Round 2, Vote 4 (HOH Top Defensemen)

[tarheelhockey]

Gadsby's hit on Horton is one of the most famous hockey hits of all time, but I had not realized that Horton was considered more of an offensive defenseman before then and just how much he played right wing. This explains his high scoring totals in the 50s and corresponding lack of all-star consideration.

I found an interesting article in the Montreal Gazette on the topic of Horton's conversion to RW as an emergency substitute for injured forwards.

Horton, a defenseman through most of his ice career which has included five full seasons with the Leafs, was switched to right wing recently to take up some of the slack caused by injuries...

"I always felt Horton belonged on the wing," [Leafs manager Conn Smythe] explained. "When I signed him, it was with the intention of converting him into a right winger."

Horton, however, opposed the idea. When he reported to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League, then [the] Leafs' top farm team, he stubbornly stuck to defence.

When he turned out to be the AHL's best rushing defenceman there was little the Leaf brass could say... The fast-skating Horton seems to have changed his mind now. Of his new position, he said "It's fun. You can whirl over the red line without worrying about being caught out of position."

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I'm not going to tabulate votes for a couple of hours, so if you haven't voted, you still can, but do it ASAP.

 

[Hardyvan123]

Re the Clapper / Seibert debate, perhaps the key issue is how many defensemen from non-playoff teams have received First Team All Star recognition.

From the pre 1967 expansion era Earl Seibert and Bill Gadsby are the only two true defensemen to be so honoured. The others - Tommy Anderson and Ebbie Goodfellow were two position players.

This could be viewed as either trivial or time specific as well.

The fact that it happened only 2 times does not in off itself mean a lot does it?

Do we have any information on how and why voters voted the way they did or only the results?