MeHateHe
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- Dec 24, 2006
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The Calder Trophy has been handed out every season since 1933. It actually surprised me to see that most of the winners had long and productive (for the most part) careers. You'd figure with 90 names, that a good chunk would have had a flash in the pan and then either vanished or fizzled out. As it turned out, that number is surprisingly low.
I came up with four names of players whose NHL careers wound up being short and mostly uneventful. Three of the four had careers disrupted by the war years. Whose career was most disappointing? Bonus points if you saw any of them play live (hah!)
Frank McCool, Maple Leafs (1945)
McCool won the Calder as the Leafs goalie in 1945, when he played 50 games, recording a 24-22-4 record with a 3.22 average and four shutouts en route to a Stanley Cup championship. He played 22 games the following season and retired largely because he was plagued by ulcers.
John Quilty, Canadiens (1941)
Quilty played 48 games for the Habs in 1940-41, posting a respectable 18-16-34 stat line. He scored another 12 the following season before signing up with the RCAF. Wikipedia says he played for RCAF teams in Toronto and Vancouver during the war years. He came back to the NHL in 1946, scoring six goals over 29 games spanning the following two seasons. After a broken leg in 1948, his NHL career was over.
James (KIlby) MacDonald, Rangers (1940)
MacDonald won the Calder at the tender age of 27, having bounced around senior and minor/semi pro until catching on with the Rangers on their run toward the Cup in 1940. He picked up 28 points in 44 games that season, including 15 goals, racking up 11 points the following season before briefly joining the Canadian army. He returned to the Rangers for the '43-'44 and '44-45 season, ultimately amassing 36 goals in 151 NHL games.
Jack Gelineau, Bruins (1950)
Gelineau served in World War II and earned the British Empire Medal for gallantry, having saved crewmates from a crashed airplane that was carrying ammunition. After the war, he played hockey for McGill and in the summer played baseball. He earned a tryout with the Boston Red Sox but ultimately settled on hockey. He started with the Bruins while finishing his studies at McGill (remind you of any other goalie?) and was the Bruins starter in '49-'50 and '50-'51, racking up more than 8,000 minutes in 137 games. After two succeeding seasons in the QSHL, he returned to the NHL with the Blackhawks in 1953-54, where he played two games and gave up 18 goals.
Is it too soon to talk about Andrew Raycroft?
I came up with four names of players whose NHL careers wound up being short and mostly uneventful. Three of the four had careers disrupted by the war years. Whose career was most disappointing? Bonus points if you saw any of them play live (hah!)
Frank McCool, Maple Leafs (1945)
McCool won the Calder as the Leafs goalie in 1945, when he played 50 games, recording a 24-22-4 record with a 3.22 average and four shutouts en route to a Stanley Cup championship. He played 22 games the following season and retired largely because he was plagued by ulcers.
John Quilty, Canadiens (1941)
Quilty played 48 games for the Habs in 1940-41, posting a respectable 18-16-34 stat line. He scored another 12 the following season before signing up with the RCAF. Wikipedia says he played for RCAF teams in Toronto and Vancouver during the war years. He came back to the NHL in 1946, scoring six goals over 29 games spanning the following two seasons. After a broken leg in 1948, his NHL career was over.
James (KIlby) MacDonald, Rangers (1940)
MacDonald won the Calder at the tender age of 27, having bounced around senior and minor/semi pro until catching on with the Rangers on their run toward the Cup in 1940. He picked up 28 points in 44 games that season, including 15 goals, racking up 11 points the following season before briefly joining the Canadian army. He returned to the Rangers for the '43-'44 and '44-45 season, ultimately amassing 36 goals in 151 NHL games.
Jack Gelineau, Bruins (1950)
Gelineau served in World War II and earned the British Empire Medal for gallantry, having saved crewmates from a crashed airplane that was carrying ammunition. After the war, he played hockey for McGill and in the summer played baseball. He earned a tryout with the Boston Red Sox but ultimately settled on hockey. He started with the Bruins while finishing his studies at McGill (remind you of any other goalie?) and was the Bruins starter in '49-'50 and '50-'51, racking up more than 8,000 minutes in 137 games. After two succeeding seasons in the QSHL, he returned to the NHL with the Blackhawks in 1953-54, where he played two games and gave up 18 goals.
Is it too soon to talk about Andrew Raycroft?