I'll draft defenseman Sergei Babinov and right winger Vlastimil Bubnik.
Babinov played 162 games for the Soviet national team. The games were played between 1975 and 1984 which is when Soviet Union was dominating the international hockey circles. There are probably players with better personal merits but Babinov was a part of arguably the best defense group Soviet Union ever had.
The competition level for the all-star spots was tough. First there were Lutchenko, Vasiliev and Pervukhin. They were taking all the national all-star team spots. Then Fetisov showed up. And the amazingly underappreciated Bilyaletdinov. Then Kasatonov joined the group as well. In 1981 World championships, the defense pairings were Fetisov-Kasatonov; Pervukhin-Bilyaletdinov; Babinov-Vasiliev. Not a bad company. And remember, Babinov was a regular part of the Red Army for 9 seasons.
Bubnik was a Czechoslovakian star whose best years were in the 50's, when Zabrodsky was likely the best player in the country, Tumba was shining for Sweden and Bobrov for the Soviets. Bubnik, however, was a good player himself as well. He took part in 4 Olympic tournaments. He was the leading scorer in 1955 world championships. In the Best Czech Hockey players of the Century voting, Bubnik placed 6th, only behind Hasek, Jagr, Zabrodsky, Martinec and Hlinka.
Babinov played 162 games for the Soviet national team. The games were played between 1975 and 1984 which is when Soviet Union was dominating the international hockey circles. There are probably players with better personal merits but Babinov was a part of arguably the best defense group Soviet Union ever had.
The competition level for the all-star spots was tough. First there were Lutchenko, Vasiliev and Pervukhin. They were taking all the national all-star team spots. Then Fetisov showed up. And the amazingly underappreciated Bilyaletdinov. Then Kasatonov joined the group as well. In 1981 World championships, the defense pairings were Fetisov-Kasatonov; Pervukhin-Bilyaletdinov; Babinov-Vasiliev. Not a bad company. And remember, Babinov was a regular part of the Red Army for 9 seasons.
Bubnik was a Czechoslovakian star whose best years were in the 50's, when Zabrodsky was likely the best player in the country, Tumba was shining for Sweden and Bobrov for the Soviets. Bubnik, however, was a good player himself as well. He took part in 4 Olympic tournaments. He was the leading scorer in 1955 world championships. In the Best Czech Hockey players of the Century voting, Bubnik placed 6th, only behind Hasek, Jagr, Zabrodsky, Martinec and Hlinka.
(perhaps post about it on the MLD championship thread as your Capitals team could sure have used Janney's playoff scoring excellence).
Outstanding top line glue guy for the AAA draft.
Despite not being a scorer at all, Yeller did score a key goal in each of the Avs two successful cup runs: in 1996 a game-tying, unassisted short-handed goal as part of a 3-2 overtime win in game one of that infamous series between Colorado and the Detroit Red Wings; in 2001 as the Avs streaked to their second Stanley Cup, Yelle---despite only scoring 3 points in 23 games---scored a game-winning overtime goal against the St. Louis Blues, moving Colorado to 3-1 in a series they would win with another OT victory in the very next game. These examples don't show his goal scoring ability, just his clutch effort, his giving it his all, at the highest levels of competition, a playoff warrior of a defensive kind.
