ATD2011 Bio Thread

[BenchBrawl]

DALLAS SMITH

For 9 consecutive season , Smith played at least 70 games.

After two stints with the team in 1965-66 and 1966-67, Smith finally joined the Bruins just as they were on the way up. Bobby Orr joined Smith on the blueline and led the team to Stanley Cup championships in both 1969-70 and 1971-72.

After thinking he would never make it back to the NHL, Smith was a key member to a Bruins team that everyone feared to play. He appeared in the All-Star Game in four straight years from 1971 to 1974 and was the NHL plus/minus leader for the 1967-68 season

an Eddie shore-like incident involving Dallas Smith , the tough Manitoba farmer.After taking a puck in the mouth and having several teeth knocked out as a result , he came back out on the ice to play the next round

His best personal season was 1971 during which he had his career high of 45 points, played in the NHL All-Star Game (one of four times) and finished with a plus/minus of +94, one of the highest totals in league history. A farmer in the off season, Smith was regarded as one of the strongest men in the League.

Defensemen who immediately jump to my mind as penalty kill specialists include Adam Foote, Bill Hajt, Terry Harper, Craig Ludwig, Dallas Smith, Scott Stevens and Rod Langway.

 

[BenchBrawl]

AL IAFRATE

height: 6-3
weight: 235 lbs
2nd all-star team
three 20 goal season
five 15 goal season
five 50 points or more season

A gigantic defenceman who could skate like the wind, Al Iafrate was nearly swallowed up by the expectations thrust upon him as a teenager. He possessed raw skill few could match but his physical development exceeded his maturity by leaps and bounds. It took him four years to settle into the NHL, but he once he matured, Iafrate made a solid impact as a big leaguer

After a solid playoff in 1987, Iafrate turned down a chance to play for Team USA at the Canada Cup so he could work on his defensive play in Toronto. He broke through with two 20-goal performances in three seasons and was chosen to play in the 1988 and 1990 NHL All-Star Games

After a lethargic first half in 1990-91, Iafrate was traded to the Washington Capitals where he began to reclaim his confidence. He set career bests with 25 goals and 66 points in 1992-93 and was named to the NHL Second all-star team. Iafrate's goal total was second highest among NHL blueliners that year. He also played in the NHL All-Star Game and won the hardest shot event at the Skills Competition by unleashing as 105.2 mph blast.

Al Iafrate is one of the more interesting characters to play in the National Hockey League. His passion for hockey was matched by his joy for heavy metal music, and perhaps exceeded by his love of Harley Davidson motorcycles. He often showed up for practice and games on his hog while wearing the full Harley leather gear!

 

[vecens24]

Reg Fleming, LW

We're planning on using him as a first unit PK guy with Madden, and next to Madden on our 4th line. I think he bears a striking resemblance to the man Madden became famous playing with in New Jersey.

Fleming is a hard nosed player who will add a fair bit of grit to our lineup. He grew up playing defense in the minors and junior, but due to his size (Fleming stands around 5'8) he was moved up to left wing. He was a member of the Blackhawks Gashouse Gang and was a member of the precursor to the Broad Street Bullies in Philly upon being traded to the expansion Flyers in 1969.

Joe Pelletier:

he was an extraordinary penalty killer. Another reason for his great penalty killing was he was a superb defensive forward, as many players are once they are converted from the blueline to the forward position. Fleming already had a great understanding of defensive positioning by the time he moved up.

He was also a pesky player. He loved to get under the skin of the opponents, disrupting them from their game, thus giving his team a much better chance of victory. The opposition hated him

Fleming was one of the NHL's dirtier players. He would lead the league in penalty minutes in 1965-66 and had a career total of 1468 PIM in 749 games.

Sean Gordon, The Globe and Mail, December 17, 2009

Fleming attended D’Arcy McGee High School in downtown Montreal – long since converted into condos – and played several sports. It’s likely around this time that Fleming suffered his first concussion – he is said to have suffered as many as 20

Few players embodied the taciturn, two-fisted loner image better than this NHL veteran who learned to take care of himself.

Legends of Hockey:

Fleming played 66 games as a rookie in 1960-61 and his physical presence played a role in the Hawks' Stanley Cup triumph that spring. Fleming scored a critical goal in the sixth game of the final series win over the Detroit Red Wings

Jeff Z. Klein, New York Times, July 17, 2009

Fleming was also versatile enough to be used as a defenseman and as a forward, shutting down star players on the other teams.

Bill Hay:

“Reggie was a hard-working guy, a great teammate, he was a little shy on talent, but he worked through that, and off the ice he was a true gentleman,”

Reg Fleming:

I had to protect guys … it was either going to be me or nobody

Upon retirement, Fleming had racked up the most penalty minutes ever for fighting. According to Earl McRae in the article "Requiem for Reggie" (a much lauded piece about the subject of this bio that brought many awards and accolades to McRae), Fleming seldom lost despite his size. He really is a throw back to the old days of hockey, and we are proud to welcome him to this team not only for his ability as an enforcer, but also because of his great defensive ability and great ability on the PK.

 

[Velociraptor]

Bill Goldsworthy, RW

Position: Right Wing
HT/WT: 6'1", 190 lbs
Shoots: Right
Nickname: "Goldieâ€

- Member of the Canadian 1972 Summit Series Team.
- 283 goals, 541 regular season points in 771 games played.
- 18 goals, 37 playoff points in 40 games played.
- 5th in NHL Goal-Scoring (1974)

Right-winger Bill Goldsworthy was a clever goal scorer who played nearly 800 NHL games in the 1960s and '70s. He was best known for his fine work with the Minnesota North Stars and the "Goldy Shuffle" after each goal.

The crafty winger was a decent addition to his new club in its first two NHL seasons. In 1969-70, he broke through as a bona fide NHL sniper with 36 goals. The next season, his speed and offensive thrusts helped the North Stars give the Montreal Canadiens a tough battle in the semi-finals. A few months later, he represented Canada in the historic Summit Series versus the USSR. During his time in Minnesota, Goldsworthy scored at least 30 goals five times including a career high 48 in 1973-74.

Bill was a hard shooting winger developed in the Boston Bruins junior and minor league system. He played with the Bruins OHA junior team in Niagara Falls and helped the Falls Flyers win the 1965 Memorial Cup.

Goldsworthy was the beneficiary of expansion when the NHL grew from 6 to 12 teams. 6 new teams meant approximately 120 news jobs in the NHL, and Goldy wanted to be one of those 120. That process began on June 6, 1967, when the Minnesota North Stars chose him in the expansion draft.

Of all the players, chosen in the expansion draft, it was Goldy who may have had the best career. In Minnesota he developed into a fine goal scorer and became the North Stars first star attraction.

After a modest 14 goal, 33 point season in 68 games, Goldy exploded in the playoffs. In 14 games in the 1968 post season, Goldy led the entire National Hockey League in goals (8) and points (15).

He also popularized the "Goldy Shuffle." The Shuffle is a now common routine for celebrating a goal, but it was Goldsworthy who really started it. Bill would lift one leg, and pump the opposite arm in celebration of goals.

While Bill was more of a shooter than a playmaker, he was not a one-trick pony. He could play at both ends of the ice and was known as a solid team player. These all around qualities helped him to be selected on Team Canada's Summit Series roster that defeated the Russians in 1972. Goldy appeared in 3 of the 8 games, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist.

Bill was a very talented player who benefited from lots of playing time with the expansion North Stars. While he never got a chance to play in Boston, one would have to wonder how good Goldy would have been with a team that possessed a more talented supporting cast.

Bill Goldsworthy was able to show his scoring touch after the NHL expansion in 1967. Most of his career was associated with the North Stars team. In his years in Minnesota, he was recognized for his impressive shooting skills and established himself as a passionate forward and a team player able to perform a solid 2-way play at both ends of the ice.

PERFORMANCE IN THE 1972 SUMMIT
Bill Goldsworthy played in three games of the 1972 Series earning one goal and one assist in Game 4 in Vancouver. However, his two minor penalties were also costly for Team Canada when both of them resulted in the Soviet team power play goals.
3 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS, 4 PIM, 3 SOG, 6 SAG, +/- EVEN

 

[BillyShoe1721]

head coach Viktor Tikhonov

IIHF Hall of Fame Member
Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame Member
13x Soviet League Titles, all consecutive (1978-1989)
8x World Championship Gold Medals (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990)
3x Olympic Gold Medalist (1984, 1988, 1992)
Challenge Cup Champion (1979)
Canada Cup Champion (1981)
702-302-137 Domestic Record (.675)*
147-23-12 "Big-Game" International Record (.840)*
191-21-19 "Other" International Record (.868)*

In 1962, Chernyshev was looking for an assistant and asked Tikhonov, who impressed him as being a most serious student of the game... He became a full-time assistant, learning under the esteemed master. By 1968, the ambitious Tikhonov felt he was ready to coach his own club, but the best offer he could get was a second-division team in Riga. The offer wasn't much - an unknown, dog-division team in a hostile city. But Tikhonov accepted the challenge. He was a man consumed by hockey. For him, it was like gambling or alcoholism, an addiction. He had to win and win again - and keep winning. In Riga, he soon whipped up a win-at-all-costs mentality, as if his lowly team was fighting for the elite league crown. Pushing on his players the priorities of speed, discipline and creativity, he saw them begin to make progress. For most coaches, it would take a lifetime to make the advances that he made with the Riga team within five years.

Once in the elite division, Tikhonov's team didn't fare so well. No degree of coaching genius could compensate for the deficiencies of a team with only one real star, Balderis.

...To his disciplinarian mindset was added some room for creativity. He was experimental enough to move to four lines and he didn't try to shackle his players to a system where their individual talents couldn't flower... Few accused Tikhonov of not knowing how to use talent and no one accused him of not working hard enough. Although many players like Balderis would come to despise him, they continued, strangely, to play extremely well under him. He made many of them so bitter, it seemed, that they became determined to prove themselves - to show him.

(In the 1979 Challenge Cup) Tikhonov tried to create a relaxed atmosphere for the team in The Big Apple. The players saw the movie Superman, though most couldn't understand English. They attended an NBA game between the Knicks and the Supersonics. And, in their Manhattan hotel rooms, they had their choice of X-rated movies: "Hot Times", "The Fruit Is Ripe", or "Maid In Sweden".

Tikhonov showed boldness as a coach. In the decisive game, he had put xxx in goal for Tretiak, and xxx scored the shutout. Tikhonov also inserted the kid line of Makarov, xxx and xxx for the last game, and all three sparkled. "On the defence we told our players to keep closer to their opponents to prevent them from capitalizing on rebounds. On the attack we instructed them to make unexpected, concealed shots." He made a significant summation of developments in the different hockey worlds. "In the contest of two styles of hockey - the fast, combinational Soviet style and the tough, sometimes cruel North American one - victory went to our more progressive style. I have no doubt that, from now on in North America, more attention will be paid to the game and less to battles on ice."

...(by 1983) The Russian streak, with the one glaring interruption at the 1980 Olympics, had actually extended over six years without a tournament loss, going back to Tikhonov's first defeat as coach at the 1977 Izvestia tournament. In addition to his achievements with the national team, Tikhonov's Central Army club had perennially won the Soviet championship. The coach thus had a ready answer for any critics - the scoreboard. The only victory run that could begin to compare was Tarasov's stretch through the 1960s. But there was no competition against NHL pros at the time. The extent of the Soviet talent was such, it could be argued, that any good coach could have accomplished the same and maybe added the 1980 gold to the Soviet pile. The Swedes, the Finns and the Czechs had been losing many of their best players to the NHL. Canadian teams sent to the worlds were comprised of only the stars from the NHL dregs. But the Russians also beat the best of the pros in the decisive matches of 1979 and 1981, and in super series games. moreover, to win as consistently as Tikhonov did in those years, even against weaker, international competition, was something that few other coaches could likely have accomplished. The law of averages dictated that there would be more off-days, more upsets, more times when the opposing team got extraordinary goaltending or was phenomenally lucky. But Tikhonov's team defied the law of averages in those years. No team was supposed to be that hot.

It was Tikhonov, too, who had a hockey eye judicious enough to put the Larionov five together. The unlikely idea of the Little Larionov between Krutov and the smallish Makarov was something another national team coach might not have even been tempted to try. It turned out to be a piece of coaching brilliance. None of the five players on the unit could point to anything that Tikhonov actually taught that improved their game. But bringing them together and leaving them together to develop a degree of cohesiveness seldom seen was art enough. NHL coaches, not imaginative enough to try the five-man system, have rarely demonstrated the patience to go with a three-man forward line for as long as Tikhonov went with a five-man unit.

-The Red Machine

To the players on Team Canada and virtually every other hockey fan in North America, the Soviets were still the automatons from the Evil Empire; a soulless collection of robots who'd been programmed to excel by the black genius Tikhonov.

"All that I know of myself is that nothing was ever given me without effort, not when I first stepped out on the ice or now when I am carrying the coach's burden," Tikhonov said. "Stubborn labour, self-sacrifice, fanatical devotion to a favoured activity, tireless perfection of athletic professionalist - these are, in my understanding, the key to success for every hockey player and every athlete. And these principles I always and everywhere defend." As mentioned, a good-time Charlie he wasn't.

-Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup

For nine years I was under the charge of... this man "Tikanoff" as they pronounce his name abroad... In May of 1989, Makarov, Krutov, xxx and I took part in a sports TV show "Arena". the conversation was sharp, touching on the impending problems and recent conflicts. In the course of this talk I named Tikhonov as a "talented coach". After that, friends and acquaintances who had seen it fell upon me. How could I make such compliments? I want to be objective. there had been some pluses.

...The Dynamo Riga team stood 14th when he took it. In his third year there it finished first and was promoted to the first division where it finished fourth in 1976... He brought with him the concept of using a fourth line, a total preoccupation with physical preparation, and an insane tempo which was in force for all three periods. This, too, he developed in Riga, where the team battled as if it were a matter of life and death, sometimes even beating the Moscow clubs.

...He did not spare himself, give him that. He worked nights on end without sleep, watching video tapes of the matches, twisting this way and that, analyzing them. You cannot take that away from him. I will not take away all the coaching talent of Tikhonov, by no means.

But the backside of the coin was his fanaticism. His was a constant round-the-clock vigil. Every action was aimed and justified by his interpretation of the single aim - victory - everything, including his inhumane conduct.

He records everything that is possible, forever writing in thick notebooks. And probably the thickest of these notes are concerned with the physical, the conditioning of the player. He supervises this aspect as one would take care of a child. I agree it is an important part of the preparation, but surely not to the repression of all else. He is not a man who likes change in this area, preferring to stay with the system he has used for years to get his players into top shape. If it is not his way, then it must not be the right way.

...Apparently he got used to having us at hand like a magic wand, and the rest did not worry him. He got lucky with us. He put together a line, and it worked from the beginning. He did not change anyone, he did not shuffle us. How would you call it? He hit the bull's eye with the first shot.

...A coach. How can one evaluate a person in this most interesting profession? Talented toiler, psychologist, teacher, theoretician, tactician... all of these things he must be in varying degrees. How would I evaluate Tikhonov? I cannot immediately define him. I cannot doubt his services in certain areas. Tikhonov strived to resolve everything himelf. His hands were unfettered, and as a coach he could do absolutely everything that was combined as necessary for the club or the National team. He broke through problems in the offices of superiors. Not everyone knew how to do this, for it demanded a particular talent. But with that talent our coach was strengthened and even without it he exercised an enormous power over us hockey players.

He knew how to place himself on top, in the CSRA, in Goskomsport, the governing body of all Soviet sport, so that they gave him unlimited power. He knew how to use that time, those structures, to bring the team together, and with that team to win. He knew how to select people for the team, although it was not that complicated when everything was under his hands, when he had unlimited opportunity.

-Larionov

Many remembered Viktor Tikhonov as a slave driver who endeavored to squeeze the most out of his subordinates for the sake of victory. Yet Tikhonov maintained the same standard for himself... Tikhonov expected the same dogged determination from the players he coached as he displayed... Tikhonov placed heavy emphasis on the ability of a player to work hard and to persevere and on a player's will to succeed. Preference is given to physical conditioning during workouts, even more than tactical and technical maneuvers... "I once asked a colleague how many defense systems he knew," Tikhonov recalls. "He replied, 'two.' But I know more, and a whole lot of variants."

Over the life of his coaching career, he's seen very few changes. In the first half of the 1970s, he was extremely popular in the Soviet Union. At that time he coached the provincial Riga team and was able to drag it out of the cellar of the league and all the way to fourth place. The state then gave him its blessing to take total control of the CSKA club and the USSR national team.

Tikhonov can't be compared with any of the coaches who worked during the same era. No other coach, whether in the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, or Sweden, acquired such national prominence. No one else was given such a clean slate to rebuild a team from the ground up. Tikhonov could only be compared with Anatoly Tarasov - the previous "monarch", who in essence wielded the same power and enjoyed the same rights.

Viktor Tikhonov is still plying his trade, turning down all other offers... Today it is with a sense of pleasure that he recalls how he managed to outstrip his competitors by about a decade back in those "golden years". He points out that NHL scouts prefer to see his weaker CSKA team than the provincial teams that are higher in the Russian standings. "The scouts are interested in whether I have thought up something new. yes - I have - you can be sure of that!"

-Kings of the Ice

He was the coach of the Soviet team when it was the most dominant team in the world.

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

Tikhonov is not just a good coach. He is a great coach.

He is always being compared to the great Tarasov, the "founder of the Soviet hockey." Regardless of the results of this comparison, it's a confirmation of the greatness of Tikhonov.

Both were hockey grandmasters. They dominated their hockey eras. Both were strict disciplinarians. They accepted no hockey authority other than themselves. The ship could only have one captain. And the captain was one of them. No other way to win.

Tikhonov brought high tech of the 1970s to Soviet hockey. He seemed to be the first to use a VCR in the coaching analysis. Maybe it happened because VCRs has become more affordable in the 1970s.

Tikhonov was a king of tactics. Even people who didn't like him accept that there were few(if any) in the hockey world that could compete with Tikhonov's tactical vision.

http://www.chidlovski.com/personal/1972/story/tikhonov.htm

"Once we got to know Viktor Tikhonov, we knew we could follow him through fire and water."-Vladislav Tretiak

Love him or hate him, Viktor Tikhonov would, after Tarasov, have the most important positive effects on Soviet hockey since the Patriotic War.

http://books.google.com/books?id=gO...wAA#v=onepage&q=viktor tikhonov coach&f=false

#6 Who's the Greatest Coach of All Time?

A lot of coaches in the history of the game have become legends in their own right. I don't care what anyone says about coaches being overrated, I think a truly great one can make a difference. Take Viktor Tikhonov. Sure the Russians were hated by everyone at that time, but look at how they played. The clobbered the NHL All Stars in the 1979 Challenge Cup and then routed Canada 8-1 in the '81 Canada Cup. In the '84 and '87 Canada Cups even though they didn't win they gave Canada everything they could handle. Even though he had the advantage of the communist lifestyle on his side, Tikhonov found a way to get his players to play.

http://books.google.com/books?id=B5...wAw#v=onepage&q=viktor tikhonov coach&f=false

 

[BillyShoe1721]

LW Don Maloney

2x NHL All Star Game Participant
2x Top 12 All Star LW (12, 12)[one vote]
1x 15th Selke Voting[one vote]
1x 18th in Assists
1x 4th in Playoff Goals
1x 1st in Playoff Assists
1x 3rd in Playoff Points
1x World Championship Silver Medalist
1x NHL All Star Game MVP
3x Rangers "Players' Player" Award Winner
26th on list of Greatest Rangers in "100 Ranger Greats"
During peak, 1979-80 to 1983-84: 5th in assists among LW

Once he arrived, Don took the Big Apple by storm. He finished the 1978-79 season in the NHL, making a big impression on "The Mafia Line" with xxx on right wing and the legendary Phil Esposito at center. The line drew it's nickname from the reference of a Godfather (Espo) and two "Dons."

In 28 games Don tallied 9 goals and 26 points, and added another 7 goals and 20 points in 18 games during a lengthy post season run that saw the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Esposito raved about his new found winger, comparing him favorably to an old friend from Boston.

"He's like (Wayne) Cashman to me. He gets the puck out of the corner. It's been a long time since I didn't have to help out in that respect."

Coach Fred Shero compared him to another great from the past.

"His scoring is a bonus. He's a bumper and a grinder. He reminds me of Bert Olmstead, the great left winger on the Montreal Canadiens power play two decades ago."


Maloney would not suffer the same fate. He was an honest, hard working kid from small town Canada, and that never changed about him. He would enjoy enormous personal success in New York, though he was never singled out as a star.

That was fine by him, as he was more than happy to be a great support player. In 1980, at the young age of 22, he was named as the Rangers' team captain. He would play in the 1983 and 1984 NHL All Star games, surprising everyone by earning game MVP status in '84. He would also help Canada win a silver medal at his lone World Championship tournament in 1985.

Maloney's unforgiving physical play took it's toll on him over the years. In one memorable collision with New Jersey defender xxx, Maloney broke his leg and ankle as well as suffering ligament damage. He would miss most of the 1984-85 season recovering.

http://nyrangerslegends.blogspot.com/2008/01/don-maloney.html

Left-winger Don Maloney was a splendid offensive player who could also check and kill penalties. His versatility and work ethic served him well in a career that lasted nearly 800 games and spanned three decades.

Born in Lindsay, Ontario, Maloney was a junior standout with the OHA's Kitchener Rangers. After scoring 104 points for the club in 1977-78, he was claimed 26th overall by the New York Rangers at the Amateur Draft. He adjusted quickly to the pros by recording 44 points in 38 games for the AHL's New Haven Nighthawks. Partway through the season, Maloney was recalled to Manhattan and averaged nearly a point per game in 28 matches. He also led all playoff performers with 13 assists while joining his brother, Dave, in helping the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Beginning in 1979-80, Maloney registered five straight 20-goal seasons in New York. He often worked well with linemates Phil Esposito and xxx and notched a personal-high 29-goal season in 1980-81 and 1982-83. The crafty forward also took part in the 1983 and 1984 NHL All-Star Games, winning the MVP award at the latter at the Meadowlands Arena. After an injury-plagued season in 1984-85, the classy veteran helped Canada win the silver medal at the World Championships. The next year, he rebounded with an outstanding defensive performance and helped the Rangers reach the Prince of Wales Conference finals.

Late in his career, the Rangers decided to make changes and sent Maloney to the Hartford Whalers. He played the last 21 games of the 1988-89 season and the first round playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens before signing with the New York Islanders as a free agent. Maloney scored 16 goals and provided leadership and playmaking savvy to the young squad before retiring in 1990-91.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13505

A versatile, hard-working left wing, the 20-year-old Maloney led all playoff scorers in 1979 with 13 assists and scored a then-rookie record 20 points in 18 postseason games as the Rangers upset the favored Islanders to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they fell to defending three-time Cup champion Montreal in five games.

http://www.sikids.com/photos/4257/nhl-rookie-playoff-sensations/10

He was the key to the Rangers' brilliant run to the Stanley Cup Finals that year, scoring 20 points in the playoffs, then a record for a rookie. He was the MVP of the 1983 All Star Game in New Jersey, and scored a memorable playoff goal in the final minute of regulation time against the Islanders in 1984.

http://books.google.com/books?id=i7...AEwAg#v=onepage&q=don maloney rangers&f=false

New York's stars were Phil Esposito, Don Maloney, Ron Greschner, xxx, xxx, and two fast skating Swedes, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg.

http://books.google.com/books?id=L8...AEwBw#v=onepage&q=don maloney rangers&f=false

"That really fit into what my style was - picking up and finding pucks."

Despite the disappointment of coming up short in the finals, Maloney came back in the fall for his first full NHL season and picked up right where he left off - giving the Rangers consistent scoring and effort. He topped the 20 goal mark in each of his first 5 seasons, twice scoring as many as 29. He was selected to play in the All Star Game in 1982-1983 and scored a goal for the Wales Conference at Nassau Coliseum. One year later, he became the first Ranger to be named MVP of the All Star Game, when he had a goal and three assists in the Wales Conferences' 7-6 victory at the New Jersey Meadowlands.

http://books.google.com/books?id=1w...6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=don maloney hockey&f=false

A rookie named Don Maloney was playing like a veteran on a line with Espo and xxx

http://www.google.com/search?q=don+...=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=84abe16c47dde074

The bruises and gashes of a long campaign show on hsi face and body, but for Don Maloney, they might as well not exist. He's on top of the world.

More important, the tough left winger has been playing one a line with veteran centre Phil Esposito and right winger xxx that has been the Rangers' big-scoring trio.

While Maloney and xxx slug it out in heavy traffic in the corners...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=5927,5100139&dq=don+maloney&hl=en

Don Maloney knows all about work ethic.

"Some nights you work, work, work," he said, "and you never get anything. But sometimes, when it comes together, everything goes right."

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...MNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1277,63421&dq=don+maloney&hl=en

It was Don Maloney, not Wayne Gretzky, who who shined on the ice in the NHL's 36th annual all star game here Tuesday night.

Maloney, 23, a left winger for the New York Rangers, was the focus of attention.

Maloney tied a record for most points in an all star game, scoring a goal and three assists to lead the Wales conference to a 7-6 victory over the Campbell Conference. Maloney was named the game's most valuable player.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2047,116518&dq=don+maloney&hl=en

Don Maloney and xxx, the main sparkplugs in a pair of stunning comebacks by the New York Rangers this weekend,

http://www.google.com/search?q=don+...=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=a04044cde7da87f6

 

[Dreakmur]

Red Hamill made a six game NHL appearance with the Boston Bruins during the 1937-38 season. He came back for another six the following season, and stayed through the playoffs, sharing in the Bruins Stanley Cup victory, their first in a decade. The tough, hard-hitting winger divided his time between the Bruins and the IAHL Hershey Bears for the next three seasons before being sold to Chicago in December 1941.

With a brief interruption for military service (the 1944-45 season) Hamill played the next eight years with the Black Hawks. He was a consistent, if not prolific scorer and played with enough grit to earn him ice time up until the 1950-51 season.

Born in Toronto on January 11th, 1917, Robert "Red" Hamill was about as tough as they come. He was sort of an early day Wendel Clark-type of hockey player.

….

…his reputation was clearly being made for his hard hitting style…

….

Hamill scored 128 goals and 94 assists for 222 points in 419 NHL games. He picked up only 160 penalty minutes, which suggests even though he had a zest for the rugged part of the game, he was very clean. Still, this is a surprisngly low total when newspaper archive searches turn up repeated stories of him in wild battles.

Red Hamill !!!​

Awards and Acheivements:
Stanley Cup Champion (1939)
Chicago Blackhawks Captain (1947)

Scoring:
Goals – 2nd(1942), 3rd(1943), 9th(1946), 15th(1947)

In the 4 seasons before and after World War II, which are 1942, 1943, 1946, and 1947, Hamill was 2nd in goals. Max Bentley, Doug Bentley, Syl Apps, Toe Blake, and Sid Abel were among the leaders.

 

[EagleBelfour]

Vladimir Evgenievich Krutov

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

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

Domestic League:

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

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


International Games:

(Exhibition Game, Olympics & World Championship)
Games by Opposing Countries

----|Country|GP|G

|Czechoslovakia|50|26|

|Sweden|49|33|

|Finland|41|16|

|Canada|40|24|

|West Germany|27|15|

|United States|13|10|

|Netherlands|8|8|

|East Germany|7|5|

|Poland|4|2|

|Switzerland|4|4|

|Italy|3|1|

|Japan|3|1|

|Norway|3|2|

|Austria|1|2|

|Yugoslavia|1|1|

World Championship:

# Participation|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
7|68|44|33|77|78

Years in Detail:

Years|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1980-81|8|6|5th|3|20th|9|9th|8
1981-82|10|4|11th|3|18th|7|13th|6
1982-83|10|8| 3rd |7|5th|15| 2nd |12
1984-85|10|4|17th|5|9th|9|13th|8
1985-86|10|7| 3rd |10| 3rd |17| 2nd |14
1986-87|10|11| 1st ( +45.5% )|3|25th|14| T-1st |8
1988-89|10|4|14th|2|56th|6|31st|8

Olympics:

# Participation|GP|G|A|PTS|PIM
3|22|16|15|31|6

Years in Detail:

Year|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1980|7|6|6th|5|17th|11|5th|4
1984|7|4|10th|1|78th|5|31st|2
1988|8|6| 2nd |9| T-1st |15| 1st ( +13.3% )|0

Top-10 All-Time Scorer at the Olympics

Rank|Players Name|# Participation|Country|PTS
1|Harry Watson|1|Canada|46
2|Vlastimil Bubnik|4|Czechoslovakia|37
2|Teemu Selanne|5|Finland|37
4|Valeri Kharlamov|3|Russia|35
5|Boris Alexandrov|3|Russia|33
6|Anatoli Firsov|3|Russia|32
7| Vladimir Krutov |3|Russia|31
8|Wally Halder|1|Canada|29
8|Viacheslav Fetisov|3|Russia|29
8|Sven Johansson|4|Sweden|29

- Different sources indicate different results for Vlastimil Bubnik and Harry Watson

All-Time Top 10 Soviet Players at the Olympics

Ranked by the IIHF (2002)

Rank|Players Name|Pos
1|Vladislav Tretiak|G
2|Anatoli Firsov|LW
3|Slava Fetisov|D
4|Vitaly Davydov|D
5|Boris Mikhailov|RW
6|Valeri Kharlamov|LW
7|Sergei Makarov|RW
8| Vladimir Krutov |LW
9|Alexei Kasatonov|D
10|Alexander Maltsev|RW

Other Tournament:

The Canada Cup tournaments were also opportunities for Krutov to prove he truly is one of the game's greats.

1981 Canada Cup

Year|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1981|7|4|4th|4|12th|8|8th|10

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

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

1984 Canada Cup

Year|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1984|6|3|11th|5|8th|8|8th|4

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

1987 Canada Cup

Year|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1987|9|7| 2nd |7| 3rd |14|4th|4

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

Rendez-vous 1987

Year|GP|G|#|A|#|PTS|#|PIM
1987|2|2| T-1st |0|X|2|5th|2

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

Awards Nomination:

Most Valuable Player

Seasons|Ranking
1982-83|2nd
1985-86|3rd
1966-87|1st
1987-88|3rd
1988-89|5th

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

Born in 1960, Vladimir Krutov was the left wing of the KLM-Line. His nickname “The Tank†says a lot about his style of playing hockey. He was a hard worker in front of the goal and his ability to score was well known in the hockey world.

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

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

Quotes:

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

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


Internet Sites:
http://www.sihrhockey.org/member_player_sheet.cfm?player_id=1875&mode=2
http://www.chidlovski.net/1954/54_player_info.asp?p_id=k041
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Krutov
http://www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/home/hall-of-fame.html
http://www.iihf.com/de/channels10/i...s/news/article/the-special-class-of-2010.html
http://internationalhockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/06/vladimir-krutov.html
http://www3.telus.net/worldcuphockey/klm.html

 

[Velociraptor]

Barry Ashbee, D

Position: Defenseman
HT/WT: 5'10", 180 lbs
Shoots: Right
Nickname(s): "Ash Can"

- 2-time Stanley Cup Champion (1974, *1975) *As an assistant coach
- 1 acknowledgement for Second NHL All-Star Team (1974)
- 15 goals, 85 regular season points in 284 games played.
- 4 playoff points in 17 games played.

Barry Ashbee was an everyman player who epitomized the Broad Street Bullies-era Flyers. Whatever he lacked in natural talent he made up for in work ethic and hunger to win. Ashbee was a man whose personality and playing style were deceptively prickly and rough hewn but who possessed as much character and inner strength as anyone who has ever been a professional athlete. There was nothing phony or pretentious about the guy teammates called "Ash Can."

Ashbee saw the world and the sport of hockey in black and white. You worked hard, you didn't make excuses for failure and you didn't expect a pat on the back for doing what was expected of you. Ashbee despised egotists and glad-handers. He believed in results, not words.

He was a solid, physical defenseman, but an average skater and passer. Apart from the legendary Eddie Shore, defensemen played little offensive role when Ashbee grew up learning the game. It would be a long time until Bobby Orr came along to regularly join the rush and revolutionized the position, setting the standard for what are now known as "two-way" defensemen.

Barry Ashbee was the strongest guy mentally I've ever seen.

The other Flyers concurred. Hockey players are a tough breed by nature but Ashbee's stoicism impressed even his most hardened teammates. Even so, Ashbee remained somewhat of a loner once the season started. He was there to play, and win, hockey games, not win popularity contests. Teammates who got on Ashbee's bad side quickly learned his will was stronger than theirs.

The likes of Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau touted him as a deserving All-Star. But as midseason rolled around, Ashbee was left off the Western Division All-Star team. Ashbee was angry. Ashbee took out his frustration on the rest of the NHL. He finished the year with a phenomenal plus-minus rating of +52, best on the team. After the season, Ashbee's mid-season slight was corrected when he was named a second team NHL All-Star by the league and selected to the All-Western Conference team compiled by The Hockey News. But individual honors were secondary to Ashbee. He wanted hockey's ultimate prize – the Stanley Cup.

Ashbee is enshrined in the Flyers Hall of Fame not so much to venerate his career but to honor his spirit. By celebrating Barry Ashbee, the Flyers also pay tribute to all the players who came before and after him, men who toiled and sacrificed just for a chance to play. Just as importantly, Ashbee possessed extraordinary character and dignity.

Barry was a valuable performer on the Flyers blue line, and a key member of the 1974 team that defeated, oddly enough, the Bruins for the Stanley Cup. He wasn't your stereotypical "Broad Street Bully". He tallied only 291 PIM in 284 NHL contests. Instead he was a throwback defenseman who excelled ruggedly, though cleanly..

Even though he wasn't tough in the sense of Hammer Schultz or Hound Dog Kelly, Ashbee was probably the toughest member of the Flyers. Because of his physical play, Ashbee accumulated injuries like kids collected hockey cards. He often wore a "horse collar" neck support while playing the game.

He suffered a career-ending eye injury during the 1974 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but was obviously part of the teams triumph and success and had his name engraved on the cup. Ashbee began his second career in hockey as an assistant coach, where the Flyers won the cup in consecutive years. But by 1977 disaster would strike again. He was diagnosed with deadly Leukemia.

"The players know I'm sick, and I'm going to get better, that's all," understated Barry in typical form, not wanting to make a big deal of his misfortune.

About a month after he said that from his hospital bed, he passed away on May 12, 1977.

In honor of their fallen friend, the Flyers have named a trophy after Ashbee. Since 1975 the Flyers most outstanding defenseman has been given the Barry Ashbee award. In addition, his jersey number 4 is forever retired.

The Flyers acquired him from the Bears and he became not only one of the more reliable defencemen in the league but among the most popular athletes in the city. He was as tough as any "Broad Street Bully" of that generation, and in February 1973 he was suspended for eight games for striking referee Bryan Lewis because he was upset with a penalty call.

 

[Stoneberg]

ACE BAILEY
(1st part = HHH bio last draft, 2nd, stuff I dug up)

Part 1

The NHL lost one of the greats of the game on December 12, 1933. That was the night that Ace Bailey's brilliant yet brief career as a hockey player came to an end. A disastrous collision with Bruins legend Eddie Shore resulted in Bailey fracturing his skull." Bailey had two brain operations and hovered between life and death for 10 days. Bailey eventually recovered to live a normal life but his hockey career was finished.

Yet in his short 7 seasons in the NHL, Bailey established himself as a premier scoring threat and excellent defensive forward... With his electrifying speed and heavy shot, he had star written all over him.

Bailey would live up to that potential. In his very first season he scored 15 goals and 28 points in 42 games. That doesn't sound significant by today's standards but that was very impressive back in 1926-27. Those totals led the Leafs, and placed him 6th overall in league scoring. By 1928-29 Bailey became the NHL scoring champion. His 22 goals and 31 points were only challenged by the great Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons (21 goals and 29 points). Ace would improve upon his scoring totals in each of the next two years.

...he became one of the game's fiercest defensive players. He was a penalty-killer extraordinaire and a great shadow. Though his scoring totals were down, in no way was Bailey any less an important member of the Leafs than when he was their scoring hero. In fact his selfless defensive sacrifice and gritty play and leadership made him more valuable than ever, and it showed in the team's success. In 1932 he spirited a great playoff run which was capped off with the Stanley Cup championship.

Awards

Stanley Cup in 1932
retro Maurice Richard Trophy in 1929
retro Art Ross Trophy in 1929

2nd in Hart Trophy voting in 1929

Top 10's

Goals: 1st (29), 7th (31)

Assists: 3rd (27), 4th (29), 6th (31), 8th (30)

Points: 1st (29), 4th (31), 6th (27)


Part 2 (Not sure what this proves but it's what I could dig up)

xxx and Bailey were the dangerous ones last night in charges on the Canadien goal...

Bailey clinched the contest for his team in the dying moments of the game.

The Leafs main forward line, xxx, center; Irvin Bailey, right wing; and xxx, left wing; are rated one of the speediest lines in hockey...

"We would not sell Bailey at any price," said Mr. Campbell. "And we would not trade him for any player in the N.H.L."

Ace Bailey, brilliant right winger from the leafs, assisted in the scoring of both goals

Most of the scoring and roughness came in the second period when Rabit McVeigh started the action with a goal for the Americans and Ace Bailey came back with two for the Leafs less than 20 seconds apart.

The weekly returns issued from the office of President Frank Calder indicate that "Ace" Bailey , star right winger of the Toronto club is not unworthy of the nickname thrust upon him...

Irvin (Ace) Bailey, hard-shooting right winger of the Leafs

Scoring honors for the 1928/29 season in the National Hockey League have been captured by Irvin Ace Bailey dashing right wing of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Five minutes later Ace Bailey broke clear around the Rangers' left defense and loomed in front of Roach to tie the score in 10:42.

"Ace" Bailey put the Leafs ahead again before the period ended when he slapped Primeau's pass into the net on one of the prettiest goals of the night.
...
Ace Bailey was in sparkling form...

Play was kept in the visitors' zone until Ace Bailey seized the disc and dashed to New York ice.

In the second period, the Maple Leafs were assessed two consecutive minor penalties, so the Bruins were on a five-on-three power play. Dick Irvin Sr., the Leaf's coach, did what any smart coach would do in such a situation: he sent out his two best defensemen - Red Horner and Francis "King" Clancy - as well as his most defensive-minded forward, Irvine "Ace" Bailey.

Bailey won the first face-off and managed to carry the puck around the ice, eluding the entire Bruins team, for nearly a minute.

When he won the next face-off, he ragged the puck again, before firing it the legnth of the ice into the Bruins' end.

(Dec 12, 1933)

It was the first case of an "awarded" goal in the NHL since March 12, 1927, when Reg Noble of the Montreal Maroons threw his stick at Ace Bailey of the newly named Toronto Maple Leafs. Bailey had stripped Noble of the puck at the Maroons' blueline and broke in all alone...

a smoking shot [/B]to the corner.

...Gardiner stopped the shot, but Bailey came in like flash to flip the disc into the cage.

...and in the third period Bailey snared the puck away from a Canadien forward as it lay unprotected in front of the Toronto goal.

It was nearly fifteen minutes later when Bailey, uncovered before Hainsworth, accepted a pass from xxx and sent a bullet-like shot creashing into the Canadien cage.

Bailey is ably supported in the Toronto in the Toronto first string forward line by xxx, tall centre, and xxx at left wing. All three have youth and speed and are willing to pass to their mates as well as shoot goals themselves.

Bailey, the leading NHL scorer two years ago, has given indications he will be hard on the opposing goalkeepers by the force and accuracy of his sniping.

Red Horner, Harold Darragh, Ace Bailey, xxx and xxx were the other hard-working standouts for the Leafs

The Ace apparently was looking for trouble most of the evening to judge from his caperings and in the third he got it.

Just two and a half minutes after the opening face-off, Bailey stole the puck from Abel as Taffy was starting a solitary dash down the ice, and after stick-handling past xxx, he passed accross the goal mouth to give Day an easy shot for the first goal.

Trottier and xxx were sent on to bear the brunt of the forward line attackand did so neatly for a few seconds, Bailey, however, secured the puck just inside the Maroon blueline. He was skated into the boards by Trottier, but the latter proved a bit lax in covering his man and in a flash Bailey had stickhandled himself clear to send down a long pass to xxx...

Irvin Bailey, who was the best man on the ice, started early in the game to "get" Aurel Joliat's noted "goat". And Bailey did this with such effect that the pair shared six penalties in the first period. They packed high sticks against one another throughout the tussle. Joliat was put completely off his game...

xxx, xxx, Bailey and xxx were the best of the forwards and all deserved counters. They passed the puck more than usual, and were constantly checking back.

Bailey worked hard throughout, and got a goal to keep pace with Nels Stewart, but he had little on any of his teammates.

xxx took the count when he was stepped into by Bailey, and was replaced by Clapper.

Bailey came back just in time to break up a Hec Kilrea-Lamb rush that looked dangerous.

Albert Leduc cracked the Toronto star (Bailey) over the head when the latter blocked his rush.

-Lost the source on this one, it was in either the Ottawa Citizen or Montreal Gazette in the early 30's I think.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs players are penalized this season Coach Dick Irvin won't have to depend entirely on xxx and "Ace" Bailey to keep the puck out of the Leaf end of the rink until his team is back to full stregnth. For Irvin is drilling most of his staff of forwards in the fine art of "ragging" a nicety of hockey business at which few players are adept.

Last season xxx and Bailey carried much of the load of killing time and when Bailey was injured xxx was the man of the moment. A few times xxx was the player penalized and then it was just too bad. Irvin plans to have others of his forwards perfect themselves in the manoeuvre so no matter who is waved to the bench he will still have players capable of fighting off opposing forwards.

 

[Reds4Life]

Gennady Tsygankov - defenseman

Club: CSKA Moscow
Position: D Shoots: Left
Height: 5'11'' Weight: 187 pounds
Born: 8/16/1947 in Vanino, USSR

USSR Elite League Clubs: CSKA, SKA Khabarovsk, SKA Leningrad
USSR Gold (9): 1970-1973, 1975, 1977-1980
World Championship Gold: 1971, 1973-1975, 1978-1979
Olympics Gold: 1972, 1976
Played in the Summit Series 72, Superseries 75-76, 76-77, 78-79, Challenge Cup 79

National Awards:
Merited Sports Master (USSR ZMS) 1972

Best players awards: (list of the best 18 - 40 players in the Soviet league, depending on year)
1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

Best Player of the Year - Season MVP
1972 - 9th
1976 - 17th

2nd All Star Team:
1971
1973

What can we say about the performance of Tsygankov, one of our best scoring defensemen? He didn't score because he was too busy checking the Canadian forwards.

- Igor Kuperman, Soviet Sports Writer

One of the most memorable moments in his career was when Shadrin, Tsygankov and Liapkin managed to kill a 2-man advantage in a key game against the Chechoslovakian squad and became the heroes of the 1976 Olympics.

== Source ==

Our coaches didn't allow us to shoot the puck into their zone. We were instructed to cross the blue line only by passing. The Canadians would dump the puck into our zone and chase after it. I don't know why our coaches thought this was a bad play. They scored a lot of goals this way.

- Gennady Tsygankov

Gennady Tsygankov belongs to group of the top ranking Soviet defense players of the 1970's. He was an extremely fast and fearless blueliner who never hesitated to block shots or to fight for a puck in the corners.

As a team player, he always put team interests above his personal accomplishments. Tsygankov was a key penalty killer on the Team USSR roster. In the late 1960's, he was a part of the so-called "systema" (or "system", also known as "torpedo") experiments by legendary coach Anatoly Tarasov.

Needless to say, Gennady Tsygankov was the first defense partner of Slava Fetisov. Overall, Tsygankov was arguably one of the best team players in the Soviet hockey.

== Source ==

Tsygankov's physical strength is legendary. I know that very well, because I once saw him naked in his hotel room. Even though I didn't want to, I had to comapre myself to him in my mind, and it seemed to me that I was half his size. He had an extraordinary physique. But he never bullied weaker players, he used just as much strength as necessary - a typical trait for one of the great Russian heroes.

- Slava Fetisov
== Source ==

Tsygankov became one of us immediately. He quickly found his place on the CSKA Moscow team, and in the spring of 1971, he played for the national team in a friendly match against Sweden. At that time, I was playing with Ragulin, but in that game, Tarasov put me next to Tsygankov. Gennady showed a fantastic performance and great physical strength - guys nicknamed him the Caspian tiger (although I think that the Ussuri tiger would be more fitting given his birthplace).

To illustrate his extraordinary physique, I can tell you this story - at our base in Kudepsta, where we used to do our pre-season training, our trainers came up with a new test - measuring oxygen consumption during exercise (VO2 max). All of us knew that Gennady was head and shoulders above everyone else - but he just kept on going, and eventually the bag burst. An incredible feat. Everyone was shocked.

His organism was truly unique. He seemed to be impervious to pain. I remember that in some game, the puck hit Gennady in the ankle. The doctor on the bench gave him a shot and he was back on the ice. After the game, X-ray scan revealed that there is a bone fracture. How could he play with such injury and pain?

Gennady was ultra-reliable, you could always count on him. And not only on the ice. Maybe that's why he had a lot of friends in every city he played in.

- Vladimir Lutchenko
== Source ==

Gennady Tsygankov began playing hockey in 1962 with SKA Khabarovsk, joining CSKA Moskva in 1969, and playing there until 1979, after which he played one season with SKA Leningrad, before finishing his playing career. With CSKA Moskva Tsygankov won eight Soviet titles (1970-73, 1975, 1977-79) and eight European Champions Cup titles (1970-74, 1976, 1978, 1979). Internationally Tsygankov won two Olympic golds (1972, 1976), was World Champion six times (1971, 1973-75, 1978, 1979) and European champion four times (1973-75, 1979). He also won silvers (1972, 1976) and bronze (1977) at the World Championships and silvers (1971, 1972, 1976, 1978) and bronze (1977) at the European Championships. Tsyganov also took part in the 1972 and 1974 Summit Series and won the 1979 Challenge Cup between Soviet Union and the NHL All-Stars. After his sporting career Tsygankov worked as a children’s coach with CSKA Moskva sports school, before being named head coach of SKA Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). From 1989-91 Tsyganov was the head coach of SKA Leningrad and after that he worked as a children’s coach with Spartak Moskva sports school. From 2000 until his death Tsygankov was a director of a sports school in St. Petersburg.

== Source ==

..when defenseman Gennady Tsygankov stole the puck and beat Regan with a 25-foot slap shot from the right side.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Jiri Bubla

Shoots: Right (note: incorrectly listed as Left on hockey-reference)
Height: 5’11â€
Weight: 200lbs
Born: Jan. 27, 1950


Statistics
Czech League: 470GP-93G-187A-280Pts
NHL: 256GP-17G-101A-118Pts
National Team: 230GP-37G assists and points unknown
1976 Canada Cup: 7GP-3G-2A-5Pts
Winter Olympics: 11GP-1G-6A-7Pts

Czech National Team 1971-79
World Championships: Gold - 72’, 76’, 77’; Silver - 71’, 74’, 75’, 78’, 79’; Bronze - 73’
Winter Olympics: Silver – 76’, Bronze – 72’

Awards
World Championship All Star Team: 78’, 79’
Best Defenseman World Championship: 1979
Best Defenseman Izvestia Tournament: 1978

http://www.sportovninoviny.cz/zpravy/index_img.php?id=132032
In 2010, Jiri Bubla was inducted into Czech Hockey Hall of Fame.


Joe Pelletier
“He's one of only a few Czechs to have won the world championship title three times (1972, 1976, and 1977). Jiri played most of his career in CHZ Litvinov where he played between 1959-69 and 19 71-79. His other stints were in Dukla Jihlava (1969-71), Sparta Praha (1979-81) and, as North American fans likely remember him, with the NHL Vancouver Canucks (1981-86).â€

“Bubla was an excellent soccer player as a youngster and some say he could have made it all the way to the national team if he had pursued that sport. Ultimately he chose hockey though, another sport that came naturally to him. On the European stage he was known as a tough, strong and a hard hitter who handled the puck very well. Blessed with mobility and hockey sense, he was extremely good at quick transitions from defense to offense. His sharp outlet passes created many scoring opportunities for streaking forwards that caught opposition defenders a step behind.â€

“In 1977-78 he scored 50 points, including 21 goals, for Litvinov in 44 games. It was best year in league play, finishing 6th overall in the scoring race. In his brilliant career in the Czechoslovakian league Jiri scored 93 goals and 187 assists for 280 points in 470 games.â€

“Bubla was a mainstay on the Czechoslovakian national team throughout the 1970s. He represented his country at nine World Championships, none more monumental than in 1972. With the games hosted by the city of Prague, the Czechoslovaks upset the hated but mighty Soviet Union team to capture the gold medal. The team would repeat as world champions in 1976 and 1977, as well as win 5 silver medals and one bronze. The team also captured a silver medal at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, and second place at the inaugural Canada Cup.

“Bubla was really standing out with the national team by the end of the decade. He was named to world championship all star teams in 1978 and 1979, and was named as the tournament's top defenseman in 1979.â€

“His best offensive output while in Vancouver was in 1983-84. He had 39 pts (6 goals and 33 assists) in 62 games. During his last NHL season in 1985-86 Jiri played some of the best hockey of his North American stint. He scored 30 points in only 43 games.â€


Legends of Hockey
“He used his mobility and hockey sense effectively at both ends of the ice and was a solid point man on the power play.â€

“Bubla added skill to the Canucks transition game but was never totally accustomed to the rougher style of play in North America. He was solid on the power play but was not used against the opposition's bigger forwards. He played over 250 games in the NHL before retiring in 1986.â€


Chidlovski.com
“One of the toughest blueliners of his time, was a good skater. Played exceptionally well offensively, famous for his powerful shot.â€

“Scored 37 goals in 230 games for Czechoslovakiaâ€

Izvestia Tournament 1978 Best Defenseman

Background on Izvestia Tournament: Sponsored by the Izvestia Daily newspaper in Russia, the Izvestia Cup was an anual international tournament held in late December. The first Cup took place in 1967. Due to its popularity, the Izvestia Cup soon became known as a "mini World Championship" played between the top national teams. By many accounts, it was called a "winter rehearsal" for the World Championship in the spring.
Because of financial difficulties, the tournament changed its sponsorship and became the Baltica Cup in 1997.


The Weekend Sun – Sept. 16, 1982
“Bubla had been improving rapidly on the blueline last season, showing why he played in 245 games for the Czech nationals and was twice chosen to World all-star teams. But his season ended Dec. 2 when his right ankle was fractured in a game against Minnesotaâ€

The Weekend Sun – Sept. 20, 1982
“Belland and Bubla have stamped themselves as NHL players the past week…â€

Interview with Robert Záruba 2010
Q: In Your opinion, which Czechoslovak hockey players are the very best ever?
A: I'd have to mention at least 40 players, so I am just going to mention the best from my favourite era - Jiří Holeček, Jiří Bubla, Ivan Hlinka, Vladimír Martinec..

Link: http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/...71290100002/3842-rozhovor-s-robertem-zarubou/


Interview with Jiri Bubla - 18th October, 2006
Jiri Bubla – a defenseman surrounded by legends; Bubla was rarely seen off the ice, it seemed like he had two pairs of lungs, and was impervious to pain.

Q: Have you ever thought about the possibility to play in the NHL when you were younger?
A: Of course. I think I'd have had a good chance to succeed. But it was illegal to leave for the NHL at that time. And I couldn't risk losing my family.

Q: But you were given the chance to go to the NHL later.
A: Yes, but I was 10 years older, and past my prime. Unfortunately, I broke my ankle in the first year in the NHL. We didn't have a good team. It was hard. I hate losing.

Q: So how come you made it to the Stanley Cup final in 1982?
A: We were lucky. All season long Calgary gave us trouble, but then we swept them. In addition, Los Angeles surprisingly beat Edmonton, we beat LA, then we got on roll and played against Chicago.

Q: You played against Edmonton and Gretzky at their best, how was it?
A: All five guys on the ice had to defend. If there was a better system in place, such as today's Detroit, it would be harder for Gretzky. But I was perhaps the first guy who hit him really hard.

Q: Really?
A: He fell on his butt. The whole arena was shocked. Mr. Semenko immediately went after me, but I told him “I don't fight.â€. In the end, nothing happened. I didn't go after Gretzky, it wasn't personal. I always played that way. Kharlamov always asked me: “Jiri, why do you always hit me?â€. It had nothing to do with the Soviet occupation in 1968, I just had to find a way to stop him.

Link: http://hokej.idnes.cz/bubla-byl-jse...ezentace.asp?c=A061017_182042_reprezentace_ot

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

WORK IN PROGRESS

There were three defensemen on the two Soviet teams who would win the Norris Trophy in our league - Fetisov and Kasatonov of the Central Army team and Bilyaletdinov of the Dynamo

Boston Globe - January 12, 1986

Sinden was talking about the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cups

Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, D

The Bilyaldetdinov-Pervukhin pairing was the USSR's second great pairing for almost a decade, behind Fetisov-Kasatonov.

Bilyaletdinov was a six-time IIHF World Championship gold medalist for the Soviet Union. He also won the Olympic gold medal in Sarajevo in 1984 and was part of the Soviet squad which captured the 1981 Canada Cup. Bilyaletdinov also played in the 1976 and 1984 Canada Cups.

Considering the Soviet Union of Bilyaletdinov's era was stronger than it ever was, and that you could make a very plausible argument that its top end talent was just as good as Canada's, minus Gretzky and Lemieux, it's quite obvious to me that the USSR was a hell of lot more than just the Green Unit at this time.

He played aggressive, hard hitting shut down hockey

He was assigned all the dirty work in the defensive zone, and he did it with the commitment of a kamikaze pilot. He was a model defenseman, playing an aggressive, heavy-hitting North American style of hockey

(thanks jarek)

...coming along to supplement and then supplant Davidov and Vasiliev on the nationals were two other Dyanamo defensive stars - the crafty Vasily Pervukhin and the tough Zinetula Bilyaletdinov

He's 17th all time in goals by a defenseman in the Soviet League, which tends to indicate that he won't bring much offense at this level, but won't handle the puck like a grenade, either.

He was a big part of the USSR gameplan against Gretzky in the 1981 Canada Cup

...If the Soviets and Canadians won their semi-final games and met in the one game final then the Canadians would be favoured by a long shot.

Sure enough this came to pass, and what was about to happen next was the ultimate shock to Canada's system yet witnessed- even more so than in the final game of the 1979 Challenge Cup. Tikhonov and the coaching staff had gone through the reels and devised a plan to keep Gretzky's behind the net antics at bay. Soviet defenders like Sergei Babinov and Zinetul Bilyaletdinov would be sure of that.

http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/rainbowcountry/1981.html

As most of us know, a young Gretzky, in the midst of a then-record-breaking 164 point season but several years away from being "a winner" was frustrated through the first two periods of the game, as the USSR entered the third period with a 3-1 lead. In the third period, the USSR blew out Canada for an 8-1 final victory, but things could have been very different if Gretzky had got going. This is widely considered the worst loss in the history of Canadian hockey.

He got into a rare fight at the World Championships

HELSINKI, Finland, April 21— The unbeaten Soviet Union scored its fifth victory of hockey's world championship tournament today, beating the United States, 8-4, in a game marred by 48 penalty minutes and the ejection of one player from each team.

The result left the disappointing American squad with a record of 0-5.

Kurt Kleinendorst, a forward from Providence College, and Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, a Soviet defenseman, were ejected for misconduct after a fist fight with two minutes left in the second period.

This was the first time two players had been ejected in the tournament.

-NY Times, April 22, 1982

History appears to view him as better than his partner, Pervukhin

-Longterm hfboards poster and fan of Soviet hockey Peter25 told me via PM that there is "no doubt" Bilyaletdinov was a better player than Pervukhin (and he's a big fan of both men).

-Dynamo Moscow was one of the most famous clubs in Russia, dating back to the old USSR. They sadly folded last year.

Dynamo won the first domestic championship and seven more, the last in 2005, and produced a galaxy of legendary players, including Vitaly Davydov, Aleksandr Maltsev, Valery Vasiliev, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov and, more recently, Darius Kasparaitis, Alexei Kovalev and Ovechkin.

-NY Times, April 24, 2010 - obituary of Moscow Dynamo hockey team

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/last-days-of-the-dynamo/

Notice the inclusion of Bilyaletdinov and not Pervukhin as a "legendary player" of the club.

An "ancient" 31 year old Bilyaletdinov was added to a declining Soviet Club in 1987, out of desperation.

There is a feeling among long-time international observers that the Soviet program is in a state of transition, both in style and personnel. Although the Soviets have been playing hockey for 40 years, their game may be experiencing its first growing pains.

In one move interpreted as desperation, 31-year-old Zinetula Bilyaletdinov was added to the touring squad shortly before the Soviets left for Quebec, although he hadn't qualfied for the national squad in years. (For the Soviets, 30 is nearly ancient in hockey terms. Once past that "golden" age, players are routinely farmed out or given coaching duties.)

The pool of young talent has evidently dried up. The Soviets went victoryless in the recent fight-filled junior championships. [Alan Eagleson] said he couldn't recall seeing a worse collection of Soviet
juniors.

-Providence Journal, Feb 14, 1987

 

[Reds4Life]

Daniel Alfredsson

Daniel Alfredsson

'"Said the Sabres' Chris Drury after the most recent loss: "You know why they're so good? In the first period, Daniel Alfredsson gets one of his three breakaways. Miller makes the save. The puck goes in the corner.

"Alfredsson goes and hits a guy, then he's the first guy back into the other end, and he hits our guy below the goal line -- all in 14 seconds.

"If I had that clip on tape, I'd show it a hundred times to my team."'

Born - 11 December 1972; in Gothenburg, Sweden
Height - 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight - 205 lb (93 kg)
Position - Right wing
Shoots - Right

Accomplishments

• NHL 2nd All-Star Team (2006)
• NHL All-Star Game Participant (1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2008)
• Top-10 in Goals (2002, 2006, 2008)
• Top-10 in Assists (2006)
• Top-5 in Points (2006)
• Top-10 in Points (2004, 2006, 2008)
• International Pro Level: 74 Games, 29 Goals, 34 Assists, 63 Points
• Top-3 in Shorthanded Goals (2006, 2008)
• Top-3 Voting for Selke (2006)
• Top-5 Voting for Lady Byng (2004, 2006)
• Senators Record Holder in Regular Season and Playoffs for GP, G, A and Points
• Olympic Gold (2006)
• World Championship Silver (1995, 2004)
• World Championship Bronze (1999, 2001)
• Ottawa Senators Captain (1999-Present)

• 1996 — NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1996 — Calder Memorial Trophy
• 1996 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1997 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1998 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 2004 — Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 2004–05 — Elitserien Championship
• 2005–06 — Second Team All-Star [1]
• 2006 — Gold medal at the Winter Olympics
• 2008 — Starter to NHL All-Star Game, Guy Carbonneau Award for 'Top Penalty-Killer'

Alfredsson has traditionally been the fourth forward on the ice in the role of pointman on Ottawa's powerplay. He is one of the league's top two-way players, and he holds the Senators' franchise records for goals (380), assists (622), and points (1002) with 1011 games played.

In his first NHL playoff series in 1997, Alfredsson led the Senators in scoring and scored two game-winning goals, though the Senators bowed to the Buffalo Sabres in a hard fought seven games. Then to prove that was no fluke, he scored seven goals in 11 playoff games in the 1998 post season, including three, first-period goals in a span of 12 minutes as the Senators defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3.

For much of this season, the three have formed perhaps the best forward line in hockey. And in the postseason Alfredsson has logged more ice time than any other Ottawa forward, doling out hits, blocking shots and leading all playoff performers with 24 takeaways.

The low-key Alfredsson, a native of Sweden, is a natural lightning rod for both criticism and praise.

There are many who believe Daniel Alfredsson enjoyed his best regular season this year with the Ottawa Senators and deserved serious consideration for the Hart Trophy as league MVP.

 

[Reds4Life]

Alexander Ovechkin

Position: LW
Shoots: Right
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 230 pounds
Born: September 17, 1985; in Moscow, USSR

"If he got any better he'd be scary. His strength, and he moves so well. He doesn't mind taking a whack to get a shot. Sometimes there's guys that don't like that, they just dump it in. He can absorb a pretty good check to get a shot on net. Any guy that does that for a team is a pretty good man."

- Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe

"He's got the hands of Mike Bossy, the on-ice awareness of Jari Kurri, and the physicality of Mark Messier... You know, he's a phenomenal player, and he's been a tremendous influence in the game."

- The Great One, Wayne Gretzky

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

5x First All-Star Team Left Winger (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Calder Memorial Trophy (2006)
2x Hart Memorial Trophy (2008, 2009)
4x Top-10 Hart Nomination (1st, 1st, 2nd, 6th)
3xTed Lindsay Award/Lester B. Pearson (2008, 2009, 2010)
2x Maurice Richard Trophy (2008, 2009)
1x Art Ross Trophy (2008)

5x Kharlamov Trophy [1] – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
[1] The Best Russian in the NHL

International play

• 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Best Forward
• 2006 Winter Olympics – Ice Hockey All-Tournament Team
• 2006 IIHF World Championship – Media All-Star Team
• 2008 IIHF World Championship – Media All-Star Team

FACTS

• In 2008, Ovechkin won the Art Ross trophy, becoming the first left winger since Bobby Hull in 1966 to lead the league in points.
  
• In 2008, Ovechkin became the first player to score 60+ goals in a season since Lemieux and Jagr did it in 1996, and only the 19th player in history to score 60+ goals.
  
• In 2008, Alexander Ovechkin became only the 4th player in history to win the Hart Memorial, the Ted Lindsay Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Maurice Richard Trophy (lead league in goals) in one season. The only other players to do so are Gretzky, Lemieux, and Lafleur.
  
• In 2010, Ovechkin became the only other player besides Wayne Gretzky to win the Ted Lindsay award for 3 consecutive years.
  
• In 2010, Ovechkin became the only player to earn 5 consecutive First All-Star Team selections since the NHL began the practice in 1931!
  
• Only the fourth player to reach the 200 goal milestone in 4 seasons, the others are Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy.
  
• Only the fifth player to reach the 500 point milestone in 5 seasons.

STATS

5x Top-10 Scoring (1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 6th*)
5x Top-10 Goals (1st, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 4th)
2x Top-10 Assists (6th, 7th*, 10th)
* season in progress

PLAYOFFS

3x Top-10 Playoff Points Per Game (1st, 3rd, 4th)

40 career points in 28 career playoff games, 1.43 playoff PPG - an increase over his regular season PPG, which is all the more impressive considering that scoring tends to drop in the playoffs.

QUOTES

"Ovechkin has the total package." - Predators coach, Barry Trotz

"To me, he's a special player who comes around once every 10 years. He's unbelievable." - Flyers coach, Ken Hitchcock

"He could really shoot it, he's got an amazing shot." - Leafs coach, Pat Quinn

"He did everything he had to do to dominate the game, he was a force out there. I think at times we stood around and were in awe of him. We got beat by a very special player. He's the real deal." - Ducks coach, Randy Carlyle

"You see some highlights of him and it's just unbelievable. He uses his size, he makes some big hits, and he has so much speed he really backs off the defenseman. When you have a step on him, he just has a lethal shot as well." - Joe Thornton

"Having him has made us feel we can win every game." - Capitals Captain, Jeff Halpern

"There's not a lot of players in the league that will challenge guys 1-on-2 and make a play like that. He has no fear. He goes at everybody and challenges them." - Sean Burke

"He's got a great shot, and he gets his shot away very quickly." - Rhett Warrener

"He'll go in traffic 100 miles per hour. He doesn't care about getting hurt because he's so big." - Martin Brodeur

"He's got great speed, great moves, and he's a great one-on-one guy." - Dany Heatley

"He's got a tremendous will to score." - Paul Kariya

"He's the best player in the league. That's not saying anything (bad) about a lot of players in this league, but he's the best I've seen. His release on his shot, the way he moves with the puck, you understand why he's the first pick right there." - Curtis Sanford

"The more you hit him, the more physical he gets and the more into it he gets as well." - Jay Harrison

"He is young, but he's already a great player. I think he's going to have a huge future. The way he skates, the way he throws the hits. He has size. He has power. What I really like about him: it doesn't matter what the score is. He goes out there and plays hard every shift." - Pavel Bure

"Everybody is coached so well, every defenceman knows how to play the one-on-one. It's very rare that you see it and he can beat people clean. He can create chances from nothing, really. I just think he's got everything you could want. He's a great skater, he's a great stickhandler, good one-on-one and he's got a really good work ethic. He's the best player consistently." - Daniel Alfredsson

"Someone who plays hard every shift, it's pretty admirable for a young guy." - Marty Turco

"He's dynamite. He flies out there. He plays really gritty too... and he doesn't just skate around and try to score goals but he'll go after you which is really impressive." - Derek Armstrong

"He gets the puck, goes hard. And when he doesn't have the puck, he's forechecking -- bang, crash. He's come to us as close to perfect as there is." - Glen Hanlon, Capitals Head Coach

Is a highly skilled forward who has blazing speed and does not shy away from the rough stuff.

He can pass, but his game is scoring, and he plays with a nasty edge... transformed his team from a lottery contender to a playoff contender.

He just seems to come through, for a determined guy, he seems to be even more determined when it gets down to the nitty gritty.

Clutch Ovechkin rallies Caps past Sens.

Alex Ovechkin insists he cares far more about turning the Washington Capitals into winners than accumulating personal statistics.

Well, he’s managing to do both at the moment.

The reigning Calder Trophy winner as the NHL’s top rookie scored twice to help overcome an early three-goal deficit, and Chris Clark netted the winner in overtime, leading the Capitals past the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Monday night.

Ovechkin stole the puck from Philadelphia defenceman Lasse Kukkonen with four minutes left and ripped one over a sprawled goalie Martin Biron to rally the Capitals to a 5-4 win over the Flyers in a hugely entertaining opening game of their series. It was a signature play by the world’s best player...

“I was text-messaging back and forth with my son who’s at University of Pennsylvania,” said Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis, “and after I sent him the message to tell him we’d tied it, he sent me back one and said ‘you know, Alex is going to win it.’ About a minute and a half later . . .”

“He’s a superstar . . . that’s what he’s paid to do,” giggled slugger Donald Brashear, who stunned the crowd by scoring the first goal of the game, about 50 minutes before Ovechkin scored the last one.

This was the 20th time this year Ovechkin had scored in the last 10 minutes of a game.

He's a major component of our team other than just scoring.

If Alex Ovechkin's inspired performance Saturday was any indication, the NHL's leading scorer has begun to adapt to the postseason's tight-checking style. Ovechkin took shorter shifts and delivered some heavy hits, including a highlight-caliber hip check on Flyers center Jim Dowd. He managed to slip loose of Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen's smothering coverage long enough to generate scoring opportunities and finished with a series-high six shots on net. He also drew a first-period hooking infraction on Timonen that resulted in a power-play goal, and screened goaltender Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron on Alexander Semin's third-period winner.

Truth is, the Washington Capitals wouldn't be uttering the word, never mind be contemplating the playoffs if not for the brilliance of the 22-year-old forward. He has been good, by and large, from start to finish and was outstanding this past month when they needed him most as the Capitals chased down a playoff spot.

Ovechkin, though — the wow moments keep piling up. His first goal in Game 5 was like magic; Ovechkin gained the zone, stopped, took a stride, and unleashed a 50-foot wrist shot that simply tore over the glove of Marc-André Fleury. Ovechkin’s explosion, his aggression, the way he celebrates

A big thanks to HHH for his previous Ovechkin bio!

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Clint Smith, C/LW

Smith patterned his game after the great Frank Boucher, and won the Lady Byng award twice (1939, 1944) back when it was a prestigious award that went to a player who played clean, competitive hockey.

He was a member of the great 1940 Rangers Stanley Cup team and was inducted into the HHOF as a player in 1991.

Points finishes: 3rd, 4th, 5th*, 5th*, 9th
Goals finishes: 4th, 5th, 10th*
Assist finishes: 1st*, 6th*, 6th, 6th

*War year

Smith played during a weak era, but he was one of the best offensive players during this era. Over his 9 year peak (37-38 to 45-46), Smith was 3rd in total points behind only Bill Cowley and Toe Blake, and slightly ahead of Syd Howe. This time period cuts off Howe's best year and includes one season when he was clearly past his prime, but it does include Howe's 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best season. (It also ignores that Howe spent an unknown amount of time as a defenseman).

For 10 seasons, Clint Smith symbolized the successful combination of high skill level and sportsmanship

...became a key member of their 1940 Stanley Cup team. Smith won the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play in 1938-39 as a Ranger and again in 1943-44 as a member of the Chicago Black Hawks, and totaled a mere 24 penalty minutes in 483 regular season games. He played in the NHL for eleven years and was not signaled off for a penalty in four of those seasons.

In 1943-44, Smith set an NHL record by recording 49 assists in a season while playing on a line with future Hall of Famers Bill Mosienko and Doug Bentley. The line set an NHL scoring record that season with 219 total points. Smith became the first player to score into an empty net after the league had revised the rules to allow teams to pull their goalie, and he shares the NHL record for most goals in a period with four, set on March 4, 1945, against Montreal.

"I really looked up to Frank Boucher. I enjoyed the way he played and wanted to fashion my game after him," Smith says

 

[Leafs Forever]

Looking for an All Star power forward who, in his prime, averaged 37 goals, 80 points and 236 PIMs a year? Look no farther than Gerard Gallant.

One of the few natives of Prince Edward Island to play in the National Hockey League, Gerard Gallant was competitive, chippy, sometimes dirty player. His game was as a no-nonsense, up and down winger with good hockey sense and he absolutely hated to lose. Although he was only 5'10" and 185 pounds, he played like he was 6'3" and 215 pounds. One of Detroit's "Bad Boys" with the likes of Joey Kocur and Bob Probert, Gallant became a fixture on superstar Steve Yzerman's left wing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Although he was certainly no heavyweight, he showed up every night and kept the opposition honest. Much like Kevin Dineen, Gallant showed up to the rink every single night determined that no one would out hustle him that game. But Gallant also had the finesse tools to play with one of the league's most electrifying players in Yzerman.

Not a great skater, Gallant benefited greatly from playing with Yzerman. Yzerman would draw the attention of the entire other team with is chaotic display of puck control and skating excellence. Meanwhile Gallant's job was to get himself open and in scoring position. More often than not, Gallant had a gift wrapped pass on the tape of his stick. Once he had that puck he used his heavy and accurate shot to bury it.

But it should also be said that Yzerman benefited from Gallant's play too. Early in his career Yzerman was all offense, and later became the gritty, solid player that he is best known for. But during those early years when Yzerman was putting up mind-boggling numbers, it was Gallant who would dig for the puck in the corners and in front of the net, doing the dirty work for Stevie Y. Gallant loved to play a physical game, often initiating contact and and hitting anything in sight. Gallant gave everything he had on every single shift- Joe Pelletier

Gallant turned pro in 1983-84 with the Adirondack Red Wings. He had been selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft in the sixth round, 107th overall. While playing in Adirondack Gallant continued to show a tenacity that won over the Detroit brass. His 195 minutes in penalties was proof he was up for the rough and tumble NHL and he earned a full-time roster spot with Detroit in 1984-85. Perhaps the low point in his career came that same year when he suffered a broken jaw in a fight against Minnesota's Dirk Graham.

He scored over 70 points four times while a member of the Red Wings and his most productive offensive season came in 1988-89 when he had 39 goals and 93 points to go along with 230 penalty minutes. Detroit's coach at the time, Jacques Demers, said he thought Gallant's penchant for fighting was the only thing holding him back from a 50-goal season-Legends of Hockey

Gallant is a fierce competitor who is one of the Red Wings leaders. He is a tenacious checker who works well along the boards.- The Sporting News Short Bio on back of 1992-93 Gallant Card

Gallant is a talented, tenacious player who has the ability to play tought and be an offensive force at the same time. He scored at least 34 goals in four straight seasons until last season, when he was knocked out by back problems. One of the feistiest players in the NHL, he's ready and willing to take and dish out punishment along the boards and in front of the net.- The Sporting News Hockey Scouting Report on back of 1991-92 Hockey Card

Gerard is a tough physical winger who finished second on the Red Wings in goals, assists, and points in 1989-90. Almost impossible to knock off the puck in the corners, he uses his strength to fight off checkers and get a lot of goals off deflections. He is also tough on the power play, getting 25 of his points while Detroit had the man advantage in 1989-90.-Back of 1990-91 Hockey Card

He was the type of player you had to go back and watch a few times to appreciate. He wasn't an exceptional skater, but he never backed down and that kind of thing always impressed you. - Detroit Red Wings GM Jimmy Skinner

He hated to lose. He came to play every night. He was the spitting image of Brian Sutter. -Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Jacques Demers

The Toronto St Pats are happy to select a scrappy, power forward LW with a good scoring touch for our fourth line....



GERARD GALLANT!

Awards and Achievements
1 x Second Team AST Left Wing

Scoring
Rankings
Goals: 18th(1987), 23rd(1989), 27th(1990), 42nd(1988),

Assists: 21st(1989), 44th(1990), 65th(1988)

Points: 14th(1989), 36th(1990), 44th(1987), 52nd(1988),

Percentages of 2nd place scorer, rounded to nearest whole number (Removing Gretzky, Lemieux, and Nicholls in his big Gretzky-boost season)

Goals: 76%, 70%, 62%, 58% Total: 266

Assists: 65%, 56%, 51% Total: 172

Points: 81%, 63%, 63%, 60% Total: 267

Long-Term Percentages
From 1987-1990 (Prime), Gallant was:

17th in Goals. 71% of 2nd Place Yzerman. Removing Gretzky and Lemieux, 75% of 2nd place Robitalle. 23rd in GPG.

29th in Assists. Removing Gretzky and Lemieux, 64% of 2nd place Yzerman. 33rd in APG.

21st in Points. Removing Gretzky and Lemieux, 72% of 2nd place Messier. 24th in PPG.

Playoffs

Goals: 9th(1987). 57% of 2nd place Anderson in 5 less games.
23rd(1988). 50% of 3rd place Gretzky in 3 less games.

Assists: 19th(1988). 50% of 3rd place Bourque in 7 less games.

Points: 16th(1987). 50% of 2nd place Propp/Messier, playing 10 and 5 less games than each of them, respectively.
20th(1988). 44% of 2nd place Messier in 3 less games. 56% off best non-Oiler (Ken Linesman, 5th)

 

[Stoneberg]

Doug Weight, C

-5'11, 200lbs
-Stanley Cup (2006)
-Assist finishes: 4,5,5,7,8,10,13,14
-Point finishes: 8,11,17,21,21
-Scored 20+ goals 6 times
-7th in Hart voting, 3rd team all star center, 2000-01
-Edmonton Oilers Captain 1999-2001
-New York Islanders Captain 2009-present (by a vote of his teammates)
-4x NHL All Star (1996, 1998, 2001, 2003)
-Represented the US in:
> World Juniors (90-91 - leading scorer on the team)
> Olympics (98, 02, 06)
> World Cup of Hockey (1996 and 2005)
> World Championships(93-94, 2005)


Team Scoring in Edmonton: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 7th [in 43 games with best ppg on the team]
This is throughout 8 seasons +13 games he was with the Oilers. He had very little support in Edmonton due to their budget, yet he was the back bone of the offense on a team that made the playoffs 5 straight years. Many seasons he outscored the second leading scorer by 20 points or more.

A crafty, offensive forward, Doug Weight has received numerous accolades for his grit and leadership.
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In 1993-94 Tikkanen helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup, but Weight pleased the Oilers' officials by scoring 74 points and becoming an enthusiastic leader on an improving team.
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By 1995-96, Weight was a top offensive performer and recorded his first 100-point season. He and captain xxx were key reasons behind the Oilers' return to the playoffsin 1996-97. They upset the heavily favored Dallas Stars in the first round before bowing to the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the conference semifinals.
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By this time, Weight was entrenched as a crowd favorite in Edmonton because he played hard and he came to the rink every night to give his all.
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Early in the 1998-99 season, the gritty forward suffered a serious knee injury that limited him to only 43 games. Weight was named the 10th captain in Oilers' history prior to the 1999-00 season. He scored 72 points in 77 games and helped the team reach the playoffs for the fourth straight year. And he tried to play through injuries when the team lost to the defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in the first round.
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After a sixth place finish at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Weight and his U.S. teammates returned to the Olympic stage in 2002, capturing the silver medal. One of the premier playmakers in the NHL, Weight reached the 600 assist mark and notched his 800th career point in 2003-04.

Weight is primarily known for his astounding saucer passes, ability to make a play and his grit.

A smart, gritty player known for his slick passing, Weight has been one of America's top players for the better part of two decades.

"We felt Doug Weight was the head of the snake," said Hitchcock. "He's the emotional leader and spokesman of the Oilers.

-In reference to having to use Modano to shut him down in the playoffs.

In fact, Weight became the leader of the high-speed Edmonton Oilers offense.
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Bringing a rare combination of speed, playmaking ability, and gritty leadership to the ice, Weight was a member of the gold-winning Team USA at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. [7pts/7g]

Weight was a flashy American playmaker, an articulate leader and student of the game claimed in a trade that sent Tikanen to the Rangers.

More to come...

 

[nik jr]

James William Ward

Position: RW
Size: 5'11, 170 pounds (big for his time)
Shoots: right
Jersey Number: 4 (with Maroons), 18 (with Habs)


Consistency
In 1st 11 of his 12 seasons, Ward missed 21 of 491 games.

Ward was a consistent scorer. 10g every season except his last ('39) and '35. in '35, he scored 9g, but missed 7 games with a severe concussion.

During his 1st 11 seasons ('28-'38), Ward was 15th in goals, 21st in assists, and 17th in points.

Jimmy Ward is the Maroons' all time leader in games played (491), and is 2nd in goals (143), assists (124) and points (267).


Speed

Jimmy Ward, a sturdy ex-amateur star, and X give the Montreal team a pair of heavy but fleet wings.

Jimmy Ward, fleet right winger for the Maroons, was too fast for the Red Wings. He cut through their defence for 2 goals and assisted in another, while Baldy Northcott, his high-scoring partner at left wing, counted 3 goals and was a consistent scoring threat.

Kilrea took his last whirl at the speed skating test and the $400 offered for the winner and left the fans gasping after a terrific onslaught of the 17 second mark held jointly by Siebert, Ward, Oatman, Morenz and Gizzy Hart which found him making every stride count perfectly for a mark of 16 2-5 seconds, which is liable to stand for a long time. Morenz had been announced as ready to skate against time, but after Kilrea's feat, even the meteoric Morenz was willing to conceded the honors to the Ottawa flash.

in a 1934 poll of writers and editors, which i posted over 1 year ago in the player intangible sticky thread in the history section, Ward was 5th for fastest skater, behind Morenz, Busher Jackson, Hec Kilrea and Mush March.

from an article about that poll:

Kilrea, March and Ward have been regarded as exceptionally fast skaters over a period of years. But, for one reason or another, Jackson's ability to get there faster than the other fellow has received remarkably little attention. Even Toronto fans have considered Kilrea and Boll to be the fastest on the Leafs.

Shot
in that same poll from 1934, Ward was one of 3 players who got votes for hardest shot. Charlie Conacher dominated the voting (32 votes). Ward and Lionel Conacher got 1 vote each.

George Hainsworth, goalie of the Montreal Canadiens, thinks Charlie Conacher of the Toronto Leafs shoots the hardest puck in hockey, Bill Cook of the Rangers the trickiest, and Jimmy Ward, Maroons, the most deceptive.

Tommy Gorman tried each player at the same penalty shot. Jimmie Ward, Maroon 1st stringer, and the amateur, X, were good at the most recent National Hockey League innovation.

For it was the curly-haired right winger with the explosive shot who was the main point in Maroons' argument as he lashed three third period goals past Wilfred Cude to defeat the Habitants 4-2.

2 way forward
Maroons played a defensive style of hockey, and Ward often played on a checking line with Northcott and Hooley Smith. He often matched up against star LW's.

'28 playoffs, when Ward was a rookie:

If one player stood out more than any other on the winning team, it was Jimmy Ward, the fair-haired right winger from Fort William. Ward played an exceptionally strong game from start to finish, his stick-handling was superb and his great flight of speed very much in evidence.
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Jimmy Ward played one smart game on right wing for the winners. The sorrel-topped recruit from Fort William showed a dazzling all-around game and hung to his cover like a leach (sic). His stick-handling was superb and his back-checking every bit as effective. Yes, Ward was one of the big stars of the Maroon team.
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Hec Kilrea had a hard time breaking away from the persistent checking of Jimmy Ward, but nevertheless, worked in for some dangerous shots on Benedict.

Jimmy Ward played himself into exhaustion holding down Joliat and at the same time maintaining enough reserve to keep up with the Maroon rushes. He was always on the spot.
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Morenz and Joliat carried the brunt of the forward play for Canadiens and with little relief. They were closely watched by Hooley Smith and Ward, but at that, led those who sniped for goal, testing Benedict steadily with vicious shots which forced the Maroon goalie to his best hockey to clear.

Joliat was watched closely by Jimmy Ward and Lamb, and the little fellow tired under the grueling, but he was ever a threat on goal and Clint Benedict is the authority for the statement that a shot by Joliat in the second period, one of the fastest he has ever known Joliat to drive, was the most dangerous he was called upon to handle all night.

game 1 of '28 finals:

Bill Cook flashed in the early stages of the game but lost steam towards the end, while Brother Bun was too closely guarded by the pair of speedy Maroon right wingers, Jimmy Ward and X to be a real threat.

Baldy Northcott, the Calgarian, who made the Canadian Press All-Star team last season, but has not been able to reach his old form yet this year, stood out in the Maroon attack with Jimmy Ward. Each got a goal and an assist, and broke up Detroit's attacks with clever back-checking.

in a comparison of Maroons and Habs:

Jimmy Ward uncorks more speed than Aurel Joliat, his check.

Manager Munro is expected to start the same line-up that opened against Americans Saturday. That means X, Dave Trottier and Jimmy Ward will be opposed to the Frank Boucher-Cook brothers' array.

There were other things the Maroon fan could be thankful for beside that 20 minutes of scoring. One was the performance of Jimmy Ward on right wing. Jimmy dazzled with all the sparkle of three years ago (his Maroon MVP season?) as he accounted for 3 of the Maroon goals and gave a skating and close-covering exhibition of much effectiveness.

Manager Gorman does not propose to change his tactics against the Rangers, believing that the close-checking methods that were so effective against the Hawks will work just as well against Rangers. Baldy Northcott, who found time to get the winning goal last night while tying up the Hawks' little bundle of dynamite, Mush March, will be put on Bill Cook tomorrow night. X, one of the stars of the series, will cover Frankie Boucher, and Jimmy Ward will get the job of looking after Bun Cook.

after game 1 of '35 finals:

It appears to be a question of whether the Toronto scoring aces, Chuck Conacher and Harvey Jackson, can again be blanketed by the tireless backchecking of Baldy Northcott and Jimmy Ward.
If they can score, Toronto seems to have a good chance to win.

game 2 of '35 finals:

Stars Handcuffed
Northcott went back to his job of handcuffing Charlie Conacher, Ward kept track of Jackson. Between them, Conacher and Jackson only had 4 dead on shots.

game 3 of '35 finals:

Score Short-handed
In the last minute of the 1st period, Lionel Conacher took a penalty for tripping Red Metz (Nick Metz), and Connie Smythe rushed 5 fowards on the ice. They were struggling around the Maroons' goal when Jimmy Ward trapped them. He raced for Hainsworth's end. Charlie Conacher caught up with him, but Ward got a shot away. Baldy Northcott picked up the rebound and shot again. Again there was a rebound and Ward hammered it home for the 1st goal.
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"Busher" Jackson evaded his shadow, Jimmy Ward, long enough for a long shot from the corner.
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(description of the SH goal from later in the report)
Jimmy Ward stole the puck from Joe Primeau, as Leafs ganged with 5 men up the ice. He bounced the puck off the boards and was away clear. He banged a hard shot on Hainsworth, who tried to drop on the rebound. Northcott swung at the puck again. Hainsworth stopped it, but Jimmy Ward scooped up the puck and poked it into the empty cage.
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The 1st lines came back again, and Hooley Smith and his poke check bottled Leafs up at mid-ice. For 3 minutes straight, Smith, Northcott and Ward held Leafs, including Primeau, C. Conacher and Jackson on the harmless side of the Montreal blueline.

Jimmy Ward and Baldy Northcott shared the honors, not only holding the Toronto bombers, Charlie Conacher and Busher Jackson, scoreless, but scoring a goal and assist each.

Ward described how Maroons played against TML:

We held them best when we were into their end and checked them. We had a bad few moments when we let them come at us. Anyway, we made it 3 straight, and it's all over.

Ottawa Citizen has a boxscore of final game of '35 finals. Ward led Maroons with 6 shots. Ottawa Citizen says "Wentworth was hailed as the hero of the series." maybe he should have been awarded the retro smythe?


in 1933, 31 of 32 sports writers voted the Bread Line the best line in the NHL. Other vote was for Northcott, Smith and Ward, which was called the Red Line. Maroons also had a Blue Line and a Green Line. I think they were named for their roles, not their players. Red Line had different C's, but seems to have had usually, or possibly always, Northcott and Ward. I think the Red Line was the checking line.

According to columnist Marc McNeil, Ward and Northcott played with 11 different C's in '37, and 8 different C's in '38.

Gorman is banking on his "red line" of Hooley Smith at centre, Baldy Northcott at left wing and Jimmy Ward at right. These veterans rose to the heights last spring to hold in check two of the most famous lines in hockey in the playoffs--New York Rangers' Cook-Boucher-Cook trio and Toronto's "Kid Line."

I think Ward was very probably weaker defensively than Smith and Northcott.


All Star Record
Hockey Outsider posted some incomplete AS voting from '30s. i found some more votes in newspapers.

'31: 1 1st place vote for LW, 1 2nd place vote for RW
'32: 1 vote for 2nd RW.

'33: Bill Cook got 28 votes for RW. Ace Bailey, Charlie Conacher, Baldy Northcott (who was voted 1st AS LW) and Jimmy Ward got 1 each. Conacher was 2nd AS, but i don't know why. possibly b/c he got more LW votes than Ward or Bailey.

'34: Conacher was nearly unanimously picked as 1st RW (33 of 35 votes). Bill Cook won 2nd RW. "Larry Aurie and Jimmy Ward also contended for the 2nd RW spot."

'35: none
'36: none
'37: First team: Larry Aurie 20, Cecil Dillon 1, Dit Clapper 1, Jimmy Ward 1. (23 total)
Second team: Cecil Dillon 6, Johnny Gagnon 5, Jimmy Ward 3, Mush Marsh 3, Dit Clapper 2, Larry Aurie 2, Aurel Joliat 1, Herbie Lewis 1 (23)

'38: ?
'39: ?


'31 Maroons MVP

Jimmy Ward Gets Maroon Prize Award

Between periods of the game between Montreal Maroons and New York Americans, the Mappin and Webb Trophy, awarded to the most useful player on the Maroon team, was given to Jimmy Ward, hard-working young sub right winger. Ward joined the Maroons about 4 years ago from Fort William.

Ward was also mentioned when Babe Siebert won this award in '28.

Babe Siebert Named As Most Valued Maroon

Babe Siebert, who broke into hockey prominence while a member of the Niagara Falls senior OHA team 4 years ago, has been awarded the Mappin and Webb Trophy as the most valuable player on the roster of the Montreal Maroons.
Siebert, who until mid-season had been a star at left wing, was switched to the defence where he starred while teaming up with "Red" Dutton. Siebert is one of the stiffest body-checkers in hockey, has a great burst of speed, is a good stick-handler, and the possessor of a dangerous shot.
Siebert was selected over such stars as Hooley Smith, Nelson Stewart, Dutton and Jimmy Ward by Montreal sport writers.

STRONG SILENT MAN OF THE WEST
Jimmy Ward, forward for the Montreal Maroons, is certainly stepping out these days. In the last few weeks Jimmy has been doing such splendid work for Dunc Munro and the Maroons that he is taking up good space in the sporting pages of newspapers. During the last visit of the Maroons to Ottawa, he worked so fast that Alex Connell, in the nets for Ottawa, didn't know what it was all about. Taking the rebounded for a smashing shot by Hooley Smith, Jimmy shot it into the net before Alex could even say boo. Ward is worth watching as his game should provide plenty of excitement for the fans during the rest of the season.

an example of the kind of play that may have won the award in '31:

Shining through the smoke of the miniature war were the figures of Harry Oliver, Eddie Shore and George Owen for the Bruins and Jimmy Ward for the Maroons. Yet it was not their goal-scoring activity that marked them as the outstanding men on the ice (Ward, Oliver and Owen scored goals; Shore had an assist). They were the most dangerous men at all times, fleet and hard shooting on the offense and enthusiastically and vigorously effective in the defensive department.

Scoring placements
'28: --
'29: 8th in goals and assists, 9th in points
'30: --
'31: just outside top 20 in goals
'32: 10th in goals and assists, 11th in points
'33: 12th in goals, 16th in assists and points
'34: 19th in goals
'35: --
'36: 7th in assists, 15th in points, just outside top 20 in goals
'37: just outside top 20 in goals, assists and points
'38: probably around 25th-30th in goals, assists and points
'39: --

scored a hat trick vs Ottawa on January 19, 1933.
scored 4g, 3 unassisted, on March 7, 1933 vs Toronto.
scored a natural hat trick in the 3rd period vs Habs on March 1, 1936.


Physicality
Ward was apparently not a physically imposing player, but he was gritty and was a willing fighter.

Maroons were unexpectedly very physical in game 1 of '35 finals.

Little fellows like X and X, welterweights of the stature of Baldy Northcott, Jimmy Ward, X and X suddenly became fearless bouncers. They spilled the Leafs like nine-pins in a spectacular 2nd period, ranging all over the mid-ice zone to attack the champions.
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Ward Flattens Horner
Ward flattened Horner with a mighty hip and the big redhead got it all back by sloughing both Ward and Hooley Smith.

All through, the tilt was a tangly, bumpy sort of affair, contested at a fast pace that threatened every now and then to break into open warfare. Jimmy Ward and Earl Robinson, particularly, were in no mood to be trifled with, and were laying about them, and were being laid about, at and by all and sundry of the Rangers. Ward feuded mainly with the sprightly old Butch Keeling and the youthful Phil Watson.
In the latter case, toward the end of the game, Mr. Ward proceeded to push Mr. Watson around the ice and ask him, "What about it?" But Phil wasn't having any part of Jimmy in a fight as he wanted to stay on the ice. Great was his dismay, then, when he found himself motioned toward the penalty bench along with Ward, anyway.

X did some devastating bumping in the Canadien cause, but encountered 2 Maroons who bowled him over: sturdy Jimmy Ward and hefty X.

On the forward line, Jimmy Ward (who was a rookie) was again the star, though Hooley Smith was not far behind in effectiveness. Ward gave Kilrea much trouble in their battle along the boards.

but earlier, the report says Kilrea broke through the D several times:

Time after time (Kilrea) got through the Maroon forces for wicked drives on the net, and except in one instance when he beat Benedict, his efforts were foiled by superior net-guarding.

Kilrea scored a goal in that game, after getting away from Ward.

Jimmy Ward fought Ebbie Goodfellow, Bert Connolly, Sylvio Mantha, Ray Getliffe, Jerry Shannon, Larry Aurie, Andy Blair, Bill Thoms, Eddie Wiseman, a fan in Detroit and Red Horner at least twice.


Captaincy

Captain Jimmy Ward on the other wing had a field day and tallied 4 goals as the Maroons rode roughshod over Maple Leafs 7-2, in the teams' final meet of the regular NHL schedule.

There wasn't a let-up in Canadiens play until the late minutes when Captain Jimmy Ward broke through for 2 of Maroons' goals.

Canadiens have men like Jimmy Ward and Babe Siebert and M'sieu Jules Dugal, secretary and acting manager, believes either would make an excellent leader.

Jimmy Ward was a coveted prospect after his play in the '27 Allan Cup.

MAROON RECRUIT IS HIGHLY RATED
Jimmy Ward, Fort William Right Winger, Expected to Star in Pro Hockey

When President James Strachan signed Jimmy Ward, of Fort William, last Friday to play for Montreal Maroons in the National Hockey League, he brought into his camp a player who was rated one of the smartest pro hockey prospects among the amateurs last winter. A right winger weighing 160 pounds, Ward is believed to possess all that is necessary to the make-up of a pro hockey star. The curly-headed lad from the lakehead has speed, power and a vicious shot. He revels in the heavy going and can carry a big load alone when a team is faltering.

Before going to Fort William last season, Ward was with the Kenora Thistles. He starred with this speedy mid-western combination. It was with Kenora that Ward developed tendencies as a "lone star," but last year at Fort William, he changed into a clever combination player. Still in his teens, Ward was one of the bright stars in the Allan Cup series at Vancouver last spring, when 40000 attended the 4 games between Fort William and the University of Toronto. Connie Smythe, manager of the University of Toronto team then, but now leader of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, was the first to approach Ward with a pro contract last spring, but the Fort William player was not prepared to commit himself at that time.

Ward is noted as a 60 minute player and a clean-living athlete who neither drinks nor smokes.

Another recruit to Big Time hockey this season that looks like the real thing is Jimmy Ward, the flaxen-haired boy the Maroons secured from Fort Wiliam's Allan Cup finalists. Jimmy is also a right wing player, and appears to possess all the qualifications of a star. He has size, weight and speed in addition to being a very clever stickhandler.

i found a column which mentions salaries of Ward and other Maroons. apparently, Maroons paid high salaries.

According to reports, Dave Trottier is the highest-priced player in the game today. No one seems to know what Trottier is receiving in cash, but the fact that he refused a flat $5000 for signing plus $5000 a year from the Toronto Leafs would make it obvious that the Maroons are paying him, directly of otherwise, a sum in excess of $20000 for the next 3 years. In some pretty well-informed quarters, the amount which Trottier is getting in one way or another from hockey is set as high as $10000 a season.

Maroons have never skimped when it came to paying for talent, and have spent more money in bringing in high-classed amateurs to the club than any other team that ever existed. Dunc. Munro, signed by the Maroons, after he had captained the Toronto Granites to the Olympic Championship, cost the club around $8000 a year. Jimmy Ward was given $5000 when he signed and $20000 for 3 years. Hooley Smith was bought for $22500, plus what salary he is getting, which is not likely less than $6000 a year. Trottier is worth $30000, spread over 3 years, a total of nearly $125000. This shows how hockey salaries have soared.

a column on Ward by Marc McNeil of the Montreal Gazette:

Minor league hockey had no place in the scheme of things for Jimmy Ward when he turned professional. He was then a raw kid from the Head of the Lakes, who never saw a pro game until he played in one, who didn't know exactly what he was getting himself in for, and who was not quite sure what it was all about--except for one thing. When he was signed by Maroons, they told him he might expect to be farmed out. But on this subject, Jimmy had other and definite ideas. Young Ward was perfectly certain in his own mind that he would need no seasoning in the minors--and he was right. Jimmy has stayed with Maroons uninterruptedly since the time he joined the club for the 1927-28 season.

One factor that was instrumental in keeping Ward up in the big league in his first year caused him the biggest thrill he ever experienced in sports. It was on the night of January 21, 1928, with the Forum packed to its fullest to watch one of those epic Canadien-Maroon battles when the rivalry was at its bitterest. The flaming Canadiens were sizzling through the schedule like a forest fire and had laid 15 victories and 3 ties end-to-end for an unbeaten sequence of 18 games when they went into action against Maroons that night. And the Flying Frenchmen were stopped 1-0 that night by Jimmy Ward, the rookie who got the only goal of the game and so won himself a regular berth with Maroons and at the same time won the adoration of all Maroon supporters.

Four Goals in One Game
This feat, of all the things Jimmy has done in sports, takes first place in his estimation. Next to it, he rates the "kick" he derives from whipping 4 goals past Lorne Chabot a few years back when lanky Lorne was with Toronto Maple Leafs. Ward, of course, keenly recalls the finish to his last season of amateur hockey, 1926-27, the year Fort William's great Thundering Herd reached the Allan Cup final only to lose out to Varsity Grads in overtime in an extra game. That was the series in which Dave Trottier and Ward played opposite each other and got 3 goals apiece.

James William Ward was born on September 1, 1907 (actually 1906, i found a contemporary newspaper in which someone asked a columnist, saying there was some confusion about Ward's date of birth, and the writer said 1906.) in Fort William and at an early age moved with his family to Kenora. A big creek ran right in front of the home in Kenora and it was on its frozen surfaces that Jimmy learned to skate and play hockey when he was about 7 years old, following the example of his older brother, Benny, now with the London Tecumsehs in the IHL. Always a forward, playing right wing and centre in midget, juvenile and junior leagues in Kenora and at 16 was centre with the Kenora junior team that lost out in the semi-finals of the play-downs to Owen Sound Greys, then on their way to their first Memorial Cup in the 1923-24 season. Kenora was the only team to beat the Owen Sound squad that year, for the Greys included such budding players as Cooney Weiland, Butch Keeling and Teddy Graham in their line-up.

Ward played senior hockey after that in Kenora, until he returned to Fort William to take his matriculation and join that Thundering Herd which galloped full-tilt as far the Dominion final and then was roped into submission by the Grads.

Four Pro Offers
Following that series, the pro teams were hot on Jimmy's trail. He had offers from Maroons, Toronto, Rangers and Detroit. Ward, rather in a haze about it all, went from club to club: but he was not so dumb. He would tell one team what another had offered and immediately the ante would be raised. Finally he landed with Maroons. It was rather a coincidence that Connie Smythe had been so keen about both Ward and Trottier; and that both of them should end up with Maroons.

Before he became a pro, Jimmy tried his hand at "everything" in athletics, he says. He rowed at fours and eights at Kenora and Fort William. He played 3rd base in baseball and pitched a bit, too. Ward, by the way, is very proud of pitching 4 hitless innings last summer in the charity game against the War Veterans team here. He also played football as a flying wing at school in Fort William and as a member of the Swedish soccer team in Kenora.

Jimmy has a gold medal for winning a four-mile road race at Kenora. He was not a track man, but used to run to condition himself for hockey, and he entered this particular race for spite. The runner favored to win--so much so that his opposition wasn't even considered--was a chap Jimmy didn't like. So Master Ward participated in the event only in order to beat his rival--and won, much to his satisfaction and the chagrin of the favorite.

Jimmy is married and has a two-year-old son. He sells coal and fuel oil in the off-months, plays golf when in the city to keep in shape in the summer, and swims and plays tennis at the Morin Heights farm of his wife's parents when he is vacationing.

Ward got a slight concussion and an arm injury from sliding into the boards on November 15, 1934 vs Chicago.

Ward missed games in '35 after Eddie Shore crushed him with a clean check. Ward's head hit the ice, causing a concussion, and a stay in a hospital. Doctors used a lumbar puncture to relieve pressure on Ward's brain.

a bad back injury ended Ward's '39 season.

after retiring from the NHL, Ward was appointed player-coach of IAHL's New Haven Eagles. Ward played D.

IN THE NICK OF TIME

Just two days ago, Jimmy Ward was down on his luck. Not that he was complaining about it for he is not that kind of man. But things had gone badly for Jimmy, all because of the war and its effect on sugar supplies.

You see, Jimmy went into the soft-drink business some time ago, and his company was producing a beverage that was gaining rapidly in popularity. Early this summer, business was brisk and encouraging. Jimmy was out and around, here, there and everywhere, on the alert for business. He worked hard, selling his product and creating good will for his company.

About that time, Jimmy was given his release by Canadiens, but he calculated that he was good for a couple more years in the NHL and was planning to hook up with another big-league club for a fling at the defence. But if it didn't pan out, he still had his business.

Then came the war. He could not get sugar in the quantities he needed it for soft-drink manufacturing, and the result was inevitable. The business folded not long ago. All Jimmy managed to salvage out of the venture, into which he had put a lot of his money, were his trucks. He has put them to a use which brings him some revenue, but the loss of his business was a serious blow to him, and thus far, he has not been able to sell his services to another NHL club.
That was the situation on Monday. Ward was in the Canadien dressing-room at the Forum that day and had been telling some of the boys about how things had fared with him.

As Ward left, Jimmy McKenna, Canadiens' veteran trainer, piped up with a word of encouragement and said, "Don't worry, Jim, something's bound to turn up."
McKenna's remarks were singularly prophetic, for Jimmy had not been gone five minutes before the 'phone rang in the dressing-room. The ringing of that 'phone, it developed, was the something in the very act of turning-up--just like that. It was a case of a good break coming with the perfect timing that usually occurs only in books.

The voice at the other end of the line asked for Jimmy. Informed that Jimmy had just left, the voice advised that every effort be made to locate him, for it was important.

The voice at the other end of the line was Pete Lepine's. Pete and Jules Dugal had just suggested to Nathan Podoloff, president of the New Haven Intam club, that Jimmy Ward was the man he needed to fill the vacant post of coach for the Eagles. Podoloff had never met Jimmy, but promptly agreed to see him.
They finally reached Ward, and Jimmy sped down for his interview with the New Haven club's president. As you know, he got the job, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time for the veteran right winger. It was the happy ending at the psychological moment, and it couldn't have happened to a better fellow than Jimmy Ward.

Jimmy was ever a prime favorite with hockey fans in Montreal, but the tip-off on how really grand a personality he has was the manner in which he was idolized by the kids in this town. Jimmy was always their hero; their ideal of what a dashing hockey player should be.

Like all rookies, Ward broke in keen and eager. But like few players, he always retained that keenness and eagerness in his play. Through the days of swashbuckling Maroon glory down to the club's drab demise, through victory or defeat, Jimmy always gave everything he had. Nobody ever saw Jimmy give up the ship even in a hopelessly lost cause. Nobody ever saw him soldier on the job, or let down as long as he was able to skate.

When Ward was signed by Maroons, they figured that as a youngster fresh out of amateur ranks, he would require a certain amount of seasoning in the minors before he was ready for the NHL. But Jimmy had other ideas on the subject. He was confident he could play major-league hockey and that he would never go to the minors. He showed them he was right and stayed with Maroons as long as Maroons lasted. Then he joined Canadiens.

He is confident, as he goes to the minors for the first time, not however, in the role of worn-out big-leaguer, but as a manager, that he can handle his new coaching assignment. We have a hunch he'll be right again. He said when he was appointed pilot of the Eagles that he would try to bring some of the old spirit of the bruising, rampaging Maroons to New Haven because he has the nucleus of a big club. If Jimmy can only impart his own spirit of eternal try, conscientiousness, hard work and fast, relentless skating to his charges, big or little, then New Haven will have a pretty good team, even should they lack the bump, bluster and burning color of the old Maroons.

Popularity

Jimmy Ward played himself further into the hearts of Maroons supporters with as clever and battling game as he has shown since he joined the Maroons last fall.

similar energetic play, plus something funny:

No comments on the match would be complete with a mention of the work of Jimmy Ward, curly-haired right-winger who was in the thick of the fray every moment he was on the ice. (Tiny) Thompson had some anxious moments watching this youth and on several occasions it seemed a miracle that he was there in time to stop brilliant shots. Ward received a nasty cut from Eddie Shore's stick just at the close of the first period, but he got it patched up all right. He amused those nearby by coming out at the start of the second period with his skates in his hands, but he had them on before his period in the penalty box came to an end.

Hooley Smith, one of the cagiest centres in the league, master of the poke-check, will start off between his old linemates, Baldy Northcott, rawboned and speedy, and Jimmy Ward, one of the most popular men ever to wear a Maroon uniform.

Babe Siebert's daughters, Judy and Joan, were big fans of Ward and wished he would be traded to the Habs. Ward was soon sold to the Habs as the Maroons were being disbanded.

Comments:
- My grandfather (a Maroons fan) says that Ward was a great player. Nice to see him get a few votes at RW.

Jimmy Ward appeared in advertisements for Phillip Morris cigarettes and Palmolive shaving cream.


Personal
Born on September 1, 1906, in Fort William, Ontario.
His family moved to Kenora when he was young.
Married Maud Campbell, of Morin-Heights, on June 4, 1931.

Mariage de Jimmy Ward
Jimmy Ward, le jeune ailier des Maroons de la NHL, s'est marié avant-hier à Morin Heights, Québec, avec Mlle. Maud Campbell de cette place. Le couple est parti pour un voyage à New York qui sera suivi d'une excursion dans l'ouest canadien.

They had a son, born in 1932 or 1933.

Jimmy Ward died on November 15, 1990.

 

[hfboardsuser]

LW/RW Bruce Ridpath

Ht/Wt: 5'8, 160 lbs

Goals (NHA): 10th (1910), 4th (1911)
Points (NHA): 10th (1910), 3rd (1911)
Stanley Cup Goals: 4th (1910), 6th (1911)

Style of Play:

Ridpath should have little difficulty making good for the Ottawas. He is a lithe little chap, very fast and aggressive and a great stickhandler.

Bruce Ridpath, until carried off unconscious in the third period, was a tower of strength. Ridpath outplayed XXXXX at all stages, never ceasing in his determined attacks

 

[Dreakmur]

Eddie Wiseman !!!​

Awards and Achievements:
Stanley Cup Champion (1941)

All-Star voting - 3rd(1942), 5th(1941)

Regular Season Scoring:
Points – 8th(1941), 13th(1937), 18th(1938), 19th(1939), 20th(1936)
Goals – 9th(1938), 13th(1941)
Assists – 6th(1941), 10th(1937), 10th(1940), 12th(1939), 17th(1936), 17th(1942)

Points Percentages – 91, 75, 73, 70, 64, 63, 60, 51
Goal Percentages – 78, 67, 61, 52, 50, 50
Assist Percentages – 86, 70, 69, 68, 64, 62, 52

1933 to 1942
5th in Points, with 89% of 2nd
9th in Goals, with 75% of 2nd
4th in Assists, with 94% of 2nd

1936 to 1940
8th in Points, and 86% of 2nd
13th in Goals, and 78% of 2nd
9th in Assists, and 78% if 2nd

Play-off Scoring:
Play-off Points – 2nd(1940)
Play-off Goals – 1st(1940), 10th(1936)
Play-off Assists – 2nd(1938)

Minor League Scoring:
AHA Points – 1st(1932)
AHA Goals – 2nd(1932)
AHA Assists – 1st(1932), 11th(1931)

Relying on his speed as his main weapon, Wiseman scored 12, 14, 18 and 12 goals respectively.

Newspaper Clippings:

… Eddie Wiseman and Herbie Lewis, another pair of speedy little forwards…

Smart little center, Eddie Wiseman…

….

Detroit’s front line of Ebbie Goodfellow, Herbie Lewis, and Eddy Wiseman matched the speed of Morenz, Gagnon, and Joliat in almost every play.

Fleet Eddie Wiseman…

… in a bruising game that wound up in a fist fight between Eddie Wiseman of the Red Wings and Johnny Gagnor of Detroit.

Indications are that Eddie Wiseman at last has hit his stride in the National Hockey League.

Eddie used to do considerable bouncing between the Detroit Red Wings and their farm team, the Olympics, but since the New York Americans purchased him, he has established himself as an important cog in that hockey machine.

Fast, a good passer and a player who can whim home the puck from either side, has loomed large with the Americans’ attack.

Wiseman was the individual star in the American’s 2-1 victory…

Red-headed Eddie Wiseman, one of the fastest skaters in hockey and not the least effective puck-carrier in the National League by any means, is zipping along today at the head of New York’s Americans to a steady run of performances.

He starred all the way last night as Americans humbled maroons 2-1 in Montreal, preventing the Red-man from knocking Toronto Maple Leafs from first place in the Canadian section. Wiseman scored one goal and assisted on the other.

Americans tied up the powerful Maroons with persistent back-check last night so Roy Worters handled only 16 shots all night while Bill Beveridge is the Montreal net was taking care of 26. Wiseman was the chief reason for the result.

Eddie streaked down after breaking up an attack late in the first period and split Montreal’s defense for a score. In the second period he passed to Dede Klein for the second tally.

Milton Schmidt of the Bruins got one misconducts for fighting with Eddie Wiseman in the third period…

Eddie Wiseman, peppery little wingman, hammered home the first New York marker early in the first period.

Eddie Wiseman, peppery little wingman, and utility man _________ followed suit.

The third period, roughest of the game, was marked by a fist fight near its close between Eddie Wiseman and Pit Lepine. Wiseman drew a major penalty as the aggressor.

The New York Amerks gave the Maroons the once over lightly again to cinch a playoff place and thereby score another victory for public ownership. Messrs. Stewart, Smith, Gallagher and Dutton, four former Montrealers, all had a hand in the soldier’s farewell but the star of their aged but artful outfit was little Eddie Wiseman, the speed boy who does the skating for that club.

The acquisition of Wiseman, Ross said, would add strength to the Bruins ad permit the transfer of Bill “Flash†Hollett to a defence post.

…

However the deal may help Eddie Wiseman realize a lifetime ambition and play in the Stanley Cup finals – if the Bruins get there … Eddie is a Regina boy, freckled, fast, a midget, and a swell right winger ... He’ll add plenty to the Bruins.

 

[Dreakmur]

Peter McNab was blessed with quick hands and a natural feel for the game, which enabled him to play over 950 NHL games during the 1970s and '80s. A consistent producer, the 6'3" centre reached the 20-goal mark ten times in an exemplary career.

….

McNab enjoyed nearly nine full years in Beantown. He hit the 40-goal mark twice and was a key figure on the power play. His ability to hold his position in the slot and score his share of "garbage" goals was similar to former Bruins star Phil Esposito. During the late '70s, he formed an excellent forward unit with Terry O'Reilly and Rick Middleton and helped Boston reach the finals in 1977 and 1978.

Peter McNab !!!​

Awards and Achievements:
3 x Stanley Cup Finalist (1974, 1977, 1978)

NHL All-Star (1977)

Regular Season Scoring:
Points – 11th(1977), 16th(1978), 18th(1979)
Goals – 7th(1978), 8th(1977), 17th(1979), 18th(1980)
Assists – 18th(1977)

Even Strength Goals – 2nd(1978), 5th(1977), 6th(1979), 20th(1980)

Play-off Scoring:
Play-off Points – 4th(1978)
Play-off Goals – 4th(1978), 9th(1977), 10th(1980)
Play-off Assists – 2nd(1978)

 

[BraveCanadian]

Yuri Lebedev

- played nine years on the Soviet national team (1972-81) scoring 22 goals in 123 international games
- scored 4 points in 8 games of the 1972 Summit Series (also took penalties for roughing, highsticking and misconduct)
- also played in '74 Summit series (4 pts in 7 games), Canada Cup '76, SuperSeries '75-'76, '78-'79, '79-'80
- won six world championships (Gold in 1973-1975, 1978-1979, 1981)
- won three Soviet league championships (1970, 1971, 1974)
- scored 399 points and 443 PIM in 473 Soviet league games

...a technically excellent player who was key to his line's offense. He had uncanny on-ice vision and was dangerous on one-on-one situations.

http://www.1972summitseries.com/lebedev.html

... an aggressive and passionate grinder...

http://www.chidlovski.com/personal/1974/liners/index.htm

After the [Summit] series, I tried to play tough all my career.

Yuri Lebedev was a forward of the famous Lebedev-Anisin-Bodunov line in the 1970's.

All three players began to play hockey in CSKA after graduation from its youth hockey program. They were the ones that led a relatively unspectacular Krylya Sovetov team to the USSR chamionship in 1974.

Lebedev was not as slick in skating as his linemates but he was a fighting spirit behind the successes of his line and had great stick handling skills. He was one of the most respected forwards in the Soviet hockey and played for the national team much longer than his linemates

http://www.chidlovski.net/1974/74_playersru.asp?playerid=ru11

Stolen shamelessly from VI who recommended Yuri to me

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their fourteenth round pick (546) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: John Ogrodnick

Like any deadly sniper, John Ogrodnick snuck into town quietly, took care of his business, then went on his way.

- Red Wings History http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=his_wol_wol-johnogrodnick

Career Highlights:
NHL First All Star Team 1984-85.
4 time 40+ goal scorer reaching 55g and 105pts in 1984-85.
Played NHL All Star Game 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986.

Vitals:
Born: June 20, 1959.
Position: LW
Height: 6-0
Weight: 200 lbs
Shoots: Left.



Regular Season:
Peak 55 goal 105 point left winger resulting in a 1st team All Star in 1984-85.
Reached 40+ goals on 3 other occasions.
7 times reached 30+ goals.
5 time All Star Game participant.
Top 10 in points and goals during his career year.
Top 10 in PP goals 3 times.




Playoffs:
John did not have much team success during the NHL playoffs, spending the best years of his career with the Red Wings during the "Dead Wings" era.

However, he scored 9 goals in 13 games with Quebec and 6 goals in 10 games with the Rangers in the only two runs his teams made it past the first round.




Quotations and Perspective:

For much of his 7 years in Detroit Ogrodnick was one of the few bright lights in the darkness before Steve Yzerman's arrival.

Johnny O just went about his job contently, uncomplaining about his lack of stardom.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

"He was a great scorer," former Wings coach Jacques Demers said of Ogrodnick. "He could score from any angle 10 feet inside the blueline." Ogrodnick's key to success was a powerful slapshot.

- http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=his_wol_wol-johnogrodnick

A suspect backchecking game by Ogrodnick got him into hot water with coach Brad Park. That, combined with Detroit's continued failure to find success, ultimately saw Johnny O's departure from Detroit. He was traded to Quebec but a year later he found himself in New York with the Rangers.

Ogrodnick's career seemed to be closing when he erupted in 1989-90 with a 43 goal season that saw him earn Rangers' MVP awards.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

Ogrodnick was selected to the NHL's First All-Star Team and was voted as the starting left-winger for the NHL All-Star Game alongside Edmonton stars Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri.

"He deserves it," Gretzky said. "John's a great player."

- http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=his_wol_wol-johnogrodnick

John Ogrodnick never really got his due as one of hockey's top left wingers in the 1980s.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

An offensively gifted player

- Legends of Hockey

The key to Ogrodnick's game was his exceptionally quick release which he was never shy to use. He had a goal scorer's mentality, always looking to shoot first and may a play second. He was especially adept at using defensemen as screens.

"I think the key to scoring is hitting the net with your shot. You very seldom have time to find a corner so you have to get the shot off quickly - and get it somewhere on the net," Ogrodnick advises.

Naturally he was very proficient on the power play. He had good first step acceleration to get himself into open holes and he could read the offensive play forming nicely.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their fifteenth round pick (575) in the 2011 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: Rick Vaive

It was with the Leafs that the right winger from Ottawa, Ontario developed into one of the league’s most dangerous forwards with his booming slap shot. Many nights he was the Toronto offense.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

Career Highlights:
9 time 30+ goal scorer - consecutively.
4 time 40+ goal scorer.
3 consecutive 50+ goal seasons.
Played NHL All Star game 1982, 1983, 1984.

Vitals:
Born: May 14, 1959.
Position: RW
Height: 6-1
Weight: 198 lbs
Shoots: Right.



Regular Season:
9 consecutive 30+ goal seasons.
3 consecutive 50+ goal seasons - the first Leaf to hit 50.
3 time All Star Game participant.
Top 5 in goals twice.
Top 10 in goals 3 times during his career.
Top 10 in even strength goals twice in his career.
Top 10 in PP goals 2 times during his career.




Playoffs:
Playing for the Ballard era Leafs, Vaive did not have much team success in the NHL playoffs.

Personally over his career he scored 27 goals in 54 games for a very respectable 40 goal pace over 80 games and almost exactly matching his career regular season average.



Quotations and Perspective:

Although his team was, for the most part, inept, Vaive used his booming slapshot to become the first Leaf in franchise history to score 50 goals in one season. He got 54 in 1981-82 followed by seasons of 51 and then 52. But for all of the personal adulation he received as a scoring ace, he admitted that his team's inability to win with consistency skimmed some of the magic off the top of his success. He once confided that he'd trade his 50-goal campaigns for a chance to hold Lord Stanley.

- Legends of Hockey

Vaive was rewarded for his strong play with the Leafs' captaincy, a post he held until his team launched another of its cyclical house cleanings, sending him along with Steve Thomas and Bob McGill to Chicago in 1987. There, Vaive continued his solid offensive production for a season and a half before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres where he completed his NHL service in 1992.

- Legends of Hockey

A player of Vaive's character and scoring statistics should be considered one of the greatest Maple Leafs of all time. In addition to all of the 50 goal seasons, Vaive was a tremendous battler, willing to absorb punishment in the corners and in front of the net in order to score goals, especially while on the power play. He, not unlike the overly popular Wendel Clark, was passionate and emotional, dropping the gloves on more than a few occasions and earning the respect of opponents.

- Greatest Hockey Legends

Vaive's short fuse and emotional approach actually worked against him. After Darryl Sittler was traded away and Borje Salming refused the honor, Vaive was given the team captaincy at the tender age of 22. He was unable to handle the additional pressures, and fell into disfavor with several Leafs coaches, most notably Don Maloney, John Brophy and Mike Nykoluk.

They didn't like Vaive's lack of focus on defensive play nor his undisciplined drinking and partying. When he overslept and missed practice during the 1985-86 season, he was stripped of his captaincy, greatly wounding the veteran.

Through it all Vaive remained productive, scoring 35, 33 and 32 goals in respective seasons. In 1987-88 Vaive and Steve Thomas were traded to Chicago in exchange for Al Secord.

- Greatest Hockey Legends



​