Discussion: Who were the 10 best players 1895-1900?

[Sanf]

I agree that the leaderboard appearances lists are definitely just preliminary stuff to gain some footing. As for Winnipeg, it's basically what we see from the Cup Challenges to give us a basic idea. I think it's basically fair to treat them like the Canada Cup as a standard of measurement between the Canada and the USSR (or perhaps like CSKA Moscow when they toured the NHL).

Player	GP	Goals	Cup Challenges (up to 1900)	Notes
Dan Bain	6	6	1896, 1897, 1899, 1900	I’m awarding the game-winning goal in 1896 to Armytage due to conflicting sources.
Tony Gingras	4	3	1899, 1900
Jack Armytage	4	3	1896, 1897, 1899	Scored game-winner in 1896 (probably).
Tom Howard	4	3	1896, 1897, 1899
Harry Triley	3	7	1900 (vs Winnipeg)	Scored 17 goals in 7 games in the regular season.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

It is worth noting that I suspect that George Merritt would have won the Smythe in 1896 while Bain's 4 goals in 3 games in 1900 would be "Smythe-worthy". (Bain would probably have won the Smythe in 1901 with 3 goals in a 2-game sweep in the rematch with the Shamrocks, but I suppose someone in 1900 wouldn't be judging Bain on something that he would later do in 1901.)

My gut feeling is that up to 1900, Dan Bain is the legit Hall of Famer and the other stars would be in the Hall of Very Good, so to speak. However, ask me again about Tony Gingras in 1905...



I decided to adjust GAA relative to average opponent goals scored per game. Here are the league stats:

Spoiler: AHAC/CAHL Opponent GF and GA

1887	Games played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals for	Goals against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	7	6	1	0	27	7	3.86	1.00	1.30	3.44
Montreal Crystals†	5	2	3	0	7	12	1.40	2.40	3.19	1.70
Montreal HC	1	0	1	0	2	5	2.00	5.00	3.86	1.00
Ottawa HC	1	0	1	0	1	5	1.00	5.00	3.86	1.00
McGill University	2	0	2	0	1	9	0.50	4.50	2.63	1.70
1888	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	6	5	1	0	23	6	3.83	1.00	2.56	3.50
Montreal Victorias	6	5	1	0	24	9	4.00	1.50	2.50	3.33
Montreal Crystals	6	2	4	0	18	14	3.00	2.33	2.83	3.06
McGill University	6	0	6	0	4	40	0.67	6.67	3.61	1.61
1889	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	7	6	1	0	26	9	3.71	1.29	2.31	3.33
Montreal Crystals	6	3	3	0	17	16	2.83	2.67	2.64	2.93
Montreal Victorias	3	1	2	0	7	11	2.33	3.67	3.42	1.75
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	2	3	2.00	3.00	3.71	1.29
McGill	1	0	1	0	4	8	4.00	8.00	2.83	2.67
Halifax Chebuctos	2	0	2	0	2	10	1.00	5.00	3.27	1.98
1890	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	7	7	0	0	28	13	4.00	1.86	1.14	4.00
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	1	5	1.00	5.00	4.00	1.86
Montreal Dominions	3	0	3	0	3	15	1.00	5.00	4.00	1.86
Montreal Victorias	3	0	3	0	4	8	1.33	2.67	4.00	1.86
1891	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	8	8	0	0	28	7	3.50	0.88	0.88	3.50
Ottawa Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	0	3	0.00	3.00	3.50	0.88
Montreal Shamrocks	2	0	2	0	2	9	1.00	4.50	3.50	0.88
Montreal Victorias	2	0	2	0	2	6	1.00	3.00	3.50	0.88
Montreal Crescents	2	0	2	0	3	10	1.50	5.00	3.50	0.88
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	3.50	0.88
1892	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Ottawa Hockey Club	7	6	1	0	23	9	3.29	1.29	1.71	4.00
Montreal Hockey Club†	6	1	4	1	9	21	1.50	3.50	3.19	3.52
Montreal Shamrocks	1	0	1	0	3	8	3.00	8.00	1.50	3.50
Montreal Britannias	1	0	0	1	2	2	2.00	2.00	3.00	8.00
Quebec Hockey Club	2	0	2	0	3	6	1.50	3.00	3.29	1.29
1893	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	8	7	1	0	38	18	4.75	2.25	3.66	4.28
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	6	2	0	49	22	6.13	2.75	3.31	4.16
Montreal Crystals	8	3	5	0	25	34	3.13	4.25	4.06	3.78
Quebec Hockey Club	8	2	5	1	23	46	2.88	5.75	4.13	3.41
Montreal Victorias	8	1	6	1	20	35	2.50	4.38	4.22	3.75
1894	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	25	15	3.13	1.88	3.00	3.31
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	24	16	3.00	2.00	3.03	3.28
Montreal Victorias	8	5	3	0	36	20	4.50	2.50	2.66	3.16
Quebec Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	26	27	3.25	3.38	2.97	2.94
Montreal Crystals	8	0	8	0	10	43	1.25	5.38	3.47	2.44
1895	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	6	2	0	35	20	4.38	2.50	3.21	3.79
Montreal Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	33	22	4.13	2.75	3.27	3.73
Ottawa	8	4	4	0	25	24	3.13	3.00	3.52	3.67
Montreal Crystals	7	3	4	0	21	39	3.00	5.57	3.55	3.03
Quebec	7	2	5	0	18	27	2.57	3.86	3.66	3.46
1896	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	7	1	0	41	24	5.13	3.00	2.66	3.19
Ottawa HC	8	6	2	0	22	16	2.75	2.00	3.25	3.44
Quebec	8	4	4	0	23	23	2.88	2.88	3.22	3.22
Montreal HC	8	2	6	0	24	33	3.00	4.13	3.19	2.91
Montreal Shamrocks	8	1	7	0	16	30	2.00	3.75	3.44	3.00
1897	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	7	1	0	48	26	6.00	3.25	3.28	3.97
Ottawa	8	5	3	0	25	18	3.13	2.25	4.00	4.22
Montreal	8	5	3	0	31	26	3.88	3.25	3.81	3.97
Quebec	8	2	6	0	22	46	2.75	5.75	4.09	3.34
Montreal Shamrocks	8	1	7	0	27	37	3.38	4.63	3.94	3.63
1898	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	8	0	0	53	33	6.63	4.13	3.63	4.25
Montreal	8	5	3	0	34	21	4.25	2.63	4.22	4.63
Montreal Shamrocks	8	3	5	0	25	36	3.13	4.50	4.50	4.16
Quebec	8	2	6	0	29	35	3.63	4.38	4.38	4.19
Ottawa	8	2	6	0	28	44	3.50	5.50	4.41	3.91
1899	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Shamrocks	8	7	1	0	40	21	5.00	2.63	3.34	3.94
Montreal Victorias	8	6	2	0	44	23	5.50	2.88	3.22	3.88
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	21	43	2.63	5.38	3.94	3.25
Montreal Hockey Club	8	3	5	0	30	29	3.75	3.63	3.66	3.69
Quebec Hockey Club	8	0	8	0	12	31	1.50	3.88	4.22	3.63
1900	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Shamrocks	8	7	1	0	49	26	6.13	3.25	4.34	5.06
Montreal Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	34	36	4.25	4.50	4.81	4.75
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	28	19	3.50	2.38	5.00	5.28
Montreal Victorias	8	2	6	0	44	55	5.50	6.88	4.50	4.16
Quebec Hockey Club	8	2	6	0	33	52	4.13	6.50	4.84	4.25

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Taking opponent scoring prowess into account, I can calculate the GSAA (goals saved against average) for each goalie. Here are the year-by-year results:

Spoiler: Goalie year-by-year GSAA

Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1887
Arnton , Tom	Victorias	7	7	3	1.00	1.30	2.1
Paton, Tom	Montreal	1	2	0	2.00	3.86	1.9
Norris, J.	Crystals	3	7	0	2.30	3.19	2.7
Boon, G.	Crystals	2	5	0	2.50	3.19	1.4
Shanks, A.	McGill	1	3	0	3.00	2.63	-0.4
Hutchinson, A.	Montreal	1	3	0	3.00	3.86	0.9
Lowe, A.	Ottawa	1	5	0	5.00	3.86	-1.1
McNutt , C.H.	McGill	1	6	0	6.00	2.63	-3.4
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1888
Scanlan, Robert	Crystals	1	1	0	1.00	2.83	1.8
Paton, Tom	Montreal	7	7	2	1.00	2.56	10.9
Crathern, J.C.	Victorias	5	6	0	1.20	2.50	6.5
Arnton, Tom	Victorias	2	4	1	2.00	2.50	1.0
Higginson, A.G.	Montreal	1	2	0	2.00	2.56	0.6
Virtue, William	Crystals	4	9	0	2.20	2.83	2.5
Norris, J.	Crystals	1	4	0	4.00	2.83	-1.2
Shanks, A.	McGill	5	29	0	5.80	3.61	-11.0
McCaffrey, Ed	McGill	1	6	0	6.00	3.61	-2.4
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1889
Paton, Tom	Montreal	5	7	0	1.17	2.31	5.7
Norris, J.	Crystals	3	6	0	2.00	2.64	1.9
Arnton, Tom S.	Victorias	1	2	1	2.00	3.42	1.4
Laurie, Archie	Quebec	1	3	0	3.00	3.71	0.7
Scanlan, Robert	Crystals	1	4	0	4.00	2.64	-1.4
Brown, John	Chebuctos	2	10	0	5.00	3.27	-3.5
Jones, Robert	Victorias	1	6	0	6.00	3.42	-2.6
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1890
Paton, Tom	Montreal	7	13	0	1.90	1.14	-5.3
Jones, Robert	Victorias	3	8	0	2.70	4.00	3.9
Fyfe, Joe	Dominions	1	3	0	2.00	4.00	2.0
Laurie, Archie	Quebec	1	5	0	5.00	4.00	-1.0
Scanlan, Robert	Dominions	2	12	0	6.00	4.00	-4.0
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1891
Tom Paton	Montreal	6	6	1	1.00	0.88	-0.7
Robert Jones	Victorias	2	6	0	3.00	3.50	1.0
Albert Morel	Ottawa	1	3	0	3.00	3.50	0.5
James McKenna	Shamrocks	2	9	0	4.50	3.50	-2.0
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1892
Albert Morel	Ottawa	6	9	1	1.50	1.71	1.3
W. Cameron	Britannias	1	2	0	2.00	3.00	1.0
Tom Paton	Montreal	5	11	0	2.20	3.19	5.0
Bob Patton	Quebec	2	6	0	3.00	3.29	0.6
Joe Fyfe	Shamrocks	1	8	0	8.00	1.50	-6.5
H. Shaw	Montreal	1	10	0	10.00	3.19	-6.8
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	Avg.	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1893
Paton, Tom	Montreal	8	18	0	2.30	3.66	10.9
Morel, Albert	Ottawa	8	22	1	2.80	3.31	4.1
Collins, Herbert	Crystals	8	34	1	4.30	4.06	-1.9
Jones, Robert	Victorias	8	35	0	4.40	4.22	-1.5
Patton, Harry	Quebec	7	32	0	4.60	4.13	-3.3
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	1	14	0	14.00	4.13	-9.9
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1894
Collins, Herbert	Montreal	8	15	1	1.88	3.00	9.0
Morel, Albert	Ottawa	8	16	1	2.00	3.03	8.2
Lewis, Gordon	Victorias	6	13	1	2.16	2.66	3.0
Jones, Robert	Victorias	1	3		3.00	2.66	-0.3
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	8	27		3.38	2.97	-3.2
White,	Crystals	2	8		4.00	3.47	-1.1
McDougall, Hartland	Victorias	1	4		4.00	2.66	-1.3
Clapperton,	Crystals	4	18		4.50	3.47	-4.1
Carpenter,	Crystals	1	6		6.00	3.47	-2.5
Kearns,	Crystals	1	11		11.00	3.47	-7.5
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1895
Jones, Robert	Victorias	4	8		2.00	3.21	4.8
Fenwick, Jim	Victorias	1	2		2.00	3.21	1.2
Collins, Herbert	Montreal	8	22	1	2.70	3.27	4.6
Chittick, Fred	Ottawa	6	18	1	3.00	3.52	3.1
Westwick, Harry	Ottawa	2	6		3.00	3.52	1.0
McDougall, Hartland (actual?)	Victorias	3	10		3.33	3.21	-0.4
White,	Crystals	1	4		3.70	3.55	-0.2
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	7	27		3.90	3.66	-1.7
Lyons,	Crystals	2	16		8.00	3.55	-8.9
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1896
Fred Chittick	Ottawa	8	16	1	2.00	3.25	10.0
Frank Stocking	Quebec	8	23		2.90	3.22	2.6
Robert Jones	Victorias	8	24		3.00	2.66	-2.7
James Drysdale	Shamrocks	8	30		3.80	3.44	-2.9
George Hamilton	Montreal	2	8		4.00	3.19	-1.6
Herbert Collins	Montreal	6	25		4.10	3.19	-5.5
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1897
Chittick, Fred	Ottawa	8	18	1	2.30	4.00	13.6
Lewis, Gordon	Victorias	8	26		3.30	3.28	-0.2
Collins, Herb	Montreal	8	26		3.30	3.81	4.1
Pagnuelo, Ernest	Shamrocks	8	37		4.60	3.94	-5.3
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	6	25		5.80	4.09	-10.3
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	Avg.	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1898
Tobin, A.	Shamrocks	2	2		1.00	4.50	7.0
Collins, Herb	Montreal	8	21	1	2.60	4.22	13.0
Lewis, Gordon	Victorias	3	9		3.00	3.63	1.9
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	7	29		4.10	4.38	2.0
Richardson, Frank	Victorias	5	24		4.80	3.63	-5.9
Chittick, Fred	Ottawa	4	21		5.30	4.41	-3.6
Semple, Hugh	Shamrocks	6	34		5.70	4.50	-7.2
Cope, Alex	Ottawa	4	23		5.80	4.41	-5.6
O'Meara, Mark	Quebec	1	6		6.00	4.38	-1.6
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1899
Lewis, Gordon	Victorias	3	7	1	2.30	3.22	2.8
McKenna, James H.	Shamrocks	8	21	1	2.60	3.34	5.9
Collins, Herb	Montreal	6	19		3.20	3.66	2.8
Richardson, Frank	Victorias	4	16		4.00	3.22	-3.1
Hutton, Bouse	Ottawa	2	11		5.50	3.94	-3.1
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	4	24		6.00	4.22	-7.1
Chittick, Fred	Ottawa	5	32		6.40	3.94	-12.3
O'Meara, Mark	Quebec	1	7		7.00	4.22	-2.8
Munro, Fred	Montreal	1	10		10.00	3.66	-6.3
Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA	Avg. Oppo. GF/GP	GSAA		1900
Billy Nicholson	Montreal	4	11	1	2.75	4.81	8.2
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa	7	19	0	2.80	5.00	15.4
James H. McKenna	Shamrocks	7	26	0	3.70	4.34	4.5
Fred Munro	Montreal	4	25	0	6.30	4.81	-6.0
Frank Stocking	Quebec	8	52	1	6.50	4.84	-13.3
Thomas Powers	Victorias	8	55	0	6.90	4.50	-19.2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

For goalies with multiple top-two finishes in GAA,

Career up to 1900	GP	GSAA	GSAA/GP
Paton, Tom	39	28.2	0.72
Collins, Herb	52	26.0	0.50
Morel, Albert	23	14.1	0.61
Hutton, Bouse	9	12.3	1.36
Chittick, Fred	31	10.9	0.35
Lewis, Gordon	20	7.5	0.37
Norris, ???	7	3.4	0.49
Jones, Robert	27	2.7	0.10
Best three seasons up to 1900	GP	GSAA	GSAA/GP
Paton, Tom	20	27.4	1.37
Chittick, Fred	22	26.7	1.21
Collins, Herb	24	26.5	1.11
Morel, Albert	22	13.6	0.62
Hutton, Bouse	9	12.3	1.36
Jones, Robert	9	9.7	1.08
Lewis, Gordon	12	7.7	0.64
Norris, ???	7	3.4	0.49

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

One noteworthy newcomer is Bouse Hutton, who manages to post the highest GSAA (15.4 in 7 games) in a single year (1900) in his sophomore season. He's basically foreshadowing what the Silver Seven will eventually become...

So one method I'm contemplating is a weighted score: just a simple addition of the best three seasons to career GSAA to basically give the goalie's best three seasons double weight while also considering longevity.

Goalie	Weighted Score (Top 3 seasons added to career GSAA, up to 1900)
Paton, Tom	55.6
Collins, Herb	52.5
Chittick, Fred	37.6
Morel, Albert	27.7
Hutton, Bouse	24.6
Lewis, Gordon	15.1
Jones, Robert	12.4
Norris, ???	6.8

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

So if I had to make a goaltender shortlist up until 1900 with the knowledge that I could fit only 10 players in the final shortlist, it would probably be Tom Paton, Herbert Collins, and possibly George Merritt.

Thats impressive work.

I don´t know if I am even against the idea of regarding Paton the best 19th century goalie. He may have been. He was good goalie. But there are some oddities in his career that I can´t get over.

I´m fairly confident in saying that Allan Cameron and Jack Stewart was the best "defensive pair" for almost a decade in hockey. And the other team wasn´t definitely bad either. Jack Findlay has some retro Selkes given by Ultimate hockey (though not certain of that myself). More impressed about George Lowe and James Virtue myself. I just feel that part of Paton´s todays "hype" is build around the championships and GAA.

And I have seen claims about Paton being the best goalie of the very early years. Yet again something that I haven´t seen personally. Only comment about the best goalie in early year is this about Quebec goalie Arthur Colley. Its not much, but it is from Montreal newspaper and would assume that they know Paton.

The Montreal Daily Herald - Mar 19, 1886
The Quebec club are the oldest hockey players in Canada, having introduced the game as now played some ten years ago. During these years they have never changed their original goal keeper, who is considered to be the best player in that position in America...

 

[tarheelhockey]

Thats impressive work.

I don´t know if I am even against the idea of regarding Paton the best 19th century goalie. He may have been. He was good goalie. But there are some oddities in his career that I can´t get over.

I´m fairly confident in saying that Allan Cameron and Jack Stewart was the best "defensive pair" for almost a decade in hockey. And the other team wasn´t definitely bad either. Jack Findlay has some retro Selkes given by Ultimate hockey (though not certain of that myself). More impressed about George Lowe and James Virtue myself. I just feel that part of Paton´s todays "hype" is build around the championships and GAA.

And I have seen claims about Paton being the best goalie of the very early years. Yet again something that I haven´t seen personally. Only comment about the best goalie in early year is this about Quebec goalie Arthur Colley. Its not much, but it is from Montreal newspaper and would assume that they know Paton.

The Montreal Daily Herald - Mar 19, 1886
The Quebec club are the oldest hockey players in Canada, having introduced the game as now played some ten years ago. During these years they have never changed their original goal keeper, who is considered to be the best player in that position in America...

The GSAA work in this thread is the most substantial thing I've seen to support the idea of Paton being an exceptional goalie, and not just the goalie for the team that happened to be the best among a literal handful of peers.

That being said, I still get the sense that we're approaching something like this ranking when we get back to the 1880s. How many goalies were even playing top-level hockey during Paton's prime? It couldn't have been more than about a dozen. I don't like saying things like "this is indistinguishable from a rec league", but in the case of mid-1880s hockey it's kind of hard to avoid the obvious that it literally did resemble a rec league environment.

 

[Black Gold Extractor]

Thats impressive work.

I don´t know if I am even against the idea of regarding Paton the best 19th century goalie. He may have been. He was good goalie. But there are some oddities in his career that I can´t get over.

I´m fairly confident in saying that Allan Cameron and Jack Stewart was the best "defensive pair" for almost a decade in hockey. And the other team wasn´t definitely bad either. Jack Findlay has some retro Selkes given by Ultimate hockey (though not certain of that myself). More impressed about George Lowe and James Virtue myself. I just feel that part of Paton´s todays "hype" is build around the championships and GAA.

In some ways, it's akin to the argument about Martin Brodeur on the defensively-adept Devils. Ironically, it applies in more ways than one. From here, a collection of quotes about Cameron with one interesting tidbit about Paton:

Paton had many stops to make, nevertheless, but they were of the free and easy order and he cleverly drove the puck out of his territory. Stewart and Cameron swooped around after the puck in admirable style.

Also like Brodeur, Paton seemed to be good at playing the puck.

And I have seen claims about Paton being the best goalie of the very early years. Yet again something that I haven´t seen personally. Only comment about the best goalie in early year is this about Quebec goalie Arthur Colley. Its not much, but it is from Montreal newspaper and would assume that they know Paton.

The Montreal Daily Herald - Mar 19, 1886
The Quebec club are the oldest hockey players in Canada, having introduced the game as now played some ten years ago. During these years they have never changed their original goal keeper, who is considered to be the best player in that position in America...

In fairness, Paton's first appearance was only a year ago in the 1885 Montreal Winter Carnival. The key quote is actually the "Quebec club are the oldest hockey players in Canada, having introduced the game as now played some ten years ago." If Colley was considered to be the best goaltender in the world due to his play for a decade, there's no way Paton would have displaced Colley in that timespan.

That being said, I still get the sense that we're approaching something like this ranking when we get back to the 1880s. How many goalies were even playing top-level hockey during Paton's prime? It couldn't have been more than about a dozen. I don't like saying things like "this is indistinguishable from a rec league", but in the case of mid-1880s hockey it's kind of hard to avoid the obvious that it literally did resemble a rec league environment.

It's kind of why I didn't want to do a hard ranking in the first place (especially in the pre-professional era).

In any case, adjusted for opponent GA for each team up to 1900, here are the adjusted goals scored by skaters (adjusted to a total 6-goal per game, 18 skater-roster environment).

Spoiler: AHAC/CAHL league stats

1887	Games played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals for	Goals against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	7	6	1	0	27	7	3.86	1.00	1.30	3.44
Montreal Crystals†	5	2	3	0	7	12	1.40	2.40	3.19	1.70
Montreal HC	1	0	1	0	2	5	2.00	5.00	3.86	1.00
Ottawa HC	1	0	1	0	1	5	1.00	5.00	3.86	1.00
McGill University	2	0	2	0	1	9	0.50	4.50	2.63	1.70
1888	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	6	5	1	0	23	6	3.83	1.00	2.56	3.50
Montreal Victorias	6	5	1	0	24	9	4.00	1.50	2.50	3.33
Montreal Crystals	6	2	4	0	18	14	3.00	2.33	2.83	3.06
McGill University	6	0	6	0	4	40	0.67	6.67	3.61	1.61
1889	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	7	6	1	0	26	9	3.71	1.29	2.31	3.33
Montreal Crystals	6	3	3	0	17	16	2.83	2.67	2.64	2.93
Montreal Victorias	3	1	2	0	7	11	2.33	3.67	3.42	1.75
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	2	3	2.00	3.00	3.71	1.29
McGill	1	0	1	0	4	8	4.00	8.00	2.83	2.67
Halifax Chebuctos	2	0	2	0	2	10	1.00	5.00	3.27	1.98
1890	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	7	7	0	0	28	13	4.00	1.86	1.14	4.00
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	1	5	1.00	5.00	4.00	1.86
Montreal Dominions	3	0	3	0	3	15	1.00	5.00	4.00	1.86
Montreal Victorias	3	0	3	0	4	8	1.33	2.67	4.00	1.86
1891	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club†	8	8	0	0	28	7	3.50	0.88	0.88	3.50
Ottawa Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	0	3	0.00	3.00	3.50	0.88
Montreal Shamrocks	2	0	2	0	2	9	1.00	4.50	3.50	0.88
Montreal Victorias	2	0	2	0	2	6	1.00	3.00	3.50	0.88
Montreal Crescents	2	0	2	0	3	10	1.50	5.00	3.50	0.88
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	3.50	0.88
1892	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Ottawa Hockey Club	7	6	1	0	23	9	3.29	1.29	1.71	4.00
Montreal Hockey Club†	6	1	4	1	9	21	1.50	3.50	3.19	3.52
Montreal Shamrocks	1	0	1	0	3	8	3.00	8.00	1.50	3.50
Montreal Britannias	1	0	0	1	2	2	2.00	2.00	1.50	3.50
Quebec Hockey Club	2	0	2	0	3	6	1.50	3.00	3.29	1.29
1893	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	8	7	1	0	38	18	4.75	2.25	3.66	4.28
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	6	2	0	49	22	6.13	2.75	3.31	4.16
Montreal Crystals	8	3	5	0	25	34	3.13	4.25	4.06	3.78
Quebec Hockey Club	8	2	5	1	23	46	2.88	5.75	4.13	3.41
Montreal Victorias	8	1	6	1	20	35	2.50	4.38	4.22	3.75
1894	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	25	15	3.13	1.88	3.00	3.31
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	24	16	3.00	2.00	3.03	3.28
Montreal Victorias	8	5	3	0	36	20	4.50	2.50	2.66	3.16
Quebec Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	26	27	3.25	3.38	2.97	2.94
Montreal Crystals	8	0	8	0	10	43	1.25	5.38	3.47	2.44
1895	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	6	2	0	35	20	4.38	2.50	3.21	3.79
Montreal Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	33	22	4.13	2.75	3.27	3.73
Ottawa	8	4	4	0	25	24	3.13	3.00	3.52	3.67
Montreal Crystals	7	3	4	0	21	39	3.00	5.57	3.55	3.03
Quebec	7	2	5	0	18	27	2.57	3.86	3.66	3.46
1896	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	7	1	0	41	24	5.13	3.00	2.66	3.19
Ottawa HC	8	6	2	0	22	16	2.75	2.00	3.25	3.44
Quebec	8	4	4	0	23	23	2.88	2.88	3.22	3.22
Montreal HC	8	2	6	0	24	33	3.00	4.13	3.19	2.91
Montreal Shamrocks	8	1	7	0	16	30	2.00	3.75	3.44	3.00
1897	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	7	1	0	48	26	6.00	3.25	3.28	3.97
Ottawa	8	5	3	0	25	18	3.13	2.25	4.00	4.22
Montreal	8	5	3	0	31	26	3.88	3.25	3.81	3.97
Quebec	8	2	6	0	22	46	2.75	5.75	4.09	3.34
Montreal Shamrocks	8	1	7	0	27	37	3.38	4.63	3.94	3.63
1898	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Victorias	8	8	0	0	53	33	6.63	4.13	3.63	4.25
Montreal	8	5	3	0	34	21	4.25	2.63	4.22	4.63
Montreal Shamrocks	8	3	5	0	25	36	3.13	4.50	4.50	4.16
Quebec	8	2	6	0	29	35	3.63	4.38	4.38	4.19
Ottawa	8	2	6	0	28	44	3.50	5.50	4.41	3.91
1899	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Shamrocks	8	7	1	0	40	21	5.00	2.63	3.34	3.94
Montreal Victorias	8	6	2	0	44	23	5.50	2.88	3.22	3.88
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	21	43	2.63	5.38	3.94	3.25
Montreal Hockey Club	8	3	5	0	30	29	3.75	3.63	3.66	3.69
Quebec Hockey Club	8	0	8	0	12	31	1.50	3.88	4.22	3.63
1900	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	GF/GP	GA/GP	Avg. Opponent GF	Avg. Opponent GA
Montreal Shamrocks	8	7	1	0	49	26	6.13	3.25	4.34	5.06
Montreal Hockey Club	8	5	3	0	34	36	4.25	4.50	4.81	4.75
Ottawa Hockey Club	8	4	4	0	28	19	3.50	2.38	5.00	5.28
Montreal Victorias	8	2	6	0	44	55	5.50	6.88	4.50	4.16
Quebec Hockey Club	8	2	6	0	33	52	4.13	6.50	4.84	4.25

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Spoiler: Year-to-year adjusted goals from 1886-87 to 1899-1900

Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1887
Albert Swift	Victorias	4	8	3.44	47	27
Billy Hodgson	?	4	4		47
J. Craven	Victorias	6	4	3.44	70	14
Jack Campbell	Victorias	7	3	3.44	82	10
Frank Dowd	Crystals	3	2	1.70	35	14
Sam McQuisten	Crystals	3	2	1.70	35	14
John Findley	?	4	2		47
Jack Arnton	Victorias	5	2	3.44	59	7
Andy Shearer	Victorias	7	2	3.44	82	7
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1888
Elliot, D.A.	Crystals	6	8	3.06	70	31
Campbell, Jack	Victorias	7	8	3.33	82	28
Virtue, James	Montreal	7	8	3.50	82	27
Ashe, Fred	Victorias	5	5	3.33	59	18
Kinghorn, James	Victorias	7	5	3.33	82	18
Lee, Sam	Crystals	4	4	3.06	47	15
Hodgson, Archie	Montreal	5	4	3.50	59	13
Shearer, Andy	Victorias	7	4	3.33	82	14
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1889
Archie McNaughton	Montreal	5	7	3.33	82	34
Archie Hodgson	Montreal	5	6	3.33	82	30
Sam Lee	Crystals	4	5	2.93	66	28
Jack Findlay	Montreal	5	5	3.33	82	25
William Virtue	Victorias	2	2	1.75	33	19
Dave Brown	Crystals	4	2	2.93	66	11
George Lowe	Montreal	4	2	3.33	66	10
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1890
McNaughton, Archie	Montreal	7	12	4.00	82	35
Findlay, Jack	Montreal	7	6	4.00	82	18
Brown, Dave	Dominions	3	4	1.86	35	25
Kingan, Alex	Montreal	2	3	4.00	23	9
Cameron, Allan	Montreal	6	2	4.00	70	6
Lee, Sam	Montreal	4	2	4.00	47	6
Ritchie, A.	Dominions	3	2	1.86	35	13
Arnton, Jack	Victorias	2	1	1.86	23	6
Barlow, Eddie	Victorias	3	1	1.86	35	6
Scott, Arthur	Quebec	1	1	1.86	12	6
Lowe, George	Montreal	1	1	4.00	12	3
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1891
Kingan, Alexander	Montreal	7	5	3.50	82	17
Lowe, George	Montreal	6	4	3.50	70	13
McNaughton, Archie	Montreal	6	3	3.50	70	10
Cafferty, Thomas	Shamrocks	2	1	0.88	23	13
Cameron, Allan	Montreal	6	1	3.50	70	3
Lee, Sam	Montreal	1	1	3.50	12	3
Kinghorn, James	Victorias	1	1	0.88	12	14
McQuisten, Stewart	Crescents	2	1	0.88	23	13
Warden, W.	Montreal	2	1	3.50	23	3
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1892
Bradley, Robert	Ottawa	6	9	4.00	82	31
Kirby, Holder	Ottawa	5	4	4.00	68	14
Kerr, Jack	Ottawa	6	4	4.00	82	14
Kirby, Chauncey	Ottawa	5	3	4.00	68	10
Russel, Bert	Ottawa	6	3	4.00	82	10
Lee, Sam	Montreal	4	2	3.52	55	8
Lowe, George	Montreal	6	2	3.52	82	8
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1893
Haviland Routh	Montreal	7	12	4.28	72	29
A.E. Swift	Quebec	8	11	3.41	82	33
Richard Bradley	Ottawa	8	11	4.16	82	27
Dave Brown	Crystals	7	10	3.78	72	27
Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa	8	10	4.16	82	25
Shirley Davidson	Victorias	6	8	3.75	62	22
Billy Barlow	Montreal	7	7	4.28	72	17
George Lowe	Montreal	5	6	4.28	51	14
William Murray	Crystals	7	6	3.78	72	16
Archie Hodgson	Montreal	8	6	4.28	82	14
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1894
Herbert Russell	Ottawa	8	10	3.28	82	31
Albert Swift	Quebec	8	10	2.94	82	35
Haviland Routh	Montreal	8	8	3.31	82	25
Billy Barlow	Montreal	8	8	3.31	82	25
Norman Rankin	Victorias	5	6	3.16	51	19
Shirley Davidson	Victorias	8	6	3.16	82	19
Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa	8	6	3.28	82	19
Arthur D. Scott	Quebec	8	6	2.94	82	21
K. Davidson	Quebec	4	5	2.94	41	17
Sam McDougall	Ottawa	7	5	3.28	72	16
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1895
Routh, Haviland	Montreal	8	19	3.73	82	52
Rankin, Norman	Victorias	8	11	3.79	82	30
Swift, Albert E.	Quebec	6	10	3.46	62	30
Russell, Herbert	Ottawa	8	10	3.67	82	28
Robert MacDougall	Victorias	8	10	3.79	82	27
Drinkwater, Graham	Victorias	8	9	3.79	82	24
Fairbairn,	Crystals	5	6	3.03	51	20
Hodgson, Archie	Montreal	6	6	3.73	62	17
Kirby, Chauncey	Ottawa	7	5	3.67	72	14
Smith, Alf	Ottawa	8	5	3.67	82	14
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1896
McDougall, Robert	Victorias	6	10	3.19	62	32
McKerrow, Clare	Montreal	6	8	2.91	62	28
Davidson, Shirley	Victorias	7	8	3.19	72	26
Swift, Albert E.	Quebec	8	8	3.22	82	25
Westwick, Harry	Ottawa	8	8	3.44	82	24
Drinkwater, Graham	Victorias	8	7	3.19	82	22
Smith, Alf	Ottawa	8	7	3.44	82	21
Doyle, Pat	Quebec	8	6	3.22	82	19
Gillilan, David	Victorias	3	5	3.19	31	16
Mussen, Adurey	Montreal	5	5	2.91	51	18
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1897
McKerrow, Clare	Montreal	8	12	3.97	82	31
Smith, Alf	Ottawa	8	12	4.22	82	29
Barlow, Billy	Montreal	8	10	3.97	82	26
McLea, Ernie	Victorias	8	8	3.97	82	21
Dobby, Bill	Shamrocks	8	7	3.63	82	20
Swift, Albert E.	Quebec	8	6	3.34	82	18
Westwick, Harry	Ottawa	8	6	4.22	82	15
Davidson, Cam	Victorias	6	5	3.97	62	13
Doyle, Pat	Quebec	8	5	3.34	82	15
Horsfall, Herbert	Montreal	8	5	3.97	82	13
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1898
Davidson, Cam	Victorias	7	14	4.25	72	34
McKerrow, Clare	Montreal	8	13	4.63	82	29
McDougall, Robert	Victorias	8	12	4.25	82	29
Brown, Desse	Montreal	8	11	4.63	82	24
Drinkwater, Graham	Victorias	8	10	4.25	82	24
Gillespie, James	Shamrocks	8	10	4.16	82	25
Hutchison, Howard	Ottawa	8	8	3.91	82	21
Howard, R.	Quebec	7	7	4.19	72	17
White, Frank	Ottawa	6	7	3.91	62	18
Horsfall, Bert	Quebec	8	6	4.19	82	15
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1899
Trihey, Harry	Shamrocks	7	19	3.94	72	50
McKerrow, Clare	Montreal	4	12	3.69	41	33
Bowie, Russell	Victorias	7	11	3.88	72	29
Davidson, Cam	Victorias	7	9	3.88	72	24
Farrell, Arthur	Shamrocks	8	8	3.94	82	21
Brannen, Jack	Shamrocks	8	8	3.94	82	21
McDougall, Bob	Victorias	2	7	3.88	21	19
Ewing, Jack	Victorias	5	7	3.88	51	18
Roger, Mac	Ottawa	5	6	3.25	51	19
Christmas, Billy	Montreal	4	5	3.69	41	14
Name	Club	GP	G	Oppo. GA	Adj. GP	Adj. G		1900
Harry Trihey	Shamrocks	7	17	5.06	72	35
Russell Bowie	Victorias	7	15	4.16	72	37
Billy Christmas	Montreal	8	12	4.75	82	26
Bruce Stuart	Ottawa	5	11	5.28	51	21
James Gillespie	Quebec	8	10	4.25	82	24
Arthur Farrell	Shamrocks	8	9	5.06	82	18
Blair Russell	Victorias	7	9	4.16	72	22
Charlie Liffiton	Montreal	8	8	4.75	82	17
George McCarron	Quebec	2	7	4.25	21	17
Jack Brannen	Shamrocks	8	6	5.06	82	12

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

There are only two "adjusted" 50-goal scorers: Haviland Routh (1894-95) and Harry Trihey (1898-99).

For players who have multiple top-10 finishes with at least one top-5 finish, I added all of their top-10 finishes. (This could perhaps be adapted for other players to distinguish compilers from players with significant seasons.) For their final weighted score, I added their single peak season to their top-10-finish totals (thus giving their peak season a double weight):

Rank	Player	Pos	Adj. GP (total of top-10 finishes)	Adj. G (total of top-10 finishes)	Peak season	Weighted Score
1	Swift, Albert E. “Dolly”	F	437	168	35	203
2	Routh, Haviland	R	236	106	52	158
3	McKerrow, Clare	R	267	121	33	154
4	MacDougall, Robert	F	247	107	32	139
5	Trihey, Harry	C	144	85	50	135
6	MacNaughton, Archibald Edward “Archie”	F	234	79	35	114
7	Davidson, Cam	F	206	71	34	105
8	Hodgson, Archie	F	285	74	30	104
9	Bowie, Russell	F/R	144	66	37	103
10	Drinkwater, Graham	R	246	70	24	94
10	Barlow, Billy	F	164	68	26	94
12	Kirby, Chauncey	F	304	68	25	93
12	Davidson, Shirley	F	216	67	26	93
12	Smith, Alf	F	246	64	29	93
15	Brown, Dave	F	173	63	27	90
15	Russell, Herbert Y. “Herb”	F	164	59	31	90
17	Bradley, Robert	F	164	58	31	89
18	Lee, Sam	F	172	52	28	80
19	Rankin, Norman		133	49	30	79
20	Gillespie, James	F	164	49	25	74
21	Findlay, Jack		164	43	25	68
22	Christmas, Billy	F	188	40	26	66
22	Campbell, Jack		140	38	28	66
24	Westwick, Harry “Rat”	R	144	39	24	63
25	Farrell, Arthur	F	164	39	21	60
26	Brannen, Jack	R	164	33	21	54
27	Lowe, George	F	230	34	13	47
28	Kingan, Alex	F	105	26	17	43
29	Shearer, Andy	F	164	21	14	35

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

In any case, my shortlist of potential "top-10" players as could be regarded in 1900, organized by position in alphabetical order:

Forwards:

Dan Bain
Robert MacDougall
Albert E. "Dolly" Swift
Harry Trihey

Rovers:

Graham Drinkwater
Clare McKerrow
Haviland Routh

Defensemen:

Allan Cameron
Mike Grant
Weldy Young

Goaltenders:

Tom Paton

That's 11 names, but I'm having trouble making the final "cut", so to speak.

Five names to look out for in 5 years: Russell Bowie, Bouse Hutton, Harvey Pulford, Blair Russell, Alf Smith.

 

[wetcoast]

The AHAC/CAHL is probably the standard bearer during the Cup Challenge years (with only the Winnipeg Victorias and Kenora Thistles in 1907 winning from outside the league). As such, it might be of interest to start analyzing it like we do with the NHL.

First up, here are the leaderboard appearances for skaters (must have scored more than one goal to be ranked) in the AHAC/CAHL up until 1900:

Skater	Leaderboard	Notes
Swift, Albert E. "Dolly"	1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 6	Somehow, not in the HHOF. Most prolific pre-1900 goal-scorer.
Macnaughton, Archibald Edward “Archie”	1, 1, 3	Star forward for Montreal HC. Also played lacrosse, and was an 8-time amateur boxing champion.
Routh, Haviland	1, 1, 3	Set league goal-scoring record of 19 goals in 1895. The rest of his team scored 14.
Trihey, Harry	1, 1	HHOF. Tied league goal-scoring record in 1899. Scored 36 goals in 14 games in consecutive years. Career cut short by a hand injury.
McKerrow, Clare	1, 2, 2, 2	One second-place finish was 12 goals in 4 games in an 8-game season.
Bradley, Robert	1, 2
MacDougall, Robert	1, 3, 3, 7	Star forward for the Montreal Victorias.
Russell, Herbert	1, 3	Ottawa HC captain.
Davidson, Cam	1, 4, 8	Younger brother of Shirley Davison (see below).
Campbell, Jack	1, 4
Kingan, Alex	1, 4
Smith, Alf	1, 6, 9	HHOF. Would go on to have an excellent career in the 1900’s.
Elliot, D.A.	1
Virtue, James	1
Bowie, Russell	2, 3	HHOF. Would go on to have an excellent career in the 1900’s.
Findlay, Jack	2, 3
Lowe, George	2, 5, 6, 8
Davidson, Shirley	2, 5, 6	“Known as a fast skater, good checker and good puckhandler who would never have a bad game.”
Rankin, Norman	2, 5
Hodgson, Archie	2, 6, 7, 8
Westwick, Harry	2, 6	HHOF. Would go on to have an excellent career in the 1900’s.
Craven, J.	2
Hodgson, Billy	2
Holder, Kirby	2
Barlow, Billy	3, 3, 7	Scored the first ever Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1894.
Brown, Dave	3, 4, 5
Lee, Sam	3, 5, 6, 6
Christmas, Billy	3, 10	Pure speculation, but I think he has an entire holiday season named after him.
Kirby, Chauncey	4, 4, 5, 9	Ottawa HC captain for 1895-96 season.
Ashe, Fred	4
Brown, Desse	4
Kinghorn, James	4
McLea, Ernie	4	Scored first ever Stanley Cup hat-trick. His third, scored with less than two minutes left, was the game-winner over the Winnipeg Victorias in 1897 (6-5).
Stuart, Bruce	4	HHOF. Early power forward. Would go on to have an excellent career in the 1900’s.
Gillespie, James	5, 5
Drinkwater, Graham	5, 6, 6	HHOF. Captain of the Montreal Victorias. Assisted on Ernie McLea’s third goal of the 1897 Stanley Cup game. (See above.)
Farrell, Arthur	5, 6	HHOF. Wrote first ever book on ice hockey, “Hockey: Canada’s Royal Winter Game”. (Only 4 copies exist in the world.)
Shearer, Andy	5, 6	Father of Hollywood actresses Norma and Athole Shearer and recording director Douglas Shearer.
Brannen, Jack	5, 10	Extremely fast skater. In 1900, won a 220-yard race against speed skating world titleholder Morris Wood.
Arnton, Jack	5
Cameron, Allan	5
Dowd, Frank	5
Findley, John	5
McQuisten, Sam	5
Ritchie, A	5
Scott, Arthur D.	5
Virtue, William	5
Russell, Blair	6	HHOF. Would go on to have an excellent career in the 1900’s.
Ewing, Jack	7
Fairbairn, ???	7
Hutchison, Howard	7
Doyle, Pat	8, 8
Horsfall, Herbert	8, 10
Howard, R.	8
Liffiton, Charlie	8	Would later play in multiple professional hockey leagues.
Murray, William	8
Davidson, K	9
Gillilan, David	9
McCarron, George	9
McDougall, Sam	9
Mussen, Adurey	9
Roger, Mac	9

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Interesting about Author Farrell writing the first ever book about hockey and that only 4 copies of it exist in the world.

The first thing I wondered does seventieslord have one of those 4 copies?

 

[Michael Farkas]

Sorry to bump an old thread for possibly/probably no reason, but while I was looking into something last night, I found an incredibly clear copy of Spalding's Ice Hockey and Ice Polo Guide of 1898. It goes into really good detail of rules, the development of hockey across - particularly - Eastern U.S. and Canada, with some pictures, scores, rosters, etc.

https://ia800502.us.archive.org/29/items/icehockeyicepolo00tuth/icehockeyicepolo00tuth.pdf

Just making sure this on the folks who look into hockey from this far back know this exists, instead of assuming that it's a well known resource.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Sorry to bump an old thread for possibly/probably no reason, but while I was looking into something last night, I found an incredibly clear copy of Spalding's Ice Hockey and Ice Polo Guide of 1898. It goes into really good detail of rules, the development of hockey across - particularly - Eastern U.S. and Canada, with some pictures, scores, rosters, etc.

https://ia800502.us.archive.org/29/items/icehockeyicepolo00tuth/icehockeyicepolo00tuth.pdf

Just making sure this on the folks who look into hockey from this far back know this exists, instead of assuming that it's a well known resource.

Great stuff. I found it useful that toward the end, we have three sets of rules printed back to back (AHLNY, AHAC, and OHL). It’s clear that leagues were re-purposing each other’s rules with some edits thrown in, so the differences between the leagues are easy to spot.

Among other things, it’s quaint to imagine the referee calling “play” to start the game.

 

[JianYang]

I think the difference was that your top 10 were so committed to the game.

Other guys were too busy looking for the perfect onion ring to go with their belt.