The 2015 Single-A Draft (OPEN Ed.) has ended.

[chaosrevolver]

Brandon will add C/LW Stu Barnes, a sort of all-around good guy who is not the first guy you think of to man a scoring line or provide muscle for one, nor a shutdown player, but is a solid all around citizen who could fill in anywhere in the lineup as needed.

Barnes scored 600 points and many more in the playoffs, where he was an underrated contributor to two cinderella finals runs. He also killed a lot of penalties later in his career. Barnes was good for at least 30 points in any full season from 1994 to 2006, more often than not 40, proving a decent gritty secondary scorer at the height of the DPE.

poor man's Martin Gelinas?

Is he even a poor man's Gelinas? Pretty similar record all-around.

 

[seventieslord]

Is he even a poor man's Gelinas? Pretty similar record all-around.

true, practically the same regular season long-term stats (less high end though) and he actually killed about 2x as many penalties.

he also scored 6 more points in 31 fewer playoff games. Amazingly he's got 7 more playoff goals scored than Gelinas... but I cant remember a single one of his, and I remember like half of Gelinas' 23 playoff goals.

 

[chaosrevolver]

Port Arthur takes a guy I was considering earlier. He was a solid two-way playmaker that can play two different forward positions. Finishing with a solid NHL resume, this player also has solid playoff and international performances to his resume making him an easy pick. LW/C - Aaron Broten.

748 Regular Season Games (186 Goals, 329 Assists, 515 Points)
34 Playoff Games (7 Goals, 18 Assists, 25 Points)
55 Senior International Games Played (11 Goals, 23 Assists, 34 Points)

Aaron Broten was a solid two-way forward who played over 700 games in the 80s and 90s. Comfortable at centre and left wing, he registered three 20-goal seasons and was effective on both specialty teams.

He was a top high school player in 1978-79 when he scored seven points in five games for the USA at the World Junior Championships. Broten attended the University of Minnesota for two years where he was an offensive force. Following an excellent freshman year, he was chosen 106th overall by the Colorado Rockies at the Entry Draft. The next year he led the WCHA in goals, assists and points, was placed on the conference's first all-star team and named to the NCAA Championship all-tournament team. He capped off his dream season by playing his first two NHL games and skating for the U.S. at the World Championships.

After being recalled from the minors in 1981-82, Broten enjoyed a solid rookie season with 39 points in 58 games. When the Rockies missed the playoffs, the young winger played for the eighth place U.S. at the World Championships. Broten was a versatile player in 1982-83 when he scored 55 points and was a member of the power play and penalty killing units.

Broten joined his brother Neal on the U.S. Canada Cup team that reached the semi-finals in 1984. During the 1984-85 season, he hit the 20-goal mark for the first time then played for his country at the World Championships when they just missed winning a medal. Broten also played for the U.S. at the World Championships in 1986 and 1987 as well as the 1987 Canada Cup. In 1987 and 1988, the talented forward was at his most productive with consecutive 26-goal seasons.

In January 1990, Broten returned home when he was acquired by the Minnesota North Stars for Bob Brooke. He was more of a playmaker and checker for his new club and was on hand in September when Minnesota ventured to Moscow as part of the Friendship Tour.

 

[chaosrevolver]

true, practically the same regular season long-term stats (less high end though) and he actually killed about 2x as many penalties.

he also scored 6 more points in 31 fewer playoff games. Amazingly he's got 7 more playoff goals scored than Gelinas... but I cant remember a single one of his, and I remember like half of Gelinas' 23 playoff goals.

Gelinas 2004 Playoff Run sticks in a lot of people's minds I think.

With that being said, Barnes was clearly the more consistent playoff performer while that run cemented that reputation for Martin. Before that run he had 41 points (15 goals) in 121 games.

 

[seventieslord]

having drafted a LW/C, Port Arthur follows up with a LW/RW with a decent assortment of offensive, defensive and physical skills - Mark Osborne.

- Best VsX: 57, 50, 48, 45, 43, 42, 36
- 531 points in 919 games (only 100 on the PP)
- 28 points in 87 playoff games
- Led 1982 Red Wings in scoring
- Killed 18% of penalties for teams average on the PK
- 22 career SHP

powerful winger... big strong winger who likes to bang in the corners... an aggressive but clean checker who plays the corners well... plays an active physical game... always gives 100% on the ice... a strong skater with leaership ability and a work ethic which endears himself to a coaching staff.

 

[chaosrevolver]

Nevermind, I see what happened. Pick coming in a second.

 

[chaosrevolver]

New Glasgow will take a two-way Swedish forward who could play multiple positions effectively and had a very solid international resume to boot.

LW/C - Ulf Sterner

World champion 1962
WC-silver 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973
WC-bronze 1971
Olympic silver 1964
WC best forward 1969.
Inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 2001.

Ulf Sterner was this super kid out of Sweden. Described as "a smooth skater, seamless passer and scorer with enormous offensive talent," he debuted internationally at the 1960 Olympics at the age of 18. He would lead Sweden to the 1962 World Championship gold medal and the 1963 World Championship silver medal. At the 1964 Olympic games in Innsbruck Sterner would lead all scorers with eleven points in seven games.

Bio -> http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=35970159&postcount=213

 

[seventieslord]

New Glasgow will take a two-way Swedish forward who could play multiple positions effectively and had a very solid international resume to boot.

LW/C - Ulf Sterner

World champion 1962
WC-silver 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973
WC-bronze 1971
Olympic silver 1964
WC best forward 1969.
Inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 2001.

Bio -> http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=35970159&postcount=213

i'd like to get his international and domestic scoring finishes together too. a guy who most likely should not have fallen quite this far.

 

[seventieslord]

Another guy in the Broten/Barnes vein - Benoit Hogue, LW/C. As you scan available lists throughout the MLD and AAA these are never guys you want to count on for offense, or for shutdown defense, but still, they are solid all around without major weaknesses. Hogue can be a great single A utility man, filling in as needed on any line.

Hogue topped 60 points four times, but the dropoff is fast after that. Luckily he was smart enough to stay useful enough in other ways.

- Stanley Cup (1999)
- Best VsX: 71, 62, 56, 53, 43, 41, 40
- 543 points in 864 games
- 33 points in 92 playoff games
- Killed 18% of penalties in his career for teams 7% below average

a fine skater, he has an excellent release and is very adept at getting into good scoring position... versatile forward has a hard, accurate shot... a speedy forward who can play all three forward positions...

 

[chaosrevolver]

How about a utility man that can play both up front and on defense? That is where Brandon is going with their next pick in D/RW - Bert McCaffrey. The utility man was arguably a lot more that during his hockey career, mixing solid two-way play with his aggressiveness, tenacity and shiftiness.

- 5'10", 180 lbs

McCaffrey was legitimately good as a forward and a defenseman, making him not just a passable fill-in, but a great one:

As a forward:
- put up 94 points in 77 games in the OHA and earned two first team all-star spots (Harry Watson had 131 in 72)
- won two Allan Cups
- scored buckets of points at the 1924 olympics with his linemates Smith and Watson, winning gold
- placed 19th and 13th in the NHL in points (percentage scores 38 & 58)
- was 13th in hart voting in 1926

As a defenseman:
- was an OHA 2nd team all-star in 1921
- played 5 NHL seasons from age 33-37 for teams slightly below average (weighted SRS -.08)
- earned defense percentage scores of 65 and 53% in his best two seasons
- in the 1928 and 1930 seasons, he was traded to and from Pittsburgh. they had a record of 31-49-15 (.405) with him, and 2-31-4 (.108) before acquiring him and after losing him.
- contributed to 2 Montreal stanley cups (1930, 1931)
- was the oldest full time player in the NHL when he retired

interesting stat: in his first 6 NHL seasons (1925-1930), he missed just 4 games, and led the NHL in games throughout this time. This demonstrates durability, but more importantly, that even as he aged, he was a contributing player who wasn't being shuffled in and out of the lineup.

Rest of Seventies Bio -> http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=88849153&postcount=66

 

[VanIslander]

Brandon selects Herbert Russell, an earliest era great with a significant 5-year span. First, he captained Ottawa to three OHA league championship seasons in 1891, 1892 and 1893, including a national championship AHAC title through most of 1892, beating the best Montreal teams four times and Quebec both times they played that season, losing only one game, the last one in March, a week before Lord Stanley of Preston announced the donation of a cup to be competed for. The Stanley Cup was designed to be held by future league champions, to prevent future great teams like Ottawa in 1892 from losing the title on a single loss at the end of the season, prompting a round robin format and an eventual three-game challenge series format. Then, he was one of the top scorers in the AHAC in 1894 and 1895. He finished tied for 1st and 3rd in league scoring playing in the best league in the world with and against several all-time greats.

... a gifted scorer and playmaker, a diligent checker, and a rough, physical forward very much unlike the stereotype of the era's players...

Described by a Quebec supporter as “a big rough brute,” the Geological Survey draughtsman was more like a charging bull than a water bug when he got hold of the puck ... His best effort came in January 1894, when the scored all Ottawa's goals in a 5-1 win over the Montreal Victorias at the Rideau Rink. His ten goals that season tied him for the scoring title with Quebec's Dolly Swift, one of the most prolific players of the time. Though Russell could mete out thundering bodychecks when he felt so inclined, he was sometimes reluctant to use his size and strength to full advantage. Surprisingly fast, he rushed the puck well and shot accurately. He was also unselfish, preferring to pass to an open teammate rather than trying to score himself. And he followed back diligently.

1894 AHAC season scoring leaders:
Leading scorers Name Club GP G

Russell, Herbert Ottawa 8 10
Swift, Arthur E. Quebec 8 10
Routh, Haviland Montreal 8 8
Barlow, Billy Montreal 8 8
Rankin, Norman Victorias 5 6
Davidson, Shirley Victorias 8 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1894_AHAC_season

1895 AHAC Season
Leading scorers Name Club GP G

Routh, Haviland Montreal 8 19
Rankin, Norman Victorias 8 11
Swift, Arthur E. Quebec 6 10
Russell, Herbert Ottawa 8 10
Robert MacDougall Victorias 8 10
Drinkwater, Graham Victorias 8 9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1895_AHAC_Season

Herbert Russell retired in 1896 and yet stood tied for 8th 'all-time' in total goals as of 1899 with 22 career goals for Ottawa. Russell played for the Ottawa Hockey Club from 1890 until 1896, in at least 26 registered games, captaining it from 1891 through 1893, followed by two significant scoring seasons of 10 goals in eight games in each of 1894 and 1895. He left competitive hockey after the 1896 season but played one season of professional hockey in 1901–02 for the Pittsburgh Bankers of the Western Professional Hockey League.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Russell

ALL TIME GOAL SCORING LIST AT THE END OF THE 1899 SEASON:
1. Bob McDougall (VICS) 49
2. A. E. "Dolly" Swift (Que) 37
3. Clary MacKerrow (MAAA) 34
4. Billy Barlow (MAAA) 33
5. Haviland Routh (MAAA) 32
6. Graham Drinkwater (Vics) 28
7. Shirley Davidson (VICS) 27
8. Alf Smith (Ott) 22
8. Herb Russell (OTT) 22

http://hfboards.com/archive/index.php/t-293965.html

Herbert Russell is listed as a forward most often but he is cited as a point in the lyrics of the song performed at the end of season dinner in 1892, suggesting he might have been point in the earlier years then forward during the following two good scoring seasons, which would explain why he suddenly was twice top-5 in league scoring.

At coverpoint - important place
There's [Weldy] Young, a bulwark strong.
No dodging tricks or flying pace
Will baffle him for long.

At point we have the captain
And if he gets the puck
Will very near the goal he'll shoot
And get it too, with luck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891–92_Ottawa_Hockey_Club_season

 

[chaosrevolver]

Galt's looking for a center to come in when needed and turns to a former Vancouver Canuck for their final pick. He was quick and played a very solid two-way game that included both PP and PK time. C - Brendan Morrison

- 934 Games, 601 Points
- 61 Playoff Games, 30 Points
- 25 International Senior Games, 15 Points (Canada)
- From 2007 on (once NHL started keeping track and also after his prime) Morrison had 147 Takeaways and 141 Giveaways*

Morrison spent most of his first pro season in the AHL with the Albany River Rats but played a regular shift with New Jersey in 1998-99. He scored 46 points and played sound defence that season but the Devils were deep at forward. The emergence of rookie Scott Gomez in 1999-00 sealed Morrison's fate and he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks with Denis Pederson for Alexander Mogilny. The young pivot scored 54 points and was solid at both ends of the ice while helping the Canucks reach the playoffs.

An important two-way player with the Canucks, Morrison's speed and anticipation landed him significant time on both specialty units. Since his arrival in Vancouver, Morrison has been one of the team's more durable and consistent players, establishing career highs in goals (25), assists (46) and points (71) during the 2002-03 season.

After a 60-point 2003-04 season in Vancouver, Morrison competed overseas with Linkopings HC in Sweden during the NHL lockout. He returned in 2005-06 and played his fifth consecutive 82 game season, extending his ironman streak to 512 consecutive games. The following season Morrison's streak came to an end at 542 games when he suffered a wrist injury. After only competing in 39 games that season, Morrison and the Canucks failed to qualify for the NHL playoffs.

Was a good skater and playmaker. Racked up points at every level. Was an important player on special teams and a decent face-off man. Could play center and wing.

* Admittedly not a perfect stat but it does show that he was pretty responsible overall with the puck while also being capable of playing positional defense.

 

[BubbaBoot]

Was at the Bosstones Throwdown last night, now working an 18 hr double shift. I'll try to get a bio up on Partinen when I can.

Basically he was a steady, nonflashy stud who was the best dman in the world for a tourney. I like what I read and wanted to acknowledge him.

The other Finns and Czechs guys I like were pretty much later era players that are considered fringe NHL caliber players by more than a couple of people around here so I gave a pretty good old school guy a nod.

 

[MadArcand]

having drafted a LW/C, Port Arthur follows up with a LW/RW with a decent assortment of offensive, defensive and physical skills - Mark Osborne.

I don't get this pick. Mediocre offensively, mediocre defensively. Quite physical, but that's it. To me he always was an average 3rd line grinder.

 

[seventieslord]

every one of the teams needing a player already has one dedicated 7th D-man and two spare forwards. Maybe give them each one swingman? Probably the best one I can see is Bryan Watson, D/RW. Watson got into 900 games and was not your standard "goon defenseman", playing about 21 minutes per game - though the teams that had that kind of room for him were absolutely brutal (he's got the worst career team strength rating among all 600+ game players). Prior to settling in as a defenseman, he was used as a shadowing RW, though I'm not sure exactly what percentage of his career this entails.

- Stanley Cup Finalist (1966)
- 20.80 minutes per game post-expansion for teams 21% below average
- This was with NIL PP time - only scored 6 PPP in his entire career
- killed 49% of penalties for teams only 8% below average
- Pre-expansion, TOI not available but teams were 15% better than average (so 16% below average for his career)
- 148 NHL fights

Bryan Watson, D/RW

Watson had the face of a light heavyweight boxer with plenty of scars and a warm smile to soften his tough-guy looks. He was small in stature but backed away from no one. He was an average skater at best who had little scoring touch around the net. But his value came in his refined art of clutching, grabbing and clinging tactics that he used to effectively blanket and antagonize opponents.

Nicknamed "Bugsy" by Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio, Bryan Watson was known to be an agitator extraordinaire. He bothered people, doing whatever it took to make them lose their concentration.

In spite of Bryan's small size (5'9" and 175 Ibs), most people were distinctly aware of his presence. Ken Schinkel, a former teammate and coach of Bryan once said " Bryan is very verbal, and will take whatever steps are necessary to do his thing. That thing means to get into fights, give elbows, and make people boo when he comes to the ice."

Schinkel also recalled when he played against Bryan.

"I felt it when Bryan came to say hello in the corners. You always knew you got hit when Bugsy got to you. "

Watson himself used to say that the contact felt good and got his circulation moving. Pete Stemkowski of the Rangers called him a "Madman". Denis Potvin once described how during a fight Bryan drove his head right into his cheek. Anything counted in Bryan's book. His style of play could easily be seen on his PIM totals. Bryan had 2212 Pim's in only 878 games.

Intimidation was the name of the game for Bryan. He was a pretty bad skater and shooter but he had more guts than most players and that is what kept him in the NHL for such a long time. He only scored 17 goals in the 878 games and had 152 points.

A loyal and absolutely fearless player who never hesitated to stop pucks with his head if the situation called for it, Bryan was a great teammate. In the dressing room he was always on the lookout for a good practical joke. He knew when to lighten the bench, and when to set a fire under someone's ass. He was definitely one of those players who every team liked to have on their side.

But among his opponents he was the kind of player that you loved to hate in the same fashion as an Eddie Shack, Theoren Fleury, or Sean Avery. In other words, you loved to have him on your team but you hated to play against him, because he could be really mean.

Rivalry with Hull, begins in 1966 playoffs and carries into 1967 regular season

Reay has another problem. He hasn't been able to figure out Red Wings's Bryan Watson. Watson, a 170-pounder who toiled as a utility player this year after brief services with the Montreal Canadiens, has emerged as an effective shadow of the high-scoring Hull.

Hull scored a goal in the opening game of the set. Then Detroit coach Sid Abel decided to try Watson on the muscular leftwinger in the second game and the 23-year old Red Wing became an overnight hero. Watson has skated with Hull every step of the way and has managed to bounce right up from the bone crunching checks handed out by the Chicago star. He has also limited Hull to one assist and only a few shots.

Meanwhile, Watson has scored twice himself since he started shadowing Hull. Asked if Watson's close coverage irritates him, Hull replied: "He irritates me when he scores."

Depending on where you sit, or skate, Bryan Watson, the scrappy young forward of the Detroit Red Wings, is either a living doll or a dirty dog. "He irritates me," is the way good-natured Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks puts it. "If you can't say something nice about a guy, keep your mouth shut," says Bobby's teammate Stan Mikita, doing just that. "No comment," says Chicago Coach Billy Reay. The Black Hawks are extra touchy about Watson, because it was at their expense that this tempestuous young Red Wing first achieved his reputation as the No. 1 nuisance of the NHL.

By the time the two teams wound up matched against each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Detroit Coach Sid Abel had had enough of Hull. He called Watson over and gave him a terse order: get on Hull and stay there.

Bryan did. The result was that Hull scored only twice in six games, Detroit won four of them and Chicago took its customary postseason nose dive into obscurity. The mismatch triumph of 160-pound Watson over 195-pound Hull, coupled with the fact that Bryan somehow managed to score two goals himself while policing Bobby, gave the young Detroiter a season-end popularity rating exceeded only by that of Governor George Romney.

When, therefore, the current season started a few weeks ago at Olympia, with Chicago once again matched against the Wings, an opening-game-record 14,214 fans were there to see Bryan Watson climb on top of that famous No. 9 on Hull's back for another session of needling, prodding, cursing and provoking.

Watson's own point of view, expressed between mouthfuls of macaroni and cheese at the Detroit Press Club, is simple: "When I'm told to watch a guy, I watch him." That of the rest of the league is more complicated. The Red Wing management insists that Bryan is just doing his job and is no dirtier about it than any other hard-checking forward. The Black Hawks just as firmly insist that Watson's watchdog tactics, particularly toward Hull, are often besmirched by such fouls as tripping, hooking, slashing, spearing, boarding and cross-checking. As evidence they point to the fact that Watson was third in the league in penalties last year, amassing a total of 133 minutes in the box... Whatever his ethics, it is certain that Watson has made a deep impression and one that has some of the finest players in the NHL glancing nervously over their shoulders when they should be skating or shooting in confident security. As far as sheer skill is concerned, the consensus is that Bryan Watson is no more than a fringe player. Everyone agrees that his determination far outweighs his natural ability. But it is that determination—to hit and scrap, with no fear whatever of the consequences—that brought this youngster to the big league and makes him a valuable part of it.

"Watson has that will to win," says Montreal Coach Toe Blake, "and that goes a long way in hockey. He spruces up the players on his own team."
"He's a fighter," says Punch Imlach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. "He hits hard and he can handle himself. He's the type that shakes you up, because he gets under your skin."
"Look," says Ken Hodge, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Hawk forward whose job it is to pry Watson off Hull's back whenever he gets on it, "you can't blame Watson for what he does. If a guy scores 54 goals, you've got to do something to try and stop him. You've got to give Watson credit. That's a pretty good chuck to chew, you know."

One thing he has gotten is quicker. Assailed recently by 6-foot, 185-pound Phil Esposito of the Hawks, Watson suddenly found himself spread flat on the ice, his face the painful recipient of stinging, gloveless right-hand blows. "So when he cocked the right again," remembers Bryan, "I ducked." Esposito's fist crashed into the ice, crushed a knuckle and put the attacker out for two games.

Provoking opponents into just such flare-ups is perhaps Bryan Watson's greatest skill. And he doesn't scrap with just anybody. All of his altercations have a touch of class to them, enough so that when Bryan heads for the penalty box he usually drags a Hull or a Richard or a Mikita along with him. Verbally, he can top them all. Recently, in a game in Detroit, Montreal's Canadiens had a two-man advantage and were pressing for an almost certain power-play goal. Suddenly, the puck eluded the Canadiens' Yvan Cournoyer, and the Wings cleared it from the danger zone. As the red-faced Frenchman skated past the Detroit bench, Watson leaned over and whispered a word of advice. Whatever it was, it made Cournoyer so mad that he slammed his stick against the boards near Watson and drew a two-minute penalty. The Montreal threat was over, and Coach Sid Abel couldn't keep from laughing.

"I try hard, that's all," Watson plays as a forward and on defence, kills penalties and-in one very special assignment-shadows Chicago Black Hawks' great Bobby Hull...Again this year, Watson has been Hull's shadow. Earlier during the season, Watson cross-checked Hull and the Chicago scoring ace slashed Watson over the right eye with his stick, inflicting a deep cut. Hull later apologized.

Veteran Dean Prentice scored two goals in leading the Red Wings to a 4-2 National Hockey League victory over the Chicago Black Hawks last night in a game marked by the renewal of an old feud between Bobby Hull and Bryan Watson.

Hull, the league's top goal scorer, failed to get a shot on goal and spent most of the game in the penalty box.

My dad was hounded mercilessly by some guys; it certainly didn’t slow him down. A red wings player named Bryan Watson tailed dad everywhere except at the hotel. Dad doesn’t even like to mention his name, “because he got enough publicity back when he was shadowing me."

Bryan Watson, the hardrock forward-defenceman from Houston, was added to the taxi squad and will be available for the playoffs along with centre Gary Monahan.

Quotes from the Seals during his brief tenure in Oakland

"He was the ultimate team man. He gave you all he had and everything he did he did for the team. Even in practice, he would go all-out and take a run at his own teammates." - Gary Smith on Bryan Watson

...It was in Detroit that Watson earned the nickname Bugsy. "Gordie Howe and Andy Bathgate gave me that nickname," Watson said proudly. "I used to drive them crazy."

...[coach Fred] Glover, meanwhile, admired Watson's team ethic and courage. "He would have gone through a wall for you," Glover said.

"Watson was an enigma for Bobby Hull to play against because he would shadow Hull and never let him relax for a minute," Ted Hampson recalled.

Fellow penalty killer Gerry Odrowski recalled, "Watson wouldn't back down from anybody. You never knew what he was going to do. In Montreal he went right after John Ferguson. Bugsy didn't lose any ground on him and we won."

Norm Ferguson recalled that Watson was "different and full of energy. He was go-go all the time. For his size, he was the toughest guy I ever saw." Besides his toughness, his teammates appreciated his leadership qualities. "He was a great team player," Brian Perry recalled. "When you were down, he'd get you up."

But management did not always see Watson's locker-room presence in a positive light. Fred Glover later claimed the reason he traded Watson to Pittsburgh on January 30, 1969, was because he was having a negative influence on Carol Vadnais, "on and off the ice." Vadnais was the team's young rising star and best player. "That's why Bryan had to go," Glover claimed.

One year after being traded off the Seals, Watson got a measure of revenge as the Penguins swept the Seals out of the 1970 NHL playoffs. "I remember I played well in that series," Watson recalled. "I always loved to shove it down their throats after they traded me."

Traded to Pittsburgh

Jack Riley, a conservative trader since becoming the Penguins general manager, turned gambler today.

"Watson is the key," said Riley, who has been trying to obtain him for the past two months. "He's a tough little guy...We need checking up front...Watson and Swarbrick will supply it."

Checking is Watson's specialty. Despite his size, 5-9 and 170 pounds, he built his reputation-and risked life and limb-with a tough defensive style. He earned the nickname, "Superpest," for the manner in which he shadowed Bobby Hull, the powerful Chicago scorer, two years ago while with Detroit.

"He has the quality we want," Riley explained. "He's a hockey player with spark." Watson can play right wing or defense. At either position, he is willing to mix it up.

Riley: "We will use him both as a forward and defenseman."

Watson had been playing defense much of the time with Oakland before he came to the Penguins..."I can still use him on defense if the need arises," Sullivan said, "but we still have enough defenseman even with Watson and Price on the wings."

But expert penalty killing by Ron Schock, Val Fonteyne, Dave Burrows and Bryan Watson for most of the two minutes kept the pressure off Edwards.

Most guys play hockey on skates, but the Penguins' Bryan Watson plays on heart. Sure, he wears those blades beneath his shoes, but no one ever described Watson as a pure skater, and everyone knows he plays hockey like his life depended on it.

"You've got to respect the guy," the New York Rangers' Vic Hadfield said Sunday after their fight that was so expected it could have been billed alongside the game on the Madison Square Garden marquee. "He's a game little guy and he's not going to back down from anyone."

Without size and blazing speed, Watson has developed another talent - his reactions. "Watson's reactions have been amazing this year," Penguin Coach Red Kelly said.

With Watson's furious style has come notoriety, and the scorn of opposing crowds, not to mention their boos. "The only thing I can relate to." Watson said, "is something Ted Lindsay said: 'When they stop booing, then you have to worry.' "

Bob Plager's thoughts on Watson's trade to the Blues from Pittsburgh

"We welcomed Bugsy when he came to the team," Bob Plager said. "That was one less guy we had to fight...He was very good on the bench and in the dressing room...When the team was down and needed that jump, he would go out on the ice and start something. He gave the team a lift. The thing about Bugsy was he wasn't a phony. Some guys were yappers and couldn't back it up. Bugsy would go out there, yap it up and fight."

Sets all-time PIM record, passing Lindsay

Bryan Watson of the Detroit Red Wings has scrapped his way into the National Hockey League record book, and he has the scars to prove he earned his dubious distinction the hard way. A journeyman defenseman, who has played with six NHL teams since breaking in with Montreal in 1963, "Bugsy" Watson achieved a measure of notoriety Thursday night when he was charged with a minor and a major for a first-period scrap with Pierre Plante of the St. Louis Blues. That lifted his career total of penalty minutes to 1,810, two more than former Red Wing player, Ted Lindsay, accumulated when he set the previous NHL record.

"I guess I'm now in the NHL record book, but it doesn't show in the book how many physical knocks I have had to get there," Watson said...

Moves to Washington

There were occasions during the passage of Bryan Watson through the darker days of Detroit Red Wings' existence when his coaches thought he was the best player on the team.

Tom McVie, an old Western Hockey Leaguer who has been coaching the Washington Capitals since Milt Schmidt departed two years ago, has gone one better. It was McVie's opinion that Watson, the all-time penalty leader in the National Hockey League, was the best player on either side of a 6-3 Detroit win over Washington Sunday.

Any time Watson is highly visible, his team is not likely to be going anywhere. That is not necessarily a knock against Watson, but rather the deplorable state of most of the teams he has played for - Washington, Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Oakland.

Lafleur spent most of his time trying to avoid Washington defenseman Bryan Watson, but that was nothing new to the league's leading scorer.

"It's been that way since I came into the league," he said. "Watson doesn't change. He's always trying to get me to lose my temper and drag me to the penalty box with him."

Watson, an inspirational leader ever since the Caps obtained him in a deal with Detroit, is reportedly recovering quickly from an off-season accident when he cut his arm with a chain saw.

John Ferguson recalls Watson receiving a crosscheck from Hull

"I remembered (longtime NHL defenseman and former Penguin) Bryan Watson got cross-checked from behind by Bobby Hull," Winnipeg Jets General Manager John Ferguson said. "Nobody ever made a big deal out of it, but he lost a couple of teeth. His mouth hit the backboards."

 

[Hobnobs]

I don't get this pick. Mediocre offensively, mediocre defensively. Quite physical, but that's it. To me he always was an average 3rd line grinder.

Dont know if there is anything wrong with him being picked at this level but he seems like one of those players that would benefit ffor being a top-6 grinder in Toronto. Good ol canadian boy and all of that.

 

[seventieslord]

Was at the Bosstones Throwdown last night, now working an 18 hr double shift. I'll try to get a bio up on Partenen when I can. Basically he was a steady, nonflashy stud who was the best dman in the world for a tourney. I like what I read and wanted to acknowledge him. The other Finns and Czechs guys I like were pretty much later era players that are considered fringe NHL caliber players by more than a couple of people around here so I gave a pretty good old school guy a nod.

1. on what basis was he the "best dman in the world for a tourney"?

2. If he was a "stud" then why didn't Finland take him to international tournaments more often or ever name him an all-star?

3. Why is he more deserving than multiple finnish league all-stars and guys who played in a few more international tournaments?

I don't get this pick. Mediocre offensively, mediocre defensively. Quite physical, but that's it. To me he always was an average 3rd line grinder.

He was talented enough to lead a (bad) team in scoring in 1982, and was top-5 in scoring on his own team three times, so "average 3rd liner" is not really a fair assessment.

500 point scorers are already getting pretty rare, and even rarer are the ones who had any physical or defensive worth at all - and Osborne did.

 

[chaosrevolver]

To finish the draft, Port Arthur will take a swing man who can be useful as a sub: C/D - John Mayasich

1960 Olympic Gold Medal
1956 Olympic Silver Medal
Member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame

“Mayasich, who was probably the best amateur hockey player in America at the time, added muscle and hustle to the defense…,” so said coach Jack Riley, speaking of the Eveleth-born-and-reared skater, whose addition to the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team helped bring this country its first gold medal.

After playing for coaching legend Cliff Thompson in Eveleth, Mayasich went on to play for another Eveleth coaching legend, John Mariucci, at the University of Minnesota —both of whom are also U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinees. The silky smooth skater went on to three great years at Minnesota, being named an All American in each year (1953-55). Minnesota made it to the NCAA Tournament in 1954, only to lose an overtime heart-breaker to R.P.I in the championship game. The Gophers lost, but Mayasich scored four goals and five assists in two tournament games, as well as being named to the all-tournament first team.

His 29-49-78 and 41-39-80 scoring logs were good enough to win WCHA scoring titles in 1954 and 1955, as well. Following college, Mayasich was a performer with eight U.S. Olympic and National teams beginning with the 1956 silver medal winner.

It is, of course, the 1960 team which is so well remembered, though. Mayasich, who had by this time been shifted to defense, played brilliantly. His slap shot at Canadian goalie Don Head was quickly converted for a goal, which proved to be the winner in the critical 2-1 victory. Declining professional hockey opportunities, Mayasich devoted his remaining hockey career to the amateur Green Bay Bobcats.

That Mayasich is little known outside his home state is an accident of time and place rather than the result of any limitation in his skills. "I don't care who you name, John could have played with them," says former Harvard coach Billy Cleary, who starred with Mayasich on the victorious 1960 U.S. Olympic team in Squaw Valley. "If you were to name an alltime American team, he'd be on it, either as a forward or a defenseman."

"Like a lot of great American players of his era, John came along at the wrong time," says Herb Brooks, a former national teammate of Mayasich, who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal and, later, the NHL's New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota North Stars. "He had a great shot and was a tremendous playmaker and skater," Brooks says, "but what set him apart was that he was the smartest hockey player I've been around. He was subtle, like a great chess master, and he made players around him better. It was like he saw the game in slow motion."

Mayasich, who played center, never lost a game in his high school career, leading tiny Eveleth High to 69 straight wins and four state titles in a row, from 1948 to '51. No other team has done that. The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament is the most prestigious of its kind in the country, and Mayasich's name is still all over the record books. He owns 10 tournament scoring records, including most goals in one game (seven); most goals, career (36 in 12 games); most hat tricks, (seven in 12 games); and most points, one tournament (18 in three games).

During college he developed the weapon that was to become his offensive trademark: the slap shot. He learned about it while working in, of all places, Eveleth's open-pit mines during the summer with his friend and teammate Willard Ikola. Ikola had been the goalie on Eveleth's state championship teams. He went to college at Michigan, and every year the Wolverines played an exhibition game against the Detroit Red Wings. Some of the Wings were experimenting with the slap shot—a little-used novelty young players like Boom Boom Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens had introduced. Ikola described the shot to Mayasich, who'd never seen it.

This was before the innovation of the curved stick, and few players had the strength and coordination to master the slap shot. "I worked on it quite a bit," Mayasich says. "I had strong wrists from baseball and tennis, and got to where I could really let it go. If I was aiming at the right pipe, I'd come within six inches most of the time. I'd use it when I came down three-on-two, waiting till the defense backed in enough to let me get across the blue line. Then I'd slap it, and if the goalie stopped it there was usually a rebound. If the defense held the blue line, I'd pass off to a wing."

Mayasich became a scoring machine. His career scoring records at Minnesota still stand: 144 goals, 298 points in 111 games between 1951 and '55, a staggering average of 2.68 points per game. ( Gretzky averaged 2.62 points per game in his best four-season stretch in the NHL, 1982-86.) The Gophers' coach was John Mariucci, who had played defense for the Chicago Blackhawks, and he set up an exhibition game between the Hawks and the Gophers, which Chicago won, 5-3. "John scored two goals, and I thought he was the best player on the ice," recalls Jack McCartan, who played goalie for the 1960 U.S. Olympic team and made it to the NHL for a few games with the Rangers. "There's no doubt he could have played in the NHL. He was the best American hockey player I've ever seen."

But Mayasich got no offers to pursue an NHL career after college. The league was made up of only six teams, all with Canadian general managers. College players—especially U.S. college players—were not considered NHL material. Mayasich, who was in ROTC, also faced a two-year military obligation. "It wasn't a source of bitterness, since no college players were being given a chance," Mayasich says now. "But there's still regret, even to this day, not knowing if I could have done it."

Full Hedberg Bio -> http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=55649755&postcount=19

 

[Sanf]

- Yes, the early challenges are probably a big reason Nicholson achieved a lot more in his career. Those were the most meaningful games that he played in.

- The all-star selections seem to indicate that Winchester was better than Nicholson in one season, maybe two. That's not a ringing endorsement of him being generally the better player or having the better career.

- The reason I trust Iain Fyffe's numbers is that he's already gone through the painstaking process of weighing the competition level in every league based on how players who moved around a lot performed from league to league, and he's assigned offensive and defensive credit to the players on the team based on the positions they played, how many games they played and how good the teams were. If he's got Nicholson and Lindsay that much ahead it's because in the long run they contributed to winning a lot more games, and/or a lot more important (non-IHL) games in their careers.

It would be interisting see how much those Cups mean in his point system. And how much credit does he give to Nicholson on those wins. The first Winnipeg challenge was evenly battled and I guess you can give Nicholson credit from that. The second in 1903 was already pretty lopsided. I just never have got the feeling that Nicholson was main factor. Not that there were any mentions that he would have been their weakness.

No those All-Star selections aren´t definite proof that Winchester was better than Nicholson. But they were still opinions from the time. And Winchester reputation after the IHL time was better than Nicholson (atleast what I have seen). Even after losing effort in challenges biggest dynasties of the time (Ottawa and Wanderers) were after him. But no he did not ever play in those teams so yet again I admit that there are question marks in his career.

I certainly do believe/know that Iain Fyffe has done lot of work. It would be interesting to see how the "points" are distibuted through their career. 70% as good doesn´t tell me awfull lot.

 

[MadArcand]

He was talented enough to lead a (bad) team in scoring in 1982, and was top-5 in scoring on his own team three times, so "average 3rd liner" is not really a fair assessment.

500 point scorers are already getting pretty rare, and even rarer are the ones who had any physical or defensive worth at all - and Osborne did.

He was top-5 on his team with "impressive" adjusted totals of 61, 50 & 49 pts - average at best 2nd liner numbers. That's his peak - but he has no season above 40 adj. pts beyond those three, and his average adj. pts per season outside his three peak seasons is abysmal 25 pts - basically (good) 4th liner territory.

I'm not convinced he was anything but the utterly mediocre player I remember him as.

 

[seventieslord]

It would be interisting see how much those Cups mean in his point system.

I'm pretty sure he doesn't give any arbitrary credit just for winning a cup.

 

[seventieslord]

He was top-5 on his team with "impressive" adjusted totals of 61, 50 & 49 pts - average at best 2nd liner numbers. That's his peak - but he has no season above 40 adj. pts beyond those three, and his average adj. pts per season outside his three peak seasons is abysmal 25 pts - basically (good) 4th liner territory.

I'm not convinced he was anything but the utterly mediocre player I remember him as.

Leading your team with 67 points is a lot different from having 67 points and being fourth and far behind the leaders. It's not as simple as calling those "second line numbers".

From 82 to 90, Osborne was never lower than 170th in the league in points, and even if you pretend there were no defensemen in the top 170, that would make him, at worst, 8th on an average team. At worst. Over a nine season period (injury shortened 1985 excluded). There's no basis for calling his numbers "fourth line numbers", and in order to do so you had to exclude his three best and average the rest with seasons in which he was one of the nhl's oldest players (yet still a useful role player).

 

[Sanf]

First of all I always support out of box thinking.

Javanainen was great goal scorer in Finnish league. His national team career is question mark. But then there are various reasons why players NT careers are cut short. For example Siltanen who was drafted in this draft had conflict with the coach in 83 WHC´s and never played in NT after that. Some players got fed up with constant travelling. In those times they usually gathered the best available team in all tournaments. Izvestia tournament was usually during christmass time. Tapio Levo retired early from national team because he got tired spenting every christmas in Russia. NT career is not always the perfect measure stick.

I have seen Javanainen interview from 94 where you get the picture that he wasn´t in NT coaches favour. Erkki Laine who was second in goal scoring in Elitserien through the 80´s (Of course lot of best Swedes were playing in NHL) rarely did get chance in NT. I don´t know why these pure goalscorer types were avoided. But overall Javanainen NT career numbers weren´t that impressive. You can say same thing about his North American career. But on those times about every player left to NHL with idea of playing there few years and then come back. If the adjustment proved difficult it was often easy decission to come back.

Partinen is sort of cult player in Finland. He was big, strong and bit dirty player. In one NA newspaper he was described "Eddie Shack of Finnish team" when Team Finland was travelling there. Then again he was even notoriously slow. I guess in third pair role as purely defesive role he could cope.

 

[BubbaBoot]

Picked Partinen 2 years ago in the AA draft. I'll update more when I get a chance.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=111297297&postcount=136

 

[MadArcand]

Leading your team with 67 points is a lot different from having 67 points and being fourth and far behind the leaders. It's not as simple as calling those "second line numbers".

From 82 to 90, Osborne was never lower than 170th in the league in points, and even if you pretend there were no defensemen in the top 170, that would make him, at worst, 8th on an average team. At worst. Over a nine season period (injury shortened 1985 excluded). There's no basis for calling his numbers "fourth line numbers", and in order to do so you had to exclude his three best and average the rest with seasons in which he was one of the nhl's oldest players (yet still a useful role player).

Forwards only placements of the glorious offensive threat that is Mark Osborne:

From 1982 to 1990: 75th, 130th, 105th, 294th*, 150th, 119th, 71st, 111th, 46th
* - never lower than 170th, eh?
After 1990: 201st, 207th, 206th, 230th, 343rd

As for Osborne being "one of the nhl's oldest players" in the 90s:

111th, 109th, 75th, 64th, 52nd - hardly some Mathusalem.

37 players born in his birth year (1961) played 1+ season after he retired.
34 played 2+
22 played 3+
17 played 4+
7 played 5+
6 played 6+
3 played 7+
The winners being Messier and Larionov, who played 9+. But you'll never guess who finished 3rd in this race...