MLD 2012 Bios (pic, quotes, stats, accomplishments, everything)

[Dreakmur]

Bun Cook !!!​

Awards and Achievements:
Hockey Hall of Fame (1995)
AHL Hall of Fame (2007)

7 x Calder Cup Champion (1938, 1940, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1954)
3 x Calder Cup Finalist (1944, 1946, 1950)

10 x Regular Season Title (1938, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953)

6 x AHL First Team All-Star (1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945)
AHL Second Team All-Star (1943)

Statistical Accomplishments:
636-413-122 in 1171 AHL games (.595)
75-61 in 136 AHL playoff games (.551)

Qualified for playoffs in 18 of 19 seasons

Bun Cook could teach you things you didn’t know existed. He never really got upset about anything either. He was always calm, cool and collected and he kept his players like that.

Bun was noted as a master strategist and a great developer and motivator of young players. While brother Bill was an explosive coach who could lose his temper quickly, Bun was more soft-spoken and took a fatherly approach in motivating his players. Bun would never bawl out a player in front of his teammates. Instead, he would rather sit down next to a player in the locker room after a game and quietly discuss that player's mistakes and build up his confidence... he could be tough as nails if the situation so merited.

…

Cook was a big believer in experience in pressure situations. He was consistent with this philosophy all through his coaching career.

…

The Barons gave up on the Right winger a little too soon. Whitey never developed into a big scorer in Cleveland because Bun Cook constantly drummed it into his head to think backcheck before scoring.

…

Ceresino was one of the most improved players during the early going. One of the league's fastest skaters, Ray had a habit of skating too close to the boards when carrying the puck. This made it easy to take him out of plays. After working tirelessly with coach Bun Cook, the quick winger was able to adjust his style to using all of the ice on his side of play. This adjustment allowed him to use his great speed and become more elusive. The goals naturally followed.

…

It was no secret to insiders that there were strained relations between Cook and vice president and GM Jim Hendy. They didn't see eye to eye on a number of issues. The tempest in the teapot centered around Cook's handling of players. The coach took a fatherly approach toward his team. Obviously, it worked. Cook won more championships than any other coach in the game. Still, Hendy thought he should have won more. He, and many of the team's stockholders, thought that Cook was too soft on his players... So Bun Cook was gone. One of the game's truly great gentlemen, he took with him a legendary coaching record... The greatest coach in AHL history would be missed in Cleveland. He was one of sport's most well-liked figures, beloved by players and fans alike.

Following a storied playing career in the National Hockey League that earned him an honored place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Fred “Bun†Cook carved a legacy in the American Hockey League as the most prolific coach ever to work an AHL bench.

Cook was a popular player in the early days of the NHL, known as one-third of the famous Bread Line (with brother Bill Cook and Frank Boucher) with the New York Rangers in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He was also recognized as an early innovator in the evolution of the game of hockey, including helping to introduce the slap shot and the drop pass.

A native of Kingston, Ont., Cook retired in 1937 and became head coach of the AHL’s Providence Reds, leading the team to the Calder Cup championship in his first season. Two years later, Cook’s Reds won another Calder Cup, and in 1942, he coached the Eastern Division team in the first AHL All-Star Game, a benefit to raise funds for American and Canadian efforts in World War II. Cook also put himself back on the ice while in Providence, playing a total of 37 regular-season games during his six years with the Reds.

In 1943, Bun Cook took over for his brother Bill behind the bench of the Cleveland Barons and soon solidified his reputation as one of the most popular and successful teachers in the sport. His 13 seasons in Cleveland saw the Barons dominate as a perennial power in the AHL, including seven first-place finishes in the regular season and five more Calder Cup championships.

Cook retired from the AHL in 1956, following his 11th trip to the Calder Cup Finals. He led his team to the postseason in 18 of his 19 seasons and finished with a record of 636-413-122 (.595), still leaving him as the winningest head coach in league history. His incredible seven Calder Cup championships are by far the most ever by an AHL coach; no one else in league history has won more than three. Cook also ranks second all-time with 1,171 games coached and second with 75 postseason victories.

Cook passed away in 1988 at the age of 84, and was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.

After his playing career, Cook turned to coaching. As a rookie bench boss in 1937-38, he led the Providence Reds to the American Hockey League's Calder Cup championship, a feat he duplicated in 1939-40. In 1943-44, Cook moved behind the bench of the Cleveland Barons of the same league and guided that team to an incredible five Calder Cup triumphs before he retired from minor pro hockey in 1956. Cook went down in history as one of the most popular and successful coaches in AHL history.

Cook spent the 1956-57 schedule as coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The following three seasons he steered the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League. Cook's outstanding hockey career came to a close in 1961, when he stepped down as coach of the Kingston Frontenacs.

Bun coached the Providence Reds from 1937-38 until 1942-43, winning the AHL's Eastern Division title three times and the Calder Cup twice (1938 and 1940). He then joined the Cleveland Barons between 1943-44 and 1955-56, coaching the team to seven divisional titles and five Calder Cup championships.

He coached in the Eastern Professional Hockey League for two seasons before retiring in 1958.

Bun Cook retired as a player after a brief stint with the Boston Bruins in the 1936-37 NHL season. he went on to a highly successful career as a coach in the American Hockey League with Providence and Cleveland. He led his teams to the playoffs in 18 0f 19 seasons he coached and his teams won seven league championships, the most championship wins by a coach in the history of the AHL (no other AHL coach has won more than three). His 636 coaching wins likewise are the most in AHL history.

With Bun Cook gone, the Reds suffered through four consecutive losing seasons, from 1943-44 to 1946-47, missing the postseason in every year but 1945-46.

​

 

[tony d]

Centre Billy Taylor:

Some stats on Taylor:

-267 points in 323 games
-4 Top 10 Finishes in Assists (Including a league leading 46 in 1946-1947)
-1942 Stanley Cup Champ
-League Record for assists in 1 game with 7
-Noted playmaker as well as faceoff man

Some stuff I found on Taylor:

The Christian Science Monitor - Boston, Mass.
MONTREAL, Nov. 26 (AP)-- Billy Taylor of the Detroit Red Wings leads the National Hockey League in scoring for the fifth consecutive week league statistics showed today.

From Legends Of Hockey:

He notched 63 points for the Motowners and set an NHL record with seven assists in one game versus the Chicago Black Hawks]

Taylor is a player I'm glad to have drafted. One of the best playmakers of the early days of the NHL he should provide playmaking to the Blaze.

 

[Velociraptor]

Bohuslav Stastny, LW

Position: Left Wing
HT/WT: 5'9", 178 lbs
Handedness: Left

- 73 goals in 188 International games with Czechoslovakia
- 241 goals in 504 games played with Tesla Pardubice (Extraliga)
- two-time Gold Medallist at World Championships (1972, 1976)
- Silver Medallist at 1976 Olympics.
- Bronze Medallist at 1972 Olympics.
- Silver Medallist at 1976 Canada Cup.

Greatest Hockey Legends

Bohuslav Stastny, no relation to the famous Stastny brothers Peter, Anton and Marian who fled Czechoslovakia for the Quebec Nordiques, was a top forward in Czechoslovakian hockey in the 1970s.

A two way industrious forward who formed a special chemistry with the great scorer Vladimir Martinec, Stastny was part of the CSSR teams that won gold at the 1972 and 1976 world championships, silver at the 1976 Olympics, bronze at the 1972 Olympics, and finished second in the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976. Stastny also added three world championship silver medals.

Born near the foothills of the Iron Mountains in Chotebor, Stastny played in 188 international contests with the national team, scoring 73 goals.

He also played in 15 seasons with Tesla Pardubice, from 1967 through 1981. In that time he scored 241 times in 504 games.

In the early 1980s he was granted permission to pursue a hockey career in the West. Both he and Martinec ended up playing 4 seasons with Kaufbeuren ESV in Germany. Both retired in 1985.

The Hockey News Century of Hockey: A Season-Byseason Celebration

Bohuslav Stastny "He was a playmaker par excellence and a very, very fierce competitor who would dig the pucks out of the corner. He was outspoken, a leader, and a player who would do anything to win.

Chidlovski: The Summit in 1972

Excellent 2-way forward, played very well defensively and positionally.

Wikipedia

The offensive trio consisting of Bohuslav Šťastný, Jiří Novák and Vladimír Martinec became the stars of Extra League

Kings of the ice: a history of world hockey

... But the thing was that the Canadians couldn't pass to each other as well as our team's Vladimir Martinec or Bohuslav Stastny could, for instance. They were shooting from all directions

In Pardubice, the right wing, together with Jiri Novak and Bohuslav Stastny, created one of the most dangerous formations of the time. As early as 1966 they won the junior title together.

 

[Velociraptor]

Colin Patterson, RW

Position: Right Wing
HT/WT: 6'2", 195 lbs
Handedness: Right

- one-time Stanley Cup Champion (1989)
- Selke Finalist with Guy Carbonneau and Esa Tikkanen in 1989, finished 3rd.
- scored 96 goals and 110 assists for 206 points in 504 games played, adding 239 penalty minutes.
- scored 12 goals, and 17 assists for 29 points in 85 playoff games played, adding 57 penalty minutes.

Selke Voting Record:

3rd (88-89), 12th (86-87), 31st (89-90)

Greatest Hockey Legends

During the mid to late 1980s the Calgary Flames were an NHL super power. One of the most unheralded yet most valuable players from those teams was Colin Patterson.

Patterson combined speed and anticipation to establish himself as one of the NHL's best defensive forwards. A tremendous forechecker who would sacrifice his body without thought, Patterson was hard worker and dedicated athlete. He was also a character in the locker room, always cracking jokes to keep the team loose.

Patterson was a key figure on the Flames roster for the next four seasons and especially during the 1988-89 campaign. He established a career-high 24 assists and totaled 38 points during the regular season that year and was a solid performer for the club in the postseason. In 22 playoff games in 1989, he totaled 13 points and helped the Flames to their first Stanley Cup championship.

Legends of Hockey

During his youth, Colin Patterson was not a single-minded lad with hockey as his sole obsession. To the contrary, he was more noteworthy on his school grounds playing lacrosse. He eventually developed into a world-class player, representing Canada at the world championships in Baltimore where he won a bronze medal.

Over the next ten years, he established himself as a defensive specialist, skating, for the most part, alongside Doug Risebrough and XXXXXXX XXXXX. Patterson rarely strayed from his defensive role, one he fell into with ease, having learned the skill during his days as a lacrosse player.

Wikipedia

A skillful defensive forward, usually playing right wing, he was a finalist for the Selke Trophy in 1989.

Edmonton Journal - May 15, 1986

The Flames combined oppotunistic goalscoring by Al MacInnis and Colin Patterson with a superb checking performance to nip the Blues by a score of 2-1

Buffalo News - Jan 15, 1992

In that game, coach John Muckler pitted checking specialist Colin Patterson against Messier. Since the home team has the final line change, ...

Buffalo News - Sep 28, 1992

If the Sabres do go with a banger line, does Hannan or perhaps Colin Patterson anchor a checking line?

Montreal Gazette - May 23, 1986

Also absent were defensive forward Colin Patterson...

Philadelphia Daily News - May 16, 1986

Veterans Tonelli, Risebrough, Jim Peplinksi, and kids Colin Patterson and Joel Otto, are all physical specimens with well- defined defensive roles. ...

Kimberley Daily Bulletin - Jun 17, 2011

Bill Steenson said Patterson always knew his defensive assignments, and worked as hard in practice, as in games (A Coaches dream).

Go to the Net: Eight Goals That Changed the Game

Against Gretzky, he used XXXXX XXXXXXX, a checking specialist, supported by Colin Paterson, another fleet checker

 

[Hedberg]

G Tomáš Vokoun

6'0, 195
Catches Right
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Played in 2004 and 2008 All-Star Games
2nd (08-09), 3rd (09-10), 5th (05-06), 5th (06-07), 9th (10-11) in SV%
4th (05-06), 8th (03-04), 9th (08-09) in Vezina Voting
2005, 2010 World Championship Gold Medal
2006 Olympic Bronze Medal
2005 World Championship All-Star
2005 World Championship Best Goaltender
2010 Czech Player of the Year

.917 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 48 SO in 680 NHL GP
.942 SV%, 1.46 GAA, 5 SO in 29 World Championship GP
.917 SV%, 2.14 GAA, 1 SO in 12 Olympic GP

Wikipedia:

Vokoun acquitted himself well when given the chance to start, and he shouldered a heavy load for the Predators. His play was good enough in 2003-04 to send him to the All-Star Game for the first time. Possibly more important to Vokoun, though, was the chance to go to the playoffs, and the Predators earned their first trip in 2004. Although the Predators lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, they surprised many by giving the Red Wings more of a challenge than expected. In games three and four, both played in Nashville, Vokoun awed spectators with his performance netting the first-ever playoff shutout in franchise history by stopping 41 Red Wing shots.

Vokoun had by then [05-06] emerged as one of the world's elite goaltenders. His picture was placed on the cover of Nashville's city directory, testifying to his popularity in the non-traditional hockey market. Furthermore, as a fan favorite, during home games at the Sommet Center, when he made a save, the Predators fans in attendance routinely responded with a loud chant of "VOO-KOOOON!"

Hockey Forecaster:

ASSETS: Is extremely tough to get a read on from a shooter's perspective because he's unpredictable. Plays a very active, ultra-unorthodox style. Can get red-hot for long stretches and has a lightning-fast catching hand. Loves a heavy workload and often makes highlight-reel stops.
FLAWS: Tends to struggle with his lateral mobility. When he's cold, he also loses his focus. That's a double-whammy. Needs to show greater consistency, specifically in those two critical areas. He's also showing signs of decline.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Quality, unorthodox goaltender.

The Sports Forecaster 2005-2006

Vokoun was Nashville's MVP in 2003-04. He followed that up with sound performances for the Czech Republic at both the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and 2005 IIHF World hockey championships. Though not very big, Vokoun is pretty much an angles goalie that lets the puck hit him. He is highly respected by his teammates.

KuklasKorner

Often when a player is presented as the most underrated in the NHL, it is a player that few people have heard of who is doing a good job for his team. That is not the case right now. Most people who have some interest in hockey have heard of Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers. They have never thought of him as arguably the best goaltender in the NHL.

The case for Vokoun as a top goaltender is simple. He has been the best goalie statistically in the last several years [link]. Fear the fin compiled saves percentage numbers since the lockout and finds Vokoun’s .923 saves percentage is four points higher than any other goalie on the list. In that time, Tomas Vokoun has had no Vezina Trophy nominations. The problem is that nobody has noticed him as he has toiled in obscure hockey markets of Nashville and Florida. He hasn’t been able to get wins while playing for these teams. These teams have had neither the offence nor the defence to make his job a success.

Fear The Fin:

He hasn't ever won a Vezina Trophy; never even been nominated for one in fact. His worst season was a .919 outing in 2005-2006, and another "low" of .919 in 2007-2008. A lot of this has to do with season samples of course-- Vokoun has been in the top five amongst goaltenders 80% of the time, but never cracked the top three until last year, where he was second behind Tim Thomas.

 

[Dreakmur]

I never counted the number of fights I've been in or how many I won or lost. It doesn't matter how many fights you win, anyway. It's how many times you show up for them that counts.

Dan Maloney !!!​

Awards and Achievements:
Detroit Red Wings captain (1978-79)

NHL All-Star Game participant (1976)

Statistical Accomplishments:
Penalty Minutes – 6th(1971), 9th(1976), 12th(1975), 12th(1978), 16th(1979)

Point Percentages – 55, 52, 42, 41, 39
Goal Percentages – 51, 48, 36, 34, 33
Assist Percentages – 55, 47, 46, 44, 33

Losing Maloney was a big blow to what we were trying to accomplish in LA. He was our leader, a much respected player.

A big need on our team was a tough, aggressive left winger and no one filled the bill better than Maloney.

Always a fine two-way forward, Maloney based his career on a strong work ethic and tenacity while at the same time generating plenty of offense. He had back-to-back 66 points seasons in the mid-1970s and in his first season as a Maple Leaf totaled 53 points and 157 PIMs.

If there was ever a player who molded his career on a strong work ethic and tenacity, it was Dan Maloney, who always gave the proverbial 110 per cent.

At the age of 17, lanky Dan Maloney played Junior B hockey with the Markham Waxers, where he was one of the team's best two-way players, and always showed an interest in the fisticuffs if need be. At 18, he moved on to major junior, suiting up for the London Knights in 1968-69. The following year Maloney received much more ice time and was gaining lots of attention from NHL scouts, who liked his ability to generate offense while at the same time showing a willingness to take care of the tough stuff, as evidenced by his 232 minutes in the penalty box.

The Chicago Blackhawks selected Maloney with the 14th pick overall in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Maloney played in the Blackhawks organization for almost three years, and became known as one of the enforcers, both with Chicago and the club's minor-league affiliate in Dallas. Late in the 1972-73 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Ralph Backstrom.

After spending two years on the west coast in relative anonymity, Maloney was traded to the Detroit Red Wings as part of a blockbuster deal that also saw Terry Harper move to the Motor City in the famous Marcel Dionne trade. Maloney spent the better part of three seasons in Detroit before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 1978 NHL Entry Draft. He remained in a Maple Leafs' uniform until retiring in 1982 at the age of 31.

This Irishman may have been quiet and soft-spoken off the ice but on the ice he was anything but. Dan Maloney was a charismatic leader who always stuck up for his teammates. As a result he was he was always popular in the dressing room wherever he played.

…

The Chicago Black Hawks liked Dan's rugged play and claimed him in the 1970 amateur draft (1st choice,14th overall). Dan quickly established himself as one of the leagues premier pugilists. He won some memorable fights as a rookie, but he also contributed offensively. Over the years Dan fought the toughest players and won many of his fights, even though a serious shoulder injury slowed him down a bit in later years. He was never afraid to drop 'em. His fearless attitude was his greatest ally in the NHL trenches.

…

Dan was certainly no speed demon on his skates, but he worked very hard to improve his skating. He lacked the natural scorer's touch around the net and had to work hard for everything he accomplished. His strength wasn't only his right and left fists but also his overall work ethic and leadership qualities. Dan was a really good cornerman and stood his ground around the enemy net.

One day, he (Terry O’Reilly) tapped the wrong guy, Dan Maloney, another tough Irish lad, on the shoulder and Dan just turned around and filled him right in.

 

[VanIslander]

defenseman Igor Romishevsky, the two-time Olympic gold medalist (1968, '72), four-time world championship winner (1968, '69, '70, '71) on the Soviet national team from 1965-1972, a three-time Soviet all-star (two 2nd team all-stars and a 3rd team all-star) in '68, '69 and '71, a 9-time league champion on the Red Army blueline (1961, 1963-66, 1968, 1970-72). He scored three points in each of the 1969, 1970 and 1971 World Championships. He scored at least a half dozen goals per season over a 5-year span up to 1966, with only 11 over the following half decade:
http://www.eurohockey.com/player/28265-igor-romishevsky.html

...absence of several world-class players affected the performance of the Soviets in the 1972 Summit Series. Obviously, the Olympic Champions Igor Romishevsky, Vitaly Davydov and, especially, Anatoly Firsov could have been a powerful addition to the Soviet team in the 1972 Summit.

http://www.chidlovski.com/personal/1972/stats/howru72.htm

The great Soviet coach Anatoli Tarasov, in his Road to Olympus(1969), describes, praises and criticizes Igor Romishevsky very astutely. Romishevsky was part of the fastest unit on the Red Army team in 1965, Tarasov says (pg. 30 of RtO). Tarasov goes on and on about the value of passing and decision making, after first introducing the topic with an example of Romishevsky's play: "... to Romishevsky who picks up speed and the line spreads out for the attack. The Spartaks fall back. There is an opening in front of Romishevsky, he can go in by himself, but he passes..."

Tarasov chose Romishevsky to be the 'halfback' in a new 1-2-2 system which had 1 defensive defenseman, 2 forward wingers and 2 'halfbacks' which - on how he describes it seems a lot like the 'halfbacks' were basically offensive defenseman and backchecking center. Romishevsky was chosen for the 5-man unit for his 'speed stamina' and 'explosive qualities' (111):

"Igor Romishevsky performs his role of 'halfback' with a creative approach. There is something in him that makes his game thrilling, above all, his ability to transform himself in a split second" (116)

This praise is followed by a long paragraph description of the skill of transformation, as one of good decision making and capitalizing on opportunities for transition, immediately followed by a short paragraph:

"I remember how in an exhibition game against the national Swedish team, Romishevsky, displaying unparalleled skill and daring, went down the whole rink, outplaying four Swedes and changed the score to 2:1 in our favour. I think everyone who saw that game will never forget that goal."(117)

Tarasov said the unit came undone when the players tried to switch roles, as Romishevsky like the others couldn't make all the key decisions outside of their strengths and well practiced roles. Romishevsky as the 1 in the 1-2-2 system made mistakes trying to counterattack too early when his role was to be the defensive '1' in the system. Tarasov accepts the blame for the unit's poor play in a game and then regains his pride when the unit went +3 in a game back in their original roles, Romishevsky as a halfback, in the role of rusher who determines when to pass and when to carry the puck deep (basically a precursor to the modern day offensive defenseman it seems to me).

--------

Aside - interestingly:

Plante was forced to come up with the big save on Igor Romishevsky just before the two-minute mark, after Andre Boudrias had missed the net twice from close in for the home club.

http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=8354

The above quote is from arguably one of the most important games in Soviet hockey history as the Soviets took on the Montreal Junior Canadiens in 1965, dominating the play but losing 2-1 because of spectacular goaltending by Plante, the game important because it is said to have taught the Soviets the importance of improving their goaltending (it is said set the priority and focus to find and develop a Tretiak).

The roster included a lot of all-time greats. On defense: Ragulin, Kuzkin, Romishevsky, Davydov. Forwards: Loktev, Almetov, Alexandrov, Starshinov, Mayorov, Firsov, Vikulov, Yakushev.

 

[tony d]

Defenseman Jeff Brown

Brown's stats:

- 8 50 Point Seasons
- 3 Seasons of 10 or Power Play Goals
- Tied for 2nd on the Blues in playoff scoring in 1993.
- 65 Points in 87 Career Playoff Games
- 8 30 Assist Seasons

Legends Of Hockey:

Jeff Brown was a mobile defenceman who played over 700 games for six different clubs. He was a superior passer who liked to gamble by rushing with the puck or pinching in from the blueline.
He was one of their few positive stories in the late 1980s. Brown was a top point producer for the club and scored 13 power play goals in 1988-89.

The clever blueliner was one of many bodies moved when the Nordiques cleaned house at the start of the '90s. He joined the St. Louis Blues in 1989-90 and immediately upgraded their power play and transition game. In 1990-91.

Late in the 1993-94 season Brown was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks in time for their drive to the Stanley Cup finals. His mobility and experience helped the club come within one game of winning it all in a tough series against the New York Rangers. Brown retired with nearly 600 career points and the reputation of being one of the best power play specialists of his time.

St.Louis Post Dispatch March 24, 1991:

The accepted line of thinking was the Blues lost their best defenseman of last season when an arbitrator awarded Scott Stevens to the New Jersey Devils.
Perhaps, perhaps not.

Some might suggest the Blues' top defenseman is still here and will be here for years. Some believe Jeff Brown has come that far.

''When Jeff came here he was certainly a skilled and talented offensive player,'' Blues coach undrafted

Really glad to have Brown on the team, like him to anchor my team's defense in terms of the offensive game.

 

[Hedberg]

D Anders Eldebrink

5'11, 190
Shoots Right
Morjärv, Sweden

1984-85 Guldpucken (Elitserien Best Player)
1987-88, 1988-89 Guldhjälmen (Elitserien MVP)
1987 World Championship Gold Medal
1988 Olympic Bronze Medal
1989 World Championship All-Star

105 G, 166 A, 271 Pts in 390 Elitserien GP
3 G, 11 A, 14 Pts in 55 NHL GP
4 G, 6 A, 10 Pts in 8 Olympic GP
13 G, 11 A, 24 Pts in 51 WC GP
2 G, 6 A, 8 Pts in 14 Canada Cup GP
68 G, 112 A, 180 Pts in 168 NLA GP

International Hockey Legends:

Anders Eldebrink never made an impact in the NHL but he was a key cog on the Swedish national team for the entire 1980's and is extremely well respected back in Sweden. He was voted as the best left-side defenseman in Swedish hockey history by Swedish hockey fans in 1995.

Anders would admit that regreted that he hadn't stayed in Sweden for a longer time.

"I went over to North America way too early. I wasn't mature enough and I guess I had too much respect. I also never got much icetime from neither Harry Neale or Roger Neilson," he said of the Canucks coaches.

Although his NHL career was over early on, he went on to become a dominant force on the Swedish national team and in the Swedish Elite league for many years. Anders developed into a lethal powerplay specialist with a deadly shot. His offensive play was his strongest weapon. He was a great puck handler and a very mobile defenseman. He was always among the highest scoring defensemen in the Swedish league. In 1985 he led his Södertälje team to the Swedish title.

His finest moments though came when he put on the Swedish national team jersey. He participated in six World Championships, two Canada Cups and one Olympic tournament. Anders especially excelled when Sweden became the World Champions in 1987. Although he didn't make the All-Star team, most people considered Anders to be the best defenseman of the tournament. He was +14 in the tournament and played extremely well in both ends of the ice.

At a dinner party after the Swedes had won the Gold he got a fine acknowledgement from two Russian giants, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov.

"It was really nice to hear both Fetisov and Kasatonov say that they thought I was the best defenseman in the tournament. To hear it from two such great players made me proud," Anders said.

That 1987 tournament was one of Anders highlights during his playing career.

"The feeling when the national anthem was played after we had won the Gold can't be described" Anders said. "It sent shivers down my spine. I was extremely proud to be a Swede at that moment."

In 1988 Anders won the "player of the year" award in Sweden. In 1989 he eventually got some personal revenge as he made the World All-Star team (World Championships).

Legends of Hockey

Anders Eldebrink wasn't a big man physically, but many considered him a giant among hockey players. His strength and powerful shooting ability contributed to many victories for his local team, Sodertalje, and Sweden's national team. Although Eldebrink wasn't voted best defenseman at the 1987 World Championship in Vienna, at the farewell party at city hall in honor of Tre Kronor's first victory in 25 years, Russian player Viacheslav Fetisov told him he was, in his opinion, the tournament's best defenseman. That assessment meant more to Eldebrink than many of his other honors.

In Sweden, many still believe that Eldebrink was the country's top defenseman during the 1980s. In the 1987-88 season, he won Olympic bronze in Calgary, where he was the Swedish team's best scorer, and placed third in the Canada Cup. Then he played 27 games for Tre Kronor, scoring 10 goals plus 11 assists, an achievement as good as any forward's. In the 1988-89 season, he was the first Swedish player to be awarded the Golden Helmet prize established by Hockey magazine to honor the most valuable player of the Elite Series, Sweden's major league. He played his 100th game on the national team against the USSR on August 29 of that year in Calgary, where Sweden won 5-3.

Eldebrink was a defenseman with brilliant shooting technique combined with an instant readiness to back his forward on offense and to make an accurate and timely pass. Swedish coach Tommy Sandlin considered him the world's best defenseman and honored Eldebrink by including him on the national team many times.

Challe Berglund (quote originally posted by jkrx)

It was fantastic. It was a bit tough to get there because I was supposed to replace Anders Eldebrink as a foreigner on the team - he and Mikael Johansson played there that - and the team had won three straight championships. Anders was almost like a god down there [Switzerland], so it was not easy

L-G Pettersson (quote originally posted by jkrx)

There were many good leader types in the team like Bengt-Ake Gustafsson, Hakan Loob and Anders Eldebrink

 

[Hedberg]

D Willie Mitchell

6'3, 208
Shoots Left
Port McNeill, BC, Canada

2004 World Championship Gold Medal
2012 Stanley Cup Champion

29 G, 124 A, 153 Pts in 719 GP

The Hockey Writers:

Willie Mitchell is one of the best defensive defensemen in hockey. All it took was 719 NHL regular season games, 71 NHL postseason games, and stops in New Jersey, Minnesota, Dallas, Vancouver, and Los Angeles for most people to find out. Wherever he has gone in his hockey career, he has brought with him an insatiable will to win, a quiet confidence in his abilities, a tenacity to defend his own goal, and a really long hockey stick.

To his teammates, he is a defensive rock and a calming presence on the ice. To the goaltenders that play behind him, he is a safety net. To his coaches, he is a player they can lean on in difficult situations. To the media, he is a breath of fresh air in a sport full of scripted answers and clichés. To opponents, he is a physical and formidable foe.

He is finally receiving the credit he has so long deserved for being one of the elite shutdown defensemen in a sport that glorifies beautiful goals, hard hits, and dazzling saves. His stick positioning is as good as Steven Stamkos’s wrist shot, Pekka Rinne’s glove, or Sidney Crosby’s backhand, but you won’t find clips of his defensive abilities on the highlight reels.

Mitchell brought with him a focus on the defensive craft not seen in Vancouver in a long time. He quickly emerged as the top shutdown defenseman on the team. He logged heavy minutes on the penalty kill, and was matched up against the top opposing forwards each night. It wasn’t a coincidence that the team emerged as one of the best in the league during Mitchell’s four seasons.

Mitchell played almost five minutes per game on the penalty kill in 2006-07. Across the league, only Derian Hatcher (5:37 per game) and Adam Foote (4:58 per game) played more.

In the next three seasons, Mitchell’s role on the Canucks was very consistent. He logged an average of 4:15 per game on the PK, and 0:17 on the PP. He played the toughest minutes among any Canuck defensemen for those three seasons.

Hockey Forecaster:

Is a huge presence and displays terrific defensive instincts and leadership. Possesses a decent shot from the point. Loves the challenge of shutting opponents down.

Hockey Analysis:

Over the past 4 seasons there have been 68 defensemen to play 4000+ minutes of zone start adjusted 5v5 ice time. Of those defensemen Lidstrom ranks 9th in HARO+, 13th in HARD+ and 4th in HART+. The only defensemen more valuable overall over the past 4 seasons are Chara (excellent offensive and defensive play), Willie Mitchell (excellent defensive play which we are clearly seeing these playoffs) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (excellent defensive ability, good offensive play).

Behind the Net:

Measuring Quality of Competition is less straight-forward: we take the ice time-weighted average of a player's opponents' Corsi number relative to his teammates. The leaders over the last four seasons are a who's who of top defensive players: Nicklas Lidstrom, Willie Mitchell, Sammy Pahlsson, Brent Seabrook, Jay Bouwmeester, Chris Phillips

 

[Hedberg]

D James Stewart

Montreal, Quebec, Canada?

1892 Retroactive Norris
1893, 1984 Stanley Cup Champion

Iain Fyffe

on HFBoards:

Stewart is something of a defensive pick, if you'll pardon the pun. One might build an argument that Paton was not the most important cog in the Winged Wheelers' defence; Stewart played for the Crystals before joining the AAA, and in two of those three years the Crystals allowed the fewest goals per game.

He played point for each of his 11 years, the second-most important defensive position, and in 9 of those years his team allowed the fewest goals per game. He completes the triumvirate of Paton and Allan Cameron to form the nucleus of the defensively dominant Winged Wheelers teams that lasted into the 1890s.

----------

Even though Tom Paton was recognized as the best goalie, I guess people don't realize that James Stewart was Paton's teammate for most of their careers, and Stewart played the second-most important defensive position. Before joining the Winged Wheelers, Stewart played with the Crystals, and they were excellent defensively as well. He is absolutely an elite stay-at-home blueliner at this level.

on Hockey Historysis:

Ultimate Hockey recognizes Stewart as "Best Shot-Blocker" of the 19th Century, saying he "was Allan Cameron's defensive conscience and the first in modern terms, to act as a second goalie. He held the point position as like a rock on those celebrated Montreal AAA squads..." I'd say this is overly simplistic. For one thing, as we'll see when we look at Allan Cameron, that man did not need a defensive conscience (unlike, perhaps, their Montreal Vics contemporary Jack Campbell).

For another, if you read the game reports for the Winged Wheelers, it's rare to see Stewart singled out for his performance. Praise directed his way was almost always in conjunction with Cameron, for example in the January 14, 1888 edition of the Montreal Gazette which stated "...the Crystals tried to reduce the odds against them, but owing to the grand defence of Cameron and Stewart their efforts were unavailing."

Indeed, in the February 16, 1888 edition of that paper, a writer admonished that "Stewart should not forget that his position is point, he has a disposition to get too far away from his place, he should keep further back to give the goalkeeper a little more assistance." In due time I'm going to make an argument that this comment has more to do with the defensive style of the mighty Winged Wheelers, than with a failing on Stewart's part, who played a very important defensive position for some exceptionally good defensive teams.

Previously I've written a bit about the Big Three on defence for the Montreal Winged Wheelers of the 1880s and early 1890s, a defensively dominant team: goaltender Tom Paton, point James Stewart and cover-point Allan Cameron. We know that Paton excelled not only at stopping the puck but especially at clearing it after a save; we known that Cameron was noted both for his transition game and his aggressive defence; and we know that while Stewart was less celebrated than the other two, he was still known as a top defender. However, we also saw a quote which called Stewart out for leaving his position in front of the goal too much, for not playing as a point should.

But it doesn't make much sense that this team, with a point that played out of position so often, would be able to prevent goals as well as they did. The point was the second-most important defensive position on the ice, and if he abandoned his position so much, that would cost his team goals. Unless, of course, leaving his post actually helped his team keep the puck out of the net...

I believe that Stewart's aggressiveness, relative to how the point position was "supposed" to be played at the time, was in fact a tactical choice, and one that was very effective. Cameron was known to challenge opponents, instead of waiting for them to come to him, and I suggest that Stewart did the same to great effect. This is from a game report in the March 8, 1892 edition of the Montreal Gazette:

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.

So both Cameron and Stewart went after the enemy puck-carriers (something points especially were not really expected to do). They did not play passively, allowing the opponents time to enter the zone and set up a combination play. I believe this is one of the main reasons the Winged Wheelers were so good at preventing goals: Cameron and Stewart were able to play aggressively, stripping the puck from opponents before they could make a play. Not everyone could do this, of course; you'd need the instincts and ability to pull it off.

I believe this is also what allowed Cameron and Stewart to be so effective by being aggressive. If you challenged an enemy puck carrier, you were not in as much danger of getting into a bad position as you would be in the modern game, because if the opponent passed the puck before you get to him, he could at best do it laterally, and it will often be behind him. As such, if you could read the play quickly enough (which Cameron and Stewart surely could), when the opponent passed the puck you were be able to adjust your trajectory to intercept that player instead, because he simply could not be behind you.

As such, I think Cameron and especially Stewart were simply ahead of their time, realizing the advantage on defence that playing aggressively could bring. While some other defences waiting for puck carriers to come to them, the Winged Wheelers focused on stopping the opponents advances as soon as they could. And this is one reason they were so very good at keeping the puck out of the net.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

C Vyacheslav Bykov

Soviet League finishes:
PTS: 3, 4, 7, T8, 10, T11, T11*, 15, 17
Goals: T6*, T7, T7, T7, T8, T9, T14, T15, T18
Assists: 3, 4, T14, T14, 17, T17, T18, T18*
*After Green Unit left

WC Ranks: T4, T5, T5, T13, T14
OG Ranks: T4
CC Rank: 5

x1 World Championship AST ('89)
x1 Soviet League AST ('90)

Bykov's talent allowed him to return to national team scene and go onto a career highlighted with 5 world championships, 2 Olympic Golds, and 7 Russian league titles. Two of the WCs and the last Olympic gold came with Bykov as team captain, putting him in a group of esteemed Soviet hockey captains such as Mikhailov and Fetisov.

Bykov and Khomutov in particular had incredible chemistry together. They played a smooth, uninterrupted style of game. Their hockey truly was beautiful hockey, an absolute joy to watch. Their criss-crossing skating with dazzling passing displays dizzied the best of defenses and wore down the opponents. The only thing more nimble than their feet was their hands.

When the bigger and more physical Kamensky joined the two tiny puck wizards in about 1986, the Bykov line was considered by many to be the equal of the KLM Line.

http://internationalhockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/05/vyacheslav-bykov.html

"I was singing the old Soviet anthem to myself," said Vyacheslav Bykov, the veteran center whose slap shot with 1 minute 9 seconds remaining sealed the victory Sunday. "I was thinking the future is Russian."

Judging from play these last two weeks, it would appear Bykov was right, whether the Russian hockey future is in Europe or in the NHL.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=3441,77523&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

[Dave King] mentioned three names to watch in the third period: Andrei Khomoutov, Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Kravtchouk. "Those are the three veterans," he said. "They'll need leadership from them."
Those words proved to be prophetic. Bykov narrowly missed a power-play goal with slap shot that LeBlanc made a great save on. Minutes later, Khomoutov slipped a rebound past LeBlanc to break the tie at 10:55 of the third period. Then Khomoutov hit Bykov with a nifty centering pass on the fly, and Bykov brilliantly fed Yuri Khmylev on the left wing for the goal at 14:08 that broke the Americans' spirit.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/22/s...s-advice-is-zip-lips.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm

The Russian Olympic team, likely to consist of players who were on the top two teams at the Izvestia Cup, still should be powerful. And 1992 Olympic standouts Vyacheslav Bykov and Andrei Khomutov, both playing in Switzerland, could be added to an unusually young Russian team.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...BAJ&pg=6624,1314340&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

For the Soviets, it was their 20th world title, one more than Canada. After blowing the two goal lead they had built up six minutes into the second period the Soviets needed a goal for Vyacheslav Bykov at 5:16 of the final period to complete their 10-0 unbeaten walk through the 16-day tournament.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...BAJ&pg=5151,4033846&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

Vyacheslav Bykov, a forward from the Soviet Central Army Sports Club, scored twice against Canada.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...BAJ&pg=1881,2052877&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

The teams swapped goals in the first two minutes of the game. Vyacheslav Bykov opened the scoring 72 seconds into the game, tipping a pass from Valery Kamensky past Moog.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...BAJ&pg=3624,3675171&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

Veteran Marcel Dionne handed the Soviets a soft goal when, on a Canadian power player, he made a drop pass in his own zone with no teammate behind him. Bykov swooped in and beat goaltender Kelly Hrudley at 11:40.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...BAJ&pg=2532,5530155&dq=vyacheslav+bykov&hl=en

Swiss clubs have also led pre-emptive strikes in signing top echelon Soviet players. efenseDman Yuri Voshakov turned down an offer by the Los Angeles Kings and went to Switzerland, as did Vyacheslav Bykov and Andrei Khomutov, who passed on the Quebec Nordiques.

"The NHL is still the premier league in the world, and if a player gets a good offer and turns it down, you have to question his ambition, Team Canada head coach Dave King said recently.

Bykov argued, however, that "money is not everything in life. The Soviet Union is a big country. As a hockey player,, you fly all over it and abroad too. You are away from home most of the time. So if you switch over to the NHL, it is the same all over again. That's why I prefer to play here, spend more time with my family."

The longest bus ride in the Swiss League takes about four hours.

news.google.com/newspapers?id=bDdDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Jq0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4276,3284265&dq=en

 

[Hedberg]

C Cully Dahlstrom

5'10, 172
Shoots Left
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

1938 Stanley Cup Champion
10th in Assists 39-40

88 G, 118 A, 206 Pts in 342 GP

Legends of Hockey

Dahlstrom was part of the 1937-38 season when the Blackhawks were the Cinderella team of the year, shocking the media, fans, and other teams by winning the Stanley Cup. Dahlstrom is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Chicago Blackhawk Legends

When Cully Dahlstrom made his NHL debut for Chicago Blackhawks in 1937-38 he was one of very few American born players in the league. Chicago's owner was Major Fred McLaughlin. One of his dreams was to put together an all-American Stanley Cup winning team. This of course never happened but he had several Americans on the Chicago team that won the Stanley Cup in 1938.

Cully himself played a vital role in the playoffs as he scored some key goals. In game two of the semi-final against NY Americans Cully scored the only goal of the game, an overtime goal after 33:01 of OT to tie the series which saved Chicago from elimination. He also scored the first goal against Toronto in the 4-1 win that brought the Stanley Cup to Chicago.

Cully recalled an oddity about the Stanley Cup win.

" The funny thing about winning the Cup that year is the fact that we never got to drink champagne out of it the night we won the championship. It seems as though certain people were so sure that the Cup wasn't going to come to Chicago, that it was never brought down from Toronto."

Cully's best season point wise in the NHL came in 1943-44 when he scored 42 points, including 20 goals, in 50 games. He played one more season before retiring from hockey. He was best known as a two-way center and a regular penalty killer. He was one of USA's pioneers in the NHL and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973.

The Calgary Herald, Oct. 20, 1939

Thompson paired rookies Johnny Chad and George Allen with centre Cully Dahlstrom, which gave him a rugged combination and one which thrives with heavy going.

The Montreal Gazette, Nov. 4, 1937

Dahlstrom, the prized centre from St. Paul, whom the Maroons tried to get.

The Vancouver Sun, Dec. 11, 1942

Cully Dahlstrom, on another sparkling solo rush, counted the second Chicago marker.

 

[Hedberg]

D Eric Brewer

6'3, 222
Shoots Left
Vernon, BC, Canada

2002 Olympic Gold Medal
Played in 2003 World Championship All-Star
2003, 2004, 2007 World Championship Gold Medal
2004 World Cup Champion
St. Louis Blues Captain 2008-2011

66 G, 165 A, 231 Pts in 840 NHL GP
2 G, 0 A, 2 Pts in 6 Olympic GP
5 G, 11 A, 16 Pts in 41 World Championship GP
1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts in 6 World Cup GP


Hockey Forecaster

Has great size and leadership qualities. Moves well laterally and carries a good shot from the point. Can log big minutes.

Legends of Hockey

Brewer was drafted fifth overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. One year later, he made his NHL debut on October 10, 1998 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On November 5, he scored his first goal against the Carolina Hurricanes' Trevor Kidd. Brewer played 63 games that rookie season. In 99-2000, Brewer played 26 games at the NHL level before he was traded with Josh Green and a second-round draft pick to the Edmonton Oilers for Roman Hamrlík. In his first season, he co-led the Oilers with a +15 plus/minus rating and had 21 points.

Over the course of the next three seasons with Edmonton, Brewer showed the poise and the leadership of a seasoned veteran, bettering his offensive totals each season. In 2003-04, Brewer had his fourth consecutive 20 plus point season with the Oilers before he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2005 as part of the Chris Pronger trade.

In St. Louis, Brewer provided the Blues with solid, if unspectacular play from the back end. His steady play and calm demeanor made him a natural leader for the young Blues team and on February 8, 2008 he was named the nineteenth captain in franchise history.

The Puck Stops Here

Brewer is an interesting player. He was once thought of as a star defenceman of the future. He has played internationally for Team Canada including in the 2002 Olympics. He never really developed into an offensive defenceman as it was hoped. Nevertheless coach Guy Boucher has found a useful role for him in Tampa.

Brewer began to fizzle a bit in his role in his later Edmonton and his St Louis Blues days. He was a failed frontline defenceman who was providing more of a depth role. His career has been partially resuscitated in Tampa.

Brewer is the counterpart to Marc-Andre Bergeron. While Bergeron is used predominantly in offensive situations where he can be useful while minimizing his defensive failings, Brewer plays the defensive shifts. The combination of Brewer and Bergeron is essentially the equivalent of on all star level defenceman except that it takes two roster spots.

Brewer is the best defensive defenceman on the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has some offensive ability, though his career best of 29 points shows he is not truly a top offensive defenceman. That offensive ability is partially sacrificed in this role - though he did score 21 points this year (with only one goal).

Tampa coach Guy Boucher gets a lot of credit for taking two defencemen in Marc-Andre Bergeron and Eric Brewer and using them successfully in their roles. He has done a good job getting the most out of these players. They have complementary roles.Brewer’s defensive skills allow Bergeron to roam offensively.

 

[VanIslander]

6'0 200 lbs. defenseman Barney Holden, who scored the first goal, in the first game, of the very first professional hockey league game on December 9, 1904 in the Pittsburgh Duquesne Gardens. The Winnipegger played for Portage Lake from 1904-1907, teammate of Cyclone Taylor and Bad Joe Hall, as they won three championships together in the International Hockey League, Holden was three times an all-star in that league. His card was in the first pack of hockey cards ever made, one of 36 players produced in a set, the C-56 Tobacco Cigarrette Card series in 1910. He played for the Stanley Cup three times over his career, was in the NHA with Quebec for two seasons and was an all-star again in 1912 in the SPHL.

Known as a hitter, he was tough as hobnails, and somewhere on the ice rinks between Michigan, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, he left his blood and his front teeth.

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

..."was the greatest cover point of all time" according to N.J. Gillespie, writer for the Winnipeg Tribune Magazine, March 11, 1933. Gillespie tells of watching Barney play in Houghton as a youth, and said in the article that Holden would "stand at his position as cover point, now about where the blue line is located, and "laze" a puck over the heads of all and sundry that would find the goal, every time, unless the goal guard was lucky enough to see it coming and block it." "In those days of early hockey, the lighting system was not so good, and when you shot a puck into the air nobody could see it. I have seen "Barney" score goal after goal by shooting a high one the length of the rink that would nestle in the net without the goalie ever knowing it was coming. In the season of 1906-07, playing against the Pittsburgh pro team, in the first five minutes of the second half a player's skate ripped his [Holden's] shoe wide open. He played more than 25 minutes of hockey until the game was ended. When he reached the dressing room, this youth [Gillespie] was there to wait on him, as usual, and drew off his shoe and poured blood out of the shoe. A surgeon took seven stitches in his foot that night." "In those days, hockey players played 30 minutes, and after a 10 minute rest they played 30 more minutes. And if they were hurt enough to have to leave the game, they couldn't get back into the lineup. Unless they were knocked out so cold they had to be carried off the ice, they always stayed in the line up. Those surely were the days of the he-man hockey, mates." Gillespie wrote.

http://www.cchockeyhistory.org/legends/H.htm

Holden had a legendary wrist shot. It was said that his wrist shot was so hard that it broke the 2 inch thick end boards in Brandon, Manitoba, one night.

He was also known to fire high shots in on net from the blue line and he would score goals from there. With primitive lighting the goalie would often lose sight of the dark disc.

He was not just a heavy shooter but a heavy hitter.

Boy was he tough. In another great story had Holden's skate ripped open early in the second half of the game (back before the creation of three periods) and he continued to play the entire rest of the game with his foot exposed. When the game was over he simply poured the blood out of his boot and awaited the doctors' stitchings.

On the downside of his career Holden moved back to Canada where he played with the Montreal Wanderers and Quebec Bulldogs.

It was said asthma that forced him to hang up his skates, although he played some semi-pro baseball after hockey and was active coaching his 5 sons and 1 daughter hockey and baseball teams in Winnipeg city leagues.

He died in 1948 in Burnaby, British Columbia.

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2008/06/barney-holden.html

His grandson published in 2004 the book Cross Check: Barney Holden and the Birth of Professional Hockey in North America. (I have yet to get it.)

 

[Dreakmur]

Reggie Lemelin!!!​

Awards and Achievements:
William M. Jennings Trophy (1990)
NHL All-Star Game participant (1989)

Hart voting – 8th(1984)

Vezina voting – 2nd(1984), 3rd(1985), 4th(1990), 7th(1988), also vote in 1989
All-Star voting– 3rd(1984), 3rd(1985), 6th(1988), 6th(1990), 8th(1987), 9th(1983), also votes in 1981, 1989

Goalie Reggie Lemelin made over 500 appearances in an exemplary career with the Atlanta/Calgary Flames and the Boston Bruins. He backstopped his teams to 236 wins and was respected for his positive outlook in the dressing room.

The native of Quebec City played junior hockey with the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Castors. He was chosen 125th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and spent four years in the AHL and NAHL. In 1977-78, the gifted netminder led the AHL when he made 60 appearances for the Philadelphia Firebirds. His strong year was recognized when he was voted on to the league's first all-star team. A few weeks later, Lemelin signed with the Atlanta Flames as a free agent.

Lemelin continued to spend most of his time in the minors but did play 18 games as a rookie in 1978-79. He began to gain more playing time after the franchise relocated to Calgary in 1980-81. Lemelin played 29 games that year to help fill the void after Dan Bouchard was traded to the Quebec Nordiques. He played six games in the post-season as the Flames reached the semi-finals for the first time. The upbeat veteran worked effectively with Don Edwards as Calgary improved its position in the standings in the early 1980s. His best year with the club was a 30-win performance in 1984-85.

In August 1987, Lemelin signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. He won 24 games for the club that first year and combined with Andy Moog to backstop the club to the Stanley Cup finals. Two years later, he won 22 games and shared the William Jennings trophy with Moog as the team reached the finals for the second time in three years. Lemelin's playing time was reduced in the early '90s before he retired in 1993.

Lemelin was an old-school stand up goalie. That style is basically instinct today, but it was still accepted practice back then, and Lemelin excelled at playing his angles and directing pucks into the corners. In many ways he was blocking shots rather than saving them. By virtue of his playing style he often made stops seem easier than they probably were.

 

[Hedberg]

G Billy Nicholson

5'10, 220

1902, 1903 Stanley Cup Champion

Ultimate Hockey

William Nicholson was one of the fattest men ever to play hockey at the semi-professional or professional level. Originally the goalie for the Montreal AAA "Little Men of Iron" -- circa 1901 -- he has been called the first true "butterfly" goalie. He was flopping to the ice to make saves at least 10 years before Clint Benedict, the goalie who has been generally credited with pioneering the style.


Throughout most of his career Nicholson was a solid, dependable goalkeeper. He played on some poor teams, such as the 1907-08 Shamrocks and 1912-13 Toronto Tecumsehs. He rounded out his career with the Toronto Arenas in 1916-17.

The sight of Nicholson in full uniform, wearing his trademark toque and weighing anywhere from 250 to 275 pounds, must have been delicious. Apparently, whenever he crashed down onto the ice to make a save, everyone would hold their breath in fear that the ice would crack. He was surprisingly athletic, though, despite the constraints of his plus-sized frame. His career, while not of Hockey Hall of Fame caliber, compares favorably to the goaltending standard of his era.

Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 21, 1904 (originally posted by seventieslord)

Nicholson was in fine form and he needed it... the last couple of minutes, the Maroon jerseys sent in shot after shot and Nicholson had to move his padding over the glacial... Caps came very close to scoring when Sims got in, but Nick did his old trick of sliding out and falling down on the puck.

Pittsburgh Press, Jan. 8, 1905 (originally posted by seventieslord)

Nicholson played a wonderful game, stopping shot after shot that looked like a score for the gold and black.

Montreal Gazette, Dec. 22, 1908 (originally posted by seventieslord)

Another local addition to the ranks of the challengers today will be Billy Nicholson, goalkeeper of the Shamrock team of last winter that had the best defense record in the ECHA. "Nick" last night agreed to turn out today and help Edmonton during their training for the cup series, and it would not be surprising if he appeared in the challengers' lineup before the series is over. At his best there are few better net guardians in the business than the big fellow who has played successfully with Montreal, Wanderers, Calumet and Shamrocks.

seventieslord:

Moran, LeSueur, Hern.... Nicholson?

These four are truly contemporaries, all born between 1877 and 1891. The earliest of their statistically recorded careers started in the 1900 season (Nicholson) and ended in the 1917 season (Nicholson, Moran). During this time, they all played in a variety of leagues, getting a good sample of competition, scoring level, and rules. For an eight-year period from the 1904 season, when Lesueur started, through 1911, when Hern retired, these four were all active in top-level hockey together.

It is my contention that Nicholson's goaltending stats stand up very well to those of these three HHOF goaltenders:

|Reg.|||||||St-Cup||||||
Name/Leagues|GP|W|L|T|win%|SO|GAA|GP|W|L|T|win%|SO|GAA|Cups
Nicholson/8|177|87|86|1|.503|11| 4.03 |8|4|2|2|.625|1| 1.88 |2
Hern/6|134|90|41|2|.684|5|4.07|14|10|4|0|.714|0|3.86|4
Lesueur/6|167|96|68|1|.585|6|4.36|9|7|2|0|.778|0|4.44|2
Moran/5|208|100|106|0|.486|2|5.27|4|4|0|0|1.000|1|2.00|2

Why did they get in the hall and he didn't?

They are all multiple cup winners; however, he faced probably the stiffest competition in his cup matches, along with Hern, yet, he has the best playoff GAA of the four.

Was it a longevity thing? No, he played more games than LeSueur and a lot more than Hern.

Was it his GAA? Doesn't look like it. His career average edges Hern and is significantly better than Lesueur and Moran.

Then it must be his win%, barely over .500. However, Moran made it into the Hall with a losing record. And although GAA is a team stat, it tells a better story of his individual performance than win% does.

What about honours and awards? That's not it, either. Nicholson was a champion in two other leagues, a league all-star in two leagues, and led leagues in GAA and wins multiple times, just as often as the other three did.

In all honesty, it's pretty hard to tell what made them any better than him.

The Montreal Gazette, Jan 21, 1908

The shooting was directed at goal-keeper Billy Nicholson's big frame. Billy stopped more with his body protector than pads or stick.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The ManIA select the man who will probably be our team's captain:

Doug Young, D

• 5'10' 190 lbs
• right handed shot

NHL All Star voting
7th(T) in All Star voting in 1933
9th in All Star voting in 1936
10th(T) in All Star voting in 1938
(also received a single vote in both 1932 and 1940)

Selected to play in the 1939 All Star Game (the Babe Siebert Memorial Game)

Points among NHL defensemen: 3rd(1936), 8th(1933), 10th(1932), 11th(1940)

IHL 1st Team All Star in 1930
AHL 1st Team All Star in 1941

Doug Gordon Young is one of the more forgotten figures in Detroit hockey history, yet his contributions helped turn the young NHL franchise from a doormat to a title winning team.
...
Young joined Detroit when the team was known as the Falcons and scored his NHL career-high of 10 goals in his rookie year. Young was one of the reasons Detroit reached the playoffs at the end of the 1931-32 season for the first time in three years and for only the second time in the six year history of the Detroit Cougars/Falcons franchise.
...
Not overly big or small at 5-foot-10, 178-lbs, Young (known as "The Giechen Cowboy") used his positioning and puck-handling ability to patrol on defense. His movements were so good he was even once used as a goalie injury replacement by Detroit, yielding just one goal in his 21-mins for a 2.86-GAA.
..
Young was in his first season as team Captain when the Wings won their first S-Cup ever in 1936. Known more for his defense, Young scored five goals with NHL career-highs of 12 assists and 17 points in 1935-36. He also had his second highest NHL penalty total with 54-mins. Young managed to stay out of the box during the playoffs and added two assists when the Wings won the Cup in seven games including a 3-1 edge in the Best-of-5 Finals over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Although the Red Wings became the first US-based team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1937, it was a subdued celebration for Young. He'd missed the playoffs and all but 11 games during the regular season because of an ankle injury
suffered on December 6, 1936 in a 3-all overtime tie at the NY Americans.

Young was never quite the same after his ankle injury. He was still the Captain in 1937-38, the first player in Detroit team history to hold tha honor for three seasons. After the Wings missed the playoffs that winter, Young was demoted when Ebbie Goodfellow (on his way to soon becoming NHL MVP) was given the "C" in 1938-39.

http://www.getdetroitsports.com/didyouknow.php?NewsID=3446

Captain of the Detroit Red Wings from 1935-1938, including the back to back 1936 and 1937 Cup winners.
He was injured for the playoffs in 1937, but was a big part of the 1936 Cup winner:

In the Spring of 1936, the Red Wings took a serious run at the Stanley Cup and began by dispatching the Montreal Maroons in the first round. The highlight, by far, was the longest hockey match ever played in the NHL: Exactly 116 minutes and 30 second of sudden death overtime was required
...
The goaltending of Norm Smith and the defensive work from Bucko McDonald and Doug Young set the stage for the triumphant drive to the finals.

Young was a defense-first defenseman, but he was capable of moving the puck as this account of the famous playoff overtime game in 1936 shows:

Baldy Northcott accompanied (Hoolie) Smith on his rush ... However, Normie Smith anticipated the play, caught the puck on his pad, steered it to teammate Doug Young who reversed the field.

Now it appeared that each team was bent on wild kamikaze attacks in the hope of bringing the game to a sudden end. Young raced along the boards until he reached Maroon territory. Then he fired wildly, but the puck suddenly hit Montreal defender Lionel Conacher's skate and changed direction, sliding straight for the empty side of the net. It appeared to be equidistant between Young and goalie Chabot. The Red Wing skater lunged for it, but before he could get his stick on it, Chabot smothered it with his glove.

Detroit Red Wings - Greatest Moments and Players, by Stan Fischler, pgs 98, 210

Apparently in 1939, an independent AHL team bought Doug Young's rights from the Detroit Red Wings for a hefty sum. Young would end up playing one more full season in the NHL (in Montreal), however:

The addition of Young should mean the difference between a winning and losing combination. He has been one of the outstanding backfielders in the National League. He is 29 years of age and can skate and handle the stick with the speed and finesse of a linesman. The price tag on Young was not revealed but Harris inferred that he had to dig deep to pry the star from the Red Wings.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct 18, 1939

Other Newspaper Quotes

Doug Young is the best defense man in the league.

Not really sure how much that means coming from his own coach... but it does mean that Adams thought he was te best defenseman on his own team. Eddie Goodfellow, Bucko McDonald, and Scotty Bowman were the others.

Doug Young, stellar young Cleveland defense star, clinched the game with two lightning-like thrusts in the third period. The first time he literally bowled over every Bison who dared to step in his path.

Young is a big sturdy lad and has an interesting record, in that he scored more goals in the International last year than many forwards. He scored 16 goals and had 6 assists. In the play-offs he scored 3 goals and had one assist. In the previous season he had 13 goals and 5 assists.

When he finds his feet in the major loop, he likely will be a very useful addition to the Falcons’ read-guard.

Young is a product of the prairies and played his first organized hockey in Calgary. He was with the Kitchener Millionaires in 1927, the year after he left Calgary.

For the past three seasons, he has been one of the outstanding defence men of the International League as a member of the Cleveland club.

Young was drafted by the New York Americans and was traded to the Falcons for Ronnie Martin, whom the Falcons too in the draft from the Buffalo club. Young shoots from the right side, is a good puck-carrier and weighs about 175 pounds.

Doug Young, recruit Falcon defenceman, proved the man of the hour, scoring two goals, his counter late in the third period breaking the tie and putting the Falcons out in front.

In the second period, big Lionel Conacher, Maroons defenseman, and Doug Young, Detroit rearguard, fought desperately, efforts of players on both teams and the referees being necessary to separate them. Conacher rained blows on Young’s face.

Doug Young Also In Star Role For First Game
…

Jack also had praise for his defense. Bucko McDonald, Ebbie Goodfellow, Scotty Bowman, and Doug Young slowed the Maroons down a lot with their heavy blasts.

Chabot leapt across his net like a big cat to kick out Doug Young’s faming shot dead for the far corner.

…

Young put Ward into the boards and got away with it.

Doug Young, star defenseman of Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup champions, suffered a broken right ankle here tonight in a National Hockey League match with New York Americans.

With little Normie Smith in the nets, dashing Doug Young and Bucko McDonald backing up on defense, and the from line firing capably by Larry Aurie, Dave Barry, and Herbie Lewis, the Wings are carrying the favorite money.

 

[seventieslord]

Johnny Gagnon, RW

- 5'5", 140 lbs
- Stanley Cup (1931)
- Retro Conn Smythe (1931)
- 1st in Playoff Goals, 2nd in Points (1931)
- Placed 6th, 10th, 14th, 17th, 25th, 26th in points (bolded without Morenz)
- Best points percentages: 80, 80, 77, 74, 60, 52 (bolded without Morenz)
- Led his team in scoring (1937)
- Played in NHL All-star game (1937, 1939)

Seldom has there been a more colourful character gracing the ice lanes of NHL arenas than this 5'5" speedster. Born on August 6, 1905, Gagnon was one of eleven children brought up in conditions bordering on poverty. Neither of his parents was enthused about his passion for hockey, least of all his father, who used to break his sticks whenever he caught him playing. So, when he was 18, he left home, traveled to Three Rivers on the train, and tried out for the Eastern League's Renards. He was placed on a Bank League squad to improve his game. He so impressed the team's management in an exhibition game that he was promoted to the Senior "A" club the next campaign. There he pulled down the huge salary of $10 a week, $8 of which went for room and board.

Following his second season at Trois-Rivieres, he was home to attend the funeral of another Chicoutimi native, Georges Vezina. Leo Dandurand, President of les Canadiens was in attendance and approached Gagnon about hockey. He acknowledged his obvious abilities but reckoned that he was too small for the NHL. The "Black Cat" challenged him to weigh him and judge for himself. Filling his pockets with rocks, he tipped the scales at 150 lbs., at least 10 lbs. more than his actual weight. He was invited to Montreal's training camp but was farmed out to Quebec City where he spent two seasons. When his team was eliminated from the post season, he was invited to play an exhibition match in Providence for the tidy sum of $100. Because of his performance that night, the Rhode Island team arranged for the fleet-footed right winger to be loaned to the Reds for the next three years. But, when the 1930-31 season got under way, he was sporting the livery of the Flying Frenchmen.

Gagnon was fortunate enough to have the equally petit, but elusive, Aurel Joliat, and the great Howie Morenz, as his linemates. During the Stanley Cup finals of that initial campaign his father passed away. Nevertheless, after the internment he went directly to Montreal to play against Chicago in the best-of-five affair. He was extremely tired but tallied two markers and assisted on a third to win the game and tie the series at two games each. He was the hero in the deciding match, notching both markers in a 2-0 championship victory. Apart from half a season with the Bruins, and an equal amount of time with the New York Americans in his final year, the little pepper-pot stuck with the Canadiens.

He would not have been exiled to Beantown in 1935 had he been able to get along with his coach, Newsy Lalonde. Johnny always felt the former superstar picked on him, and they constantly clashed, with Gagnon losing his temper and refusing to cooperate. But when Montreal fired Lalonde, the kid from Chicoutimi was back where he belonged in the Canadiens' fold.

He concluded his career in the world's premier circuit even before the season ended in 1939-40. Because he hadn't been with the Americans the full season, Red Dutton assured him he was not going to get a full share of playoff loot. He played one game of the post season against Detroit, packed his bags, went home to Montreal, and never wore an NHL sweater again. He finished his career with Providence Reds, the team for which he had played before reaching the top. He coached one year, then scouted 13 years for the same organization, before giving the Rangers 14 years in the same capacity.

Johnny Gagnon was the fastest thing on skates in his hometown of Chicoutimi, Quebec. His dazzling performances as an amateur thrilled local crowds and news of his exciting play reached Montreal General Manager Leo Dandurand, who first laid eyes on Gagnon when he attended Georges Vézina’s funeral in the spring of 1926.

...Assigned veterans Aurèle Joliat and Howie Morenz as linemates, Gagnon found himself on the NHL’s top line and hit the ground running, scoring 18 goals in his rookie year. When the playoffs came, he lifted his game to another level. Leading all NHLers with six postseason markers, Gagnon capped his year by scoring both goals in the 2-0 final game against Chicago, making the 1930-31 Canadiens the first Habs squad to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

Smart, fast and shifty, Gagnon became known as “Black Cat†for his lightning-fast reflexes, as he thrilled Montreal fans for the first years of his career. His speed and playmaking kept his linemates on the score sheet as he piled up the assists. Playing at a time when assists were even harder to come by than goals, Gagnon piled up 63 helpers in his first four years to go along with his 58 goals.

Traded to Boston following the 1933-34 season, Gagnon’s stay in Beantown was not a long one. He was reacquired by Montreal halfway through the next season and resumed his slot on the Habs’ first line. Morenz, who had been traded away the same summer as Gagnon, returned to the fold three years later and was reunited with his old linemates.

A rejuvenated Gagnon scored 20 goals, a career high, as he stepped up when Morenz suffered his career-ending broken leg. Traded a second time in 1939-40, this time to the New York Americans, he ended his NHL career at the end of the season.

He joined the Montreal Canadiens in 1930, just as the Habs were becoming a true force in hockey. Gagnon was teamed with two of hockey's first legitimate superstars - Howie Morenz and Aurel Joliat - to form one of the greatest lines in hockey history.

The trio clicked immediately. In his rookie season Gagnon scored 18 goals in 41 games, plus a league leading 6 goals in 10 playoff contests. Gagnon's heroics helped the Canadiens capture the Stanley Cup with successive 5 game series victories over Boston and Chicago. That proved to be the only Cup team Gagnon would play on.

...With his slick-backed black hair and his piercing eyes, he was astutely nicknamed "Black Cat." A small player even in his era, Gagnon played like a cat too - already to pounce on a scoring opportunity. He was as fast as a cheetah as well. A brilliant stickhandler, Gagnon also had to play with a bit of an edge because of his lack of size.

...Johnny had another good year as a regular with Morenz and Joliat and then the Canadiens slumped. Dandurand was not happy with his first line and it appeared that Joliat and Gagnon in particular were not performing to the best of their ability. The following year he played with Pit Lepine and Armand Mondou and then was traded to Boston. This deal was not popular with the fans, and Dandurand hurriedly got him back. He then played one year with Lepine and Joliat... Morenz returned in 1937 and Gagnon, reunited with him and Joliat, had his best year, leading the team in scoring... after the death of Morenz, The Black Cat had two more good seasons, playing with Toe Blake and Paul Haynes.

Note Gagnon's really "interesting" take on Morenz.

"I'll never forget when I told my mother, "Ma, someday I'll be playing for the Montreal Canadiens. She wasn't very impressed. "Leave me alone. You've been telling me that too many times."

... By the time I arrived I was very tired (from my father's funeral). Chicago scored two quick goals in that fourth game and we were in trouble. The series was a best-of-five playoff so if we lost we would be eliminated. Then, I got hot and scored twice to tie the game. Next, I gave Pit Lepine a perfect pass and he scored to put us ahead and we would up beating Chicago 4-2 to tie the series, and forcing a 5th game... Aurel Joliat fed me a perfect pass to put me in the clear; I took my time and put it in the net, giving us a 1-0 lead. With two minutes left in the 3rd period I scored again, and we won the game and the championship. And to think my father never wanted me to be a hockey player and my mother always thought I was foolish...

Sticking with the club was no problem... my style was speed, stickhandling and shooting, and I had to have a little guts to go with all that too. Someone as little as I was had to have guts; otherwise, you'd get run out of the league... at first I had a little trouble playing with Howie. He wasn't too good a playmaker so I'd play more with Aurel. He always used to get the puck and pass it to me, and I'd pass it to him. We had pretty much the same stickhandling style and I always knew what kind of moves he'd make. For instance, as soon as he'd hit the blueline he'd throw me a pass behind his back...

The best player? It wasn't Morenz. I would say Boucher, the Cooks, Charlie Conacher and Aurel. Howie wasn't the best, but he was the fastest and the biggest star. I wasn't in that class.

Newsy was a good hockey player but as a coach he was something else. He never patted me on the back, and in my case that was bad because I was the kind of guy who would stop playing if you didn't encourage me or if you hollered at me. But I got along pretty well with the other players.

...we gave the writers plenty to write about. In my case it was partly because I was such a little guy playing with the big ones and consequently I got hit a lot. Lots of times I'd come to the bench with my mouth bleeding and my teeth loose because somebody put an elbow in my face. There was nothing I could do about it though, because if I wanted to stay in the NHL I had to forget the pain.

One guy who really gave me trouble was Busher Jackson of the Leafs. We were playing them one night and Conn Smythe figured he could beat us by having the big guys on Toronto continually run the little guys on our team. Before the game, he told them, "I don't care about the puck, you hit Morenz, you hit Joliat, you Jackson, you get Gagnon." Well, that game started and those guys from Toronto didn't touch the puck at all. The second we went after the puck, we got hit. After a period and a half Jackson had knocked me down 15 times. Finally I said, "What's the matter with you guys tonight?" He looked at me and said "Sorry Johnny, that's orders from Connie Smythe." I answered, "Busher, how long are these orders gonna last? I'm getting tired." He started to laugh, he enjoyed that.

Eddie Shore of the Bruins was worse; he was sneaky. In those days there was one official and naturally he couldn't see everything. So when he wasn't looking Shore would give it to me. The first time I played against him, he knocked me cold. When I got up, he said, "Kid, next time you keep your head up." That turned out to be good advice and I got my head up after that.

...To me, the best goaltender I ever saw was Charlie Gardiner. he was a standup goalie with a good pair of hands; many thought he was the game's greatest. Somehow, though, I had his number. I'd score on him a lot but he'd still laugh; he was that kind of guy. One time I said to him, "You shouldn't be smiling at me, you should be mad." He shrugged, "What are you gonna go? You fool me a lot and that's all there is to it."

Johnny Gagnon was nicknamed "The Black Cat" because of his swarthy complexion and jet-black hair, which always appeared to be pasted down with a glue-like pomade, as well as his quick, darting moves and natural puck sense.

Gagnon played some of his best hockey with Morenz, but Morenz also played his best hockey with Gagnon:

In that month (following being reunited), Joliat, Morenz and Gagnon were terrors. "You know," said Howie, "there was something missing inside when I was away the last two seasons. I got it back again when I came back with the Canadiens. I'm going the limit now. I'm giving the fans everything I've got."

It was just like old times as Howie pivoted between Joliat and Gagnon. One of the cleverest attacking lines ever assembled. Morenz can't figure out what held him back during the last couple of years - but he's destined to prove "I have an awful lot of hockey in me yet"

The following quote makes it even more interesting that Gagnon didn't think Morenz was the best:

"I was with my wife at home when the phone rang, telling me of his death. I just broke down and cried like a kid, and I'm not ashamed to say so because Howie was my best friend."

Morenz' Canadiens were the first ones to be called the Flying Frenchmen. They were all speedy, Pit Lepine, Wildor Larochelle, Black Cat Gagnon, and of course... Joliat.

Gagnon was not always a shotgun-rider and was occasionally targeted by the opposition:

...that was when Montreal had its terrific line of Morenz, Joliat and Gagnon. Gagnon was really hot at the time, and was wearing #14, so Jacobson announced, "$14 for every time Gagnon is knocked down!" Of course, everyone on the team liked that, especially our big defenseman, Bucko McDonald, who really knew how to bodycheck. Well, Bucko really did a job on the Black Cat that night, and when the game was over he came tromping into the dressing room to Jacobson, who said, "Bucko, I think you got him four times!" Bucko roared so loud he nearly blew Harry out the door. "Hell, I got him five times if I got him once!" So Jacobson coughed over $70...

This is a non-hockey-related book, but the author retells a meeting with an old-timer who says Gagnon used to be his hero:

"Remember how Johnny Gagnon would cut through a defense and when they would close in on him he could stand on his points and let them slide past?

One of hockey's picture skaters, Gagnon has never been a prolific scorer... his great individual play, however, featured by spectacular rink-length solo rushes, have made him a favourite with the fans.

 

[VanIslander]

Elwin "Doc' Romnes, LW/C, led the Blackhawks to its first Stanley Cup in 1934 with a team-high 9 playoff points, 7 of which were assists. He had been the team's assist leader in the regular season, a feat he repeated again in 1936 the year he won the Lady Byng trophy and in 1938 again in the regular season, adding 6 points in the Blackhawk's second Stanley Cup championship. He had also scored and assisted in Stanley Cup Finals runs in 1931 and 1939. He was 3rd, 4th and 7th in NHL assists in his three best seasons that decade. He played 360 NHL games between 1930-1940 and registered 204 points. He is a charter member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

When “Doc†Romnes stepped on the ice for the Chicago Blackhawks in December 1930, he became the first Minnesotan to play in the NHL and there wasn’t exactly a welcoming committee awaiting him at Chicago Stadium. Don Riley’s Column, Pioneer Press, March 7, 1985:
“...There were times when nobody on my own Chicago Blackhawk team talked to me...They treated me a little like I was a thief. They wondered what an American was doing invading their preserve. Gosh, how I’d try to be a good teammate and set them up! That’s why I became a good playmaker, setting those fellows up so that they’d talk to me. I eventually got accepted, but it wasn’t easy.â€

Romnes was born in White Bear Lake on New Year’s Day, 1907, but by the time high school started, he was enrolled and playing for the former Mechanic Arts High School in Saint Paul. That was followed by time at the College of St. Thomas before moving on to post-graduate hockey. He made his pro debut with the Saint Paul Saints in the minor pro American Hockey Association. There he caught the eye of the Blackhawks, whose owner Major Frederick MacLaughlin was particularly interested in American players. He soon became a regular and attained another first in 1934 as the first Minnesotan to have his name on the Stanley Cup as Chicago defeated Detroit.

His best year was 1935-36 when he scored 38 points (13g, 25a) and won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high level of play.
“Doc†would win another Stanley Cup in 1938 when the decidedly underdog Hawks sneaked into the playoffs with a 14-25-9 record and reeled off wins in three playoff series to bring another cup to the Windy City.

“Doc†(He hated his given name Elwyn and got his nickname because he carried his skates in a physician’s case)

http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512864

 

[VanIslander]

Don Lever, LW/C, had averaged 25+ goals 55+ points per season over a ten year span between 1974-1983, playing in the NHL all-star game in 1982 the year he scored his third career 30 goal season. He scored 313 career goals and 680 points in 1020 NHL games. He captained the Canucks (1977-79) and the Devils (1982-84). He scored the first goal in New Jersey Devils' history. He is renowned for his hard work and all around play, on both the powerplay and penalty kill, and in the dressing room.

Lever wasn't a flashy player but he had excellent overall qualities. He was a leader and prided himself as consistent player with few weaknesses. He was versatile and could play all three forward positions if needed (he preferred to be a LW) and had great stamina which kept him injury free for much of his career despite his all-out approach to the game of hockey..

... fine two way skills, leadership abilities and hard work.... Don always led by example and worked harder than anybody else. Yet, he was one of the most durable players in NHL history. He once had a consecutive games played streak of 437 games and rarely missed any time due to injury.

http://sabreslegends.blogspot.kr/2006/12/don-lever.html

 

[VanIslander]

Joe Reekie, D

The big, aggressive Reekie would appear in 104 games over 4 years with the Sabres. He was already developing a reputation for an uncanny sense of perfect defensive position that was usually reserved for veterans. However a serious knee injury really slowed his progress, as it cost him most of the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons.

The Sabres traded Reekie to the New York Islanders prior to the 1989-90 season where he would play 3 seasons mostly in the National Hockey League. In that time he quietly impressed as a penalty kill regular. His combined +45 rating over three years convinced the Tampa Bay Lightning to select him in the 1993 expansion draft.

Reekie would spend almost two seasons in the Florida sunshine before finding a home in Washington. From 1994 to 2002 Reekie served as a top four defender. He was often used against the other team's top players because of his strength and seemingly flawless defensive positioning. He was smart and tough, although that brought inevitable injuries that slowed him. Regardless, he always played with a subtle savvy that I always admired, as well as with a tough and physical, yet clean, presence.

The highlight of Reekie's career came in 1998 when he was a big part of the Capitals march into the Stanley Cup finals. Unfortunately the Detroit Red Wings handled the Capitals to deny Reekie a Stanley Cup championship.

http://washingtoncapitalslegends.blogspot.kr/2011/03/joe-reekie.html

 

[VanIslander]

Goaltender Johnny "Mum" Mowers recorded back-to-back shutouts to clinch the Stanley Cup in 1943, the year he was the Vezina trophy winner and 1st team all-star. He was 1st in NHL wins after being 3rd and 5th in wins the previous two seasons, top-3 in shutouts all three seasons. He has a great peak but stunted career due to his military service in the Second World War, an honorable shortening of what most likely would have been an all-time great career.

Mowers played his minor hockey in Niagara Falls and after playing junior in the Honeymoon Capital of the world, joined the Niagara Falls Cataracts of the OHA Senior League in 1935-36. He remained with the club for four years before being noticed by famed scout Carson Cooper in 1939 and signed to a contract by the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. During his first year as a pro, Mowers divided his time between the Detroit Pontiacs of the MOHL and the Omaha Knights of the AHA.

Mowers performed well enough in his rookie season to garner a closer look-see by the Red Wings and in 1940-41 was between the pipes for the big club for 48 games. He was the team's undisputed number one goaltender for three years. In 1941 and 1942 Mowers and the Red Wings advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, only to be turned back by the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, in 1943 Detroit got its revenge, beating the Bruins in four-straight games to take the championship. Mowers was outstanding in goal, winning eight of his team playoff games, while recording two shutouts and a 1.94 GAA. The shutouts came at the most opportune time as he blanked the Bruins in Games Three (4-0) and Four (2-0) of the championship finals. The regular season was also kind to the lanky goalie who won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie and was also honoured by being named to the NHL's First All-Star Team.

As with many NHL players, Mowers had his hockey career interrupted during World War Two and he was out of hockey for two years after enlisting with the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1945-46 he coached the Wembley Lions of the British League before returning to North America for the 1946-47 season. He played in seven games for the Red Wings that year but the team had now gone in a new direction in goal with Harry Lumley clearly being tabbed as the team's main goalie. Mowers played one more year of hockey with the Indianapolis Capitals in 1947-48 before retiring after being plagued by back troubles.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18636

 

[VanIslander]

6'2 180 lbs center Andy Blair was a clutch playoff hero for the Maple Leafs in their 1932 Stanley Cup championship after being an Allan Cup hero in 1928 with 5 points in 5 games. Blair jumped from Manitoba to Toronto and in his rookie season centered the Leafs top line and immediately led the team in assists that 1928-29 season, 2nd in NHL assists leaguewide, 3rd in the NHL in points. The following year, Primeau took over top line duties and Blair went on to center the Pepper Boys Line, known for its aggressive play. Blair finished 3rd in team assists their cup season of 1932 before scoring key playoff goals. In 1934 he played in the all-star game for Toronto and scored a career-high 14 goals that year, tied for third in team goals with Primeau.

Conn Smythe in his memoirs describes Blair as a classy guy who stuttered and who Conn liked to talk about game strategy with in the dressing room. One funny moment:

Some crazy referee gave us a string of penalties. That was before the days of the delayed penalty, and eventually we were down to only two players on the ice, Chabot in goal and Blair out front. Before the face-off Blair skated over to the bench and leaned over. I went to see what he wanted. "Ww-w-w-well," C-Conn," he said, "what's the s-s-s-s-strategy n-n-n-now?"

... his peculiar whirling rushes have a very strong crowd appeal...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TwAbZhMGVEw/SJfFPq1JNLI/AAAAAAAAD94/WT3zBZ1skdg/s400/andyblair.jpg

... a lanky center out of Winnipeg. At 6'2" and 180 lbs he was intimidatingly tall for his day. A distant cousin of the great Syl Apps and Murray Murdoch, Blair was quite the athlete growing up, starring in football, rugby, track and field and even golf. But it was hockey that was his game, and he was amongst the best young players in the city, starring at St. John's College high school.

Blair went on to the University of Manitoba where he earned a bachelor of arts degree. He was a star footballer and of course hockey player, leading the team to the Allan Cup championship in his final season. In those days the Allan Cup, given to Canada's amateur champions, was about as prestigious as the Stanley Cup. He also played with two other senior teams while going to school.

A young hockey executive named Conn Smythe was very impressed with Blair's play, and recruited him from the New York Rangers to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It would turn out to be a great move for the Leafs, and one that would haunt the Rangers.

Blair would step in nicely and contribute 12 goals and 27 points in 44 games in the 1928-29 season, second best totals on the team. Blair found himself playing along side two legendary Leafs: Ace Bailey and Baldy Cotton.

The team got stronger and by 1932 they challenged for their first Stanley Cup as the Leafs. Ironically for Blair, the competition was the New York Rangers. Blair teamed nicely with Bob Gracie and Frank Finnigan on "the Pepper Boys line," a revolutionary third line that was known for its "peppery" or aggressive style of play.

Blair chipped in with some timely offense as well. In the third and Cup clinching game, Blair scored the first two goals of the game. Toronto won the game 6-4 on Maple Leaf Gardens ice.

In 1933 Blair continued to improve his reputation as a go-to player in the playoffs. He was instrumental in the Leafs 1-0 five overtimes game against Boston on April 3rd. Though Ken Doraty gets the credit for scoring the goal, it was Andy Blair who stripped Hall of Famer Eddie Shore's pass and set up Doraty for the quick shot past Tiny Thompson.

WIth the game ending in the early hours of the morning, the Leafs had to scramble to the train station to once again meet the New York Rangers in the finals the very next day. The team did not arrive in New York until 4:30 in the afternoon, and were easy prey for the Rangers. The Rangers took the Cup in 4 games.

http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.kr/2008/08/andy-blair.html

 

[Hedberg]

R/C/RW Cecil Blachford

5'8, 174
Shoots Left
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Stanley Cup Champion 1903, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910
Captain of the Montreal Wanderers 1906-1908
2x Retro Selke Winner?

The Montreal Gazette, Feb. 27, 1909

they were short of their star performer, Cecil Blachford.

The Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 19, 1952

He [Moose Johnson] was of the time of Pud Glass, Riley Hern, Cecil Blachford, Harry Hyland, Ernie Russell and other players who were stars in their own right.

Wikipedia:

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Blachford played junior hockey for Montreal Mintos in 1898–99, before graduating to senior-level hockey the following season with Montreal Stirling, for which he played until 1902. He joined the Montreal Hockey Club's intermediate squad, and played one game with the Montreal HC senior team, aka the "Little Men of Iron" in the regular season, and two games of Stanley Cup challenge play, helping to defeat the Winnipeg Victorias. He left Montreal HC with several other Montreal HC players in the off-season to join the new Montreal Wanderers for whom he played continuously until the end of the 1907–08 season. He was captain of the 1906 through 1908 squads.

In the 1906 season, he was sidelined for most of the season with blood poisoning. In the 1907, he was the victim of a blow to the head from Charlie Spittal of the Ottawa Hockey Club for which Spittal was convicted in criminal court. After the 1908 season, he retired, but returned for the 1909–10 season for the Wanderers in the new National Hockey Association, helping to win another Stanley Cup title before retiring for good.