Atd#10 - THE AAA DRAFT (a full edition)

[VanIslander]

All Time Draft #10 - The AAA Draft

The draft is finished​

There were 672 guys drafted in the main ATD draft, 288 drafted in the ML draft and a couple of add/drops, making a total of 972 drafted. But are they all truly the top-1000 of all-time? What about others? What players and coaches ought to have been drafted but weren't? That is what the AAA Draft is all about. Not only are there a bunch of guys who should have gone in the MLD but there might be some that could have gone in the main ATD, as among the top 750 of all time, third or fourth liners, third pairing partners or extra skaters, backup goalies or assistant coaches. We shall see.

The rules of the first-ever full AAA Draft will be similar to the MLD10 draft, with some differences:

The draft will last exactly 12 days, two picks per day. We will draft a full 24-man roster. You must draft 2 goalies, 6 defensemen, 12 forwards and a coach, with 3 additional picks to be used for whatever position(s) you want.

Trading of picks is NOT allowed. After the draft there will be a 48-hour period to do trades or add/drop.

There is NO time limit. We will make two (2) picks per day every day anytime during the day from 9:00 am eastern each day. If you miss a day then make up the picks the following day(s).

Suggestion: POST A REASON OR STATISTIC OR DESCRIPTION WITH YOUR PICK to aid discussion and let us know a bit about the pick, as many may not be household names, especially from other eras.

Any player from any league or era are eligible as long as they were not drafted in the ATD10 or ATD10-ML.

Player selection should be based on what they have done (the 'next best' draft, so to speak, the greatest all-time careers not honored by being picked in the main atd#10 draft), and not what they will do in the future, though it's understood that there is a bit of projection with players whose careers were cut short by injury.

Absolutely no dropping of players: once drafted they are drafted. At the end of the draft there will be a 48-hour period to trade or add/drop players, at which point a team could trade or else: pick up an undrafted UFA and simply discard a draft pick.

The number of teams that make the playoffs will depend on the number that qualify for the postseason. To qualify, a team must meet this all-time draft roster condition: Have on the team at least ONE player from each of the following time periods:

1939 or earlier
1940-1965
1966-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
in 2009 (ANY active/nonretired pro player with 200-plus games pro experience regardless of when he began his career)

The very first game ever played in a top pro league defines which time period for the required condition (so, an eighties player whose NHL or SEL rookie season started in 1979 would meet the 1966-79 time period requirement).

On another front, there will be an all-star team of 1LW, 1RW, 1C, 2D, 1G, 1Coach voted on after the regular season

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

make your first post your roster thread​

Drafted:

Day 1:

Lee Fogolin, Sr, Lee Fogolin Jr. (Canaries)
Lasse Oksanen, Vyacheslav Bykov (Huskies)
Fred Whitcroft, Billy McGimsie (Sharks)
Alex Smith, Craig Janney (Pat Habs)
Vladimir Myshkin, Todd Bertuzzi (Victorias)
Haviland Routh, Allan Cameron (Killer Whales)
Cliff Ronning, Bob Murray (Breakers)
Herb Jordan, Jack McDonald (Old No. 7)
Dale Tallon, Ed Olczyk (Ice Cream Men)

Day 2:

Thomas Gradin, Andrei Khomutov (Canaries)
Sergei Babinov, Vlastimil Bubnik (Huskies)
Tom Paton, Pelle Eklund (Killer Whales)
Clarence McKerrow, Weldy Young (Victorias)
Cecil Blanchford, Ryan Getzlaf (Sharks)
Cully Wilson, Jim McKenny (Pat Habs)
Arthur Farrell, Fred Scanlan (Breakers)
Tony Gingras, Arthur Swift (Old No. 7)
Butch Keeling, Tony Tanti (Ice Cream Men)

Day 3:

Reg Hamilton, Stephane Yelle (Canaries)
Jim Riley, Pentti Lund (Huskies)
Willie Huber, Pat Flatley (Killer Whales)
Cam Ward, Serge Bernier (Sharks)
Doug Lidster, Gary Nylund (Victorias)
Richard Brodeur, Don Smith (Pat Habs)
Sergei Shepelev, Bruce Driver (Breakers)
Don Raleigh, Billy Nicholson (Old No. 7)
Pierre Bouchard, Mike Walton (Ice Cream Men)

Day 4:

Murph Chamberlain, Pavel Kubina (Sharks)
Gordie Roberts, Steve Sullivan (Killer Whales)
Nils Nilsson, Raimo Helminen (Huskies)
Patrick Marleau, Ray Sheppard (Canaries)
Chris Phillips, Gus Bodnar (Pat Habs)
Arturs Irbe, Haldor Halderson (Breakers)
Paul Holmgren, Terry Crisp (Victorias)
Art Moore, Roy Rickey (Old No. 7)
Bud Poile, Martin Straka (Ice Cream Men)

Day 5:

Willie Mitchell, Seth Martin (Huskies)
Larry Patey, Kelly Hrudey (Ice Cream Men)
Glen Murray, Carl Liscombe (Pat Habs)
Don Grosso, Jason Allison (Canaries)
Ivan Boldirev, Wildor Larochelle (Victorias)
Bohuslav Stastny, Miroslav Dvorak (Sharks)
Yuri Blinov, Yevgeny Zimin (Breakers)
Greg Gilbert, Art Jackson (Killer Whales)
Tood Marchant, Jude Drouin (Old No. 7)

Day 6:

Lorne Henning, Billy Bell (Canaries)
Uwe Krupp, Craig Conroy (Pat Habs)
Pat Quinn, Ted Hampson (Killer Whales)
Pete Stemkowski, Nick Libett (Sharks)
Shorty Green, Eric Brewer (Breakers)
Matti Hagman, Pekka Marjamäki (Huskies)
Ted Irvine, Patrice Brisebois (Victorias)
Jorgen Pettersson, Bobby Gould (Ice Cream Men)
Eric Weinrich, Brad Marsh (Old No. 7)

THE MIDWAY POINT OF THE DRAFT!
(Time to update our roster pages and 2-3 line summaries of each pick)

Day 7:

Felix Potvin, Oleg Tverdovsky (Ice Cream Men)
Bill Warwick, Grant Warwick (Huskies)
Dallas Drake, Risto Siltanen (Sharks)
Billy Harris, Lyle Odelein (Canaries)
Alexei Guryshev, Albert Langlois (Pat Habs)
Nikolay Puchkov, Fred Maxwell (Victorias)
Kelly Buchberger, Joe Benoit (Breakers)
Gord Lane, Darcy Rota (Killer Whales)
Ethan Moreau, Hal Winkler (Old No. 7)

Day 8:

Joe Carveth, Art Gagne (Pat Habs)
Peter Lindmark, Roland Stoltz (Sharks)
Bert Lindsay, Thomas Vanek (Breakers)
Eddie Wiseman, Russ Courtnall (Canaries)
Tapio Levo, Mikko Koivu (Huskies)
Andre Boudrias, Glenn Brydson (Killer Whales)
Al Dewsbury, Hugh Bolton (Ice Cream Men)
Jimmy Foster, Harold Snepsts (Victorias)
Keith Brown, Ken Mallen (Old No. 7)

Day 9:

Ville Peltonen, Nikolai Makarov (Huskies)
Lasse Bjorn, John Mayasich (Sharks)
Warren Godfrey, Allan Shields (Breakers)
Hib Milks, Reggie Fleming (Old No. 7)
Henrik Sedin, Brian Campbell (Ice Cream Men)
Nick Mickoski, Joe Reekie (Pat Habs)
Martin Lapointe, Mikael Renberg (Victorias)
Viktor Zinger, Alexei Zhitnik (Canaries)
Jocelyn Guevremont, Miroslav Satan (Killer Whales)

Day 10:

Lou Nanne, Joe Daley (Canaries)
Urpo Ylonen, Petteri Nummelin (Huskies)
Ronald Pettersson, Niklas Kronwall (Sharks)
Alexei Zhamnov, Alexei Yashin (Killer Whales)
Gord Pettinger, Robert McDougall (Breakers)
Chico Maki, Jimmy Ward (Old No.7)
Bep Guidolin, Kevin McClelland (Ice Cream Men)
Alf Pike, Benny Woit (Victorias)
Patrik Sundstrom, Tomas Vokoun (Pat Habs)

Day 11:

coach Dr. Jan Starsi, Karel Gut (Canaries)
Frank Rankin, coach Darryl Sutter (Pat Habs)
Jaroslav Holik, Anders Eldebrink (Breakers)
coach Red Berenson, Walter Smaill (Sharks)
Sami Salo, David Vyborny (Huskies)
coach Brent Sutter, coach Al MacNeil (Killer Whales)
Mark Streit, Dave Semenko (Old No. 7)
Moe Mantha, Dave Creighton (Ice Cream Men)
Armand Mondou, Petr Klima (Victorias)

Day 12:

Bob MacMillan, Don Beaupre (Canaries)
coach Fred Maxwell, Mike Sillinger (Victorias)
George Richardson, Jack McIntyre (Pat Habs)
Scott Young, coach Peter Laviolette (Breakers)
Sami Kapanen, coach Kalevi Numminen (Huskies)
Tommy Albelin, Mika Nieminen (Sharks)
coach Barry Trotz, Andrei Lomakin (Old No. 7)
Alfie Moore, Craig Rivet (Killer Whales)
coach Glen Sonmor, coach Larry Robinson (Ice Cream Men)

END OF DRAFT !

Add/drops:

Teams in the draft:

VanIslander - Spokane Canaries
Hedberg - Daytona Beach Breakers
Evil Speaker - Lynnmour Ice Cream Men
EagleBelfour - Montreal Victorias
vancityluongo & seventieslord - Regina Pat Habs
spitfire11 - China Sharks
Kyle McMahon - Lynchburg Old Number 7
chaosrevolver & Boootthh - Japan Killer Whales
Triffy - Helsinki Huskies​

 

[VanIslander]

The Spokane Canaries are pleased to select a father-son combo for the blueline, each a Stanley Cup champion with a physical edge to their game

Lee Fogolin, Sr.

Stanley Cup (1950)
in NHL all-star game (1950, 1951)
575 PIM in 427 NHL games over 9-year NHL career

... a rugged and solid positional defenceman... hard-nosed... bone-crunching bodychecks... burly...
played tough defense in his own end and was more self-assured moving the puck up ice... one of the best Chicago players over the next few years

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12614

Lee Fogolin, Jr.

Stanley Cup (1984, 1985)
in NHL all-star game (1986)
1318 PIM in 924 NHL games over 13-year NHL career

... an imposing physical presence in his own end and was capable of moving the puck up ice to help his team's transition game
... rugged.. grit and a bit of offense.. steady.. provided stability.. an important factor on the Oilers when they reached the finals in 1983 then won consecutive Stanley Cups

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12613​

Since Fogolin, Jr. was the Oilers captain the year before Gretzky took it and since Fogolin, Jr. was an important leader in the Oilers first three trips to the Stanley Cup finals and first two championships, he will be an alternate captain for my Spokane Canaries.

Spokane Canaries

xxxxxxx - Thomas Gradin - Andrei Khomutov
xxxxxxx - xxxxxxx - xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx - xxxxxxx - xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx - xxxxxxx - xxxxxxxx

Lee Fogolin Sr. - Lee Fogolin Jr. (A)
xxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxx

xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx​

 

[Triffy]

My first picks will be right winger Lasse Oksanen and centre Vyacheslav Bykov.

Lasse Oksanen might be the most talented Finnish hockey player ever. For 8 straight seasons, from 1965 until 1972, he earned the right wing spot of the all-star team in Finland. A member of the IIHF Hall of Fame, Oksanen played 282 games, scoring 101+58=159 points in the Finnish national team. He was regarded as the best Finnish player of his generation.

Addition: In 1970, Oksanen attended the training camp of Vancouver Canucks. In this video (in Finnish), Oksanen says he was helped by Carl Brewer (who excelled in Finland in 1969) and his agent to get things sorted. Oksanen practised a month in Toronto before the training camp and he said he did pretty well and probably could have stayed had he wanted. The salaries weren't just attractive enough for him.

I don't know if you are familiar with Bykov as a player. You should be. But for some reason, he's still available. After Larionov, Bykov was the best centre of the Soviet's powerhouse team in the 80's. And he wasn't even far behind Larionov.

The season 1980/81 was the first good year for both Bykov and Larionov.

Soviet league

Season Larionov (born 1960) .... Bykov (born 1960)
1980/81 43 22+23=45 .... 48 26+16=42
1982 46 31+22=53 .... 44 20+16=36
1983 44 20+19=39 .... 44 22+22=44
1984 43 15+26=41 .... 44 22+11=33
1985 40 18+28=46 .... 36 21+14=35
1986 40 21+31=52 .... 36 10+10=20
1987 39 20+26=46 .... 40 18+15=33
1988 51 25+32=57 .... 47 17+30=47
1989 31 15+12=27 .... 40 16+20=36
total 377 187+219=406 .... 379 172+154=326

National team stats from the tournaments they both were in

Season Larionov .... Bykov
1983 9 5+7=12 .... 10 3+2=5
1985 10 2+4=6 .... 10 6+3=9
1986 10 7+1=8 .... 10 6+6=12
1987 10 4+8=12 .... 9 2+7=9
1988 (OG) 8 4+9=13 .... 7 2+3=5
1989 8 3+0=3 .... 10 6+6=12
total 55 25+29=54 .... 56 25+31=56

xxxxx - Bykov - Oksanen
xxxxx - xxxxx - Bubnik
xxxxx - xxxxx - xxxxx
xxxxx - xxxxx - xxxxx

Babinov - xxxxx
xxxxx - xxxxx
xxxxx - xxxxx

xxxxx
xxxxx

 

[VanIslander]

I don't know if you are familiar with Bykov as a player. You should be. But for some reason, he's still available. After Larionov, Bykov was the best centre of the Soviet's powerhouse team in the 80's.

I can easily back up my claim that Zhluktov was the better Soviet center (between him and Bykov) in the early half of the eighties (the tail end of his career, broaching the last half of the seventies). Thus Zhluktov was picked in the MLD draft as an extra forward for Oxford.

Bykov is one of only three centers I covet for 1st line pivot in the AAA draft. Great pick. Certainly MLD worthy. Is more valuable in an all-time context imo than either Marc Savard or Paul Haynes of MLD scoring lines.

Oksanen is... interesting. If he played 282 games for the national team in Finland then could you uncover anything on his play against the Soviets? THAT would show his play against some of the best of the era.

 

[Triffy]

Oksanen is... interesting. If he played 282 games for the national team in Finland then could you uncover anything on his play against the Soviets? THAT would show his play against some of the best of the era.

I'll see if I can find anything later today. I'll learn more about him myself as well.

The main point is, he was considered to be the best Finnish player during the time when Finland was slowly progressing closer to the top of the world.

I just added stuff to my first post from a video I found.

 

[Spitfire11]

From the Kenora Thistles, Forwards Fred Whitcroft and Billy McGimsie

China Sharks

Fred Whitcroft - Billy McGimsie - Cecil Blanchford
xxxxxxxxxxxx - Ryan Getzlaf - xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx - xxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx​

 

[vancityluongo]

The Regina Pat Habs select D Alex Smith and C Craig Janney.

 

[VanIslander]

let's not just draft names

follow triffy's example if not mine

do a description or give a reason: make the case for the guys!

I know Smith was a 10-year NHL veteran described as 'outstanding' with a Stanley Cup.
I know Janney scored 101 points in 101 NHL playoff games his first nine postseasons, top-30 all time in terms of postseason productivity.

Draft the names quickly.. just go back and do write-ups afterwards please!

 

[EagleBelfour]

Vladimir Myshkin – (Goaltender) Playing in the shadow of Vladislav Tretiak for most of his career, he was still recognize as one of the best goaltender ever born in Russia.

Canada Cup All-Star (1984)
USSR All Stars (1985)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Todd Bertuzzi – (Left Wing) A single incident that tarnish a very productive career. A scrappy forward with a deft scoring touch, he will always be remembered for the incident of the 11th of March 2004, but should otherwise.

NHL First All-Star Team (2003)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (2003, 2004)
Five 25 goals season


Todd Bertuzzi

- XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX - XXX

XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX

Vladimir Myshkin

XXX
XXX


1939 or earlier
1940-1965
1966-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
in 2009

 

[vancityluongo]

let's not just draft names

follow triffy's example if not mine

do a description or give a reason: make the case for the guys!

I know Smith was a 10-year NHL veteran described as 'outstanding' with a Stanley Cup.
I know Janney scored 101 points in 101 NHL playoff games his first nine postseasons, top-30 all time in terms of postseason productivity.

Will do from now on. I just wanted to make the picks quickly, and didn't think I had the time to do a mini-bio.

 

[chaosrevolver]

Japan Killer Whales

XXX - Pelle Eklund - Haviland Routh
XXX - XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX - XXX

Allan Cameron - XXX
XXX - XXX
XXX - XXX

Tom Paton
XXX

1939 or earlier
1940-1965
1966-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
in 2009​

 

[EagleBelfour]

Chaos, you won't believe it if I tell you you stole BOTH of my next selection! Eagle eye Cameron is an incredible pick! You

 

[chaosrevolver]

Chaos, you won't believe it if I tell you you stole BOTH of my next selection! One eye Cameron is an incredible pick! You

Haha, well atleast I know someone thinks these are good picks

Sorry for the thievery.

 

[EagleBelfour]

Haha, well atleast I know someone thinks these are good picks

Sorry for the thievery.

I'm getting frustrated even in the AAA draft ... imagine when one of my player get stole in the ATD draft

 

[chaosrevolver]

I'm getting frustrated even in the AAA draft ... imagine when one of my player get stole in the ATD draft

Ill make sure to steal some more from you.

 

[Hedberg]

Daytona Beach selects

C Cliff Ronning

- 306 Goals, 563 assists in 1137 Games
- 89 points in 126 playoff Games


Canuck's Legends:

Prove himself he did. He became one of the most entertaining and productive players in the NHL. Ronning had hands soft enough to stickhandle in a phone booth. He also has great first-step speed, which he utilizes in a variety of ways to help his teammate, most notably by turning on a dime while carrying the puck to buy him extra time. Ronning has a knack of finding the hole in the open ice and he is effective at distracting a goalie by using his speed to buzz around a net. He’s also tremendously poised, and despite his size, was never afraid to zip in and out of the high traffic areas. Ronning was particularly dangerous on the power play, where he loved to come off the wall and curl into the slot where he would either pass to the corners or slip in further to unleash his weak but accurate shot.

D Bob Murray

Legends of Hockey:

Chicago, with Bob Murray, finally experienced playoff success in 1982 when they lasted to the semi-finals. In a four year stretch, the 'Hawks made the final four in three of those years. Murray played in two All-Star Games, 1981 and 1983, collecting one assist.

He continued to play in the NHL through to 1988, when he finally went back to the minors for a short stay at the beginning of 1988-89. It wasn't long before he was back in Chicago and on the way to the semis again. The Blackhawks repeated the feat in 1990.

In 1990, Bob Murray retired, having been on five Blackhawks teams that finished one round short of the Stanley Cup. He finished his playing career holding the team record among defensemen for games played and was ranked second in scoring among the team's blueliners.

 

[seventieslord]

holy crap fellas - nice start! Out of the 14 non-Regina players taken, ten of them were pretty high on our list. Nothing gets past you guys.

VCL is just a proxy draft pick maker, not really a true co-GM this time around, as I understand it. So don't expect him to be posting much, if anything about our picks.

I'll be using my few minutes of net access each day to try to post something about each player we take.

Janney, thanks to his playoff record and his playmaking, was tops on our centers list. Smith was a guy I targeted as an anchor for the defense corps from the start.

Janney was actually a guy I found it really, really hard to pass on when finally deciding on Haynes as a second line center in MLD10. He needs the right wingers, but we can get him that.

Haviland Routh, Allan Cameron, Slava Bykov, the Fogolins, Fred Whitcroft... nice work, gentlemen.

 

[VanIslander]

Janney was actually a guy I found it really, really hard to pass on when finally deciding on Haynes as a second line center in MLD10.

Why did you go with Haynes? (perhaps post about it on the MLD championship thread as your Capitals team could sure have used Janney's playoff scoring excellence).

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Old No. 7 selects:

Herb Jordan (C)

Jack McDonald (LW)


The arrival of Herb Jordan saw the perenially weak Quebec franchise climb from the depths of the standings (To be fair, the Wanderers raiding some CAHL of some of their talent helped). In Jordan's second season, where he was runner-up to the legendary Russell Bowie for the league scoring title, Quebec finished atop the league with a 7-1 mark, though didn't have the chance to challenge for the Cup since the defending champion Ottawa club withdrew from the league and took the trophy with them.

Jordan remained a good producer, and was joined by Jack McDonald in 1907. The two would prove to be good soldiers on an often weak Quebec team for several years. 1908 saw Quebec place second in total goals, thanks to Jordan and McDonald (along with the xxxxxx brothers), but they could only manage a 5-5 record. In 1909 Jordan scored in 12 games consecutively, finishing a goal behind Marty Walsh for the league scoring lead. In 1910, when Quebec was left out of the NHA, Jordan was picked up by the Renfrew all-star squad. He led them in goals, with nine through six games, but nonetheless was replaced by Newsy Lalonde for the balance of the season at that point. He played one game next season before retiring.

When Quebec was denied entry to the NHA, McDonald headed to Waterloo of the OPHL, and finished third in the scoring derby. Quebec returned to the top Canadian circuit in 1911, with McDonald leading the last-place club in scoring. The resurgent Bulldogs won their first Stanley Cup the following year, 1912. McDonald was eighth in league scoring, and led the charge in the Stanley Cup series against an overmatched Moncton outfit. McDonald bagged four goals in the opening match, and bettered that by one next time out as Quebec cruised to the Cup.

McDonald then jumped to the PCHA for one unspectacular season, before returning to the NHA with the Ontarios club, placing fourth in league scoring in 1914. The productive LW remained in the NHA/NHL up until 1922 with several different clubs.

Old No. 7 Roster

Coach:

Jack McDonald -- Herb Jordan -- xxxxxx

xxxxxx -- xxxxxx

xxxxxx​

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Dale Tallon D Has Tremendous peak value. Placed 3rd, 5th, 7th in scoring by defensemen during the highly competetive 1970's, and played a good aggresive defensive game.

Defenceman Dale Tallon possessed unquestionable skill with the puck and was a superior quarterback on the power play. He was also a rugged competitor whose solid career was overshadowed by Gilbert Perreault, the man picked just ahead of him in the Amateur Draft.
He spent six years with the Hawks and was a fine two-way performer for the club.

Legends of hockey

Ed Olczyk C

 

[vancityluongo]

holy crap fellas - nice start! Out of the 14 non-Regina players taken, ten of them were pretty high on our list. Nothing gets past you guys.

VCL is just a proxy draft pick maker, not really a true co-GM this time around, as I understand it. So don't expect him to be posting much, if anything about our picks.

I'll be using my few minutes of net access each day to try to post something about each player we take.

Janney, thanks to his playoff record and his playmaking, was tops on our centers list. Smith was a guy I targeted as an anchor for the defense corps from the start.

Janney was actually a guy I found it really, really hard to pass on when finally deciding on Haynes as a second line center in MLD10. He needs the right wingers, but we can get him that.

Haviland Routh, Allan Cameron, Slava Bykov, the Fogolins, Fred Whitcroft... nice work, gentlemen.

Yeah...I'm basically just going to be listpicking mostly, but I'll try and squeeze in a couple things when posting. Just don't expect any seventieslord-esque bios from me.

Agreed about the solid picks so far.

 

[VanIslander]

I suspect a team of AAA Draft all-stars would be able to beat a MLD team.

 

[VanIslander]

The Canaries of Spokane select the talented pivot who captained Team Sweden to the finals of Canada Cup '84 and led the Canucks in scoring four consecutive postseasons, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals

Thomas Gradin

"...he dished it out more than he had to take it... ... he had courage... he had heart ... he played well at both ends"

Those quotes come from a hockey player and a play-by-play announcer on the following 5-minute sports report hosted by Squire Barnes of BCTV/Global News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRyzQApEdDk​

593 points in 677 NHL games (excellent 42 pts in 42 NHL playoff games). In all-star game (1985).

Gradin was a Canuck team co-MVP in Vancouver his rookie season, from a two-goal, three-point night his first game through to his 51st point in 76 games his first season, helping return the Canucks to the playoffs for the first time in three years, and, in fact, the team would go on to six consecutive playoff appearances with Gradin as top or second top scorer, Gradin scoring 20+ goals each season despite being more of a playmaker looking for passes. In 1982, as a 26 year old in his fourth year, the slick and sturdy Swede, led the team in scoring once again, with a career high 39 goals and 86 points. He followed that up by leading the team in scoring with 19 points in the 17-game Stanley Cup run in the famous 1982 postseason of Towel Power. He set up the first goal and scored the insurance marker as the Canucks won its first playoff game in franchise history against the Flames in the first round. In the next round he scored the only regulation goal for his team as the Canucks went on to win a 2-1 OT thriller over the Blackhawks in what still stands as the longest game in franchise history. That season Gradin was voted the team's most exciting player, the first time since he was so awarded in his rookie season. He was also deemed the best Swede in the NHL for that year, seven years after he had been labeled Swedish junior player of the year. Gradin played in Canada Cup '81 and was captain of Canada Cup '84, leading his team to the finals against Canada.

listed #2 on 50 Greatest Canucks list at
http://www.canucks.com/subpage.asp?sectionID=27

 

[VanIslander]

The Spokane Canaries also are pleased to select a right winger who was a mainstay on Soviet national teams from winning Canada Cup '81 to the World Championships in 1993, was simply exceptional from 1987 to 1992:

Andrei Khomutov

"... dazzling speed, a pleasure to watch him skate..."

http://www.1972summitseries.com/RendezVous87/rendezvous87sovietcommentary.html

on the winning side at the 1981 Canada Cup;
gold at the IIHF World Championships in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, and 1993;
and gold in the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Winter Olympics.​

Some Great International Moments:

1. scored a goal and an assist in the 5-3 Soviet win over the NHL All-stars in the last game of Rendez Vous '87, finishing second to Gretzky in points

2. scored 4 goals and 7 points in Canada Cup '87 to finish fourth in goal scoring

3. scored 7 goals and 14 points in 1992 Olympics to lead the Unified Team to the gold medal, tying the tourney lead in scoring with Selanne

1988 USSR Best Scorer
1990 Soviet League MVP
1990 IIHF All-star
1990 IIHF Best Scorer (Goals, WOG)
1992 IIHF Best Scorer (Goals)