher. He is coolly efficient and never panics.

- Daytona Beach Morning Journal (Barry Wilner) May 10, 1984



Career Highlights:
Coached the Islanders to 4 consecutive Stanley Cups and 5 consecutive finals appearances (80-84).
Won a record 19 consecutive playoff series culminating in the Islanders dynasty.
Second all time in regular season wins with 782.
Second all time in playoff wins with 123.
Winner of the Jack Adams award 1978-79.
Hockey Hall of Fame Builder 1996.


Vitals:
November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015
Position: Coach
Height: 6-1
Weight: 180 lbs


Regular Season:
Coached 1607 total games, with a record of 782W-577L-248T.

Took over an Islanders club that was a 30 point expansion team in 72-73 and helped develop them from that point to dynasty status.


Playoffs:
Playoff record of 123W-86L

Won an incredible 19 consecutive playoff series during the Islanders dynasty.

Upset the two time defending Stanley Cup champion and current President's Trophy winners, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 92-93.



Quotations and Perspective:
​

When he was named the Islanders’ coach in 1973, Arbour took over a team that had won only 12 games the previous season, when it joined the N.H.L. as an expansion franchise.

Arbour emphasized defense at first, then a more freewheeling style as talented players arrived, and he was an intense presence at practices as well as on game nights. He spent long hours examining videotapes of games and compiling detailed scouting reports when few other coaches were doing it.​

...​

When he first arrived at Nassau Coliseum, Arbour insisted on a positive atmosphere, no easy task for an Islanders team coming off 60 losses in its inaugural season.
“I used to hear them talking in the locker room before a game,” Arbour once recalled. “And they wouldn’t say, ‘Let’s go out and win.’ They’d say, ‘I wonder how much we’ll get beat by tonight.’ They were satisfied to lose a game as long as it was close. I told them: ‘Never be happy unless you win.’ ”​

...
​

When Arbour became the Islanders’ coach, he had a gem in Potvin, a defenseman who could score as well as dish out rugged checks. But Arbour, the perfectionist, was hard on his young star. “You left him alone he’d fall asleep,” Arbour once said. “Denny was very casual, nonchalant. You got him mad, he’d take it out on the other team.”

Potvin and his fellow Islanders endured a grueling regimen under Arbour. “It was almost punishment that first year,” Potvin recalled. “It wasn’t in him to say, ‘You guys did well last night, take the day off.’ Our practices were a grind — two hours.”

Arbour’s Islanders pulled off a remarkable achievement in his second season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff series by winning four straight games after losing the first three, joining the 1942 Maple Leafs at that point as the only N.H.L. teams to come back from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

...​

Lorne Henning, who played for Arbour, became an assistant coach under him and later served as head coach of the Islanders, once told how during the long regular-season winters, Arbour always kept his eye on springtime.

“Al made things tough on his players,” Henning said. “He was always testing character — a smart remark one time, a benching another time. He wanted to find out whether you could take the heat. Al knew in November who could be counted on in May. He didn’t want players who weren’t mentally tough, so he kept applying the pressure.”

- NYT - Al Arbour, Coach of Islanders’ 1980s Dynasty, Dies at 82 by Richard Goldstein, August 28, 2015

​

"If they want to be spearcarriers and won't drop 'em (their sticks), they're going to get it back the same way," bellowed Arbour, usually soft-spoken and bland in his post-game remarks. "If the referees are not going to call this chippy stuff, we'll come right back at them. We'll fight fire with fire."

- The Palm Beach Post (Post Wire Service) May 17, 1980 (after the Flyers beat the Isles 8-3 to tie the finals series at one).
​

"They're really getting a taste now, where it's getting close and they see what they've accomplished to this point on hard work," added Arbour. "They know it's going to take more of that, digging deeper and deeper. They start getting that feeling, "We can do it and we want to do it, and that's the feeling they have right now."

- Lakeland Ledger May 6 1980
​

Isles' GM Bill Torrey, the man most responsible for the success and survival of the Islanders' debt-ridden franchise, got things in the right direction in mid-season this year when some players were anonymously criticising Al Arbour in the media. Declared Torrey "If they can't play for Al Arbour, they can't play here."

- Montreal Gazette (Tim Burke) May 27 1980 (after the Isles first Cup win)
​

"It seems every time we lose or the Rangers lose, we're chokers," said Coach Al Arbour. "Other teams just lose, but we choke, according to the media. Well, maybe this will stop that stuff."

- The Free Lance-Star (Hal Bock) May 27, 1980 (after first Cup win).
​

"I will welcome the opportunity to see what Al is doing," said Quinn, referring to the Islanders' coach Al Arbour. "I hear he is mixing his lines, especially in the third period, and really has no set lines, which is different with them."

- Reading Eagle (AP) May 10 1980 (Pat Quinn whose Flyers had advanced to the finals commenting on the opportunity to scout the Isles before the series)
​

Over the years, Arbour's coaching temperament has evolved, according to players and other coaches. Once viewed as something of an ogre, Arbour, despite his deep baritone voice, now has a reputation for being a warm and cozy kind of guy.

- The Washington Post (Dave Sell), May 20, 1993.
​

It wasn't exactly a fireside chat in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt tradition, but Coach Al Arbour eschewed the physical side of practice this afternoon and instead assembled his Islanders in their steamy locker room for a pep talk. The subject of what Arbour referred to as "just a standard little playoff chat" was how to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in three easy lessons.

- NYT (Robin Finn) May 6, 1993.
​

Arbour told his Islanders not to be intimidated by Pittsburgh's flashier playoff pedigree: "We're out there to beat them, we've got the plan of attack that can do it, and if there's anybody on this team who doesn't believe it can be done, I won't dress them"

- NYT (Robin Finn) May 6, 1993.
​

The coaching of Al Arbour. He is getting something from everybody on his bench, the same way Scotty Bowman did against Roger Neilson last year. Arbour matches defensemen Darius Kasparaitis and Rich Pilon and the Claude Loiselle-Green-Brad Dalgarno line against [Kevin Stevens] (3-6-9), [Mario Lemieux] (3-5-8) and [Rick Tocchet] (3-3-6). At home, he got Steve Thomas away from checker Jeff Daniels. Arbour lost to Bowman's Canadiens in the 1977 and 1978 semifinals and beat Bowman's Sabres in the 1980 semifinals. If the Islanders win this series, he should obtain a magician's license.

- Newsday (Jim Smith) May 14, 1993
​

“He was firm but fair. It was the way he played, and the way he coached,” said Scotty Bowman, the only man to win more NHL games and coach more NHL games than Arbour. “He was a wonderful man. I can’t say enough about him.”

“I remember we were on trip and acquired a veteran player and Al saw him telling a younger player not to pay his incidentals at a hotel because they might forget and not bill him,” Bowman recalled. “Well, Al stepped right up and said, ‘Our team is not run like this.’ He was that kind of guy.”​

​

“When I first played for him I thought he’d be really old school,” said Hockey Night in Canada’s Kelly Hrudey, who played goal for Arbour’s New York Islanders. “But I couldn’t have been more wrong. More than anyone, he understood the psychology of a person and a player.”

​

“Other than my dad, he was the most influential person in my life,” Jean Potvin said in an interview with Newsday.

That sentiment was echoed by Hrudey, who called Arbour “like a second father.”

“I thought what he was trying to groom us for was just life,” Hrudey said. “For instance, I remember he talked to me about double standards, and how people have them.

“He would make us understand how lucky we were. I remember after one game at Madison Square Garden, he didn’t like our work ethic, and when we got off the bus at Nassau Coliseum that night he told us the next day we were going to have a good, long hard work day, just like our parents had. We were going to get to work at 7 a.m. and stay until dinner. That had a great impact.”

Al Arbour will be remembered as a humble mentor - Sportsnet.ca

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their eighth round pick (306) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Mike Ramsey, D

Over the next 14 seasons the words "Sabres blueline" and "Ramsey" became synonomous. He was the foundation of the team with his consistent play. He was rarely flashy but almost always effective.

- Legends of Hockey


Career Highlights:
Member of Team UsA Olympic Gold Medal Team 1980 - Miracle on Ice
Played in the NHL All Star game 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986.
Member of Team USA for the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup.
Member of NHL Team for Rendezvous '87.
Stanley Cup Finalist 1995.
Captain of the Buffalo Sabres 1991-1992.
Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.




Vitals:
Born: December 3, 1960.
Position: D
Height: 6-3
Weight: 195 lbs
Shoots: Left.



Regular Season:
Played 4 NHL regular season All-star games 1982,1983,1985,1986.
11th among all defensemen in +/- over the course of his career. (47th all time)



Playoffs:
Stanley Cup Finalist with the Red Wings in 94-95.



Quotations and Perspective:

Points production doesn't paint the proper picture of Mike Ramsey. He never scored more than 9 goals in a single season, and scored only 79 in a career that spanned 1070 games and 18 NHL season. He never scored more than 40 points in a season, and had only 345 in his career. But make no mistake, Ramsey was a star. he was a perennial All Star candidate and 5 times as a Sabre he represented the team at the mid-season celebration, including in 1987 when the NHL put together a team of 20 players to take on the Soviets in Rendez-Vous '87. He also twice represented the United States in the Canada Cups, once in 1984 and once in 1987. He also played in the 1982 World Championships, but usually couldn't compete in that tournament as he was too busy leading the Sabres into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

After the Olympics, he stepped onto the Sabres' blueline and quickly discovered that he'd have to adjust his game to survive. NHL men, as he discovered, were bigger, stronger, faster, and meaner than what he had been used to. So the rearguard, who was originally drafted for his offensive ability, had to reinvent himself as a stay-at-home defender and he became one of the best in the NHL as Scotty Bowman was quick to point out.

- Legends of Hockey

Ramsey was a very intelligent defenseman with a great understanding of the game. He was always in great position and always made a solid play and clearing the zone dependably. He also was an honest physical player - very tough in front of his net and a good open ice hitter. He was also recognized as one of the game's best shot blockers. His work ethic, dependability, and importance to the team made him a natural choice to serve as the Sabres captain after Mike Foligno's departure in 1990.

- Greatest Hockey Legends



​

 

[BillyShoe1721]

The Philadelphia Firebirds are happy to select a defenseman that brings a unique blend of offensive skill, physicality, and defensive ability, D Eduard Ivanov

3x Soviet 1st-Team All Star (1963, 1964, 1965)
1x Soviet 2nd-Team All Star (1966)
1x Soviet 3rd-Team All Star (1967)
1x Olympic Gold Medalist
3x World Championships Gold Medalist
4x Soviet League Champion
Best forward in 1964 Olympics/World Championships as a Defenseman
Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame Member
16 goals in 79 career National Team games
40 goals in 300 career Soviet League games

Edward Ivanov had a North American first name, and he played a North American style of defense. He was a defensive defender who loved to play physically. He would do anything - sacrifice his body, block shots, clear the front of the net - in order for his team to win. He had a great ability to spring transition offense with his deadly accurate passing.

Edward started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. He started as a spare defenseman, but soon he was paired with one of the greatest Russian defensemen of all time - Alexander Ragulin. Ivanov's play quickly improved with the guidance of Ragulin. Soon Ivanov was considered one of the best players in the country, and the Ragulin-Ivanov tandem is still considered to be perhaps the best defensive duo in Russian history, with the possible exception of the Viacheslav Fetisov-Alexei Kasatonov pairing of the 1980s.

xxx wrote the following about Ivanov in his book Road to Olympus:

"Like an experienced warrior, he has many fine qualities, courage, and decisiveness. He is entirely dedicated to hockey, he is in love with the game, he thirsts for battle."

I don't think a hockey player on either side of the Atlantic could get a better quote from his coach.

Although the relationship between the two remained rocky at best, Ivanov enjoyed his best years under xxx. From 1963 through 1967, Ivanov was part of 4 USSR championships, and 3 world championships.

Always one to tinker with the game, xxx was particularly pleased with Ivanov's versatility and complete understanding of the game. This allowed xxx to experiment with what was known as "the System." Instead of two conventional defenders backing up three forwards, xxx created a five man unit with only one true defender, the great Alexander Ragulin. xxx and Anatoli Firsov were the explosive forwards, while xxx and Ivanov served as "semi-defensemen," almost like a mid-fielder in soccer. They would roam both ends of the ice, creating odd man situations in both the offensive and defensive zones. Ivanov's ability in both ends led to this revolutionary though still uncommon strategy.

Ivanov's shining moment came at the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Ivanvov was a key player of the 1964 gold medal championship team in his only Olympic games. Under the revolutionary roaming system, Ivanov, still technically listed as a defenseman, scored 6 goals and 7 points in 8 contests and was named as the best forward in the Olympics.

Though his career with the national team was cut short, the 5'10" 185 pound Ivanov continued to play the game he loved until 1970. Though he was devastated by the demotion and the politics played, he never lost his love of hockey.

http://internationalhockeylegends.blogspot.com/2006/08/edward-ivanov.html

Alexander Ragulin's versatile defensive partner in the 1960s, Ivanov was the only defenseman to be named the top forward in Olympic hockey history.

http://internationalhockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/07/international-hockeys-greatest-players.html

He and Eduard Ivanov, who formed perhaps the best Soviet defensive pair of the sixties, always appeared on...

Can someone who owns the book The Red Machine: The Soviet Quest to Dominate Canada's Game finish this quote for me? I know someone here owns it. It would be greatly appreciated.

http://books.google.com/books?id=0h...ook_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw

The defensemen, Ragulin and Ivanov, would certainly be welcome on any of our best professional teams.-xxx, Canadian forward and future national team coach.

http://books.google.com/books?id=gO...CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=ivanov ragulin&f=false

Eduard Ivanov, the club's comic, is reported to be another of their top threats.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAIBAJ&pg=7363,3340118&dq=eduard+ivanov&hl=en

The ace "guards" for the visitors are Eduard Ivanov and Alexander Ragulin.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAIBAJ&pg=5931,2596063&dq=eduard+ivanov&hl=en

Edward Ivanov led the Russian scoring spree with three goals...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...pg=7341,1009137&dq=edward+ivanov+hockey&hl=en

Ivanov's perfect pass to Starshinov, alone in front of the Canadian net, was relayed through a maze of players past Collins.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...&pg=4988,2357634&dq=ivanov+perfect+pass&hl=en

Edward Ivanov gave the Russians' a 3-1 lead when he ripped a shot from the blueline...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAIBAJ&pg=1041,1210742&dq=ivanov+hockey&hl=en

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The Swamp Devils are thrilled to select the most underrated superstar of the dead puck era, I guy I think has been the best overall offensive package for a long time, probably better than many of the centers selected recently:

Zigmund Palffy, RW

For a 7+ year stretch in the heart of the dead puck era, Palffy scored 44 goals, 50 assists, 94 points per 82 games played. This is basically Paul Kariya level. I don’t judge players on a “per game†basis, so I don’t think Palffy is as good as Paul here. But he’s long due to have been selected. Statistically, he performed very well defensively versus his generally terrible off-ice comparables. While GF/GA numbers are definitely team based, I think it’s pretty clear that Palffy wasn’t a Bure or Kovalchuk without the puck. See the overpass quote on the bottom for details.

And despite Palffy’s injury problems, he managed to finished to finish top 10 in NHL scoring 4 times (5, 8, 9, 10). Now, a top 10 finish is an arbitrary cutoff, but just to get an idea of how rare 4 Top 10s is in the modern era, here are some drafted modern players who didn’t meet the standard. (This is not an exhaustive list)

Three top 10 finishes: Gilmour, Modano, Fleury, Naslund, Heatley, Richards*
Two top 10 finishes: Fedorov, Sundin, Lindros, Lafontaine, Datsyuk, Zetterberg,* Hossa, Elias, Malkin, Roenick, Mogilny, Turgeon
One top 10 finish: K Stevens
Zero top 10 finishes: Roberts, Tkachuk, Nieuwendyk, Damphousse, Clark

*projected after this year.

Keep in mind, this is just top 10 seasons in points, a relatively simplistic measurement of regular season offensive consistency, and says nothing about a player’s overall game.

Top 30 finishes for Palffy (30 teams, so why not?):
Points: 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 23rd
Goals: 5th, 5th, 8th, 15th, 15th, 20th
Assists: 13th, 18th, 19th, 28th

Want to see something sad/hilarious? Check out the injury-depleted LA Kings Roster of 2002-03. Palffy finished 19th in the league in assists that season. He also had more assists than any teammates had points! Talk about a one-man show!

Palffy was a terrific scorer and playmaker. His numbers compare very well to other offence-first wingers of the past 2 decades.

All numbers are for the players prime or best 7-8 consecutive years worth of seasons. For Palffy, this is almost his whole career. Most others didn't do much outside of the years I selected. All numbers are per 82 games. I also left Jagr and Selanne out - their numbers are considerably better than this group's numbers.

ESGF=even strength goals for, ESGA=even strength goals against, ESP=even strength points, PPP= power play points, GF/GA On = goals for/against ratio with the player on the ice at even strength, GF/GA Off = goals for/against ratio with the player off the ice at even strength (for a rough estimate of team strength). All numbers are adjusted to a scoring level of 240 goals per season.

Player Years Seasons|ESGF|ESGA|G|A|Pts|ESP|PPP|SHP|GF/GA On|GF/GA Off
Ziggy Palffy|96-04|7.37|71|56|44|50|94|56|35|4|1.28|0.80
Pavel Bure|93-02|7.63|74|68|52|42|93|59|28|6|1.08|0.93
Paul Kariya|95-03|7.80|71|60|42|51|93|54|37|3|1.18|0.81
Dany Heatley|02-09|6.18|75|62|43|47|91|56|34|2|1.20|0.83
Markus Naslund 99-06|6.78|64|56|41|48|90|51|38|1|1.14|1.01
Jarome Iginla|01-09|7.70|71|56|44|46|90|56|31|2|1.26|0.87
Keith Tkachuk|95-02|7.01|77|64|46|43|89|58|27|3|1.20|0.90
Alexander Mogilny|93-01|7.48|68|59|41|46|88|53|31|1.15|0.96
Ilya Kovalchuk|02-09|6.65|66|72|47|41|87|52|35|1|0.92|0.81
XXX|03-09|5.87|70|68|39|47|86|54|28|4|1.04|0.84
Martin St. Louis|02-09|6.62|70|64|34|49|83|52|25|6|1.09|0.81
Peter Bondra|95-02|7.16|63|55|50|31|80|49|26|6|1.15|0.93

Palffy was the highest scorer of this group per game. At even strength, his scoring numbers are similar to Bure, Tkachuk, Heatley, Iginla, Kariya, Mogilny, and Lecavalier. On the power play, only Kariya and Naslund are better, and Kovalchuk is similar.

Also, Palffy had very respectable defensive results. His goals against are similar to Iginla's, lower than all the other top scorers of this group, and far lower than Bure and Kovalchuk's. His team can't get too much credit for that - his team's off-ice results are worse than any other player among this group!

While I haven't come across anything on Palffy's defensive game beyond a single first-place Selke vote in one season, I'll argue that he was at least respectable defensively. Sometimes half the battle is showing up - see Bure and Kovalchuk.

In the end, among this group, Palffy's numbers are the most similar to Kariya's and Iginla's. Neither Kariya nor Iginla were impact players outside of these years, and both were drafted far ahead of Palffy. While Iginla brings leadership and some physical play, and isn't a great comparable, I think Kariya is a good match.

Why is Palffy drafted after Kariya and the rest of these players? Durability is one, Palffy missed games due to injury in several seasons. This meant that his scoring finishes weren't as high as they could have been, and he didn't make any all-star teams. However, durability is far less valuable in the ATD, especially for players past the first unit, as we have spares who are pretty good players themselves.

Palffy also played on terrible teams, out of the spotlight, for almost his whole career, and rarely played in the playoffs. I rarely saw him play, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. As a result of that, his reputation wasn't as high as it could have been and he gets underrated.

Palffy rarely had a chance to play in the playoffs, but put up a respectable 19 points in 24 playoff games, playing on an LA Kings team that never went into the playoffs with home ice advantage (finishing 5th, 7th, 7th in the West).

He also has 43 points in 30 career World Championship games, for whatever that is worth.