MLD 2017 Quarterfinal: Kelowna Packers vs. Atlanta Thrashers

[seventieslord]

If anyone thinks Tikhonov is a hard-assed coach hard to build around then... read my bio info on how Tretiak and Larionov respected and backed him on the ice... and then think of how hated Scotty Bowman was.


http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/09/s...tanley-cup-has-a-resounding-ring.html?mcubz=3

And also mine from 2010, if you can handle some reading.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Sterner is a massive question mark. Tumba should be pretty good at this point.

I remember 2 years back, we were looking at guys for the communal single A or B level draft, and I had Sterner on my radar, and I'm looking at the list of seasons he was near the scoring leaders in Sweden and internationally, and.... it wasn't awe-inspiring. And this was when his competition was guys like Joe Carveth and Tony Tanti.

Why talk about our assessments 2 years ago, when quite a bit more information on Sterner was presented in the HOH Top Non-NHL Euros project? (One of the few players that could be said about)

 

[seventieslord]

Why talk about our assessments 2 years ago, when quite a bit more information on Sterner was presented in the HOH Top Non-NHL Euros project? (One of the few players that could be said about)

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I'm factoring that into what I'm saying now. I don't see how he compares favourably to the next best few soviets or czechs available now, for example.

 

[VanIslander]

Sterner is physical, as an all-time great peak - at least equal to Yashin's LOL - and actually played with Tumba at the overlap of their careers.

That said, the Packers is deep in left wing talent. Kilrea played almost all his career as a first liner, for a couple of years as a scorer and for half a decade as Syd Howe's defensive/utility winger. So, if you think Sterner couldn't even play himself through the regular season (if it factored into your low esteem for the team) then imagine the coaching staff is bright enough to ice other options the GM has assembled.

 

[seventieslord]

(if it factored into your low esteem for the team)

...is there somewhere that I said anything of the sort? Please advise.

 

[ResilientBeast]

Sterner is physical, as an all-time great peak - at least equal to Yashin's LOL - and actually played with Tumba at the overlap of their careers.

That said, the Packers is deep in left wing talent. Kilrea played almost all his career as a first liner, for a couple of years as a scorer and for half a decade as Syd Howe's defensive/utility winger. So, if you think Sterner couldn't even play himself through the regular season (if it factored into your low esteem for the team) then imagine the coaching staff is bright enough to ice other options the GM has assembled.

Based on what? His ability to beat up weaker competition?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

It would be nice if the Sterner critics at least acknowledged that he was voted the 2nd best player in Europe in 1968-69 by a pretty clear margin over pretty decent competition.

 

[ResilientBeast]

It would be nice if the Sterner critics at least acknowledged that he was voted the 2nd best player in Europe in 1968-69 by a pretty clear margin over pretty decent competition.

My question then becomes how impressive is that compared to a guy who peaked with 2nd in Hart voting in an even more talent dense NHL

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

My question then becomes how impressive is that compared to a guy who peaked with 2nd in Hart voting in an even more talent dense NHL

Obviously. It's at least somewhat less impressive than Yashin's best season. The question then becomes, what did Sterner do in the rest of his career? Because we know what Yashin did (and didn't) do.

 

[jarek]

I can't remember if it was Sterner but I remember reading about a player who went to the NHL and couldn't handle the physicality. It might have been Igor Liba though.

 

[Theokritos]

I can't remember if it was Sterner but I remember reading about a player who went to the NHL and couldn't handle the physicality.

Sterner fits that bill. In the 1960s the jump from European hockey to the NHL was like a trip to another universe. Here's what Börje Salming said about the perception prevalent in Sweden in the second half of the 1960s and the beginning 1970s: "One had heard of how it turned out for Ulf Sterner when he crossed the Atlantic. Everything seemed very strange and fishy. Sterner had a reputation of being a real tough-guy in Sweden, but was sent down to the farm-team after five games by the New York Rangers. Apparently, Europeans were to be chased away, frightened."

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Canadiens1958, who basically only judges players based on how they looked against North Americans (and seems to give zero credit to players who never played directly against North Americans) was actually a big fan of Sterner, IIRC.

For whatever that is worth. Maybe he just saw him play one game.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Sterner fits that bill. In the 1960s the jump from European hockey to the NHL was like a trip to another universe. Here's what Börje Salming said about the perception prevalent in Sweden in the second half of the 1960s and the beginning 1970s: "One had heard of how it turned out for Ulf Sterner when he crossed the Atlantic. Everything seemed very strange and fishy. Sterner had a reputation of being a real tough-guy in Sweden, but was sent down to the farm-team after five games by the New York Rangers. Apparently, Europeans were to be chased away, frightened."

Hard to know what to make of that quote.

It could mean he was soft....

Or it could mean he was teamed up on, brutalized.

 

[Hobnobs]

Hard to know what to make of that quote.

It could mean he was soft....

Or it could mean he was teamed up on, brutalized.

Sterner and his coaches all told stories about that certain players were ordered to "kill the swede". Hell, Sterner was ordered to crosscheck a player who was hounding him in a prior game. Then we have the coach Crawford iirc who ordered players to play without helmets which gave Sterner the concussion he had when he was finally called up to the NHL. He scored in his first game but it was called off because of fighting. Apparently he cut through the defense like a hot knife through butter.

The mentality in NA during that period up to the late 80s isnt really a secret though. They tried to kill euros who were "taking their jobs". Several players retired from NHL early because of that mentality like Kallur, Pettersson, Brasar etc.

Refs even looked the other way. Labraaten told there were several instances where he was blatantly chopped over the knees, speared, elbowed right in front of the ref an dthe ref did nothing.

This was NHL prior to the acceptance that started during the 90s.

 

[Batis]

For what it is worth this is what George "Red" Sullivan had to say about Ulf Sterner.

"I have never seen a player get acquainted as fast as Uffe and also never seen one who handles the puck with such elegance".

And this is Ulf Sterner himself talking about his NHL stint.

"They awarded the stars of the game and in the first game I was one of two stars and in the second game I was one of five stars. Even if I did not score I was playing pretty well."

"Ahead of the third game against Detroit Red Wings "Red" Sullivan called me to his office and told me to start retaliating. In that game I was assigned to cover Gordie Howe. The Detroit players kept making a sign with their sticks pointed towards their noses when they were close to me. I asked my linemates what that meant. Their answer was that I probably was staying to close to Gordie Howe and that I probably should keep some distance because otherwise it was probably gonna say boom."

http://www.hockeysverige.se/2017/07/26/hockeykortet-kill-swede/

Another thing that was brought up during the Non-NHL Europeans project is that Sterners AHL-stats that year actually was pretty impressive for a player adjusting to a new enviroment.

How is 44 points in 52 games for a rookie bad? That's essentially the same stat line as Jean Ratelle got on the same team the year before (46 points in 57 games).

Ratelle was born the year before Sterner, so the comparison is very fair, apart from the fact that Ratelle was already an experienced NHL player, while Sterner was playing in a foreign system, in a foreign country, as the first person ever to do this in NA.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Kelowna wins in 7 games.

Ulf Sterner is the number 1 star, but Tumba, Boudrias and Yashin tie in voting points for the next few spots.