2016 ATD Bio Thread

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I just edited the 2015 bio in the master thread, but wanted to share the finished product on Ernie Russell here.





Ernie Russell, C/Rover/RW

- Born 1883
- 5'6, 160 lbs (5'10'' 200 lbs adjusted for era +4/40)
- Member of the HHOF (1965)
- Stanley Cup (1906, 1907, 1908, 1910)
- ECAHA 1st All-Star Team (1907)
- ECAHA 2nd All-Star Team (1908)
- Stanley Cup Scoring:
- 1906: 1st on Wanderers, T4th overall
- 1907: 1st on Wanderers, 1st overall
- 1908: 1st on Wanderers, 1st overall
- 1910: 1st on Wanderers, 6th overall (Wanderers played 1 game, Ottawa played 4)
- NHA PIM Leader (1912)
- 184 Goals, 368 PIM in 101 Top-Level Games (assists not recorded most of his career)
- 31 Goals, 51 PIM in 11 Stanley Cup Games


Retro Hart Trophy
(ECAHA) 1907

Retro Art Ross Trophy
(ECAHA) 1907

Retro Conn Smythe Trophy
(ECAHA) 1907 vs Kenora - 2 games - March 23 and 25 (Russell scored a team leading 5 goals, in the 12-8 win)

Retro Conn Smythe Trophy
(ECAHA) 1908 vs Ottawa - 2 games - January 9 and 13 (Russell scored an insane team leading 10 of 22 goals in the 22-4 drubbing. Next closest player had 4)

Retro Conn Smythe Trophy
(NHA) 1910 vs Berlin - 1 game March 12 (Russell scored 4 of 7 goals in single Cup challenge game)





REGULAR SEASON SCORING FINISHES - TEAM - LEAGUE


1905 (CAHL) - 1st On Montreal AAA's - 5th overall
1906 (ECAHA) - 1st On Wanderers - T4th overall (T4th is misleading considering he scored 21 goals in 6 games = 3.5. Whereas Joe Power had 21 in 10 and Bowie 30 in 9, both less per game. Frank McGee was best at 4 GPG)
1907 - 1st On Wanderers - 1st overall - 42 goals in 9 games (Arguably most dominant pre-consolidation year ever, considering he beat Bowie by 4 goals and in 1 fewer game + substantial playoff success)
1908 - 1st on Wanderers - 6th overall
1909 - Didn't player (retired)
1910 (NHA) - 1st on Wanderers - 2nd overall (2nd to Lalonde, surmise to say Russell could be argued as a 1st team if we split Lalonde and Russell between Rover and C. Otherwise he's a clear 2nd team C)
1911 - 1st on Wanderers - 8th overall (again misleading as he had 18 goals in 11 games. Pitre had 19 in 16 games. Lalonde 19 in 16. Cleghorn 20 in 16. Ridpath 23 in 16. Only Kerr and Walsh averaged better GPG than Russell of anyone in top 10 scoring)
1912 - 1st on Wanderers - T2nd overall (Pitre also had 27 in 18 games. considering Pitre was a W, you again could argue that Russell was worthy of at least a 2nd Team AS. Joe Malone was next closest C in scoring at 21 goals in 18 games.)


Notice that Russell was easily the most important offensive player on every team he played on between 1905 and 1912. He was 1st in scoring every year other than 1909 when he retired. Coincidentally the ONLY year the Wanderers failed to win the SC between 1906 and 1910 was the year he didn't play.

1907 was easily one of the most dominant pre consolidation season ever, top to bottom. He was awarded a retro Hart, Art Ross, Rocket Richard, and likely Conn Smythe when you consider he led all scorers in the playoffs for the SC winning Wanderers. You'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of seasons in NHL/Hockey history that were so dominant.

1910, as shown above should have netted him at least a 2nd team NHA all star nod. Led his team in scoring again, finished 2nd overall to the elite Lalonde, and won yet another SC championship.

1911, was a year he probably would have been an AS had he played 18 games as others did ahead of him in the scoring race. His GPG were better than all but 2 players.

1912, only Skene Ronan has a legitimate case for 1st Team AS nod at C, as he led the league in scoring with 35 goals. No other C was close to Russell in scoring from the C position


Basically, given all the research I've done, stats, and game reports read, I would say that Russell's AS nods would look like following in today's world (this is an educated hypothesis)

1st Team AS - ECHA 1907
2nd Team AS - ECHA 1908
2nd Team AS - NHA 1910 (possibly 1st if you put Lalonde at Rover, which is palatable)
2nd Team AS - NHA 1912 (behind Ronan and ahead of Joe Malone and Marty Walsh for example)
3rd Team AS - NHA 1911 (behind Walsh and Lalonde at C although one could possibly argue him being over Lalonde here as Russell scored 18 goals in just 11 games, whereas Newsy had 19 in 16.)
3rd Team AS - ECHA 1906 (behind Bowie and McGee, although on a per game basis Russell was a better scorer than Bowie)
5th Team AS - CAHL 1905


USING 2ND PLACE IN POINT TOTALS AS A BENCHMARK WE INVESTIGATE RUSSELL'S SCORING PROWESS.

1905 - 57.9 (19 goals is BM)
1906 - 75 (30 goals is BM)*
1907 - 110 (38 goals in BM)**
1908 - 75 (28 goals is BM)
1910 - 100 (Russell is BM)
1911 - 54.5 (33 goals is BM)***
1912 - 100 (Russell and Pitre are BM)

*Russell's 75 in 1906 is misleading because he only played in 6 games vs 9 for Bowie who was the benchmark. Ernie Russell averaged 3.5 goals per game. He scored 21 in 6 contests, whereas Russell Bowie scored 30 in 9, which is 3.33 goals per game. Because seasons were so short, it's much easier to hypothesize a players few missed games production vs somebody over 70 or 80 games. At 9 games Russell would have likely scored at least 30 goals, given his per game average. Now, Frank McGee scored 28 in 7 games, so he was best in the league at 4 GPG. If we give him 2 more games he's at 36, give or take a goal. Harry Smith had 31 in 8 games, and giving him a 9th game puts him at 35.

So if you project 9 games for each of the top scorers, you have McGee leading the league at 36 goals. Smith at 35, Russell at 31 and Bowie at 30. Using Smith as the BM, Russell's score would improve to 88.6 for 1906

**1907 could be underrating the score of 110 for Russell. Bowie is 2nd in scoring with 38 goals, but the 3rd place player (Blair Russell) scored 25. 38 goals is probably too high of a BM here. Something around 31/32 seems more accurate, splitting the difference between 2nd and 3rd. Doing so puts Russell's score at 135.

***1911 again is misleading, just as 1906 was. Every other player in the top 10 scoring played 16 games. Russell played 11 and scored 18 goals at 1.63 per game average. Had he played another 5 games, he likely finishes with 26 goals, putting T3rd place behind Kerr and Walsh. His VsX score then moves up to 78.8

-As it stands on a per game basis the only season where Russell wasn't truly among the best, or best overall, was his first full pro season in 1905, in the CAHL and to a lesser degree 1908



BREAKDOWN OF POSITIONS PLAYED BY RUSSELL PER YEAR

1905 - Seemingly played rover for the Montreal AAA's. Some issues on game day are not available.
1906 - Found multiple game reports listing him as a right wing. Some game reports not available in archives. Predominantly a RW in 1906 by my estimation (likely all year).
1907 - Early part of the year played RW, then converting over to C full time when Lester Patrick moved to cover point full time as shown in quote below on March 26, 1907
1908+ - Almost exclusively at C as far as I can tell but more than a handful of game recaps are not available in google archives.

-So in his first full year with the AAA's in 1905, Russell played the rover spot, which basically went anywhere and everywhere on the ice. 1906, which saw Russell score 3.5 goals per game, seemingly came at RW, and he looked to have played there in December then transitioning over to C sometime in January. After that, he was a C as far as I can tell, full time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
Ernie Russell was a small man who probably did not weigh over 140 pounds (SIHR has him at 160)... his size was no problem on the ice. There are many of his ardent fans who compare him with the great Russell Bowie and certainly they had several attributes in common. Ernie was a fast skater and accomplished stickhandler, equally at home playing rover or centre (I found games where he was a LW too!) He was the only player of the era who seriously threatened Bowie as a goal scorer. Russell had the advantage of playing on much stronger teams than Bowie and in consequence was on four Stanley Cup Winners.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide Of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL
Playing center or rover, Russell was a premier scorer in the early years of the 20th century... he was speedy and shifty...

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Renfrew Millionaires
An accomplished skater & stickhandler

Russell was the star of game 1 of the 1906 Finals when the Wanderers surprised the cocky Ottawas with a 9-1 pasting:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family
the defending champions were 2:1 betting favourites, but the Wanderers obviously weren't listening to the neighbourhood bookies. Their fans went wild as Ernie Russell got four goals, Pud Glass got three and Moose Johnson shared a pair with Patrick in the hometown 9-1 victory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
Ernie Russell figured prominently in the scoring.

Russell was huge against Ottawa in clinching the ECAHA Championship to retain the cup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
Ottawa's hopes for a championship rested on defeating the Wanderers in their return match at the capital on March 2nd... there seemed little doubt as to the outcome after play got started. The smooth skating Patrick and Johnson were all over the Senators. Russell played a magnificent game, scoring five goals...

He was the only Wanderer who could score when Tommy Phillips' Thistles came to whisk away the cup. He scored both of their goals in a 4-2 defeat and then two goals in game 2, an 8-6 defeat:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
Patrick, Russell, and Johnson were the best for the Wanderers.

However, when it was time to take the cup back, Ernie delivered the goods and the team won this time, taking game one 7-2 on the strength of Russell's four goals, before losing game two 6-5 but still winning the series:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
The super sniper Ernie Russell scored four.

Russell was again the star in the 1908 cup defense against the Ottawa Vics, scoring 10 of the team's 22 goals over 2 games.:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1
Art Ross and Ernie Russell starred for the Redbands.

Russell also spoiled the Renfrew Millionaires' anticipated debut in 1910:

Originally Posted by The Patricks: Hockey's Royal Family
They were bombed 7-2 as the Wandrers' big scoring machine, Ernie Russell, ripped four shots in, three of them in the game's opening minutes.

That Scappy Little Bugger...

I think Russell was a scrappy player with a good 4th line mentality. Thanks to there being very little detail about his play to validate this, I present to you a list of drafted forwards born within 4 years of Ernie Russell (1879-1887) - Ernie put up more PIMs per game than any of them. (Note that only Lalonde, Bowie, and Tommy Smith were top-5 in goals in their league more often among this generation! - Smith's totals include three times in slightly lesser leagues: OPHL and IHL.)


ONLY NEWSY LALONDE AND TOMMY SMITH FINISHED IN THE TOP 5 IN GOAL SCORING MORE TIMES THAN RUSSELL FOR PLAYERS BORN BETWEEN 1879 AND 1887. IT'S AN ELITE GROUP OF HOCKEY PLAYERS.

OF ANY PLAYER ON THE LIST BELOW WITH 100+ GAMES PLAYED, NOBODY HAS A HIGHER GOALS PER GAME AVERAGE THAN ERNIE RUSSELL AT 1.92

Name | DOB | GP | G | PIM | G/GP | PIM/GP | GP w/PIM* | Top-5s
Name | DOB | GP | G | PIM | G/GP | PIM/GP | GP w/PIM* | Top-5s in Goals Ernie Russell | 1883 | 112 | 215 | 419 | 1.92 | 3.74 | | 6
Bruce Stuart | 1881 | 104 | 111 | 280 | 1.07 | 3.33 | 84 | 3
Harry Smith | 1883 | 65 | 150 | 211 | 2.31 | 3.25 | | 4
Newsy Lalonde | 1887 | 254 | 329 | 769 | 1.30 | 3.03 | | 11
Tommy Phillips | 1883 | 45 | 71 | 100 | 1.58 | 2.56 | 39 | 1
Marty Walsh | 1884 | 75 | 167 | 181 | 2.23 | 2.41 | | 4
Pud Glass | 1884 | 103 | 109 | 221 | 1.06 | 2.15 | | 0
Tom Dunderdale | 1887 | 289 | 226 | 527 | 0.78 | 1.82 | | 5
Didier Pitre | 1883 | 239 | 267 | 433 | 1.12 | 1.81 | | 6
Tommy Smith | 1886 | 175 | 274 | 288 | 1.57 | 1.65 | | 7
Cyclone Taylor | 1885 | 228 | 246 | 355 | 1.08 | 1.56 | | 4
Russell Bowie | 1880 | 82 | 249 | 43 | 3.04 | 1.39 | 31 | 10
Frank McGee | 1882 | 41 | 135 | 56 | 3.29 | 1.37 | | 4
Blair Russell | 1881 | 69 | 109 | 68 | 1.58 | 1.36 | 50 | 5
Herb Jordan | 1884 | 61 | 146 | 19 | 2.39 | 0.31 | | 4

* Some players had seasons where PIMs were not recorded; to avoid skewing results, their PIMs are divided only by the number of games they played in seasons where PIMs were recorded. This only counts top-level hockey: NHA, PCHA, St-Cup, ECAHA, ECHA, OPHL, CAHL, FAHL, IHL.

* It may be said that Ernie Russell's "generation" is truly the players born from 1879-1884, with Russell right on the tail end of that generation, but that would be too subjective and I decided to use an objective 9-year range with his birth year right in the middle to define his generation.

RUSSELL'S STANLEY CUP SCORING DOMINANCE

According to The Trail Of the Stanley Cup, here are the playoff and cup final goals leaders through 1926:

Name|GP|G
Frank McGee|22|63
Frank Foyston|47|37
Alf Smith|22|36
Ernie Russell | 11 | 31
Newsy Lalonde|29|27
Tom Phillips|16|27
Harry Westwick|24|26
Marty Walsh|8|25
Ernie Johnson|21|23
Joe Malone|15|23
Pud Glass|16|23
Harry Smith|7|21

But, not all cup games are created equal. Some players played in easy Stanley Cup matches, including Russell. Let's look at the leaders as apples-to-apples, three different ways. First, here are these leaders with "easy" matches removed:

Name|GP|G
Frank Foyston|47|37
Newsy Lalonde|29|27
Frank McGee|14|26
Tom Phillips|14|23
Ernie Russell | 8 | 18
Ernie Johnson|16|18
Alf Smith|14|14
Harry Smith|5|13
Pud Glass|11|13
Harry Westwick|16|11
Joe Malone|12|9
Marty Walsh|3|7

Russell is one of only three on this list who averaged over 2 GPG in the "legitimate" matches, the others being Harry Smith and Marty Walsh, who combined for 8 "legitimate" matches.

Now let's look at only the Wanderer forwards during the years in which they played cup games (1906-1910) since the core of the team stayed mostly the same:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell | 11 | 31
Pud Glass|16|23
Ernie Johnson|16|19
Lester Patrick|8|11
***** *********|7|5

But of course, some of those were the easy, lopsided games. Let's look at these Wanderers forwards based on just the "legitimate" matches:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell | 8 | 18
Pud Glass|11|13
Ernie Johnson|11|13
Lester Patrick|6|7
***** *********|5|4

So not only did Russell carry the offensive load for this dynasty, but he also relied very little on lopsided matches to boost his totals.


Ernie Russell evidence playing on wing (for most of 1906, early part of 2007)

Originally Posted by The Montreal Gazette: March 3, 1906:
Blatchford is not yet in shape to play, but Lester Patrick is, and he will be out in the rover position, Ernie Russell leaving centre for the wing.

Originally Posted by The Montreal Gazette: December 27, 1906:

Russell.....R. Wing

Lester Patrick and Russell were the most consistent players throughout, their work being evident in the first half as well as in the second.

New Glasgow was a man short when Russell moved into the limelight and scored goal three.

Lester Patrick moved down the ice in nice style and handed the puck to Russell, who slipped it past Morrison.

Originally Posted by The Montreal Gazette: February 15, 1906:

Wanderers win 6-2 over Montreal

Russell.......Right wing

Summary:--

2.....Wanderers....Russell.......3.00
5.....Wanderers....Russell.......2.00

Originally Posted by The Montreal Gazette: March 12. 1906

Russell......Right......

SUMMARY.

1. Wanderers....Russell....6.55
2. Wanderers....Russell....10.05
3. Wanderers....Russell....6.00

SECOND HALF.

6. Wanderers....Russell....4.55
8. Wanderers....Russell....2.32
13. Wanderers...Russell... .22

Russell Scores 4 Goals against Hugh Lehman in Stanley Cup Championship at RW

Originally Posted by Wikipedia
NHA league champions take over Stanley Cup[edit]
The Wanderers having won the O'Brien trophy won regular season championship of the NHA and took possession of the Cup from Ottawa. They had a challenge from Berlin, champions of the Ontario Professional Hockey League and easily defeated them. For 1910, there would be two Stanley Cup holders, Ottawa until March, and Montreal for the rest of the year.

§Wanderers vs. Berlin[edit]
March 12

Berlin 3 at Wanderers 7

Hugh Lehman, Capt. G William "Riley" Hern|
Albert Seibert 1 P Jack Marshall|
Harvey Corbeau 1 CP Ernie Johnson|
E. "Toad" Edmunds RO Frank "Pud" Glass, Capt.|
Roy Anderson C Harry Hyland 3|
Ezra Dumart RW Ernie Russell 4|
Oren Frood 1 LW Jimmy Gardner|

How did Ernie Russell stack up to Russell Bowie once he made his entrance into the ECAHA from 1905-08?

1905-06:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell |6|21
Russell Bowie|9|30

1906-07:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell |9|43
Russell Bowie|10|39

Ernie Russell 2 year totals = 64 goals in 15 = 4.3 GPG

Russell Bowie 2 year totals = 69 goals in 19 = 3.6 GPG

1907-08:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell |9|20
Russell Bowie|10|31

Ernie Russell 3 year totals = 84 Goals in 24 games = 3.5 GPG

Russell Bowie 3 year totals = 100 in 29 games = 3.44 GPG


So from a goal scoring standpoint there is virtually no difference. The interesting thing to note is Russell was producing at the same clip as Bowie even though he was aged 22-24 during this 3 year stretch when they shared the same league whereas Bowie was 25-27, a more experienced/established player in his prime years.


Ernie Russell outscores Russell Bowie 4 goals to 1 in head to head match up. February 6, 1908
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19080206&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Russell outscores Bowie 2 goals to 1 in head to head match up. February 25, 1905 (as Rover which he played most of 1905)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19050228&printsec=frontpage&hl=en



How did Ernie Russell stack up against Newsy Lalonde in NHA goal scoring when their careers overlapped?

NHA career goals:

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell |69|89
Newsy Lalonde|104|150

Russell totals = 1.29 GPG

Lalonde totals = 1.44 GPG

Not a shabby comparison on total numbers, although if you break it down into 3 year peak goal scoring it tightens up some. Russell's career was winding down by his 3rd NHA season, while Lalonde was heating up.

Russell's best 3 year goal scoring totals = 80 in 42 = 1.9 GPG

Lalonde's best 3 year goal scoring totals = 90 in 44 = 2.05 GPG


BETWEEN THE 1905-06 AND 1911-12 SEASONS NOBODY SCORED MORE GOALS PER GAME THAN ERNIE RUSSELL IN THE ECHA/NHA/ETC. TOMMY SMITH SCORED 194 GOALS BETWEEN 1906-07 AND 1911-12 BUT DID SO IN 95 GAMES, IN LEAGUES LIKE THE IHL/WPHL/OPHL/MPHL.

Name|GP|G
Ernie Russell | 66 | 164
Marty Walsh|62|141
Tommy Smith|95|194
Newsy Lalonde|81|176

*Walsh seasons between 1907-08 and 1911-12. He played 2 games in CHA in 1909, 5 total seasons.
**Smith seasons between 1906-07 and 1912-13. Played in IHL, WPHL, OPHL and MPHL, 6 total seasons.
***Lalonde between 1906 (IHL) and 1911-12 (PCHA) with seasons in the OPHL and NHA mixed in, 6 total seasons



FINAL THOUGHTS:

• If Bowie consistently goes in the top 250, why does Ernie Russell go in the 5 to 600's?
  
• Bowie played in leagues (as shown below with examples) that did not have the depth of talent the ECHA/NHA did beyond 1907.
  
• Who was competing against Bowie in 1900-01-02 etc?[/B] Bruce Stuart? Blair Russel? Harry Westwick? ATD regulars but hardly elite competition in the grand scheme.
  
  [*]In the NHA days you had Lalonde, Nighbor, Malone, Lester Patrick, Didier Pitre, Sprauge/Odie Cleghorn. Marty Walsh and Jack Darragh are similar drafted player to the CAHL players mentioned above. Goalies like Georges Vezina, Clint Benedict, Percy Leseaur and Riley Hern blow anything the CAHL had out of the water.
  
  [*]Russell and Bowie overlapped together in the same leagues between 05-06 and 07-08, and Russell scored 84 goals in 24 games = 3.5 goals per game vs 3.45 goals per game by Bowie who scored 100 in 29 games.
  
  [*]Consider the sheer dominance of Russell in the postseason for Montreal with 33 goals over 11 games and 27 in 9 Stanley Cup finals games. Russell was the offensive star and heavy lifter of the Wanderers that won the Stanley Cup in 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1910. By my estimates you could award Ernie Russell 3 retro Conn Smythes for various Cup challenges.
  
  [*]I wonder if we are underrating Ernie Russell by quite a decent margin
  
  [*]How much value do we put on Bowie's dominance in the CAHL? I mean, once Ernie Russell showed up and they played in the same league (ECAHA) there clearly wasn't a gap by my estimation at least as goal scorers.
  
  [*]How do we look at Russell's first 3 years of nearly 2 goals per game in the NHA (professional league) as his career was winding down into his late 20's relative to Bowie's 2.73 GPA at the turn of the century and very early 1900's in the CAHL against inferior (to some degree) competition.
  
  [*]I think the moral of the story is that Bowie deserves to go somewhere in the mid to late 200's (give or take), based on his sheer dominance throughout his career, but we are greatly under rating players like Ernie Russell if they are being taken in the 5 or even 600's (like 2015 ATD). I simply don't see the massive gap when pointing out the numbers and accolades above. Also remember that you have to take into account Russell's sterling postseason record as a dominant scorer. Rarely was there a Stanley Cup game where Russell didn't completely own the competition.
  

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS AND STORIES OF IMPORTANCE:



https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=CH8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6575,5613445&hl=en

On the Wanderer side Ernie Russell rested and Cecil Blatchford took his place, playing right wing.

Ernie Russell was elected Captain for the 1908 season (which Montreal would again defend the SC crown)
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=HX8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2459,4070101&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Oct 15 1907

RUSSELL CAPTAIN:

The annual general meeting of the Wanderer Hockey Club was held at the Windsor last night, but beyond the adoption of reports and the election of officers there was little or no buisness transacted and owing to the fact thet opening of the hockey season is still a long way off, there were no announcements of importance to be made. Ernie Russell, centre forward on the champion team, was elected captain.

Contemporary praise for Russell. Notice 3 of the 4 names are on the Pirates 2016 ATD team
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=XKgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6915,1865184&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Jan 16 1934
Gardner still follows the game with keen enthusiasm. Of those he played against, rates, Ernie Russell, of the Wanderers, Russell Bowie, of Victorias, Frank McGee, of Ottawa's Silver Seven and Art Farrell, of Shamrocks among the best he ever saw. Georges Vezina he picks as the greatest goaltending of all time. Cyclone Taylor was the fastest player that ever donned skates.

Russell showing consistent effort and passing ability
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=CH8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3587,5404865&hl=en

Montreal Gazette 27 1906
Lester Patrick and Ernie Russell were the most consistent players throughout, their work being evident in the first half as well as in the second.

Ernie Russell finally closed affairs by sailing along and trasferring the puck to Glass, the latter netting the disc after a scuffle.

Lester Patrick moved down the ice in nice style and handed the puck to Russell, who slipped it past Morrison.

Russell scoring, passing, fighting and defensive ability stealing puck
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19110303&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 3 1911
Russell, who repeated his fine playing against Canadians, divided the forward line honors with Hyland, and led in the scoring with four shots in the cage.

Glass snapped one in from Russell when right up on the nets, but it was called back as the pass was regarded offside by Brenan.

...but it was not until Ridpath returned that they got one through Lesueur. Johnston and Russell did the trick on the nicest combination work, Russell taking the shot.

Ottawa were still a man shy when Russell got another on a pass from Smaill, who carried the puck up the side from half-way down the rink.

Lake was sent to the side for soaking Russell, who was boring in all the time on the Ottawa nets.

Wanderers opened the scoring in the third period. Russell stole the puck from Lake, who had just started a run, and scored with a short shot.

Russell and Currie were sent to the side for five minutes after they cracked each other with their sticks. Ottawa's left wing cross-checked the Wanderer man, and he tried to retaliate.

Russell starring vs Cyclone Taylors's Renfrew's team
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19110308&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 8 1911
Taylor again did great work for the Renfrew team, while Ross and Russell starred for the visitors.

Russell combination work
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19130109&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Jan 9 1913
Both teams checked back after going up with the play, both indulging in perhaps more combination work that has been seen in any of the previous games here.

From the face off Russell and Hyland combined, Russell evening matters up again.

Clear evidence that Russell was a hard worker and after puck always.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19050112&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Jan 12 1905
The Montreal forward line showed improvement since the opening game (cannot make out next 2 words) and the busiest worker of the lot was Russell, who was always after the puck.

Russell singled out for his play
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19050228&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Feb 28 1905
There was nothing flukey about the results, as Montreal certainly won on its merits. Their forwards out-skated and out played the Vic forwards at every point, and the defence was steadier (blank) better and blocked more effectively.

Montreal gave a nice exhibition of clean, fast hockey, Russell and Sargent in particular showing up well.

Fights and Russell being singled out for playing very well
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19050309&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 9 1905
The feature which marked the final quarter was a carnival of rough work, which increased in intensity as the minutes went by, finally ending, a few seconds before the close of layer, with a scrap between Russell and Foulis. As Foulis went down the ice with the puck, Russell struck him across the shins. Foulis struck back and then Russell used his fists.

The suddenly aroused interest dropped when Russell made it five to three a minute before time expired.

The Montreal men won the contest on their merit, the forwards showing more cohesion in their play, out skating their opponents and outpointing them when it came to close work in on the nets. Russell in particular played a good game throughout.

Evidence of passing ability by Russell as well as hard work throughout game
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19070307&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 7 1907
Relief came to the Irishmen when McCarthy got half way down the ice with the rubber, but Glass robbed him, and coming down, collided heavily with Mulcair, the latter having to retire for repairs, Patrick going off to even up matters.

On resumption, Russell secured and passing to Johnston, the latter flashed it past Currie.

Russell, who scored 8 goals during the match, was the only man in the Wanderer line-up who worked at all in this half, and seemed bent on running up a big total. Some of his combination runs with Blachford were quite worthy of their reputation

.



Great scouting report talking about Russell's ability to stick handle and shoot and an elite level
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19070326&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 26 1907
The strength of Wanderers was vastly increased by the move; it gave the team the fastest defence in the league and at the same time allowed Russell to get back to his old position at centre, giving him the opportunities to score, which he has turned to such good account in all the intervening matches.

Ernie Russell, the centre, for all that he is the smallest player on the team, has come pretty close to triple honors in Canada's three great sports-lacrosse, hockey and football. His hockey prowess is an affair of today; in football he is a half-back on the Montreal team, which won the Quebec championship and slayed off the Dominion honors last autumn; in lacrosse he was a member of Montreal's senior twelve in 1905 and would have had a place last year had he cared to play. As it was, he kept out on account of th emuddle in the professional and amaetur question. Russell got his start with Sterling Juniors, a team with which a brother of his played this past season.

He is one of the great scorers of the game today; his manipulation of the disc is lightning fast, and his shots are accurate and baffling.

Stanley Cup Dominance
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=EZkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6919,1424103&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 10 1934
Glass played centre for Wanderers and in the famous ECHA title, when the local six beat the capital team 8-2, only to see the Ottawans tie up the round on home ice, Glass shared the honors with Ernie Russell by scoring three goals.

Stanley Cup Final Dominance

ECAHA Playoff
As the season produced a tie for the season championship, the defending champion Ottawas and Wanderers played a two-game playoff, with the winner being awarded the Stanley Cup. The series took place on March 14 in Montreal and March 17 in Ottawa. The Wanderers would win the series 9–1, 3–9 (12–10) in dramatic fashion..

Game one
Ottawa was installed as 2–1 betting favourites, but the Wanderers upset the bookies.[2] In the first game in Montreal, the Wanderers dominated Ottawa, as Ernie Russell got four goals, Frank Glass got three and Moose Johnson would get two for a 9–1 victory.

Evidence of Russell on the Wing
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19060314&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazettte Mar 14 1906
Unless a change is decided upon at the last moment, the Wanderers line-up will be the same as on Saturday last against Shamrocks, that is, Menard, Strachan and Kennedy on defencel Glass and Patrick in centre ice, and Johnson and Russell on the wings.

Stanley Cup dominance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stanley_Cup_challenge_games#1906.E2.80.9307

Although the Montreal Wanderers won the 1908 ECAHA title by finishing the season with an 8–2 record, they played in three Cup challenges that season. In January, they defeated the 1907 FAHL champion Ottawa Victorias, 22–4, in a two-game total goals series. Ernie Russell scored 10 goals as he led the Wanderers to 9–3 and 13–1 victories

Great bio on Russell. It compares him to Nels Stewart due to being the most feared goal scorer in the hockey world (along with Bowie). As you will see wit other newspaper clippings, it does seem that Russell started loafing more AFTER he came back out of retirement for the 1910 season. Seems like he drifted more from 1910 onward, but I found multiple papers stating he was a hard worker and very active player all over the ice prior to this time.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19340110&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Jan 10 1934

Turning Back Hockey's Pages by D.A.L MacDonald

Russell played on all four of the Stanley Cup Wanderer teams and consistently figured among the leading scorers of the ECHA and its successor the NHA. In 1907, Russell led all scorers with 43 goals, beating out his great rival, Russell Bowie, of Victorias, by five points. In 1910, after a year in retirement, Russell finished second to Newsy Lalonde in the NHA scoring list with 32 goals.

Russell had a championship career. In 1904 he played with the Sterling juniors, the team which won the Dominion title by defeating Eddie Gerard's famous Lansdowne sextette. In 1905 he joined the Montreal AAA team and then followed his career with Wanderers, a team that captured the Stanley Cup three straight years and then regained the trophy in 1910. Russell retired in 1909 to devote all his time to business, but was finally coaxed out of retirement to return for one season.

It is significant that over a period of five seasons, the only year in which the Wanderers failed to annex the trophy, Russell was not with them.

Russell had the distinction once of scoring four goals in a Stanley Cup final. In 1907 when Winnipeg came east in search of the famous trophy, bolstered two great stars of the Ottawa Senators, Alf Smith and Rat Westwick, the Red Band won both games and Russell scored 4 times in one contest. In the famous series with Ottawa for the ECHA championship in 1906 Wanderers defeated the team from the capital, 9-1 and Russell got four goals.

Ernie Russell was one of the forerunners of the Nels Stewart style for no more accurate shot from close in ever was seen in hockey. He had an uncanny ability to loaf offsides, particularly in his later days, and along with Bowie was the most feared sniper in the major league. Ernie was a right handed shot.

Russell's championship career was not confined to hockey. In 1907 he played on the backfield of the Dominion championship MAAA football team.

Russell is a keen follower of present day hockey and is a regular patron at the Maroon games. However, he laments somewhat the passing of the old days of stickhandling, a feature of hockey that has all but disappeared.

More evidence that Russell was a very tough/aggressive player
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=QikDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4493,2611725&hl=en

Toronto World Mar 8 1912
While Wanderers are apparently the worst offenders, their superior position is very largely due to Ernie Russell, the redoubtable little centre.

He was also the only player in the league to reach the limit of five major fouls and as each new foul calls for a penalty of $5 heavier than the last he paid in for his major fouls the substantial sum of $75. His minor fouls cost him $35 more.

Russell aggressive tactics and support among fanbase
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AAIBAJ&sjid=1dgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6569,563475&hl=en

Ottawa Citizen Jan 10 1908
Wanderers won on their merits, the speed of Ross, Hooper, Johnston, combined with the aggressive tactics of Russell, Glass and Smaill being to much for the Federal champions.

Supporters of the champions reserved a special amount of applause for Ernie Russell.

From a scramble behind the Vics nets Smaill snapped the rubber out to Russell who slammed in another.

Up and down play followed until Ryan returned. Hooper going off for cross checking Ross, Russell dodged in for the next giving Wanderers stock another boost.

Russell fighting and assisting/passing reference in legendary SC game vs Ottawa Silver Seven
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=A38FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4500,1464790&hl=en

Montreal Gazette Mar 19 1906

Ernie Russell was sent to the dungeon for mixing in with Smith.

Ottawa made some gailant efforts to drive back their rivals, now playing with more vim, but the other chaps had another taste of victory and were not to be denied. They swept Ottawa away in a snappy rush, the puck going to Kennedy to Russell to Patrick, and the latter notched another goal, making the score nine to three, and placing the Wanderer two to the good on the series.

Ernie Russell was such a threat that it took Frank AND Lester Patrick to shadow him. But he seemingly still played good hockey despite the added attention and this obviously would create space for others.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AAIBAJ&sjid=N9kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6398,371800&hl=en

Ottawa Citizen Feb 25 1910

Ernie Russell was so closely covered on the line that he did not get a goal, but at the same time he was there with the good work at all times, commanding the attention of Frank and Lester Patrick from beginning to end.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=YDsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3722,4232857&hl=en

The Evening Telegram

How the Teams Line Up

r. wing..............Russell

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Frank Foyston, F

(thanks to Dreakmur's previous bios and Sturminator's research)

1x PCHL "Champion, All-Round Player" (1917)
6x P.C.H.A. First Team All-Star (1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924)
2x P.C.H.A. Second Team All-Star (1919, 1922)

NHA Points – 11th(1915)
NHA Assists – 3rd(1915)

PCHA Points – 2nd(1920), 3rd(1917), 3rd(1921), 4th(1919), 4th(1922), 4th(1923), 4th(1924), 10th(1918)
PCHA Goals – 1st(1920), 1st(1921), 2nd(1922), 3rd(1917), 4th(1919), 4th(1924), 5th(1923), 10th(1918)
PHCA Assists – 5th(1922), 6th(1924), 7th(1917), 7th(1923), 9th(1921)


Play-off Points – 1st(1914), 1st(1920), 2nd(1917), 2nd(1919), 5th(1925)
Play-off Goals – 1st(1914), 1st(1920), 2nd(1917), 2nd(1919), 5th(1925)
3 x Stanley Cup Champion (1914, 1917, 1925)
Sturm's analysis of Foyston's playoff record

An exceptional scorer and playmaker, Frank C. Foyston was capable of dominating a game from center, rover or either of the wing positions. He was a supreme natural talent who earned accolades and fame wherever he played. While playing in the top leagues on the continent, Foyston was one of the first players to score over 200 career goals.
….
Foyston's versatility was proven by his selection in various years to the PCHA First All-Star Team at three positions - left wing, center and rover.

Frank Foyston was a consistent, albeit underrated, star for many years with the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans. He was usually among the top scorers in the league and was widely considered one of the best all-around hockeyists of the period from 1910 to 1930.

Foyston was often cited as the finest player in the PCHA. Bold and clever around the enemy net, his stickhandling wizardry and superior shooting enabled him to become one of the first men to hit the 200-goal mark. He was on the winning side in three Stanley Cup finals - with Toronto in 1914, Seattle in 1917, and Victoria in 1925.

Foyston won the Stanley Cup with Toronto in 1914, again in 1917 with Seattle, and for a third time in 1925 with Victoria. He is one of only ten players in history to win Stanley Cups with three different teams.

Who is the perfect hockey player? Some critics named Foyston in 1922.

Mickey MacKay, Vancouver's brilliant rover, Frank Foyston, Seattle flash, or Jack Walker, of hook check fame, another of Seattle's stars, which member of the trio is the nearest approach to the perfect hockey player?
...
Last year a majority expressed the opinion that honors should go to Mickey MacKay, but there were hundreds who believed the crown should rest on Frank Foyston's brow. And not a few are out in favor of naming Jack Walker as the real leader.
...
As the game of hockey is won by the team that scores the majority of goals, and as forewards have this brunt of the work to do, the perfect player will, perhaps, be more readily discovered up on the firing line, hence the opinion of many that Frank Foyston should be acclaimed the leader. The player should first of all have speed. He should be a goal getter. He should be unselfish. He should be able to check back. He should have stick handling ability, hockey brains and the ability to keep his temper. He should also be able to stand the gaff and go 60 minutes without rest.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-g5kAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2XoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1492,1787841&hl=en

Foyston was considered a "real find" in his first season in the NHA

Frank Foyston, the ex-Eaton star, was the best man on the ice for Toronto, and looks like a real find.

Praise for checking early in his career

Foyston, the Barrie boy, showed some of the stars up this morning and Bruce certainly liked the way he shaped up. He shoots well and checks cleanly and hard.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=9SkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6232,1080596&hl=en

1914 Stanley Cup and Foyston's relentlessness

Foyston was probably the best man on the ice, and his aggressive playing did more to stop the visitors than anything else. He was always in the fray, and kept his opponents watching him all the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M3cDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6ygDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2015,5975525&hl=en

Walker and Foyston were just as good as ever, and they were relentless, both upon their powers of endurance and the attacking forwards. Their feats are common talk among the fans, so it is not necessary to elaborate upon their performance again.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NXcDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6ygDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1415,6273098&hl=en

Frank Foyston was the most useful man for the victors, and went from end to end, despite the rough passage that was given him by the Victoria defense. Genge and Patrick were not gentle with their checking when Foyston got in to close quarters, but the blue and white centre went right back for more and worried Lindsay with his hard shots from close in.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=N3cDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6ygDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3375,6575970&hl=en

Foyston joined the Mets in their inaugural season and was named their first captain.

Foyston to Captain Seattle Hockey Team

Frank Foyston, of Toronto, considered one of the brainiest hockey players in the business, was chosen captain of the Seattle Metropolitans yesterday afternoon. Foyston took charge of the team at yesterday's practice. The easterner was entirely unsuspecting of the honor and was surprised when told of his selection.

Foyston plays forward and is a splendid skater, an aggressive player and can hold his own in a close fight with the rest of them.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oPlSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hjcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2179,3225217&hl=en

All-around play in 1917 Stanley Cup

Frank Foyston, captain of the Mets, although he scored but one goal, was the individual star of the Seattle team. Foyston's work on offense and defense, his checking, skating and shooting were of a class that fully justified his selection as the most valuable player in Pacific coast hockey.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d8VSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hzcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2240,2779072&hl=en

Foyston was in the play all the time, and in addition to scoring a goal, assisted in the scoring of another.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QQIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7VUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1646,1229183&hl=en

Capt. Foyston was the same valuable leader as in the former games. Foyston was fast as a streak and his back checking and all round playing featured the game.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FSsjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LygDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4539,423970&hl=en

Foyston was rumored to be joining Vancouver after Seattle collapsed. Late in his career his stickhandling skills were still considered supreme.

Foyston is expected to replace Frank Boucher in center on the Vancouver lineup. For the last half dozen years Foyston has been considered one of the greatest forwards in the game, being excelled in the west only by Frederickson, the crack Victoria center ice man. He is in the veteran class now and has lost a good deal of his old speed. As a stickhandler, however, he has few equals.

The transfer of Walker, Foyston and Fraser breaks up a trio who have made hockey history. Foyston and Walker have been playing together since 1915 and in that time have developed remarkable combination play.

Foyston was instead a strong depth addition to the 1925 Cougars who won the Stanley Cup

Lester Patrick's prediction away back in November of last year that his Cougars would bring the Stanley Cup back to the west panned out right..

When the Cougars grabbed off the cream of Seattle's talent, following the disbanding of that team, it was generally conceded around the western loop that the Victorians would be there or thereabouts when the curtain was rung down at the end of the season. The addition of Holmes in goal, Fraser on defense and Walker and Foyston on the firing line certainly rounded the team into a sweet functioning machine.

Lester Patrick rolled out Fredrickson and Foyston in shifts to get the best of Morenz in the Stanley Cup finals

Morenz, brilliant though he was, could not cope with Fredrickson for ten minutes and then have the tricky Foyston thrown at him for another ten minutes.

Praise for Foyston's defensive game late in his career

In Foyston, Aurie and Johnny Sheppard, Detroit has a hook-checking barrier in front of their main defence that is hard to beat. Foyston's speed was a revelation. This veteran was playing pro hockey back around 1911, and he can keep pace still with the best of them. He is a good example of what careful attention to health will do for an athlete.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=_YsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3995,2664474&hl=en

More praise for Foyston's stickhandling

Foyston is sterling forward. His nursing of the puck when on the attack was a treat to watch, and he was just about the best man on the ice.

You missed one of the all-time greats if you never saw Frank Foyston perform with a hockey stick. He wielded if like Fritz Kreisler his bow, Willie Mays his bat, and Arnold Palmer his two-iron.

Foyston was also praised for his combination play

Foyston, Riley and Morris were in their element the whole route. Foyston and Riley, particularly, could not be held by the Vancouver defense, and repeatedly broke through with combination and individual play, and tested Reid with hard drives. Reid saved a multitude of them, but on the majority of the counters he had but slight chance to save, as the Mets worked through the Vancouver defense and passed the puck.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AAdkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7HoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1560,1690610&hl=en

Played Combination

The pace continued fast and the Seattle players showed pretty combinations, Foyston, Morris, Walker and Rowe being prominent. The puck was passed back and forth with such dexterity and accuracy that the Ottawa team appeared bewildered.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19200331&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Scrapping with the larger Clem Loughlin

The closing minutes of play were enlivened by a little fracas with Frank Foyston, captain of the Seattle team, and Clem Loughlin of Portland, as the principals. Their intention to clout each other with their clubs was frustrated by the referee, who chased them off the ice and fined then $2 each.

Toronto hoped to lure Foyston back from Seattle with plans for him to serve as their captain

Manager Querrie has been after Frank Foyston, the old Toronto star, and late of the Coast League. Frank is billed as the captain of the Arena team.

Foyston was very popular in Seattle

Tomorrow night, when the Seattle and Vancouver hockey teams meet in Seattle, “Frank Foyston” night will be celebrated in the Seattle arena in honor of Captain Foyston of the Metropolitans, who recently joined the world’s champions.
The Popular Seattle Leader will be welcomed officially by the fans with floral tributes, special music and other stunts.
Last season Foyston was voted the most valuable player in the Pacifica Coast Hockey association, and was presented with a gold medal by the association in recognition of his work.

General praise for his offensive abilities

Frank Foyston and Jack Walker were the fan favorites on the Mets. Foyston, a rover in the seven-man game played in the PCHA, was a consistent scorer known throughout the league for his clean play.

Lalonde lined up for the opening faceoff against Frank Foyston. In his striped Seattle sweater, the speedy Mets forward had looked like a blur of red, white, and green so far this series. He’d scored three of Seattle’s seven goals in the first game.

Captain Frank Foyston led the Seattle aggregation to victory by sweeping through the opposing fort for two goals, unassisted.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Terry O'Reilly, RW

Played in 1975 and 1978 All-Star Games
Selke Trophy voting: 12th (1978), 14th (1980), 14th (1981), scant voting two other seasons

O'Reilly had a very strong season in 1978. He led the Bruins in regular season scoring, a team that lost in the SC finals.
He finished 7th in points and 6th in assists league-wide.
He finished 3rd in RW AST voting in 1978 behind Lafleur and Bossy, and 7th in Hart Trophy voting.

Captain of Bruins 1984 and 1985 seasons

O'Reilly fought 224 times with a 56-23-35 record according to dropyourgloves.com

Results from coaches polls

Best bodychecker | 4th | 1979
Hardest worker | 2nd | 1979
Hardest worker | 3rd | 1984
Toughest player | 1st | 1979
Toughest player | 4th | 1984

Don Cherry said "Terry typifies our team. He's tough, really tough, and that's the way I like em'. I know a coach isn't supposed to like one player more than another, but I can't help it in regard to Terry O'Reilly."

He is the first person who comes to mind when someone uses the phrase 'a true Bruin'," says Harry Sinden. "He was the model of a Bruins player to his teammates and fans alike and that phrase is a high compliment because of Terry."

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2013/07/terry-oreilly.html

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: BOSTON'S TERRY O'REILLY—In guiding his club to the NHL's second-best record, Bruin Coach Don Cherry ran what he gleefully called "a sweatshop." Nobody sweated more than Joseph James Terence O'Reilly. Never one for fancy moves, O'Reilly barreled his way to a career-high 29 goals. But, as always, the 6'1", 200-pound winger played his best hockey in the corners, banging, digging and otherwise making his presence felt. He has a special knack for kicking the puck loose, a talent he attributes to his experience as a high school soccer player in Ontario. O'Reilly often handles two opponents on the boards at once, which, as he notes, "leaves a teammate open for a pass." This season he got off quite a few such passes, leading to goals for the Bruins—and assists for himself. Thus, the rugged O'Reilly achieved an improbable double, setting a club record for penalty minutes (211) while also leading the Bruins in points (90). Bobby Orr, for one, thinks O'Reilly should be the league's MVP this season.

http://www.si.com/vault/1978/04/17/106772701/shadowers-snipers-and-superpests

Bridgman promptly jostled O'Reilly against the boards to set the theme for Game 1. Defenseman Jimmy Watson hit O'Reilly again to make sure he got the idea. O'Reilly did. Nine minutes into the game, hoping to stir his teammates from their lethargy, O'Reilly slammed into Bridgman. Offended, Bridgman whipped off his gloves and put up his fists...

The hostilities continued until early in the third period when O'Reilly suddenly encountered a fresh opponent in Defenseman Rick Lapointe. Following a free-swinging melee around Philadelphia Goaltender Bernie Parent, Lapointe challenged O'Reilly to put up or shut up. O'Reilly chose to put up, as always, and after ducking Lapointe's wild first swing, proceeded to pummel the young Flyer with a barrage of punches.

It is important to note that these activities were not as spontaneous as they may have seemed. Although the Bruins won 3-2 on a goal by Rick Middleton in the second minute of sudden-death overtime, Philadelphia Coach Fred Shero was convinced the Flyers lost because they were unable to neutralize O'Reilly's aggressiveness in the corners and in front of Parent. "I wonder if even the Bruins realize how good O'Reilly really is," Shero said. "I know that the rest of the world doesn't understand that O'Reilly is one of the best players in the world. He's much like Bobby Clarke in that he never stops giving second effort. Sometime soon—like right now—I've got to come up with a line that can handle O'Reilly. A line, I said, not just one player."
...
"Aw, skating is far overrated in hockey today," Shero said. "For all Perreault's great skating ability, what does he ever accomplish? Now take O'Reilly. Sure, he's an awkward skater. Just like Clarke, who can't skate either. But O'Reilly, like Clarke, always arrives at his destination on time—and with a bang."
...
This season the 26-year-old O'Reilly became only the second player in NHL history to lead his team in both scoring (90 points on 29 goals and 61 assists) and penalty minutes (211). It hadn't come easily: when O'Reilly joined the Bruins in 1972 after scoring only nine goals in the minor leagues the previous season, the general reaction was that the Bruins had hired another goon. "When I first saw him," Shero recalls, "I thought he was a nothing as a player." In his first season with Boston, O'Reilly scored only five goals—a couple of them actually were shots by Boston teammates that ricocheted into the net off his body—but won a regular job because of his willingness to bang bodies in the corners and play policeman.

If he wasn't able to score many goals, O'Reilly did build a reputation as one of the best pure punchers in hockey. "My feet wouldn't take me where I wanted to go," he says, "so in those days, fighting was a way for me to release all of my frustrations."

As O'Reilly improved his skating, he also improved his hockey skills, if not his shot. "I knew I'd never be much of a gunner," he says. "My classic goal is a shot from the crease into an empty net, with the goaltender caught on the other side." Instead, O'Reilly mastered the art of playing the puck along the boards and in the corners. "He handles the puck better with his skates than a lot of players do with their sticks," says Boston Coach Don Cherry. "You ought to see him in practice. No stick. Just O'Reilly and the puck and the boards. All three of them take a beating, mind you, but now O'Reilly can make the puck talk."

With all that, it figured that one person was on Shero's mind before Game 2 on Thursday night. "What do you do?" he said. "I can't tell one of my guys to jump O'Reilly and get him out of the game when the referee is not looking. How do you stop him?"

For the second game, Shero decided to fight muscle with muscle. Each time O'Reilly appeared on the ice, a couple of brawny Flyers seemed to materialize out of thin air. Bridgman bumped O'Reilly a couple of times. After one exchange, they fell to the ice and Bridgman did not get up for several minutes; he missed more than a full period of action. Pugnacious Dave Hoyda, Philadelphia's designated hitter, roared off the bench once and charged O'Reilly at breakneck speed. Seeing Hoyda—and suspecting his intentions—O'Reilly neatly jumped out of the way. Hoyda crash-landed against a teammate and both of them fell to the ice. Then Don Saleski tried his luck without much success, and even Bob Kelly spent a few shifts chasing O'Reilly against the boards. None of the rough stuff worked.

While all this was going on, Boston was building up a 5-1 lead. And then Boston was blowing a 5-1 lead as Philadelphia rallied to tie the score early in the final period. "We were dead on the bench," said Boston's Wayne Cashman. "We were looking for a lift when O'Reilly slammed into Tom Bladon—a great check. I saw Bladon fly by and he had a postage stamp on him. The Taz really mailed him. That woke us up."

http://www.si.com/vault/1978/05/15/...aten-to-the-punch-in-their-stanley-cup-series

Personifies what positive thinking and hard work can accomplish...Among his peers, he rates only behind Bobby Clarke as the league's hardest worker...He has a reputation for being the first player on the ice for practice and the last off...He's not a fancy skater or stickhandler...He does make things happen

One of the toughest, most aggressive corner men in the league, the big Irishman is a Boston favorite who is respected everywhere...Intensity and hustle are his trademarks...He is one of the few players who can accumulate over 200 penalty minutes a year and not be considered a "goon"...Former coach Don Cherry declared: "I didn't even look at the stats on Terry. With all the other things he did for us, every goal he scored was just pure gravy."...Long hours of extra practice refined his game and he's still not a picturesque skater...

If more players played as O'Reilly does, hockey would be a better game...Works hard, offensively and defensively, every shift...A grinder, digger, vigorous cornerman...As tough and willing to fight as they come...Worked hard to improve his skating to become a quality NHL right wing...Willing to take a jolting bodycheck to get the puck and pass it to a teammate...

But they have some of the best checkers and physically punishing forwards in the league: Terry O'Reilly, Wayne Cashman, Don Marcotte, and Stan Jonathan...Always hustles, hits, grinds in corners and along boards...Hardworking style make shim popular with demanding Boston Garden fans...Fierce competitors and one of the best fighters in hockey...Aggressive nature leaves him in a bad mood after every loss...

Solid right wing and solid left hook...Fierce competitor who isn't afraid to drop his gloves...Plays hard and has the scars to prove it...Is only Bruin to ever lead club in both scoring and penalty minutes...

Big, rangy right wing who gives it all he has every shift, every game, every season...His fierce pride is an inspiration to his club...At his best in the corners...

And when he's healthy, veteran Terry O'Reilly is a master of sustaining or starting scoring plays with his energetic checking...Plagued by injuries last two seasons...Not quite the dominant force he has been but still the heart and soul of Bruins' aggressive style of play...Wears captain's letter C...Loved by Boston Garden fans...Worked hard to upgrade skill level...Never fails to give his best...Inspires teammates with feisty, rugged play...Has waged profusion of classic fights with respected fighters such as Clark Gillies and Garry Howatt

Terry O'Reilly has retired and the Bruins will miss his inspirational play.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Going to reunite Alexandrov with his real life RW here: Starting to dig and I like the fit, for obvious chemistry reasons and I think it makes for a really good 4th line in terms of scoring for the ATD.


Konstantin Loktev RW


Player's Career:
- Played as a RW for the Team USSR and Russian Elite League
- USSR Elite League Clubs: CSKA, Spartak Moscow, SKA Leningrad
- USSR Gold (10): 1955, 1956, 1958-1961, 1963-1966
- WC Gold: 1964-1966
- Winter Olympics Gold: 1964
- National Awards:
Scoring Leader, 1959
USSR All Stars, 1957-1960
USSR Hall of Fame (player), 1964
- International Awards:
WC Best Forward Award, 1966
WC All Stars, 1965, 1966
-Russian All Star from 57 to 60 and then again in 65 and 66
-88 points in 57 International games


Here is an updated list.

- World Championships
- European Championships
- Wintersportwoche (Unofficial European Championships in 1940 and 1941)
- Olympics (including qualification games in 1964, 1972 and 1976)
- Canada Cup
- World Cup

Player | Country | Years | Games | Goals | Assists | Points
1.Aleksander Maltsev |Soviet Union|1969-1983| 137|98| 95|

193​

|
2.Valeri Kharlamov |Soviet Union|1969-1980| 123|89| 102|

191​

|
3.Sergei Makarov |Soviet Union|1978-1991| 145|82| 100|

182​

|
4.Boris Mikhailov |Soviet Union|1969-1980| 120|108| 72|

180​

|
5.Vladimir Petrov |Soviet Union|1969-1981| 117|82| 85|

167​

|
6.Josef Maleček |Czechoslovakia|1922-1940| 80|97| 62|

159​

|
7.Sven ‘Tumba’ Johansson |Sweden|1952-1966| 97|86| 56|

142​

|
8.Vyacheslav Fetisov |Soviet Union/Russia|1977-1996| 139|51| 93|

144​

|
9.Vladimir Krutov |Soviet Union|1980-1989| 112|74| 64|

138​

|
10.Vladimir Martinec |Czechoslovakia|1970-1981| 118|68| 67|

135​

|
11.Vladimir Zábrodský |Czechoslovakia|1947-1956| 44|78| 44|

132​

|
12.Anatoli Firsov |Soviet Union|1964-1972| 67|66| 51|

117​

|
13.Jiři Holik |Czechoslovakia|1964-1977|142|59| 58|

117​

|
14.Veniamin Aleksandrov |Soviet Union|1957-1968| 76|68| 48|

116​

|
15.Riccardo ’Bibi’ Torriani |Switzerland|1928-1948| 69|62| 52|

114​

|
16.Václav Nedomanský |Czechoslovakia|1965-1974| 93|78| 32|

110​

|
17.Ville Peltonen |Finland|1994-2010| 145|46| 62|

108​

|
18.Vlastimil Bubnik |Czechoslovakia|1952-1964| 63|60| 45|

105​

|
19.Erich Kühnhackl |West Germany|1972-1985| 90|55| 50|

105​

|
20.Ivan Hlinka|Czechoslovakia|1970-1981| 108|53| 52|

105​

|
21.Uli Poltéra |Switzerland|1947-1954| 54|72| 31|

103​

|
22.Aleksander Yakushev |Soviet Union|1967-1979| 93|63| 40|

103​

|
23.Sergei Kapustin |Soviet Union|1974-1983| 97|63| 40|

103​

|
24.Teemu Selänne |Finland|1991-2014| 96|54| 48|

102​

|
25.Jaromir Jágr |Czechosl./Czech R.|1990-| 121|47| 55|

102​

|
26.Vladimir Vikulov |Soviet Union|1966-1976| 79|55| 46|

101​

|
27.Ronald ‘Sura Pelle’ Pettersson |Sweden|1955-1967| 87|52| 49|

99​

|
28.Vyacheslav Bykov |Soviet Union/Russia|1983-1995| 108|47| 50|

97​

|
29.Andrei Khomutov |Soviet Union/Russia|1981-1995| 122|45| 52|

97​

|
30.Ilya Kovalchuk |Russia|2002-| 111|44| 52|

96​

|
31.Vyacheslav Starshinov |Soviet Union|1961-1971| 79|64| 31|

95​

|
32.Mats Sundin |Sweden|1990-2006| 79|43| 51|

94​

|
33.Saku Koivu |Finland|1993-2010| 89|30| 64|

94​

|
34.Milan Nový |Czechoslovakia|1975-1982| 86|53| 40|

93​

|
35.Aleksei Kasatonov |Soviet Union|1980-1991| 125|28| 65|

93​

|
36.Nisse Nilsson |Sweden|1956-1967| 63|58| 34|

92​

|
37.Gerd Truntschka |W. Germany/Germany|1979-1993| 108|31| 59|

90​

|
38.Miroslav Å atan |Slovakia|1994-2014| 117|47| 42|

89​

|
39.Raimo Helminen|Finland|1984-2002| 140|18| 70|

88​

|
40. Konstantin Loktev |Soviet Union|1957-1966| 55 | 50 | 36 |

86​

|
41.Ulf Sterner |Sweden|1960-1973| 87|47| 39|

86​

|
42.Dieter Hegen |W. Germany/Germany|1982-1998| 147|55| 29|

84​

|
43.Vladimir Shadrin |Soviet Union|1970-1977| 71|41| 43|

84​

|
44.Igor Larionov |Soviet Union/Russia|1982-2002| 98|36| 47|

83​

|
45.Wayne Gretzky |Canada|1981-1998| 55|26| 56|

82​

|
46.Ferdinand ‘Pic’ Cattini |Switzerland|1933-1949| 60|53| 28|

81​

|
47.Tord Lundström |Sweden|1965-1976| 92|46| 34|

80​

|
48.Viktor Zhluktov |Soviet Union|1976-1983| 88|36| 44|

80​

|
49.Daniel Alfredsson|Sweden|1995-2014| 92|32| 47|

79​

|
50.Evgeny Malkin|Russia|2005-| 69|37| 40|

77​

|

Points Per Game Vs Above

Zabrodsky 3 PPG *** played in 40-50's
Malecek 1.99 PPG***played in 20-30's
Firsov 1.75 PPG
Bubnik 1.67 PPG *** played mostly in 50's
Loktev 1.56 PPG
Kharlamov 1.55 PPG
Alexandrov 1.53 PPG
Mikhailov 1.5 PPG
Petrov 1.43 PPG
Maltsev 1.4 PPG
Makarov 1.26 P
Krutov 1.23 PPG
Starshinov 1.20 PPG
Nedomansky 1.18 PPG
Martinec 1.14 PPG
Yakushev 1.11 PPG
Kapustin 1.06 PPG
Fetisov 1.04 PPG
Ivan Hilnka 0.97 PPG
Holik 0.82 PPG







http://www.chidlovski.com/personal/1974/yroster/ruc02.htm

Konstantin Loktev was a legendary Soviet player of the 1960s and one of the elite hockey coaches in the mid 1970s.

Being a highly rated player, Loktev had a fascinating career with both the Red Army club and Team USSR. He was a part of one of the all time best Soviet lines ever. He played a RW forward with xxxxx, C and Veniamin Alexandrov, LW. Loktev wasn't as elegant as Alexandrov or as cool as Almetov, but he was definitely the toughest player of the legendary "troika".

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...stantin-loktev.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Loktev, as coach Anatoli Tarasov puts it, was an original hockey player. He raced up his wing with puck well ahead of him. This must have caused the opposing defenseman to smack his lips in anticipation of a big body check or a turnover. However this was part of Loktev's arsenal. He lured in unsuspecting defenders this way, and then miraculously and almost without fail, he'd put on a beautiful deke to leave the bewildered defenseman up ice as he danced in on the lonely goal keeper.

Loktev, who trained by himself in spare time, was a rough player as well, despite his tiny fram of 5'7" and 165 pounds. He never shied away from the boards and would fight for the puck until the whistle had blown. He was punished several times for rough play in his younger days by the Russian hockey federation. That punishment seemed to do him a ton of good, as he calmed down some. He remained aggressive but controlled, and became one of the all time greats.

In his first world championships, held in Moscow in 1957, Loktev tallied up a staggering 11 goals and 18 points in 7 games. He would not win a World Championship gold medal until 1965 and again 1966 when he was voted as the top forward.

Loktev would also win Olympic gold in 1964, as well as 10 USSR championships. He scored 213 goals in 340 games in Russia, and 50 goals in 57 Olympic and World Championship games.




***All the credit in the world to Theo and Sturm for the following***


KONSTANTIN LOKTEV


The Aleksandrov – Almetov – Loktev line in general:

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1987):

"Konstantin Loktev - Alexander Almetov - Veniamin Alexandrov - these outstanding forwards were the driving force of CSKA and the Soviet national team in the mid 1960s. Different characters, different styles of play, cemented by the same highly creative understanding of hockey, pursuit of the intellectual game and, of course, a strong friendship. As a result of this unity on the ice, Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov developed great technique together, intuition necessary to guarantee the highest synchronicity of action. This was the first line on our team; they started the intuitive game, paving the way for the others."

Note: I simply used the existing English translation provided by Sturminator in this case.

Константин Локтев – Александр Альметов – Вениамин Александров – эти выдающиеся форварды входили в ведущее звено ЦСКА и сборной СССР середины 60-х годов. Разные характеры, разная манера игры, цементировали же тройку единое и высокотворческое понимание хоккея, стремление к игре интеллектуальной и, конечно, крепкая дружба. И потому на льду Локтев, Альметов и Александров смотрелись как единое целое – высокая техника, великолепно развитая интуиция гарантировали высочайшую синхронность действий. Это звено было первым в нашем хоккее, начавшим вести игру на интуитивной основе и тем проложив путь другим.

Quote:
Vyacheslav Starshinov:

"The trio of the 'Grandmasters'! It seems to me that the game of this Army line was the first to completely embody the idea of a hockey line as one single entity. With the coming of the Almetov line the manner in which a trio should play with interchangeability and an advanced level of combination play was established. The most striking thing about them was their witty thinking and deep understanding of the game. Here's their usual combination: From the defensive zone Loktev swiftly passed the puck to Almetov who dashed off on the left side. Meanwhile Aleksandrov switched to the center to replace Almetov and rushed ahead into position. The whole combination didn't take more than two or three seconds."

«Гроссмейстерская» тройка! Мне кажется, что впервые сама идея хоккейного звена как единого спортивного организма наиболее полно воплотилась в игре этого армейского ансамбля. С появлением альметовского звена утвердилась манера игры тройки, в которой взаимозаменяемость, разнохарактерность игроков обеспечили очень высокий уровень комбинационности. Самое интересное у армейцев-это их яркое, остроумное игровое мышление и глубокое понимание логики игры. Вот их привычная комбинация. От защитника следует кинжальный пас Локтеву, который, скрытно обработав шайбу, мгновенно передает ее стремительно уходящему налево Альметову, в центре — Александров, он освобождает лед Альметову и врывается в зону на его место... На всю комбинацию уходит две-три секунды...

Tarasov describing the tactics and physical nature of Loktev's game

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1969):

"In the final phase of the attack the puck carrier immediately caught the position of his linemates and even in the most difficult situation he always passed the puck to his comrade in the moment the latter wasn't covered. Almetov, Aleksandrov and Loktev were able to keep the puck as long as it took the linemate to shake off the opponent. And if, for example, Almetov found himself in trouble then Loktev was there to bodycheck the opponent."

В завершающей фазе атаки игрок, владеющий шайбой, своевременно улавливал выбор позиции партнерами и даже в самом сложном положении отдавал шайбу лишь в тот момент, когда товарищ оказывался на миг свободным от опеки. Альметов, Александров и Локтев могли держать шайбу ровно столько, сколько требовалось партнеру для того, чтобы усыпить бдительность соперника, "уйти" от него.

Tarasov explaining that Loktev was the one guy who was willing to work relentlessly in all 3 zones

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1969):

"The Almetov line had one main shortcoming, which the players skillfully concealed from their opponents for ages: arguably no-one of the trio except for Loktev has ever been fond of the work without the puck. As great players as Veniamin [Aleksandrov] and Aleksandr [Almetov] were, they thought of defensive work as something very hard and annoying. However, the trio spent more time attacking than defending anyway. They kept the opponent thinking about stopping them, not going forward themselves."

Вот и у звена Альметова был существенный недостаток, который хоккеисты долгие годы, лет семь, не меньше, умело, я бы даже сказал талантливо, скрывали от своих соперников: пожалуй, никто из этой тройки, кроме Локтева, никогда не славился большой любовью к действиям без шайбы. Два великих хоккеиста - и Вениамин и Александр- свое участие в обороне рассматривали как занятие крайне тяжелое и безрадостное. Правда, тройка эта меньше оборонялась, чем атаковала. Она заставляла соперника чаще думать о защите, чем о нападении.

Loktev's early career:

Quote:
Leonid Goryanov:

"Konstantin Loktev started playing hockey back in 1947 in the youth team of Spartak Moscow. Five years later he advanced to the senior team and he played two season for them. After being called up to the Soviet army he found himself playing for SKA Leningrad. That's where Anatoly Tarasov became aware of him and invited him to his illustrious team."

Константин Локтев начал играть в хоккей еще в сорок седьмом году в юношеской команде «Спартака», а через пять лет перешел в команду мастеров этого клуба и отыграл за нее два сезона. После призыва в ряды Советской Армии определился в ленинградском СКА. Здесь-то и «разглядел» его по-настоящему Анатолий Тарасов и пригласил в свой прославленный коллектив.

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"Entering the army, Loktev winded up in Leningrad and began to play for the LDO team [Note: LDO=Leningradsky Dom ofitserov, "House of the Officers", later renamed SKA Leningrad]. From there he was invited to CSKA. He was invited at the very moment when the two teams CSKA [Army team] and VVS [Air Force team] were merged [Note: in the 1953 offseason]. Almost all of the stars of Soviet hockey were brought together. What could be expected of a very young, unknown and unheralded Konstantin Loktev in such company? At that time tall and big players were in fashion and Loktev didn't have the size. I was told that the then famous hockey player Yevgeny [Makarovich] Babich advised Loktev: 'Buddy, give up on this venture. You will not make it here. Go back to bandy where the competition is weaker.' Maybe Loktev would have followed the avise of his well experienced and respected teammate, had Vsevolod Bobrov, the closest friend and linemate of Babich, not joined in the conversation: 'Don't jump to conclusions, Makarovich. This guy will be your successor one day. And you, Konstantin, do not listen to him. Stay and everything will be fine.'"

Попав в армию, Локтев оказался в Ленинграде и стал играть в команде ЛДО. Оттуда и пригласили его в ЦСКА. Пригласили как раз в тот момент, когда объединились две команды — ЦСКА и ВВС. Почти все «звезды» советского хоккея собрались вместе. На что мог рассчитывать в такой компании никому не известный совсем молодой, да и внешне малоприметный Костя Локтев? В те времена в хоккее была мода на могучих и рослых игроков, а Костя и ростом не вышел. Мне рассказывали, что знаменитый тогда хоккеист Евгений Бабич посоветовал Локтеву:— Бросай-ка ты, парень, это дело. Тут тебе все равно не пробиться. Возвращайся в хоккей с мячом, там конкуренция послабее. Может, и послушался бы Локтев совета своего очень опытного и уважаемого одноклубника, если бы не вмешался в разговор Всеволод Бобров, ближайший приятель и партнер по тройке Бабича. — Не спеши, Макарыч, с выводами. Этот парень еще тебя когда-нибудь заменит. А ты, Костя, его не слушай.
Оставайся, и все будет нормально.

Quote:
Nikolay Sologubov:

"His path to the elite level of hockey wasn't easy. As a newcomer Konstantin was either too nervous or underestimating his own strenghts. In any case, it took him some time to fit into our team."

Его путь в большой хоккей был нелегким. То ли сказывалась робость новичка, то ли Костя недооценивал свои силы. Во всяком случае, он не сразу вписался в наш ансамбль.

Alleged roughness:

Quote:
Nikolay Sologubov:

"True, initially his plethora of natural guts made him go too far and then he was sent to the penalty box to calm down and find himself again. But that was when Loktev was a novice. Afterwards Konstantin always displayed an exemplary behaviour on the ice, the sole exception being occasions when he overstepped the permissible limits of physical play."

На первых порах, правда, избыток природного мужества нет-пет да и перехлестывал через край, и тогда приходилось отправляться ему на скамью штрафников, остыть и прийти в себя. Но так бывало с Локтевым-новобранцем. Впоследствии же (за исключением одного случая, когда он переступил допустимые границы силового единоборства) Костя всегда являл собой пример образцового поведения на площадке.

Tarasov, again talking about Loktev's game.

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1968):

"Loktev plays a hard game. He is very daring so much that he may be on the verge of being sent to the penalty box. He is not afraid of zipping along the boards at high speed and he fights for the puck right up to the end. He is a very industrious sportsman, but he works and plays honestly. It never enters his mind that someone else must do his job. (...) Previously, he was quite difficult to get along with. He was always picking a fight. And sometimes in the heat of the game he could start roughing. He took it very hard whenever the opposing team began handing out bone-rattling body checks. I am quite sure the Hockey Federation acted correctly when it punished him for rough play several years ago. Loktev has a head on his shoulders and he took everything the right way – he drew the proper conclusions for himself. If it had not been for that punishment he received, perhaps we would not have had today's Loktev – a great master, a fighter (but not a bully), a high-calibre puckster."

Note: I used the existing English translation from "Road to Olympus", 1969.

Локтев играл резко, мужественно, порой даже действовал на грани удаления. Не боялся идти на огромной скорости вдоль борта, сражался за шайбу до последней возможности. Это очень трудолюбивый спортсмен. И работал и играл честно. Не допускал и мысли, что кто-то может за него проделать лишнюю работу. (...) Раньше был неуживчивым, задиристым парнем. Случалось, в игре в пылу ожесточенной борьбы грубил. Крайне болезненно и нервно переносил попытки соперника сыграть резко. Уверен, что Федерация хоккея постудила правильно, наказав несколько лет назад его за грубость. Костя – парень умный и все воспринял правильно, сделал верные выводы. А не будь этого строгого наказания, мы, пожалуй, так я не имели бы сегодняшнего Локтева, огромного мастера, бойца (но не забияку), игрока экстра-класса.

Suspension in April 1961:

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"He had already been a national team player participating in several World Championships when he became subject to a one-year suspension. (The punishment was justified: Loktev hit an opponent with the stick after the whistle. But how must that opponent have conducted himself that someone so very steady and composed as Konstantin Loktev would hit him with the stick!) He was out of hockey for a whole year."

Он был уже игроком сборной, участником нескольких первенств мира, когда его дисквалифицировали на год. (Наказание было справедливым — Локтев ударил противника клюшкой после остановки игры. Но как должен был вести себя противник, чтобы выдержаннейший и спокойнейший Костя Локтев стукнул его клюшкой!) Целый год он был вне хоккея.

Note that the length of the suspension was later reduced to eight months. Loktev was back on the ice in February 1962.


Suspension in December 1962:

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1968):

"Late in the autumn of 1962 we made a tour of Canada in preparation for the World Championship. Our team, a much renewed and rejuvenated squad, played with success: we won nine games out of ten. But then it became known that three of our forwards, Aleksandr Almetov, Konstantin Loktev and Viktor Yakushev, had broken the solemn vow taken by the whole team by secretly smoking. (...) Almetov and Yakushev remained on the team on probation but team captain Loktev was removed from the squad. After all he was the captain! Don't misunderstand this, he was not expelled for smoking. He was expelled for deceiving the team and secretly violating the vow. Being the team captain, he served as a bad example for the younger player. (...) I note that after a while Konstantin returned to the team. His game, his attitude towards his comrades and his strict fulfillment of all the requirements of the team honestly earned him that right. In the 1966 season he was recognized as the best forward in the world. The punishment did not kill him, it helped him to straighten out and grow up."

Глубокой осенью 1962 года, готовясь к первенству мира, мы совершали турне по Канаде. Команда наша, выступающая в значительно обновленном и омоложенном составе, играла успешно: в десяти встречах мы добились девяти побед. Но вот стало известно, что три наших нападающих – Александр Альметов, Константин Локтев и Виктор Якушев, нарушая обет, данный торжественно коллективу, тайком курят. (...) Альметова и Якушева оставили в команде условно, до первого замечания. А капитана команды Локтева из сборной вывели. Ведь он был капитаном! И, поймите правильно, отчислили не за курение. А за обман коллектива. За нарушение клятвы. За то, что, будучи капитаном, служил плохим примером для молодых игроков. (...) Хочу отметить, что спустя некоторое время Константин вернулся в сборную. Своей игрой, своим отношением к товарищам, строгим исполнением всех требований коллектива он честно заслужил это право. А в сезоне 1966 года он был признан лучшим нападающим мира. Наказание не убило его, а помогло ему выровняться, повзрослеть.

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"I was captain of Spartak Moscow for eight seasons. You can't imagine how proud I was to become that as a result of a secret ballot where my candidacy, one out of several candidacies, won the absolute majority. I'm not going to lie: when I was elected captain of the national team in December 1962 I did not feel equally happy. Yes, I was elected, but I was the only candidate and I ran 'on recommendation of the coaches'. And I took the place of Konstantin Loktev who was the real captain, the most experienced and shrewed player on the team."

Восемь сезонов без нескольких дней был я капитаном «Спартака». Вы даже не представляете себе, как гордился я, став им в результате тайного голосования, где моя кандидатура, одна из нескольких выдвинутых, получила абсолютное большинство. Не буду кривить душой: когда в декабре 1962 года меня избрали капитаном сборной, я не чувствовал себя таким же счастливым. Правда, голосование было и тут, но моя кандидатура была единственной и баллотировалась «по рекомендации тренеров». Да и занял я место Кости Локтева, который был настоящим капитаном — самым опытным и мудрым игроком сборной.

While Loktev's suspension from the national team was soon lifted, a subsequent injury caused him to miss the World Championship in March 1963:

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"Sometime before the 1963 World Championship he was injured and, notting hitting his form in time for the tournament, he missed out on Stockholm. We were vividly aware of the absence of our captain. Yes, us Spartak players wouldn't have been on the ice with him anyway, we played on a different forward line. But Loktev had such a deep and fine understanding of the game, knew exactly when and what to tell his teammates and was able to hit the right tone, that he was a man simply irreplaceable on the bench."

Незадолго до первенства мира 1963 года он получил травму, перед чемпионатом был не в форме, и в Стокгольм не попал. Мы там остро ощущали отсутствие своего капитана. Правда, нам, спартаковцам, все равно не пришлось бы выходить с ним на поле: мы играли в разных тройках. Но Локтев так глубоко и тонко понимал игру, настолько точно знал, когда и что подсказать партнерам, умел выбрать при этом такой верный тон, что и на скамье запасных он был человеком просто незаменимым.

His Game:

Quote:
Nikolay Sologubov:

"If offensive skill is measured by the sum of scoring points, pucks won, goals scored and passes completed (...) then the palm belongs to Loktev, this 'think tank' among the CSKA forwards. A bold and courageous player well-endowed with a rich set of technical skills and a fine tactican – that's Konstantin Loktev, Merited Master of Sports."

Если бы мастерство нападающего определялось суммой очков, полученных им и за заброшенные шайбы и за точные передачи (...), уверен: пальма первенства досталась бы Локтеву, этому «мозговому центру» нападающих ЦСКА. Смелый, мужественный хоккеист, великолепно владеющий богатым набором технических приемов, тонкий тактик — таков заслуженный мастер спорта Константин Локтев.

Russian great Firsov explaining how hard Loktev worked and his selflessness/passing abilities. Seemed to be the outright brains of the famed top line in the 60's

Quote:
Anatoly Firsov:

"Konstantin did a lot of the heavy work, he was everywhere on the ice, but at the same time he was the chief designer of the trio, the conductor and the supervisor who 'kept all the threads of the conspiracy in his hands'. He was an excellent stickhandler and a terrific skater and no defenceman would handle him one against one. And since Loktev kept not one but two opponents occupied, he thus created space for Almetov. He loved to pass. He thought of it as the most exciting thing in hockey. He wasn't eager for goals and for glory. How many times could Konstantin have scored easily and without interference but if there was a linemate close he made sure to give him the puck, so that his comrade was the one who achieved success. (...) In the most passionate fight, in the battle for the puck, he still managed to keep track of all movements of his linemates."

Костя выполнял на площадке громадную черновую работу, он успевал всюду, но – одновременно – был главным конструктором тройки, дирижером, диспетчером, «державшим в своим руках все нити заговора». У Константина был отличный дриблинг, великолепная обводка, и не находилось опекуна, который справился бы с ним в одиночку. И потому Локтев отвлекал на себя не одного, а двух соперников, и тем самым освобождался простор для Альметова. Любил играть в пас. Считал, что это самое интересное в хоккее. К голам, к славе не рвался. Сколько раз Костя мог спокойно, без помехи поражать ворота соперника, но, если был рядом партнер, он обязательно отдавал ему шайбу, чтобы успеха добился товарищ. (...) В самой горячей схватке, борясь за шайбу, он успевал уследить за всеми перемещениями партнеров.

More evidence of heavy workload Loktev carried as well as his passion and relentless work ethic

Quote:
Anatoly Tarasov (1968):

"Loktev stands out through his passion and indefatigably, his large radius of action and the enormous workload he shoulders. He doesn't spare himself and goes all out in order to help his team as much as he can in every single game. (...) He plays a very original game. He holds his stick at arm's length and leads the puck far out in front of him, thereby quite often provoking the enemy 'to come and get it'. The opponent thinks he can easily give him a body check, that Loktev will not be able to sidestep out of the way because the puck is way out in front, he won't be able to make a feint. But right at the last split second, in some fantastic way Loktev twists out of the way, picks up the puck again and zeroes in on the net, leaving a perplexed defenceman behind him, still not realizing what happened."

Note: The second passage is from "Road to Olympus" again.

Но Локтев выделялся своей страстностью и неутомимостью, большим радиусом действий и значительным объемом работы. Он не щадил себя и в каждой встрече стремился играть с полной отдачей сил – так, чтобы принести команде наибольшую пользу. (...) Играл довольно своеобразно. Клюшку держал в вытянутой руке, шайба далеко впереди. Тем самым он как бы провоцировал соперника. Тому кажется, что Локтева легко поймать на корпус, с ним легко столкнуться. Он не успеет увернуться: ведь шайба далеко, обманный финт сделать невозможно. И все-таки в самое последнее мгновение каким-то совершенно непостижимым образом Локтев уходил в сторону и мчался к воротам, оставив сзади растерянного защитника, так и не понявшего, что же произошло.

Even more evidence that Loktev was the straw that stirred the drink for the top line

Quote:
Leonid Goryanov:

"If you saw Loktev from the stands, you thought he may be a worse player than his linemates. He lacked the elegance of Aleksandrov or the coolness of Almetov. But everybody who understands hockey could see how great his impact on his line's strength and power was."

С трибун Локтев, быть может, смотрелся иногда хуже своих партнеров— ему не хватало подчеркнутой элегантности Александрова или величавого спокойствия Альметова. Но тот, кто по-настоящему разбирался в хоккее, прекрасно видел, сколь велик вклад этого спортмена в общую силу и мощь своего звена.

Another great, Starshinov explaining Loktev being the heart of the line and doing the heavy lifting all over the ice.

Quote:
Vyacheslav Starshinov:

"Konstantin Loktev was without doubt the heart and brain of the Almetov line. On his shoulders laid the bulk of the unspectacular prep work for the team. This distribution of roles was natural on a line where the two other aces weren't fond of that work while Loktev loved it and knew how to do it. Konstantin stood out through his inexhaustible enthusiasm and cheerful optimism. He was the oldest player on that line, but he always seemed to me as if he was the youngest. He was by nature a cheerful person. I can't for the life of mine remember I have ever seen him discouraged."

Мозгом и душой альметовской тройки был, несомненно, Константин Локтев. На его плечи ложилась основная часть подготовительной, собирательной, неэффектной работы. Это распределение ролей было органпчным для звена, где два других аса недолюбливали как раз то, что любил и умел делать Локтев. Константина отличал неиссякаемый энтузиазм и светлый игровой оптимизм. Он был самым старшим в звене, но всегда казался мне самым молодым. Душевный, веселый человек. Пытаюсь припомнить... нет, не могу вспомнить... Не видел я его унывающим!..

Through the late 60's can we argue that Loktev was the greatest RW in Soviet History?

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"I reckon that he was the best right winger in the history of our hockey."

Думаю, что это был лучший правый край за всю историю нашего хоккея.

Comeback in the second half of the 1966-1967 season:

Quote:
Boris Mayorov:

"Six months later he returned to CSKA Moscow for a few games. He came back because his team was in trouble and needed his help. He was out of shape after a long break, the players and coaches knew it, but they believed, and not without reason, that the mere presence of Loktev on the ice would be enough to infuse new strength to the team."

Спустя полгода он вернулся в ЦСКА на несколько матчей. Вернулся потому, что его команда оказалась в трудном положении и нуждалась в его помощи. Он был не в форме после долгого перерыва, игроки и тренеры это знали, но они считали — и не зря, — что уже само по себе присутствия Кости Локтева на поле достаточно, чтобы вдохнуть в команду новые силы.

Quote:
Anatoly Firsov:

"We asked him to come back when we were going trough a difficult time, but... Loktev tried very hard, he really wanted to help his team, but several months had passed since Konstantin's ceremonial retirement and now it was impossible for him to make up for it."

Он страстно хотел помочь своей команде. Но перерыв в игре сказался – прошло несколько месяцев с того дня, как мы торжественно проводили Константина, и теперь наверстать упущенное было невозможно.

Final Thoughts:


Loktev seems like a guy who is quite underrated. TBC

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Dale Hunter, C

Selke Trophy voting: 7th (1982), 7th (1984), 11th (1996), 12th (1990), 13th (1997), scant voting four other seasons

1x NHL All-Star Game (1997)

Captain of Capitals 1995-1999

Could be Nordiques' next genuine superstar...is he tough enough? You bet he is: 226 penalty minutes...Strong as an ox

Player you hate to play against...Player you love to have on your team...Chippy, dirty and smart-alecky...Likes to frustrate opponents...Thinks elbow is part of his equipment so he uses it...Nevertheless, is smart and valuable...A real comer...Always plays against best centers...Small, but don't let that fool you...Will occasionally use his stick even to score goals.

Strong, compact center who can hit and take hits as well as any forward in NHL...Plays a physical game and is quick to fight when he's angered by an opponent...

Stocky, compact, rock-hard center...Likes the rough going and plays a rugged, physical game...Often an instigator whose actions lead to fights or overly aggressive play...Plays with the tenacity of a bulldog...Good defensive forward...

A grinder who gets results the old-fashioned way - by hard work...Tough, two-fisted approach to hockey has resulted in 1,145 penalty minutes in first five NHL seasons...Durable player who has missed playing in only three games (a suspension) in five NHL seasons...Strong forechecker...Good play-making center not afraid to take a hit to make a play...Willing to give and take considerable body contact...Plays with super-charged emotion.

Had best goal-scoring season with 28 and kept up with his rambunctious play, totaling 265 penalty minutes...Like his brothers...he's a physical catalyst...A player who gives everything he's got, a favorite of Michel Bergeron...Top-notch forechecker...Will take the hit to make the play...An iron man, he's missed only three games in his career...A well-rounded player, he does many things well, both offensively and defensively...Always sought-after by other teams...

Broken leg suffered Nov. 25 limited him to 46 games all season...Required surgery on lower fibula...An instigator in front of the net, he is a master at cashing in on rebounds...

The Finesse Game
Hunter can skate and is generally underrated in assessment of his finesse skills. He has good speed and is very strong on his skates and can pass the puck fairly well. He is an excellent forechecker.

The Physical Game
Hunter is a very physical player and he is an instigator. He loves to throw his elbows into the opposition along the boards and he hits a lot. Hunter has excellent upper-body strength and that helps him in his battles along the boards.

He works around the net and can do so because of his upper body strength (that pulls the puck out of traffic) and his strength on his skates (that keeps him vertical for the plays).

Hunter is also a good fighter and he earns some extra space for himself on the ice by being a physical player. But he is durable and doesn't often pay a physical price for his hitting.

The Intangibles
A leader for Quebec in many ways. He is a hard worker and an excellent team man, willing to do whatever is necessary to win. He is a disturber and he fires up his team with his antics.

Berger
Dale Hunter is a pain in the butt for the opposition, but a very important man for the Nordiques. He has to be checked closely.

The Intangibles
Hunter is one of the League's premier disturbers, an instigator of the first order. But he is also a gutsy, determined leader. He plays with tons of heart and character and is an excellent team man, willing to do whatever is necessary to win.

The Finesse Game
Hidden beneath his gruff game style, Hunter demonstrates a fine mind for playreading and a good dollop of hockey sense. That sense is what makes him one of the NHL's most underrated - if not the most - forechecker (of course, his chippy style does tend to divert attention from his skills).

Hunter uses his good skating ability (good speed, very good balance and strength) in conjunction with that hockey sense to see the opening the opposition would like to exploit, and to then close them. He uses his balance and strength when hitting to drive through his checks and to remain upright after collisions, and he also uses his balance to plug the front of the net.

Hunter can also make some plays because of his vision and anticipation, and it is those "invisible" abilities rather than his physical finesse skills (he doesn't have the greatest hands) that allow him to get the puck to his teammates.

The Physical Game
Tough and sometimes dirty play - and the willing to play that way at all times - is what characterizes Hunter's NHL strength. Though lacking great size, Hunter will get in a corner and dig the puck out against anyone regardless of size or reputation.

He hits a lot, sacrifices his body by frequently blocking shots and just may be the NHL's top pest. His penalty minutes are not of the gentle (trip, hold) variety, he uses his stick and elbows with impunity, run goalies, and rarely backs up his actions with his fists.

He is also an outstanding faceoff man.

The Intangibles
If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him you love him. Hunter is a fierce competitor and an excellent team man, always playing with heart and guts. Like Bobby Clarke, Hunter does whatever is necessary to win - making him a very important ingredient in any Capitals success.

The Finesse Game
Hunter is extremely alert away from the puck, especially in the defensive zone. He does not leave his position to charge after it unless he thinks he can win it. Moreover, he will secure a teammate's checking responsibility until that teammate can regain position. And on faceoffs, Hunter has no peers in the Washington dressing room - a factor which makes him a critical component on special teams.

The Intanibles
Hunter is a guy you want on your side. He will get your whole team made at him. He will get your whole family mad at him. He will cheap shot any opponent when the chips are on the line and his team needs to win. Let the moralists debate his methods; there is no doubting his ability to lift his team's heart and confidence and hope.

The Finesse Game
So much of Hunter's reputation deals with his physical game that his smarts away from the puck too often go under-recognized. Hunter knows so well that a center's job is more than winning face-offs and making passes; a center is obliged to create space for his teammates, and Hunter is among the craftiest in the league at doing so.

Hunter will make a pass at the center of the blue line and generally do either of two things: he will drive directly to the net, taking at least one defenseman with him, mushing everything in front of the goalie and causing any amount of distraction in front. Or he will curl to open ice, his stick on the ice and available immediately for a return pass, and find another way to set a screen on the goalie or a 'legal' pick on a defenseman.

The Finesse Game
Hunter is a complete player. At this stage of his career, he should have settled into a nice role-playing position. Instead, the Caps need him just about full time to wake up their moribund forwards and add zest to the team.

Hunter is canny. He is a crafty player, especially down low...Hunter is digging in down deep, setting screens and picks, and driving to the net.

Hunter is skilled on face-offs...He is without question the team's on-ice leader.

The Physical Game
Hunter knows only one way to play the game. He gets shots in, hits, harasses and does whatever it takes to win...The size of the opponent doesn't matter to him.

The Intangibles
Early in Hunter's career, furious opponents would always mutter that someday someone would "get" Hunter. Well, 13 seasons later, someone finally did, but it wasn't an irate recipient of a high stick but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Bettman slammed Hunter with a 21-game suspension for his cheap shot in the 1993 playoffs that separated the shoulder of Islanders' star Pierre Turgeon, and that cost Hunter the first quarter of the season. It was ironic that two games after Hunter's return, he was nailed by a questionable check by New York Rangers' winger Alexei Kovalev and missed another 10 games.

The layoff hurt Hunter physically, but he was just as obnoxious and intense upon his return.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

LW/C Don Marshall

(credit to TDMM's bio and research by Sturminator)

A lot of adjectives describe Donny Marshall as a player - tireless, consistent, clean, hard-working - but one word describes him best - winner.

- 2nd Team All-Star (to Bobby Hull) in 1967
- 7 Time All Star Game participant (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 68).
- Finished second in a 1965 coaches pull (after Bob Pulford) for the Best Penalty Killer in the league. Only Pulford and Marshall received votes. Source

As a member of the Rangers, he was given more responsibilities and was able to reach Top 15 in goals 3 times, all while maintaining his status as one of the elite PKers of the league.
- 3 Times Top 15 in goals (11, 14, 14)
- 2 Times Top 20 in points (15, 17)

-Won 5 Cups in a row as a defensive specialist (56, 57, 58, 59, 60)

He was a key part of the trade that brought Gump Worsley to Montreal.

Midway into the 1954-55 campaign, the Canadiens summoned him to join their ranks. The problem the winger faced, however, was that the Habs were already thoroughly stocked with offensively skilled forwards. As such, Marshall's new role would be defensive in nature, an assignment he disliked although he never complained openly.

Instead, he toiled quietly, polishing his defensive tactics to the extent that he became one of the league's premier penalty killers. As payment for his adaptation, he enjoyed a record five-straight Stanley Cup victories between 1956 and 1960.

Though he had the skills to be a front line player, Marshall never once complained about taking a checking role on the great Montreal Canadiens teams of the 1950s that won 5 consecutive Stanley Cups. A swift skater who would never allow himself to be outworked, Marshall was extremely consistent. He was also a very clean player, accumulating only 127 penalty minutes in just shy of 1200 games! His highest single season PIM total was just 14 minutes....

Marshall quietly worked on the third and fourth line as a defensive checker and penalty killer. His thankless work was a big part of the Habs success.

The Montreal Gazette - Sep 20, 1960:

xxxx, Donnie Marshall and xxxx signed 1960 contracts with Montreal Canadiens yesterday, the first announced this season by the National Hockey League club bidding for a sixth consecutive Stanley Cup.

No terms were disclosed. Centre xxxx had his best season last year scoring 21 goals. Marshall, a player who can fill in at any forward position and one of the league's ace defensive specialists, counted 16. xxxx had 12.

The Ottawa Citizen - Feb 16, 1961:

Every now and then Don Marshall, the quiet man of Montreal Canadiens, chooses to remind people that he is still one of the smartest players in the National Hockey League, and one of the most valuable.

The 28-year-old centre is one of the league's few players who can do everything well. Canadiens, because they have an abundance of scoring power from other players, usually use Marshall to kill penalties.

Thursday night Marshall broke the monotony, scoring three goals and setting up another as the pride-stung Canadiens, fighting to regain first place from Toronto Maple Leafs, demolished Boston Bruins 9-1.

The Ottawa Citizen - Mar 11, 1961:

Pound for pound (in this case 165 of them), Don Marshall rates among the most valuable pieces of hockey machinery in the modern Big Time. Even among the upper-bracket stars of Montreal Canadiens, with whom his name is five times inscribed on the Stanley Cup, he has no difficulty holding his own.

Recognized as the best penalty-killer in the National Hockey League, he is actually listed as a centre yet has appeared impressively on both wings in moments of emergency. Coach "Toe" Blake puts it this way: "To get up and stay up, every major team must have a Marshally - he could scale peaks on one 'set' line, but we get more mileage out of him this way and Don is a team man."

...

Don was pushed into the penalty-killing business and soon had the management - and fans - delighted as he refused to take the easy way by icing the puck. Instead he would hold it as long as possible and pass it to a mate (even one to the rear) when pressure got intense.

Mishaps to team mates such as the Rocket and "Boom Boom" Geoffrion saw him frequently brought up to the offensive department, and Marshall looked as though he'd never left the attack.

Montreal Gazette - Mar 26, 1986:

He made the all-star team only once in the 18 years he graced the National Hockey League, and it was the second team at that. He was never among the top 10 scorers, and he never won an individual trophy. But he is among a very exclusive club of a dozen Canadiens whose name appears on the Stanley Cup for five consecutive years: 1956-60.

Had the NHL kept records on penalty-killing efficiency, Donnie Marshall's name probably would head the list today.

...

During the nine years he played for the Canadiens, Marshall (No. 22) was considered the slickest penalty killer in the NHL. "He was an excellent, excellent penalty killer," recalls Sam Pollack, who coached Marshall throughout his junior years with the junior Canadiens and followed his NHL career just as closely.

"He was a smooth, skillful player; a real top-quality player. Not only was he very smart, but he was great defensively as well as offensively, and that was unusual for a junior player," Pollack added.

Teammate Dickie Moore, one of those select dozen who won five Cups in a row, remembers Marshall as "one of the smoothest players I've ever seen. Everything about him looked casual, but he was both clever and smooth. He was strictly a finesse player, and he had great anticipation of where the puck would be. That's what made him such a great penalty killer," Moore added.

Floyd Curry, the first to be teamed with Marshall as a penalty killer, also remembers Marshall "as a guy who played the game easily. He was very tricky with the puck; a very heady player who could anticipate where the puck was going to be."

Emile Francis: "...I played the **** out of Bob Nevin, Don Marshall, and Phil Goyette. Bob Nevin, Don Marshall killed all the penalties, they were always the three guys I had on the power play and I mean, I just wore them out… I wore the **** out of these guys because I knew I had to turn the team around but we had to get into the playoffs to turn the team around. And when you put Don Marshall and Bob Nevin out there to kill a penalty, I tell you they did a job. But then, usually like, you know, you may be just killed a penalty and the next thing you know the other team gets a penalty and you had to put those guys right back out on the power play.… Marshall and Nevin were the two best penalty killer.

Another successful checking line was dubbed "The Old Smoothies". This was a Ranger trio of Phil Goyette, Bob Nevin, and Don Marshall. They were together four years. Unlike Sanderson's line, which had more enthusiasm than experience,the smoothies did their job matter-of-factly, rarely rattled. They made few mistakes. Each of the players was accomplished defensively, and each plate is positioned perfectly. It wasn't an exciting line to watch, but it got the job done.

 

[jarek]

Cully Wilson, RW/C

Awards and Achievements:
2 x Stanley Cup Champion (1914, 1917)
PCHA Champion (1919)
WCHL Champion (1924)

PCHA First Team All-Star (1919)
WCHL Second Team All-Star (1924)

Scoring:
NHA Points – 6th(1915)
NHA Goals – 4th(1915)
NHA Assists – 4th(1915)

PCHA Points – 6th(1916), 5th(1918)
PCHA Goals – 6th(1916), 5th(1918)
PCHA Assists – 5th(1916), 3rd(1918)

NHL Points – 7th(1920), 9th(1923)
NHL Goals – 8th(1920), 7th(1923)
NHL Assists – 9th(1922)

WCHL Points – 7th(1924), 7th(1925)
WCHL Goals – 6th(1924), 8th(1925)
WCHL Assists – 8th(1924), 9th(1925)

He was also a great play-off performer:
- Led Toronto with 3 goals in the 1914 Finals
- Led Seattle with 4 assists in the 1917 Finals
- Led Calgary with 5 goals in the 1924 Finals

Originally posted by Ultimate Hockey
“Carol "Cully" Wilson was the Left Coast's answer to Joe Hall. Wilson was a mean, moon-faced goblin of a man who specialized in running star players.”

Dirtiest Player Of The 1910's
Most Hated Player Of The 1910's

Originally posted by Legends of Hockey
“He was a talented goal scorer who also attained success in the PCHA, NHA, minors and senior leagues.”

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup
”One of the bad men of hockey, who although an excellent player always seemed to be embroiled in fisticuffs or stick swinging duels... did not back away from the biggest players in the game... fiery... very prominent with the Metropolitans for four years... Cully was again in a cup series against Canadiens. He managed to check Morenz in such a way that the Canadien star was injured and put out of action. However, no penalty was awarded as it was probably not deliberate (or it was clean).”

Despite Wilson's obvious propensity to mix it up, he was considered a star and teams wanted him:

Montreal Gazette - November 1st, 1912

Wilson is credited with being one of the best wing players in the game last year in Winnipeg.

Ottawa Citizen - November 26th, 1912

Cully Wilson, star wing player

Toronto World - December 7th, 1912

Cully Wilson, the Winnipeg star, that the Torontos have signed for right wing

Toronto World - December 25th, 1912

The former team will hardly be as strong as last season thru the loss of Cully Wilson, who is with the Toronto professional team this winter.

Prescot Journal Miner - January 1st, 1920

One star, "Cully" Wilson, will be missing, Wilson has signed with Toronto's club of the National Hockey League.

Montreal Gazette - March 9th, 1921

The Toronto and Canadien clubs went to the mat, so to speak, over the Wilson case, in connection with which Ottawa and Hamilton remained neutral. George Kennedy claimed that he had been given the services of Wilson for the second-half, but Toronto fought for Wilson, and declared that his transfer to Canadiens was certainly subject to recall.

Some info about his pugnacity:

Ottawa Citizen - April 7th, 1961

For sheer damage wrought, Newsy rates the Lindsay demonstration only with that inflicted on Cully Wilson (later Toronto St. Pats) by the late Dick Irvin (in Hall of Fame as a player) one night in Calgary where Cully reigned as the terror of Western hockey.
"Cully had cross-checked Irvin's lower teeth right into his tongue." relates Newsy, "and was handed a major penalty. But that wasn't enough in Dick's opinion. Dick manoeuvred near enough to the penalty box to pole-axe the sitting Cully unconscious. Cully had enough stitches to weave an Indian blanket."
Because of more successful fisticuffing Cully goes on Newsy's second line - as centre.

Toronto World - December 18, 1915

A Vancouver despatch says: As a sequel to the fistic battle which was staged between Cully Wilson, who had the reputation of being the "bad man" of hockey in the east last season, and Eddie Oatman in Seattle Thurdsay night, a warning to the players in question went out from the office of President Frank Patrick that a repetition of such a scene would bring down a suspension, with the possibility of a more drastic penalty.

...

Wilson of the Seattle Club and Oatman of Portland collided shortly after the opening of the final period, both being sent off for 15 minutes each and fined. Several stitches were necessary to repair Wilson's anatomy and Oatman's head.

Pittsburgh Press - January 12th, 1916

This stitch-map of Cully Wilson's face indicates some of the hazards to which hockey players expose themselves. Wilson is one of the Seattle Metropolitan stars, leading the P.C.H.A. He has been cut so often by wild swings of opponents' clubs that the doctors have put 50 stitches in his face to keep him looking respectable. On the back of his head, in addition, Wilson has had so many wounds sewed up that it's too lopsided to wear a hat.

Ottawa Citizen - Febuary 3rd, 1927

"Cully" Wilson comes in for special mention from Ottawa hockey critics. The fiery little blonde who once earned himself the reputation of being the "Bad Man" of both the Pacific Coast League and the Eastern circuit, has never been particularly noted for his diplomacy in avoiding trouble, but he is a game one who has no respect for age, weight nor experience. A year ago, a news despatch conveyed the information that Cully had just about won the sewing championship title, owing to the fact that at that time he had no less than 78 stitches in his face and head! These were collected in various arenas in combat with various teams over the fifteen-year period that Cully has been doing his stuff. Wilson has been in monied ranks since he joined Toronto in the winter of 1912-13, and since then has played on seven different teams. He still has plenty of hockey ability left and is a valuable member of the Chicago teams.

Toronto Sunday World - March 16th, 1914

Cully Wilson did some nice work and gave several of the big westerners unexpected body-checks that did not agree with them.

Ottawa Citizen - December 10th, 1926

Cully Wilson, turbulent center iceman of the Black Hawks

This is the only reference I could find to his skating ability:

Ottawa Citizen - March 28th, 1917

I have never in all my hockey career seen anything to excel the speed which Morris, Foyston, Walker and Wilson showed last night.

He did seem to have some issues with endurance.

Toronto Sunday World - December 26th, 1912

Cully Wilson is small, but game, every inch, and was good in the early part of the game. He tired badly several times, but it was the lack of condition, and he will be a star before the season is over.

Toronto World - November 23rd, 1915

Wilson states that his decision to come west was influenced by the fact that the Coast League plays seven-man hockey and has a proper penalty system, and that a player has plenty of rest between games, thereby keeping himself in better playing condition and conserving his vitality for future years. Wilson looks to be in good shape and ready to repeat his sensational work of last year.

And some more quotes, courtesy of JFA87-66-99:

Cully Wilson had a great game in the deciding match of the 1914 finals for Toronto:

Originally posted by Toronto Star 1914 Cup Finals
”When it comes to calling stars, little Cully Wilson cannot be well overlooked for he did some clever work...”

And he was VERY prominent in the 1919 season and especially the playoffs:

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup Vol. 1, 1919 Season
”Cully Wilson had become the bad man of the league and was ready to mix it up with anybody.

Tempers ran high when these teams met and the climax came February 26th at Seattle. Cully Wilson was carrying a chip on his shoulder and tangled with everybody. He picked Mickey MacKay for a vicious crosscheck that resulted in a compound fracture of the jaw for the clean playing Vancouver rover. Wilson was assessed $50 and a match penalty. In the game at Vancouver a week later, Wilson skated over to the press box to shake hands with MacKay, who was out for the season.”

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup Vol. 1
”the Mets, led by Foyston and Wilson, swamped the millionaires. Frank Foyston was the star and bad boy Wilson played a good game.”

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup Vol. 1, 1919 Cup Finals, PCHA Playoffs, Game 2
”The fans gave Wilson a good going over but he played steady hockey and stayed out of trouble.”

Originally Posted By Trail Of The Stanley Cup, 1919 Cup Finals, Game 3
Cully Wilson was resuming his usual tough play and made goaler Vezina a target.

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1919 Cup Finals, Game 4
”Joe Hall and Cully Wilson kept the game nicely spiced with their rough play. Hall was picking on Walker while Wilson, as usual, took on everybody.”

He had a very positive effect on Montreal in the 1921 season: (they were 6-7 pre-Cully Wilson and 7-4 after he arrived)

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1920 Season
"After a poor start, Montreal got Cully Wilson from Toronto and made a better showing in the second half of the schedule.”

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup Vol. 1, 1924 WCHL Final, Game 2
”… Veterans Rusty Crawford and Cully Wilson shone on the forward line…”

More details about the (assumedly clean) check that put Morenz out of the 1924 finals:

Originally posted by the Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1924 WCHL Final, Game 2
”Morenz was hurt about halfway through when hit by Cully Wilson, who got no penalty from referee Art Ross. Morenz had the ligaments of his left shoulder torn and the collarbone chipped.”

He was not just a tough little player either - He had skill. First result in a NY Times search:

Originally posted by the New York Times, 12/16/1926
”Hay added another marker in the second period following a pretty piece of work by Cully Wilson, who worked the disk through the entire Ranger team and then passed to Hay directly in front of the net, the latter scoring.”

 

[tony d]

Defenseman Eric Desjardins

Pic courtesy of a google image search

Stats and personal info courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: D ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-1 (185 cm)
Weight: 205 lbs. (93 kg)

Born: June 14, 1969 (Age 46.257) in Rouyn, Quebec

- 5 top 10 Norris finishes
- 2 time post season all star
- 3 time regular season all star
- 58 career power play goals
- 575 points in 1143 career games

Legends of Hockey:

The 1992-93 season still stands out in the mind of Eric Desjardins as the Canadiens surprised most hockey pundits by winning another Stanley Cup, this time a five-game finals victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Desjardins was a major offensive contributor to the championship, scoring 14 points in 20 games. Individually, game five of that series stands out as the best memory of his career as he scored all three Montreal goals in a 3-2 overtime win.

In 1998 Desjardins was one of seven defenceman chosen to wear Canada's colors at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Joe Pelletier:

Desjardins had good size at 6'1" and 205lbs, but he never played an overly physical game, perhaps making him less noticeable to the casual observer and easy to under-appreciate. Instead he relied on near perfect positioning and an active stick to check effectively. He was not thunderously noticeable, but he was efficient. He was clean and controlled, never panicked and rarely took a bad penalty.

He was as cool as a cucumber while under pressure in his own zone. He was excellent at head-manning the puck out of the zone and capable of handling (not necessarily rushing) the puck out himself.

On offense he was a power play quarter back, a rare right-handed one at that. Like Raymond Bourque he had a low, heavy slap shot that somehow always found it's way from the point on to the net, creating countless opportunities for rebounds and deflections.

Final thoughts:

Glad to have Desjardins, the guy is someone I've wanted to draft for yrs., glad to have him.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Viktor Kuzkin, D

(credit to TDMM's bio and research by Sturminator)
2x Soviet League 1st AST (1965, 1971)
4x Soviet League 2nd AST (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969)
13x Soviet League champion - a record number shared with Tretiak

-3 Olympic Gold Medals (one of only 6 hockey players to have 3)
-8 Gold Medals at the World Championships
-Captain of the Soviet Team between Mayorov and Mikhailov, including the Summit Series
-Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2005.

-70 goals in 530 Soviet League games
-18 goals in 169 international games

Soviet League AST record compared to other Soviet defenders

|1st|2nd|3rd|First Year|Last Year
Alexander Ragulin|9|0|2|1961|1973
Vitali Davydov|6|2|0|1962|1971
Viktor Kuzkin|2|4|0|1965|1971
Eduard Ivanov|3|1|1|1963|1967
Gennady Tsygankov|0|2|0|1971|1973
Yuri Liapkin|0|0|1|1973|1973|1973
Alexander Gusev|0|1|0|1973|1973

We have 1st through 3rd AST teams from 1966 to 1969 and 1971 to 1973. In 1970 we only have 1st Teams (the only year we don't have a result for Kuzkin from 1965-1971).

Based on this data, I'd say Kuzkin was the third strongest Soviet defender of his generation (behind Ragulin and Davydov) and clearly better than some of the defenders of the next generation who also participated in the Summit Series.

Kuzkin lacked the incredible physical strength which belonged to, say, Alexander Ragulin, but on the ice his modest size and medium-level constitution were balanced by great passion and amazing courage. In football, such tenacious, fearless defenders are often called "bull terriers", but to the list of Kuzkin's merits (unlike many players) we must also add inner peace, and an absolute rejection of brutality in the sport.

On the ice, he was notable for his outstanding speed and excellent skating. Beating this defender was extremely difficult, and when paired with the like-minded homebody Davydov, our opponents had no chance to get in on goal. Kuzkin never strayed from his position, nor made unnecessary movements. This, incidentally, was his credo.

http://www.championat.com/hockey/article-59306.html

Viktor Kuzkin was a steady defenseman. He assisted on Blinov's goal that started a the Russian's 5-goal third period comeback in game number 5.

Kuzkin, a legendary figure in Soviet hockey history, served as team captain in this series.

"As captain, my job was to inspire my teammates both on the ice and off," he said. "But in this series, that wasn't necessary. Everyone understood we were playing the most important tournament of our lives."

http://www.1972summitseries.com/kuzkin.html

Kuzkin began his hockey career as a center forward which helped him to become a successful scoring blueliner with a slick puck handling and skating skills. He became famous for his strong positional hockey skills and ability to lead his team in following the tactical game plan. The Soviet defense pair Kuzkin - Davydov was arguably one of the best in the Soviet hockey history.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Ivan Hlinka, C

(credit to Hawkey Town18's bio and research from DN28, VMBM, Robert Gordon Orr, and Sturminator)

Czech League Career Regular Season
544GP – 348G – 332A – 680Pts

Czech League Top 10’s
Top-10 Scoring: 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 8th
Top-10 Goals: 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 6th, 6th, 6th, 8th
Top-10 Assists: 1st, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 7th, 9th

Top 10’s Czech Golden Hockey Stick (non-forwards in italics)
- 1971: 8th (1st on Team, 5th among forwards, behind Pospisil, Suchy, Nedomansky, Cerny, Holecek, Farda, Ji. Holik)
- 1972: 9th: (1st on Team, 6th among forwards, behind Pospisil, Ja. Holik, Dzurilla, Nedomansky, Holecek, Ji. Holik, Martinec, Kochta)
- 1973: None
- 1974: 4th (1st on Team, 3rd among forwards, behind Holecek, Ji. Holik, Martinec)
- 1975: 8th (1st on Team, 4th among forwards, behind Martinec, Holecek, Ji. Holik, Novy, Pospisil, Machac, Dvorak)
- 1976: 4th (1st on Team, 3rd among forwards, behind Martinec, Holecek, Novy)
- 1977: 2nd (1st on Team, 2nd among forwards, behind Novy)
- 1978: 1st
- 1979: 7th (1st on Team, 4th among forwards, behind Martinec, M. Stastny, Bubla, Kralik, Sakac, P. Stastny)
- 1980: None
- 1981: 7th (1st on Team, 6th among forwards, behind Novy, Dvorak, Lala, Kokrment, Pouzar, Martinec)

Czech Golden Hockey Stick Summary
Overall Finishes: 1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9
Finishes Among Forwards: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6

Czech National Team: 1970-79, 1981
Czech National Team Captain: 1977-80

Canada Cup
1x Silver: 1976
7GP – 2G – 2A – 4Pts

Olympics
1x Silver: 1976
1x Bronze: 1972
11GP – 8G – 6A – 14Pts

World Championships
3x Gold: 1972, 1976, 1977
5x Silver: 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979
1x Bronze: 1973
89GP – 42G – 43A – 85Pts

5x Top 10 WC Scoring: 2nd (1978), 3rd (1976), 4th (1974), 7th (1979), 10th (1977)
1x WC AST (1978)

On the ice, Hlinka's excellent physique and great stickhandling often led him to generate his own plays, but he could also work well with his teammates to create opportunities. A natural leader, he gave the play purpose. He was an infallible scorer with his wrist shot and a master of both long and short passes. With the exception of a six-month contract he signed with Dukla Trencin in 1978 that lasted until the 1980-81 season, Hlinka played almost exclusively for Litvinov from the age of nine on. Even at the end of 1986-87, when the team sank to near the bottom of the standings, he briefly returned to the ice. He took part in 11 World Championships, two Olympics and the 1976 Canada Cup with the national team. In 1978 he won the Golden Stick Award as the country's most valuable player.

Achieved legendary status both as a hockey player and coach on international level. Was a very skilled elite player with good balance and strength, mastered exceptional counter attacks.

When Litvinov played in western Europe in the 70s, the club was presented also like this: 'Hlinka & Litvinov'

Nobody else affected the way a club was being ran during their active career and afterward like Ivan Hlinka did.
...
In a league debut under coach Planička fourth December 1966, ie nearly 17 years. His career closely supervised official, club and later coach Ivan Hlinka father Josef.

Already in 21 years, Ivan became the captain of the "A" team. Soon they called him into the first selection of the country. He became a three-time world champion (1972, 76 and 77).

In Litvinov is still holds many club records (see Landmarks). The first Czechoslovak player along with George ceded Bubla in the Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver jersey in the NHL. After two seasons also went to two years in Zug, Switzerland.

An exceptional individual, leader and the linchpin of the team, with the ability to rouse his teammates and decide the games. An unmistakable figure, style of skating, puck carrying, and stickhandling.

http://www.hokej-litvinov.cz/zobraz.asp?t=zaslouzili-hraci

It´s true that while Holik has longevity and defensive play, Hlinka had immense leadership qualities. He was a natural leader right from the beginning of his career, became captain of Litvínov when he was just 20 years old, became captain of national team after Pospisil in 1978. And his best WC was probably right in Prague 1978 when Czechoslovaks tried to win 3x in row. All-star center and 2nd best in overall scoring when he was just named as a captain proves that Hlinka was the kind of player who thrived under pressure.

He was also leader in next WC finishing 8th in overall scoring. IMO Hlinka, Pospisil and Zabrodsky are the best Czech trio of hockey leaders. Btw. both Hlinka´s and Zabrodsky´s nickname was "šéf" - the boss.

Karel Gut´s description from his encyclopedia:

"Outstanding center who became famous through an individual approach which was enabled to him by his physical disposition of well-built stature and excellent technique with the stick. Personality with a gift to overturn the game, able of creative cooperation. He controlled both technical and hard wrist shot."

Nice description from here:

"Another member of successful generation of 70s and at the same time representative of category 'boss'. Typical sportsman who pulls others up, hates to lose, encourages others. For ten years Litvínov was built on him, he took the role of captain after František Pospíšil in the national team yet. When things went down, it was Hlinka himself who could turn the game, break the adverse score. Not just with incitement, but also with an act: to score goal, assist on goal, or to create the key play.
He had an ideal high stature for a play of center, however, he was an awesome technician too and he managed to control the puck greatly even in speed. He scored goals, started up actions, could assert only by himself and creatively worked for team as well.

He worked his way up to life form in 1977. He then won a poll of Mladá fronta in a dominant way among all of ten voters. 'Why is he first? I´ll answer with rhetorical question: have we ever had such a forward in the past? said Mikoláš at the time (Josef Mikoláš - famous czech goalie in late 50s and 60s; DN28).
Not just the hockey skills decided in the Hockey player of century poll though. 'I have a thing for Ivan' admitted Karel Gut."

Indeed, both Suchy and Jiri Holik mentions him in their bios as he liked to control or direct everything right from his youth, when he started in national team in 1970 (he was 20 years old). Holik for example mentions that most of powerplay strategies were made up by Hlinka, not by coaches.

Hlinka was very strong in games against the Soviet Union
CSSR 70s stars vs USSR in major international competitions

|GP|PTS|PPG
Milan Novy|15|5+5|0.666
Vladimir Martinec|24|7+8|0.625
Ivan Hlinka|20|8+4|0.60
Jiri Holik|26|5+9|0.54
Vaclav Nedomansky|17|7+1|0.47

And - like I already mentioned elsewhere - it should be noted that even though he didn't score big numbers at the 1971 WHC, Hlinka actually got the 2nd most all-star votes of Team CSSR's forwards after Nedomansky. He was clearly considered one of the Czech stars in the tournament by the Swedish hockey yearbook Ã…rets ishockey 1971 too.

(...) But then it is the games against the Soviet Union that have always been special for Hlinka - if in regular games he is good, then against the Soviets he is brilliant. He is one of the players who indeed have the ability to get fired up in those games, just like Golonka and Jaroslav Holik before him. In Switzerland 1971, when most <players> on the team were injured in one way or another, the coaches put Hlinka on the ice - five seconds rest and back on! The tall kid almost cried when he collapsed on the bench out of sheer tiredness, but on the ice there was no trace of it.

As far as I know, there are no reports of the Soviets hurting Hlinka like they did to Martinec, but on the other hand, it is a little easier to brutalize a 5'9" player than a 6'2" player - and I think Hlinka was quite a bada** and would have reacted very nastily to that sort of thing (not that Martinec was a 'wussy' either).

There is also an interesting view by the color commentator Ken Dryden (yes, the goalie) during the 2nd game of the 1976 Canada Cup final:

The player that (...) is going to have to play better, if the Czechs are going to come back in this game, is Ivan Hlinka, who may be their best individual hockey player, and yet has not been a factor in this series or in the latter part of the tournament.

Hlinka's strong showing in the CSSR League came despite being on a very weak team
Hlinka was getting high scoring finishes and MVP results despite being on one of the bottom teams in the CSSR domestic league…

HC Litvinov never qualified for the playoffs during his entire career while some of his CSSR league rivals (particularly Novy) played on strong teams.

Hlinka's Team Compared to the other Big 3 CSSR Forwards (eliteprospects.com)

Year | Hlinka | Martinec | Novy | Nedomansky
1968 | 7 | 8 | DNP | 4
1969 | 8 | 4 | DNP | 3
1970 | 9 | 7 | DNP | 2
1971 | 8 | 6 | DNP | 4
1972 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2
1973 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3
1974 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 7
1975 | 4 | 2 | 1 | DNP
1976 | 11 | 2 | 1 | DNP
1977 | 9 | 4 | 1 | DNP
1978 | 2 | 7 | 1 | DNP
1979 | 5 | 6 | 4 | DNP
1980 | 11 | 10 | 1 | DNP
1981 | 5 | 7 | 3 | DNP

You can see in the comparison below that Hlinka was a better CSSR league producer than Martinec despite the difference in team strength

Season|Player|G|A|P|% of league #2|% of team #2
1967-68|Martinec|20|19|39|85|139
|Hlinka|15|14|29|63|100
1968-69|Martinec|22|1|29|56|116
|Hlinka|21|17|38|73|152
1969-70|Martinec|22|14|36|78|144
|Hlinka|17|17|34|74|110
1970-71|Martinec|20|19|39|85|???
|Hlinka|20|18|38|83|158
1971-72|Martinec|23|19|42|78|127
|Hlinka|31|23|54|100|159
1972-73|Martinec|26|23|49|107|120
|Hlinka|24|11|35|76|130
1973-74|Martinec|31|22|53|98|133
|Hlinka|27|27|54|100|135
1974-75|Martinec|27|18|45|66|85
|Hlinka|36|42|78|115|142
1975-76|Martinec|23|28|51|100|165
|Hlinka|23|18|43|84|134
1976-77|Martinec|28|21|49|66|96
|Hlinka|39|19|58|78|149
1977-78|Martinec|19|18|37|52|100
|Hlinka|32|39|71|100|127
1978-79|Martinec|42|20|62|100|**
|Hlinka|17|20|37|60|**
1979-80|Martinec|27|19|46|70|87
|Hlinka|14|16|30|44|71
1980-81|Martinec|21|22|43|69|105
|Hlinka|21|31|52|84|102

**Martinec and Hlinka both changed teams during the 1978-79 season

Vs2 totals:

Martinec|107|100|100|98|85|85|78|78|70|69|66|66|56|52
Hlinka|115|100|100|100|84|84|83|78|76|74|73|63|60|44

7-season Vs2 averages:
Martinec: 93.3
Hlinka: 95.1

10-season Vs2 averages:
Martinec: 87
Hlinka: 89.4

Hlinka's NHL career

I think the best compliment given to him was during his rookie season after a four point (2+2) night against the Boston Bruins, when newspapers wrote that his play looked like the return of Jean Beliveau. He also got positive remarks for his sound two-way play, quickly buying into the system.

Hlinka scored very well in the NHL among players his age despite adjusting to a new league/country
1981-82: (32 y/o) 72 games (23+37) / 60 points
- playoffs: 12 games (2+6) / 8 points
- overall: 84 games and 68 points

1982-83: (33 y/o) 65 games (19+44) / 63 points
- playoffs: 4 games (1+4) / 5 points
- overall: 69 games and 68 points
- from players that were of the same age or older, only Bobby Clarke scored more points than Hlinka in this season

Gilbert Perreault (born November 1950):
1981-82: 31-42-73 (62 GP)
1982-83: 30-46-76 (77 GP)
= 1.07 ppg

Bobby Clarke (born August 1949):
1981-82: 17-46-63 (62 GP)
1982-83: 23-62-85 (80 GP)
= 1.04 ppg

Darryl Sittler (born September 1950):
1981-82: 32-38-70 (73 GP)
1982-83: 43-40-83 (80 GP)
= 1.00 ppg

Ivan Hlinka (born January 1950):
1981-82: 23-37-60 (72 GP)
1982-83: 19-44-63 (65 GP)
= .90 ppg

Marc Tardif (born June 1949):
1981-82: 39-31-70 (75 GP)
1982-83: 21-31-52 (76 GP)
= .81 ppg

Rick MacLeish (born January 1950):
1981-82: 19-28-47 (74 GP)
1982-83: 0-5-5 (6 GP)
= .65 ppg

Reggie Leach (born April 1950):
1981-82: 26-21-47 (66 GP)
1982-83: 15-17-32 (78 GP)
= .55 ppg

Big, free-wheeling center who needed time to adjust to smaller NHL ice surfaces...Had 60 points and was effective on the power play...Studies coaching techniques at Prague University's Faculty of Sport.

The decision of veteran Czech forward Ivan Hlinka to return to Europe - he plans to coach in Switzerland - after two productive seasons with the Canucks doesn't help the cause. He had 63 points last season and worked well on the power play.

On Hlinka's adjustment to the NHL

In springtime, Hlinka blooms

â€There is a saying in Czechoslovakia,†says Ivan Hlinka, “It is that hockey will never be a rose garden. But then some times of year are better than others.â€

And best of all is spring. Spring is when the blossom comes to his native Bohemia and when a player of Hlinka’s class reaches out for the limits of his skill. Before it was world championships. Now it is the Stanley Cup, another stranger manifestation of North American hockey, something as odd as the ever-changing times zones and great stretches of an endless season which means nothing or next to nothing.

Hlinka is warming in the spring. His goals and his often sublime work on the ice Thursday night were another dimension to the extraordinary march of the Canucks.

Hlinka on several occasions has been called into the coaches room to study specific clips of film which in the opinion of the coaches told a story of much squandered talent…â€There was a feeling of disappointment,†says Smith. “We felt that Ivan was very much overestimating this league and underestimating his own potential to inflict himself. We listed some points he should think about, some things he could work on to improve his contributionâ€

They included:

More shooting. “His reluctance to shoot, considering his skill, was becoming a problem. He didn’t seem to have the confidence.â€

More urgency. “He needed to hurry it up when he didn’t have the puck. When another guy had the puck we felt he should be moving over 20 feet at a faster rate.â€

Increased willingness to carry the puck. “You saw him do it in wonderful bursts, like a locomotive on a curved track. But you wanted more. Now when the chips are down he is doing it. I heard him say the other day, ‘This is an interesting time of year.’â€

In the dressing room Thomas Gradin says. “Ivan is one of the older ones. Maybe it is showing now. He has so much skill, and it is wonderful for the team when it surfaces like that.â€

Hlinka is happy with his performance but insists, “I have played better than this in North America. But I admit it was a good game for me and it is true that the playoff hockey is more interesting for me. Back home the challenge, the big challenge, always came at this time of year. Naturally you lift yourself.[

“Sure it has been a big adjustment. You get told to shoot as often as you can from possible and impossible positions and you have to change all your thinking. In Czechoslovakia you carry the puck, you make goals, well, artistically. It is different here but then I didn’t come here to change Canadian hockey.â€

“Maybe the worst thing for me,†he says, “has been the time zones, the feeling of distance and that sometimes has made me tired.†In Czechoslovakia he has sat through day-long trips on a rattling team bus, but there was never the psychological dislocation. A big man from a small country, Hlinka may have been dwarfed by the sheer logistics of his new league.

The problem seems academic now. Milford is the spy who came in from the cold. And Hlinka, for the moment at least, is another rose in his lapel.

 

[rmartin65]

Mike Keenan

Born: October 1st, 1949, Bowmanville Ontario
NHL Record: 672-531-147 (.551) NHL Playoffs: 96-77 (.555)
4X Conference Champion (1984-85, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1993-94)
1X Stanley Cup Champion (1993-94)
1X Jack Adams Winner (1984-85)
KHL Record: 82-34-19
1X Gagarin Cup Champion
AHL Record: 116-98-26
1X Calder Cup Champion

6X Top 5 NHL GF (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95)
8X Top 10 NHL GF (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2008-09)
2X Number 1 NHL GA (1985-86, 1990-91)
6X Top 5 NHL GA (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1993-94)
7X Top 10 NHL GA (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1993-94)

“Playing for coach Mike Keenan in Chicago was like camping on the side of an active volcano. You had to accept the reality that he erupted regularly and that there was always a danger of being caught in his lava flow. He was a tyrant, a schoolyard bully, an oldschool coach who tried to motivate players through intimidation, belittlement and fear.â€

“The truth is that Keenan scared me into being a better NHL player.â€

“Before Keenan threatened me in my second NHL exhibition game, I didn't view myself as a physical player. Within a short period of time, he had bullied me into becoming one.â€

“The veterans on the team didn't fear Keenan; they merely despised him, and I believe Mike liked it that way. He was always hard on players, like a drill sergeant trying to ready recruits for the dangers ahead.â€
“Keenan's objective was to make him play every game at his highest level to prove that Keenan was wrong about him.â€

“To Keenan's credit, he could take abuse in addition to giving it out. Every season, he would come into the dressing room in full gear and say, "All right, you EDIT; this is your chance to take a shot at me." Keenan would play 30 minutes for each team, and he would take a beating.â€

“Keenan always tried to stay one step ahead of his players, particularly with regard to controlling our lives through curfews and practices and so forth. It's said that Keenan learned all of his tricks to control players from the great Scotty Bowman when Keenan was an American Hockey League coach in Rochester.â€

“Truthfully, NHL coaches had to play babysitter and night watchman in that era because I believe my generation had more of a frat-house attitude than today's playersâ€

“Keenan tried to keep track of us on the road mostly because he was trying to discourage us from finding trouble.â€

“I hope my readers don't get the impression that I didn't like Keenan. I love the man for molding me into the player I became. He was Dr. Frankenstein, and I was his creation. He was a father figure for me, and he nurtured my game through a tough-love approach.â€

“Mike wanted the fires always burning in his dressing room. He wanted everyone always mad at him, and he liked it when players held each other accountable. There were some fistfights in the dressing room as players fought, not like sworn enemies but like brothers who would still love each other when the scrap was over.â€

“The one thing we do know about Keenan is that he demands perfection. He doesn't tolerate anything but 100 percent effort. His teams play a physical, grind-you-down style."

“Keenan, to his surprise, was named a KHL All-Star Game coach in January. He’s overseen a team split between relatively young players and bona fide Russian stars, and he’s done so without fanfare or incident. His infamously mercurial personality seems to have mellowedâ€

Quotes from Jeremy Roenick taken from: Jeremy Roenick deadspin

Quote from broadstreethockey.com taken from: http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2015/4/20/8458563/mike-keenan-rumors-flyers-head-coach-job

Quote from grantlund.com taken from: http://grantland.com/features/mike-keenan-russia-khl/

 

[ImporterExporter]

Veniamin (Benjamin) Alexandrov LW

Born April 18, 1937 in Moscow, Soviet Union. The splendid forward was a key to the Soviet Union's fast rise to the top of the ice hockey world in the 1950's and early ''60s. Alexandrov won 11 national titles in the Soviet league with CSKA Moscow from 1955 1969, playing in 400 games and scoring 351 goals. As a member of the national team, he earned six IIHF World Championship titles along with three silver and two bronze medals. He totalled 104 points in his 11 IIHF Championships, putting him 8th on the all-time points list. Alexandrov also took home two Olympic gold medals in 1964 and 1968 and a bronze in 1960. He closed his hockey career behind the bench with CSKA Moscow, SKA Leningrad and the Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia. Alexandrov passed away on November 12, 1991.

Clean English version of Veniamin Alexandrov's profile at the Russian site Championat:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Veniamin Alexandrov was born April 18, 1937 in Moscow and, like most boys of that era, played football and hockey in the yard from an early age. But unlike most boys, he was selected to play for CSKA Moscow at the age of 18.

Alexandrov played on Almetov's wing. His game is considered a classic - he played correctly, and cleanly. Here is how Anatoli Tarasov spoke of this trio:

"Konstantin Loktev - Alexander Almetov - Veniamin Alexandrov - these outstanding forwards were the driving force of CSKA and the Soviet national team in the mid 1960s. Different characters, different styles of play, cemented by the same highly creative understanding of hockey, pursuit of the intellectual game and, of course, a strong friendship. As a result of this unity on the ice, Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov developed great technique together, intuition necessary to guarantee the highest synchronicity of action. This was the first line on our team; they started the intuitive game, paving the way for the others."

After the retirement of Loktev and Almetov, Alexandrov played briefly on a line with Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov. Alexandrov is still fifth all-time in Soviet/Russian league scoring, and his legend and glory have not faded. His main advantage as a player, and the force which drove his play, was outstanding technique. When executed by Alexandrov, any complex technique seemed simple, accessible to everyone. But no one could use these techniques as Alexandrov did. His service to Soviet hockey is that he acted as creator and pioneer, opened a lot of new, interesting techniques, and brought them to perfection. To play in the style of Alexandrov meant to play cleanly, easily and naturally.

His head coach, Tarasov, spoke thusly of this brilliant player and his comrades on the top line:

"Sometimes inexperienced hockey fans, and not only them, but also some sports commentators, wonder who would win if Babich, Shuvalov and Bobrov would play Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov. The question is, of course, naive. Hockey is different now. Loktev, Almetov and Alexandrov certainly know all that their predecessors knew, but they have gone further (and how could they not?...for hockey, as well as life, in general, progresses!). Take Alexandrov, who is now called the second Bobrov, but really plays like Alexandrov. He has managed to rid himself of the vice of individualistic play. For him, as well as for his center Almetov, one could not say that improvement is needed. Alexandrov can and loves to use his teammates, and remains at the same time the brightest "star" in the hockey sky. I have already said that in the one-touch passing game, individual players may seem to remain in the shadows. But when the one-touch line of Alexandrov and Almetov play, is it impossible not to notice Alexandrov! One sees immediately how amazingly sharp, witty and cunning are his passes, how strikingly accurate they are in power, and unexpected in timing."

At the Grenoble Olympic Games in 1968, a gallery of famous athletes was set up. Under the portrait of Alexandrov stood the following caption:

"Key player of the strongest hockey team in the world. Olympic champion and world champion. At home, known for his virtuoso technique. One to whom those Russian teams owe their great victories."

For Veniamin Alexandrov, nothing was impossible on the ice. He could easily stickhandle around any number of opponents, lay an excellent pass, or no less skillfully play the puck off the boards. History was made by his clever flashes up the wing. Very well-rounded player, was equally good as a playmaker or goalscorer, and was extremely difficult for even the best defensemen to contain.

In March, 1963, for example, after many years of failure, the Soviet national team finally overcame the Canadian national team, in many respects thanks to the inspired and powerful play of Alexandrov. Anatoli Tarasov's account of that game:

"This tournament was one of the most dramatic and intense in the history of hockey. Before the last match, the final standings of the Soviet and Canadian national teams depended not only on victory or defeat, but also on the margin of victory. In order to become world champions again for the first time since 1956, our team needed a 1-0 victory, or a victory by at least two goals. All other outcomes would make Sweden world champions. Here the author will quote the dearly departed longtime sports observer Victor Frolov's description of the first minute of the game:

' … He (Alexandrov) beat the defense at great speed, and flew towards the Canadian goal. After beating the goaltender, he did not shoot the goal, himself, but laid a pass on Almetov's tape for an easy tap-in. Martin, the phenomenal Canadian goalkeeper, was powerless to stop him… The score became 1:0, but the game was all but over at that point. After that, our national team was inspired, and played powerfully, easily'".

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Assorted Tarasov quotes:

"A few words about the purpose of stickhandling. True, they say there are different types of stick handling past an opponent. It is one thing when the attacker gets past his guard by skating around in a big arc, deviating from his goal, that is to say, just to get past his opponent without creating a dangerous moment. But it is altogether something else when an attacker stick handles past a player causing panic in the enemy ranks, when there is a threat to the goal.

Some of our leading players have developed such an important quality when it comes to stick handling - purposefulness. I have in mind Veniamin Alexandrov or, for instance, Anatoli Firsov. Defensemen really start sweating when they see these two players rocketing down on them."

"Standing in the left wing slot of the forward line is another hockey great, Veniamin Alexandrov.

I have already pointed out that Alexandrov grew up in the Central Army hockey school. He is 29 and has already earned himself a good name in world hockey. But I remember not only the cheering crowds in the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Finland whenever he came out on the ice, I remember not only the posters reading "ALEXANDROV" at stadiums in the United States and Canada. I also remember his first steps in big time hockey.

His sports biography could hardly be better. He was already in the first string when Babich and Bobrov were still playing, and ever since then, for more than ten years now, he has been considered one of the leading hockey players in the country.

Alexandrov's main weapon is perfect technique. He never allows himself to rest on his oars. For him there is no limit to learning. The famous French painter, Degas, once said: "If you have talent worth a hundred thousand francs, buy another five sous worth." And Alexandrov will always spend those five sous. At training sessions, he keeps on polishing new feints, passes, fake motions. If he does not know how to do something, he will keep on practising until he does.

Alexandrov has contributed a great deal to Soviet hockey. It is indicative that he is not afraid of taking chances and will show something new, something that he did not have before, not only at training sessions, but even during a most crucial game.

Following the creative and sports development of this hockey player down through the years, I come to realize more fully what K. Stanislavsky meant when he wrote: "There is no art that does not require virtuosity, and their [sic.] is no limit to this virtuosity."

"In such an outstanding hockey player as Veniamin Alexandrov courage also acquires peculiar features.

In fact, at one time it even became quite popular to speak and write about his cautiousness, and even cowardice. Moreover, one highly respected Soviet newspaper claimed that this was the case. But is it right?

No, a thousand times no! Alexandrov is a brave, resolute and courageous hockey player. The fact that he has 280 goals scored speaks for itself. Alexandrov is, in fact, the highest scoring player in the history of the USSR National team. He has chalked up 68 goals in the World Championship games. He was high scorer in the 1966 World Championship Tournament. And all this in difficult and rough games against the Canadians, the Swedes and the Czechs, in games where there were no compromises in the fight for the world hockey crown. Only a courageous sportsman, knowing sports, taking chances when need be, able to play cautiously, attentively, and at the same time, presenting a great danger to the enemy, could have attained such results.

In a game against a strong opponent you will never score if you do not fight for the puck, and take chances. It is not so easy to score from the wings or from the blue line. This means is it necessary to get into a more convenient position to get a shot at the net. But this 'kill zone' is especially well-guarded. And any player who is taking a shot at the enemy net or in a scramble near the goal is almost sure to get hit by the opponent.

How then is it possible to label Alexandrov a coward? Of course, he can be lucky in one or two games, but he cannot always be lucky, not in every game, and for so many seasons in a row!

Any forward charging in on the enemy net at top speed stands a chance of being cut down. But even in the most crucial moments, Alexandrov never loses his head, nothing can distract from his shot at the net.

I remember my conversation with the famous Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard. When I asked him how he had managed to score more than 500 goals playing against such strong teams in the NHL, he told me that he always kept the goal in his line of vision, and secondly, he tried to get the goalie out of the net by some fake motion, or a pause when the goalie's nerves give in and he starts to move in the direction of the expected trajectory of the puck. Richard said that he always tried to bear it or not pay any attention to the knocks he got from the burly defensemen. He really knew how angry the enemy would be when he scored and did not pay and attention to them.

And this is why I think our Alexandrov, by his style of game, by his ability to keep a level head even in the most explosive situations, looks something like Maurice Richard, that brilliant master of attack."

Championat favor Alexandrov over Starshinov apparently

You mean besides the scorekeepers?

The biographers at Championat describe Alexandrov as a legend in no uncertain terms, and his legacy is discussed not only in his biography, but also in other places on that site, including an article commemorating his still-standing single season goals record and an article in which Vladimir Petrov discusses playing on a line with Alexandrov for one season at CSKA (this would be the last peak season of Alexandrov's career, in which he suffered a serious injury in the spring). Starshinov doesn't get nearly so much attention. I've never found a direct comparison between Alexandrov and Starshinov, but there is little doubt who the Championat guys think was the better player. It's certainly possible that they are biased (maybe in favor of CSKA players?), but they're the most authoritative source I've seen yet on 60's Soviets.

The biographers also state plainly in the biography of Boris Mayorov that he was the greatest Spartak player of his time. There is little room for interpretation in this case.

Alexandrov was on the wish list of Tommy Ivan and Frank Patrick

One interesting note from 1956:

Bobby Bauer, the Canadian (Kitchener Dutchmen) coach termed that Russian forwards Yuri Krylov and Alexei Guryshev were “excellent professional prospects.”

Some other notes from 1958:

Tommy Ivan, manager of the Chicago Blackhawks (or Black Hawks then) put Veniamin Alexandrov on the Hawks negotiation list.

Lynn Patrick, general manager of the Boston Bruins said that Tumba Johansson recommended fellow Swede Lasse Björn as someone Patrick should watch. After he had seen Björn play, Lynn Patrick said: “He’s a good player, but he’s not ready for Boston. I have no intention of signing him."

Patrick said that he wanted to sign four members of the Soviet team for his Boston Bruins.
Nikolai Sologubov, Ivan Tregubov, Veniamin Alexandrov and Yuri Kopylov.
“I would like to take those four Russians back with me, but that’s just a dream.” I’ve seen lots of other good players, but I don’t think any of them are ready for major hockey in the States.”

VMBM favors Alexandrov over Starshinov

Since - like I said - I had Alexandrov #3 on my list (and above Starshinov), I have no specific reasons for any victory laps at all. But maybe you should find a little fault in your argumentation too.

Alexandrov-Loktev chemistry

Reviewing the summary from the 1960 Olympics, Canada 8 - USSR 5, it seems that Almetov received some playing time with Alexandrov and Loktov around the five minute mark of the second period. Other games show Alexandrov and Loktov as a constant pair with flow through players as the third forward on the line.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=niQ_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=C1AMAAAAIBAJ&hl=fr&pg=1679,158399

I guess there is not going to be much discussion on Alexandrov and his worth?

I'll try to get some grip on him... Previously I thought that he would be my #1 player in this vote, but it's not set in stone.
His numbers both domestically and internationally are easily impressive enough for him to be the top candidate. On the other hand, the accolades are not overly great and despite the claims to contrary, his reputation internationally does not seem to be so huge.

Domestic stats of Alexandrov and some of his contemporaries:

Veniamin Alexandrov: 345 goals in 400 games, 0.862 GPG
Vyacheslav Starshinov: 404 goals in 537 games, 0.752 GPG
Anatoly Firsov: 339 goals in 474 games, 0.715 GPG
Boris Mayorov: 255 goals in 400 games, 0.637 GPG

This is where Alexandrov looks very impressive. And the scant assist info from the 1960s suggests that he would have been one of the beneficiaries, if the assists had mattered in the scoring race back then. On the other hand, I'm not crazy about basing much on such scattered information, and obviously the way in which assists were awarded in the Soviet Union raises some questions. It should also be noted that Alexandrov played on USSR's best club team and for about 7 years on USSR's best forward line, and in 1961-66 or so his linemate Almetov could match him almost every season in terms of goal-scoring. BTW, is there any more information on Alexandrov's huge 1962-63 season? Not that 53 goals in itself sounds impossible, but considering that it's very nearly twice as much as the 2nd best scorer... that never quite happened even in Bobrov's heyday, not to mention in any other era; everything must have worked for Alexandrov in that season.

International stats (WHC/Olympics) of Alexandrov and some of his contemporaries:

Anatoly Firsov: 67 games, 66 goals, 51 assists, 117 points, 1.746 PPG
Veniamin Alexandrov: 76 games, 68 goals, 48 assists, 116 points, 1.526 PPG
Vyacheslav Starshinov: 79 games, 64 goals, 31 assists, 95 points, 1.202 PPG
Boris Mayorov: 50 games, 30 goals, 32 assists, 62 points, 1.24 PPG

Alexandrov still looks impressive, although Firsov is obviously the man here (and well, partly thus he is the #4 player of all-time on our list). A little more detailed examination shows that Alexandrov had a few really big tournaments statistically but was more often at the lower part of top 10 in scoring. However, his international stats certainly stand a comparison to the other candidates (skaters/forwards) in this vote, and it probably wouldn't even be much of an exaggeration to say that they are the best of the bunch.

Domestic & international accolades

And this is where Alexandrov starts to look not-so-great vis-a-vis many other Soviet greats. Maybe not too much weight should be put on those Soviet All-Star teams, but I have yet not seen anything that would convince me to totally disregard them. Now, Alexandrov has only 2 All-Star nods; even players like Viktor Yakushev and Konstantin Loktev have the same amount, not to mention that Boris Mayorov and Alexander Almetov have 3. Also, if the argument against Starshinov and his 8 All-Star berths is that they (often/mostly) chose 1 center and 2 wingers and the competition at center was weak, isn't the argument against Alexandrov that in all but two seasons he was NOT considered to be among the top 2 wingers in the Soviet Union?! There are quite a few questions that remain about the All-Star selections (criteria etc), but let's just say that at least they don't add much to Alexandrov's legacy. Maybe noteworthy is, however, that the other one of Alexandrov's All-Star nods is from the 1967-68 season, when he was already 30/31 (and he did well in the SPOTY voting too). I still have to doubt that it was among his best seasons, but there you go...
Internationally, Alexandrov doesn't stand out much; 2 All-Star nods (1966,1967) is certainly okay for a 1960s Soviet forward (Mayorov 1, no other accolades; Starshinov 0, 1 Best Forward award), but when you take into consideration that Loktev & Almetov have 2 each also, it fails to impress. Then again, if we had all the voting results, it would be much easier to do some sort of analysis. So I'll just say that Alexandrov never seemed to make as big an impression at the WHCs/OG as some other Soviet stars did.

The next passage from Alexandrov's bio on International Hockey Legends also got me thinking a bit:

Firstly, Almetov did not retire in 1966 (in 1967), and Alexandrov played one of his best (maybe THE best) WHCs in 1967, so he didn't seem to struggle much in 1966-67. Also, it is not like Alexandrov did not achieve anything without the other two (e.g. the Soviet AS berth & 6th in the SPOTY voting in 1967-68), and it is hardly his fault that he happened to play with them during his prime years. Still, is there some truth in this?
When Tarasov once wrote about Almetov's line, he suggested that while they were very good in their own time, they would not have been so succesful in the 'modern hockey' (they needed 'too much room' to be effective). However, I've understood that Tarasov was talking mainly about Almetov and his early downfall (his conditioning/physics was not good enough anymore around 1967). As for Alexandrov's role in nurturing Mikhailov and Petrov, Finnish sources mostly just say that he was the player that Kharlamov replaced on the line with M and P. In one book (Talviurheilun sankarit) it is even said that Alexandrov 'failed' in that job, although the reasoning for that is simply that Kharlamov replaced him (!); well, he was 31 years old back then, it's no wonder.

Basically, the stats say "yes", but the rest say "I don't know". Part of me thinks that Alexandrov was a bit unfortunate to not have been born a few years later; as it was, he played on CSKA/ntl team in an era when the collective thinking was maybe at its peak (e.g. even the IIHF directorate couldn't decide who the best player/forward on the team was), and he totally missed the so called golden age of Soviet hockey, whereas somewhat younger '60s stars like Starshinov and especially Firsov were still big impact players in the late '60s/early '70s.

He'll certainly be in my top 4, but where exactly? It's tough.

How in Gods name was Alexandrov NOT an All Star when he set the all time Russian goal scoring mark (it still stands today)

Glad to see Alexandrov finally being discussed in more detail. I would have hated for him to be the guy ranked low just because nobody really talked about him this round.

Edit: One big question though:



How the heck wasn't Alexandrov a Soviet league All-Star that season????

This is what theokritos has for 62-63 in the international reference thread:



Alemetov, Alexandrov's linemate who Alexandrov outscored 53-23 (goals only, no assists recorded) was an all-star, but Alexandrov wasn't? Bizarre.

I don't know if he makes it over Hlinka, Kapustin, or the quartet of defensemen, but he won't be at the bottom of my list.

Alexandrov vs Yakushev vs Starshinov: Is there really a 250+ pick gap between Alexandrov and Yak or 130 between Alexandrov and Starshinov?



- World Championships
- European Championships
- Wintersportwoche (Unofficial European Championships in 1940 and 1941)
- Olympics (including qualification games in 1964, 1972 and 1976)
- Canada Cup
- World Cup

Player | Country | Years | Games | Goals | Assists | Points
1.Aleksander Maltsev |Soviet Union|1969-1983| 137|98| 95|

193​

|
2.Valeri Kharlamov |Soviet Union|1969-1980| 123|89| 102|

191​

|
3.Sergei Makarov |Soviet Union|1978-1991| 145|82| 100|

182​

|
4.Boris Mikhailov |Soviet Union|1969-1980| 120|108| 72|

180​

|
5.Vladimir Petrov |Soviet Union|1969-1981| 117|82| 85|

167​

|
6.Josef Maleček |Czechoslovakia|1922-1940| 80|97| 62|

159​

|
7.Sven ‘Tumba’ Johansson |Sweden|1952-1966| 97|86| 56|

142​

|
8.Vyacheslav Fetisov |Soviet Union/Russia|1977-1996| 139|51| 93|

144​

|
9.Vladimir Krutov |Soviet Union|1980-1989| 112|74| 64|

138​

|
10.Vladimir Martinec |Czechoslovakia|1970-1981| 118|68| 67|

135​

|
11.Vladimir Zábrodský |Czechoslovakia|1947-1956| 44|78| 44|

132​

|
12.Anatoli Firsov |Soviet Union|1964-1972| 67|66| 51|

117​

|
13.Jiři Holik |Czechoslovakia|1964-1977|142|59| 58|

117​

|
14. Veniamin Aleksandrov | Soviet Union | 1957-1968 | 76 | 68 | 48 |

116​

|
15.Riccardo ’Bibi’ Torriani |Switzerland|1928-1948| 69|62| 52|

114​

|
16.Václav Nedomanský |Czechoslovakia|1965-1974| 93|78| 32|

110​

|
17.Ville Peltonen |Finland|1994-2010| 145|46| 62|

108​

|
18.Vlastimil Bubnik |Czechoslovakia|1952-1964| 63|60| 45|

105​

|
19.Erich Kühnhackl |West Germany|1972-1985| 90|55| 50|

105​

|
20.Ivan Hlinka|Czechoslovakia|1970-1981| 108|53| 52|

105​

|
21.Uli Poltéra |Switzerland|1947-1954| 54|72| 31|

103​

|
22. Aleksander Yakushev | Soviet Union | 1967-1979 | 93 | 63 | 40 |

103​

|
23.Sergei Kapustin |Soviet Union|1974-1983| 97|63| 40|

103​

|
24.Teemu Selänne |Finland|1991-2014| 96|54| 48|

102​

|
25.Jaromir Jágr |Czechosl./Czech R.|1990-| 121|47| 55|

102​

|
26.Vladimir Vikulov |Soviet Union|1966-1976| 79|55| 46|

101​

|
27.Ronald ‘Sura Pelle’ Pettersson |Sweden|1955-1967| 87|52| 49|

99​

|
28.Vyacheslav Bykov |Soviet Union/Russia|1983-1995| 108|47| 50|

97​

|
29.Andrei Khomutov |Soviet Union/Russia|1981-1995| 122|45| 52|

97​

|
30.Ilya Kovalchuk |Russia|2002-| 111|44| 52|

96​

|
31. Vyacheslav Starshinov | Soviet Union|1961-1971 | 79 | 64 | 31 |

95​

|
32.Mats Sundin |Sweden|1990-2006| 79|43| 51|

94​

|
33.Saku Koivu |Finland|1993-2010| 89|30| 64|

94​

|
34.Milan Nový |Czechoslovakia|1975-1982| 86|53| 40|

93​

|
35.Aleksei Kasatonov |Soviet Union|1980-1991| 125|28| 65|

93​

|
36.Nisse Nilsson |Sweden|1956-1967| 63|58| 34|

92​

|
37.Gerd Truntschka |W. Germany/Germany|1979-1993| 108|31| 59|

90​

|
38.Miroslav Šatan |Slovakia|1994-2014| 117|47| 42|

89​

|
39.Raimo Helminen|Finland|1984-2002| 140|18| 70|

88​

|
40.Konstantin Loktev |Soviet Union|1957-1966| 55|50| 36|

86​

|
41.Ulf Sterner |Sweden|1960-1973| 87|47| 39|

86​

|
42.Dieter Hegen |W. Germany/Germany|1982-1998| 147|55| 29|

84​

|
43.Vladimir Shadrin |Soviet Union|1970-1977| 71|41| 43|

84​

|
44.Igor Larionov |Soviet Union/Russia|1982-2002| 98|36| 47|

83​

|
45.Wayne Gretzky |Canada|1981-1998| 55|26| 56|

82​

|
46.Ferdinand ‘Pic’ Cattini |Switzerland|1933-1949| 60|53| 28|

81​

|
47.Tord Lundström |Sweden|1965-1976| 92|46| 34|

80​

|
48.Viktor Zhluktov |Soviet Union|1976-1983| 88|36| 44|

80​

|
49.Daniel Alfredsson|Sweden|1995-2014| 92|32| 47|

79​

|
50.Evgeny Malkin|Russia|2005-| 69|37| 40|

77​

|

Points Per Game Vs Above


Zabrodsky 3 PPG *** played in 40-50's
Malecek 1.99 PPG***played in 20-30's
Firsov 1.75 PPG
Bubnik 1.67 PPG *** played mostly in 50's
Loktev 1.56 PPG
Kharlamov 1.55 PPG
Alexandrov 1.53 PPG
Mikhailov 1.5 PPG
Petrov 1.43 PPG
Maltsev 1.4 PPG
Makarov 1.26 P
Krutov 1.23 PPG
Starshinov 1.20 PPG
Nedomansky 1.18 PPG
Martinec 1.14 PPG
Yakushev 1.11 PPG
Kapustin 1.06 PPG
Fetisov 1.04 PPG
Ivan Hilnka 0.97 PPG
Holik 0.82 PPG

Crunching some Vs2 numbers from this data. First a couple of points:

- the 1960-61 to 1969-70 timeframe captures basically the entire peaks of the following players: Veniamin Alexandrov, Boris Mayorov, Alexander Almetov, Vyacheslav Starshinov and Anatoli Firsov. This is not perfect...Alexandrov and Mayorov both have single good seasons in the late 50s, and Firsov played well into the early 70s, though he was clearly past his peak (at least in terms of domestic league scoring) by then.

- this is meant only to be a Soviet-league-in-the-1960s-internal scoring comparison. Any resemblance to VsX numbers for post-consolidation NHL scoring is just a matter of formatting. I know that any intelligent person can understand this, but I want to make it completely clear.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexandrov:
159, 100, 100, 95, 94, 88, 78
Total: 714
7-season average: 102

Firsov:
138, 100, 100, 94, 92, 83, 70
Total: 677
7-season average: 96.7

Mayorov:
107, 100, 100, 92, 90, 88, 81
Total: 658
7-season average: 94

Starshinov:
110, 108, 100, 87, 85, 84, 80
Total: 654
7-season average: 93.4

Almetov:
103, 100, 100, 84, 83, 69, 67
Total: 606
7-season average: 86.6

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Notes on the above:

- Alexandrov, Mayorov and Almetov benefit from somewhat softer competition over their first couple of peak seasons (Firsov didn't really start peaking until 1963-64), and Firsov and Starshinov are hurt by stiffer competition in their last couple of peak seasons when the K-P-M line stars started to peak.

- Alexandrov, Mayorov and Firsov are hurt by the lack of complete assist records, and by the generally quite stingy Soviet league assist tabulation, in general. Starshinov is clearly helped by these factors, while the effect on Almetov is probably neutral.

- so, in general, Firsov is disadvantaged twice by the above, and Almetov is advantaged, while the net effect on Alexandrov, Mayorov and Starshinov is roughly neutral, I'd guess.

- I don't doubt that Firsov was the better player, but how far behind him can Alexandrov really be?

- these numbers seem to reinforce the claim in the Championat bio that Boris Mayorov was, in fact, the best player on the famous Spartak line of the 60's.

- I wanted to fit Loktev into this analysis, but he sadly didn't have enough relevant good seasons in this time frame.

Soviet League All-Star Selections

Year|G|D|D|LW|C|RW
1958| Nikolaï Puchkov| Ivan Tregubov| Mikhaïl Ryzhov| Veniamin Aleksandrov | Vladimir Elizarov| Konstantin Loktev
1959| Nikolaï Puchkov| Nikolaï Sologubov| Genrikh Sidorenkov| Konstantin Loktev| Evgueni Groshev| Boris Maïorov
1960| Nikolaï Puchkov| Alfred Kuchevsky| Genrikh Sidorenkov| Evgueni Groshev| Veniamin Aleksandrov | Konstantin Loktev
1961 |Vladimir Chirnov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Genrikh Sidorenkov| Aleksandr Almetov| Oleg Korolenko| Yuri Paramoshkin
1962| Nikolaï Puchkov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Vitali Davydov| Aleksandr Almetov| Evgueni Groshev| Boris Maïorov
1963 |Viktor Konovalenko| Aleksandr Ragulin| Eduard Ivanov| *Veniamin Alexandrov Aleksandr Almetov| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Vladimir Yurzinov
1964| Viktor Konovalenko| Aleksandr Ragulin| Eduard Ivanov| **Veniamin Alexandrov Viktor Yakushev| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Anatoli Firsov
1965| Viktor Konovalenko| Viktor Kuzkin| Eduard Ivanov| Viktor Yakushev| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Konstantin Loktev
1966 1st| Viktor Konovalenko| Vitali Davydov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Anatoli Firsov| Vyacheslav Starshinov | ***Veniamin Alexandrov
1966 2nd| Viktor Zinger| Eduard Ivanov| Viktor Kuzkin| Boris Maïorov| Aleksandr Almetov| Konstantin Loktev
1966 3rd| Valeri Zubarev| Oleg Zaïtsev| Vladimir Brejnev| Yuri Moïseïev| Viktor Yakushev| Vladimir Vikulov
1967 1st| Viktor Konovalenko| Vitali Davydov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Anatoli Firsov| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Boris Maïorov
1967 2nd| Viktor Zinger| Oleg Zaïtsev| Viktor Kuzkin| Veniamin Alexandrov | Viktor Polupanov| Vladimir Vikulov
1967 3rd| Viktor Tolmachev| Eduard Ivanov| Valeri Nikitin| Aleksandr Yakushev| Aleksandr Almetov| Viktor Yaroslavtsev
1968 1st| Viktor Konovalenko| Vitali Davydov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Anatoli Firsov| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Venyamin Aleksandrov
1968 2nd| Viktor Zinger| Igor Romishevsky| Viktor Kuzkin| Boris Maïorov| Viktor Polupanov| Vladimir Vikulov
1968 3rd| Boris Zaïtsev| Oleg Zaïtsev| Viktor Blinov| Igor Grigoriev| Anatoli Ionov| Evgueni Zimin
1969 1st| Viktor Zinger| Vitali Davydov| Aleksandr Ragulin| Anatoli Firsov| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Boris Mikhaïlov
1969 2nd| Viktor Puchkov| Igor Romishevsky| Viktor Kuzkin| Valeri Kharlamov| Vladimir Petrov| Vladimir Vikulov
1969 3rd| Nikolaï Tolstikov| Evgueni Poladiev| Aleksandr Sapelkin| Boris Maïorov| Aleksandr Maltsev| Evgueni Zimin
1970 1st| Viktor Konovalenko| Vitali Davydov| Evgueni Poladiev| Vyacheslav Starshinov | Aleksandr Maltsev| Vladimir Vikulov
1971 1st| Vladislav Tretiak| Vladimir Lutchenko| Viktor Kuzkin| Valeri Kharlamov| Aleksandr Maltsev| Vladimir Vikulov
1971 2nd| Vladimir Shepovalov| Vitali Davydov| Guennadi Tsygankov| Anatoli Firsov| Vladimir Petrov| Boris Mikhaïlov
1971 3rd| Viktor Zinger| Igor Romishevsky| Aleksandr Ragulin| Aleksandr Syrtsov| Evgueni Mishakov| Evgueni Zimin
1972 1st| Vladislav Tretiak| Vladimir Lutchenko| Aleksandr Ragulin| Valeri Kharlamov| Aleksandr Maltsev| Vladimir Vikulov
1973 1st| Vladislav Tretiak| Vladimir Lutchenko| Valeri Vassiliev| Valeri Kharlamov| Vladimir Petrov| Boris Mikhaïlov
1973 2nd| Aleksandr Sidelnikov| Aleksandr Gusev| Guennadi Tsygankov| Aleksandr Yakushev| Vladimir Shadrin| Aleksandr Maltsev
1973 3rd| Viktor Krivolapov| Yuri Liapkin| Aleksandr Ragulin| Aleksandr Volchkov| Vyacheslav Anisin| Aleksandr Martyniuk
1974| Vladislav Tretiak| Vladimir Lutchenko| Valeri Vassiliev| Valeri Kharlamov| Aleksandr Maltsev| Boris Mikhaïlov
1975| Vladislav Tretiak| Valeri Vassiliev| Vladimir Lutchenko| Valeri Kharlamov| Vladimir Petrov| Boris Mikhaïlov
1976| Vladislav Tretiak| Valeri Vassiliev| Vladimir Lutchenko| Aleksandr Yakushev| Valeri Kharlamov| Viktor Shalimov

*There is little doubt in anyone's mind that a glaring omission was in 1963 when Alexandrov scored a still standing record 53 goals in one season for CSKA Moscow. The next closest goal scorer had 23. I don't think anyone would argue he be awarded an AS berth given the sheer dominance of his play. I would also surmise that he would be the clear cut favorite for Soviet MVP if we were to award a retro award. Also all 3 of the F's on the 63 team are C's??? Why no wings? Because before 1964, the Russian AS nods were given to players regardless of position.

**1964 is another year it looks like Alexandrov was likely screwed out of an AS award. How does the 2nd leading goal scorer in the league with 39 in 36 games (1 behind Almetov). Yakushev, Starshinov, and Firsov got the AS nods???? Neither Yakushev or Firsov even finished top 10 in scoring. And Yakushev was a C, so why were 2 C's on the AS team???? How dominant could they have been? Seems like a clear omission for whatever weird Russian reason

***In 1966 not only was Alexandrov the scoring champ, he was also an 1st team AS selection. Again, the Soviet league MVP award did not exist at this point, but one could argue Alexandrov be awarded a retro MVP given his strong accolades. I would surmise Firsov would have likely benefited though given his MVP wins in multiple years after, but it's possibly worth a debate.


Final Thoughts:


Alexandrov was likely screwed out of 2 AS nods (63 and 64) and would have been an MVP in 63 if we're being honest with how dominant he was, and using what we have on hand, to make a common sense retro award.

His AS totals would increase to 7 total (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2) as well as a 1963 retro MVP, if the award had existed then.

I don't see anyway you can place Starshinov over Alexandrov when you factor in the above revelations, coupled with the clear domestic AND international scoring advantages Alexandrov enjoys. There absolutely is no way a 130 pick difference should occur, especially considering Alexandrov plays a far tougher position to fill on a scoring line (LW) vs the deepest position (C) that Starshinov plays.

I personally have Alexandrov over Starshinvo, slightly, based on everything I've dug up and also when you look at the above information provided by Sturm, and many other respected History of Hockey contributors.

Notes and comments on Yakushev's career:

- there is extremely little congruity between Yakushev's scoring results and his MVP voting results. His best finish in the MVP race (74-75), he was not a top-5 scorer, and he got no MVP votes when he led the league in goalscoring (68-69). There is only moderate congruity between his scoring and MVP finishes in the other seasons, as well. Again, the Soviet MVP voters seem to have cared about a lot more than scoring.

- the Summit Series may well have been the pinnacle of Yakushev's career. His results outside of that series, both in the Soviet League and international play, are underwhelming compared to other Soviet forwards of his generation.

Alexandrov was a pretty good playmaker (assist figures for Russian hockey during this time period are not complete either:

Assist figures 60s Soviet stars

|GP|Assists|Assists Per Game
Boris Mayorov|211|77|.36
Veniamin Alexandrov | 203 | 68 | .33 Konstantin Loktev | 109 | 34 | .31
Anatoli Firsov|319|92|.29
Alexander Almetov|162|38|.23
Vyacheslav Starshinov|343|68|.20

http://hockeygods.com/images/11413-Veniamin_Alexandrov___Soviet_National_Team___HC_CSKA_Moscow

First Game: Saturday, December 29, 1956
USSR vs. EAST GERMANY, Exhibition Game,
Rostock, East Germany
Last Game: Tuesday, February 13, 1968
USSR vs. SWEDEN, Winter Olympics,
Grenoble, France

Playing on the second great troika with Alexander Almetev and Konstantin Loktev, Veniamin Alexandrov was considered the greatest Soviet player of his time.

Alexandrov drew some incredible comparisons. He was dubbed "Bobrov 2" in Russia, after the first great Soviet star, Vsevolod Bobrov. The great Russian coach Anatoli Tarasov had another comparison though - Montreal Canadiens star Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

"I think that our Alexandrov, by his style of game, by his ability to keep a level head even in the most explosive situations, looks something like Maurice Richard, the great master of attack," said Tarasov in his book Road to Olympus.

Alexandrov's first appearance with the Soviet national team came at Bobrov's absence. With Bobrov injured in 1955, it was 18 year old Alexandrov who assumed the top left wing sot on the line with Viktor Shuvalov and Yevgeny Babich. He was said to have slid into the line with great maturity, and, according to the book Kings Of The Ice, had "an elegant style that closely resembled that of the player he had replaced."

Upon Bobrov's return Alexandrov struggled to find regular linemates, but eventually settled in with Konstantin Loktev on right wing and later Alexander Almetov at center. The trio would dominate international hockey in the 1960s.

Alexandrov scored the Golden Goal vs Team Canada at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics Gold Medal Game

He was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.

IIHF Hall of Fame 2007

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Mike Babcock

“The other thing that helped about being with Detroit was, we all talk about team, we all talk about all-inclusive, but they are an all-inclusive community,†he said. “When you go for dinner it’s 100 (percent). The dinners are huge, everybody’s involved. And when they talk about doing team-building activities during training camp it’s just a massive group of people from the people who volunteer in Traverse City to everybody, and everybody is expected to be there, which for me is really impressive.â€

Source

In the past six years, MacLean, McLellan and Peters have left Babcock's staff to become a coach in the NHL. Babcock is the only coach in the League with as many as three former assistants leading his own NHL team.

"We're about developing people," Babcock said. "We look to hire people who are going to be head coaches."

Having gathered his protégés not far from the stage, Babcock reached into the pocket of his neatly pressed suit pants and pulled out his phone to document the moment. Peters, MacLean, McLellan and Babcock got in tight -- McLellan with his hands in his pockets, MacLean holding a coffee cup, Peters clutching a bottle of water -- and smiled as big as coaches allow themselves to smile. Less than a second later, a memento was created for each to cherish.

"I'm proud of that picture, very proud," Babcock said. "I think it's important that people are allowed to grow. Those guys have all had a huge impact on me as a coach, but also me as a person. I hope they'd say the same about me."

Babcock said he hires men he knows can be a coach, and he does so without concern for his job security even though his confidence in them is so strong he believes they could do his job, at least eventually. He doesn't care where they come from, as long as they are highly recommended. They don't have to have NHL experience; McLellan and Peters did not.

"There is a Todd McLellan out there. Where is he? What's his name?" Babcock said. "There's a Mike Babcock out there. Where is he? What's his name? They're out there. You've got to find them and then you have to have enough [guts] to hire them."

The process Babcock uses to find his assistants, to interview them, hire them, work with them, and help see them to the next stage of their career has helped him become one of the most successful coaches in NHL history.

"He gives you the opportunity to coach, but at the same time he challenges you to be better," MacLean said. "He challenges you to not be satisfied with the way you've had success doing it in the past, so let's find and explore different ways to do the same thing so it could be just a little bit better. Those are the qualities with Mike that have led to this coaching tree."

To be an assistant on Babcock's staff you have to do one specific thing.

"I want you to have a new idea every day, and I want you to fight for your idea," Babcock said. "I try to hire people that are going to bring change. I've got that right in their job description."

It's all part of Babcock's R&D philosophy, something he's famous for among his assistants.

"Rob and Do," McLellan said. "That's his R&D. That's his research and development."

Babcock gets ideas from his assistants and then challenges them to explain those ideas and show how they work. If an idea is successful, he takes it and molds it into his own.

"We're about developing people. We look to hire people who are going to be head coaches." -- Mike Babcock

"It's interesting with Granato, we were going over some penalty-kill stuff and he said, 'Well, your terminology is different,'" Babcock said. "I said, 'Don't use my terminology. Use whatever you use and we'll evolve.'

"I was speaking at the draft and I said I couldn't remember if it was Paul MacLean's line or Todd McLellan's line or Jeff Blashill's line, it doesn't matter to me because it's my line now," he said. "You find something, you steal it, you make it better, you make it your own, you evolve. Whoever's idea it was, if it works, it's the new Red Wings way."

McLellan said one of Babcock's greatest strengths is he always wants to know if there is a better way of doing something.

"One of the things that I discovered is that it's almost like being a lawyer," McLellan said. "Create a case and show him why something different might work. As soon as you gain his trust he's very open to ideas and thoughts. He wants to be debated with."

Peters said, "He's not there to have yes-men. When you don't like something, bring it up, talk about it, explain why you don't like it, but you better be solution-based. You better have a solution and a better way. You better be right."

MacLean, McLellan and Peters believe in Babcock's R&D philosophy so much they have robbed from him.

Source

[Coach Mike Babcock] talks about it a lot, playing as a five-man unit in the offensive and defensive zones. When you do that and you play with speed, it ultimately takes away chances,†notes Luke Glendening.

I want them involved. When you think about it, when I played the neutral zone used to be bigger, and the end zones were smaller so you could just stand next to your guy. Today what you gotta do is find your D-man and cut off the top. And from a low sagged position, otherwise there’s too much room. So they made it way harder, wingers used to be able to sleep, they could pick up their guy coming out of the offensive zone and take the guy back, they didn’t have to do anything. Now, you gotta compress the zone, you gotta make it smaller, you gotta give the offense no time and yet, you gotta find a way to cut off the top, and if you don’t, you gotta find a way to get in the shooting lane, so the job of the winger is way harder than it was… When I say “cut off the top,†there can be no direct passes from the puck to the top man, you have to be in a lane to cut off the top. So I say, find the D, make the zone small, cut off the top.

“We’d like not to dump the puck at all. The bottom line is the game’s real simple, the more time you spend in your zone, the less time you spend in their zone, the more time you dump the puck because you got no speed on the rush. If you’re efficient coming out and move the puck and you do it right once, you’re coming with speed, you don’t have to dump the puck, you probably get some sort of entry, or at least you give up possession and get it right back.†– Mike Babcock

“Dumping the puck is awful when you’re just dumping it in and changing,†Babcock continued. “Just dump and change, dump and change, you spend the whole game in your own zone wearing yourself out. Our focus is try not to do that and yet there’s parts of the game every night you’re in a bit of a survival mode and you do that.â€

I previously mentioned how Babcock is used to pairing forwards up in twos and rotating the third player on each line. One thing that rarely gets noticed with Babcock and his line combinations is that he likes his muckers and grinders. Justin Abdelkader has been regularly deployed on the top line the last few years; before him it was Todd Bertuzzi, and before him it was Tomas Holmstrom.

Source

“I don’t think you have the success he’s had and the career he’s had with only one tool in the toolbox. You’d have to be able to open that box up and have a lot of things in there and Mike has that. He has the knowledge of the game. He has the presence. He communicates well. He’s got a passion that’s real high. You can go on and on. And all of those things are in his toolbox and he can access those at any time.â€

Meticulous preparation, McLellan says, is one well-established tool in that toolbox. It’s why ball hockey wasn’t just a spectacle for a smattering of cameras in Calgary. It was there for a reason. It was 45 minutes of what Team Canada wanted to do. Oddly enough, according to Ruff, it let the players know the coaches were serious.

“He’s got an idea of what he wants to do and when he wants to do it,†Ruff said. “There’s no wish-wash to it. It’s ‘here’s what we’re going to do, get it done’.â€

Bryan Murray, who gave Babcock his first NHL coaching job in Anaheim, believes those communication skills are prominent in Babcock’s success. People skills, he says, are the most important attribute in coach.

“Everybody knows X’s and O’s but you have to have an ability to communicate with your players and listen to your players and Mike had that,†said Murray, the Ottawa Senators general manager who hired Babcock as Ducks head coach in 2002. “After you’re around him a little while, you find out that’s why players play hard for him.â€

McLellan believes the presence of the man aids in his ability to enforce a program. With a striking, self-certain swagger, Babcock is able to command a room and make people want to hear what he has to say.

His practices are known to be relentless in their pace. Babcock is always talking, always involved, always moving quickly. “There is no wasting time,†McLellan said on the subject. “There is not a lot of time at the whiteboard. There’s not a lot of time getting from drill to drill.â€

Players, McLellan said, need to be prepared to maintain that pace.

Like all coaches, though, Babcock walks a line. There’s tough and too tough. And Babcock, perhaps like most of his successful peers, is known to press hard on his players – perhaps too hard at times. Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg observed recently to Detroit media that the time was probably right for a split between coach and team. That hard-charging style can get old in time.

And yet Babcock remained effective right up until the end, scratching out 100 points and a sixth-place finish in the East last season. Overall, his teams in Detroit won 40 games or more eight times in nine full seasons – though they failed to advance beyond the second round since an appearance in the Final in 2009.

Source

He can’t say whether it was while studying sports psychology or if it goes back to that old note his mom kept on the fridge, but Babcock has long been a “big believer in credos.†To help inspire the Canadian squad during the Vancouver Olympics, he wrote and hung a 19-line credo in the team’s dressing room. It included nuggets like: “Leave no doubt that this is our game. That this is our time. That our determination will define us. That we are built to win. That we are a team of destiny.â€

He speaks in credos, too. “Doubt,†he says, “is the biggest energy taker there is.â€

Looking at the pen in my hand, he tries to put his outlook into a perspective he believes I’ll understand. “I don’t think there’s a secret to success,†he says. €œIt’s lifelong learning. What you did last year and how you wrote last year, if you’re writing the same next year someone else is going to have your job. You have to evolve because everyone else evolves.â€

Source

 

[Dreakmur]

Ken Hodge !!!

Awards and Achievements:
2 x Stanley Cup Champion (1970, 1972)

2 x First Team All-Star (1971, 1974)

All-Star - 1st(1971), 1st(1974), 3rd(1969), 6th(1970), 7th(1972), 7th(1973)


Scoring Accomplishments:
Points - 3rd(1974), 4th(1971), 5th(1969), 20th(1973)
Goals - 4th(1969), 4th(1971), 4th(1974), 16th(1973), 20th(1968)
Assists - 4th(1971), 8th(1974), 12th(1969)

Play-off Points - 4th(1969), 4th(1972), 5th(1974), 8th(1970)
Play-off Goals - 1st(1972), 5th(1974), 6th(1969)
Play-off Assists - 4th(1969), 4th(1974), 6th(1970), 8th(1972)


5 Year Peak: 1970 - 1974
6th in Points, 67% of 2nd place Bobby Orr
9th in Goals, 89% of 2nd place Mickey Redmond
8th in Assists, 66% of 2nd place Phil Esposito

10 Year Peak: 1968 - 1977
7th in Points, 85% of 2nd place Bobby Orr
6th in Goals, 89% of 2nd place Yvon Cournoyer
8th in Assists, 69% of 2nd place Bobby Orr


Scoring Percentages:
Points - 117, 115, 84, 78, 67, 63, 59, 55, 51, 51, 50

Best 6 Seasos: 524​

 

[tony d]

Vladimir Petrov, Centre

Biographical Information courtesy of eliteprospects.com:

BIRTHYEAR 1947-06-30
BIRTHPLACE Krasnoyarsk, RUS AGE 68 NATION Russia POSITION C SHOOTS R HEIGHT 183 cm / 6'0" WEIGHT 89 kg / 196 lbs

Photo courtesy of a google image search:

Joe Pelletier:

Petrov himself won the scoring title in the World Championships four times - 1973 (34 points in 10 games), 1975 (19 in 10), 1977 (21 in 10) and 1979 (15 in 8). Petrov still holds the record for most goals, assists and points in one tournament (1973). Not surprisingly Petrov was also a four time tournament All-Star in the World Championships.

Petrov of course wasn't just a dominant force on the international scene. He and his linemates were even more dominant in the Soviet league. Petrov himself won the scoring title in 1969-70 (51 goals in 44 games - assists not awarded at that time), 1972-73 (27 + 22 = 49 in 32 games), 1974-75 (27 + 26 = 53 in 36 games), 1977-78 (28 + 28 = 56 in 36 games) and 1978-79 (26 + 37 = 63 in 44 games). He's the last player to have scored over 50 goals in a season.

Final Thoughts:

Glad to have Petrov on board, seems like a pretty good #2 centre.

 

[tony d]

Helmuts Balderis, Right Wing

Picture courtesy of eliteprospects.com:

Biographical Information courtesy of wikipedia:

Born 31 July 1952 (age 63) Riga, Soviet Union
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)

Stats courtesy of eliteprospects.com:

-582 points in 453 career games in Russia
-54 points in 47 World Championship games

Legends Of Hockey:

Helmut Balderis was an extraordinary stickhandler and a unique forward. He belonged neither to the Soviet school of hockey nor to his native Latvian, but rather was the result of a singular upbringing.

Joe Pelletier:

Despite his short tenure in Moscow he earned quite the resume. He was part of three consecutive world championship teams, winning the best forward award in 1977. He won the Olympic silver medal in 1980, and was part of the Soviet team that hammered the NHL all stars at the 1979 Challenge Cup tournament.

After the Russians failed 1980 Olympics Balderis was returned to Riga where he starred until 1985. He saved his best for games against CSKA, of course. Balderis was one rare shooter who seemed to have solved the great Vladislav Tretiak, shooting from further out than most shooters, and with good success.

Final thoughts:

Glad to have Balderis on the team, think he's going to be a good 2nd line scorer.

 

[tony d]

Lionel Hitchman, Defenseman

Biographical Information courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: D ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-1 (185 cm)
Weight: 167 lbs. (76 kg)

Born: November 3, 1901 in Toronto, Ontario

Stats for Hitchman courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

- Runner up in Hart voting in 1930
- 4 time league leader in games played for a season
- 6th in the league in assists in 1923-1924

Legends Of Hockey:

Hitchman played the rest of his career with the Bruins, consistently playing between three and four-dozen game and scoring the occasional goal or assist. Hitchman played 414 NHL games and scored 27 goals and 33 assists, and spent 523 minutes in the penalty box.

Joe Pelletier:

Lionel Hitchman was steady, aggressive and defensive-minded defenseman who was often paired with Eddie Shore to form one of the greatest defense tandems in hockey history. Hitchman's flawless defensive play allowed Shore more freedom to play an offensive game, a rarity among rearguards in the early days of hockey. The duo formed a feared one-two defensive punch, with their favorite target being Montreal's Howie Morenz.

Because of his defensive role, Hitchman was an unheralded player. The Toronto-born Hitchman never made an All-Star team and never scored more than 11 points in a season but was integral to the success of the Boston Bruins and prior to that the Ottawa Senators.

Final Thoughts:

More of a defensive than offensive guy Hitchman still will provide pretty good value to my team, glad to have him.

 

[tony d]

Mike Peca, Centre

Picture courtesy of a google image search:

personal info courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: C ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 5-11 (180 cm)
Weight: 183 lbs. (83 kg)

Born: March 26, 1974 (Age 41.341) in Toronto, Ontario

Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

- 2 time Selke Trophy Winner
- 25 career short handed goals
- 7 top 5 Selke Winners
- 1996-1997 NHL leader in short handed goals
- 465 points in 864 career games

Legends Of Hockey

Throughout his career, Mike Peca has played a big game in terms of leadership, heart, tenacity, and a willingness to use his body.

The Sabres soon found out what they got. In Peca they secured a hard-working team leader who excelled at defensive play, special teams, and scoring short-handed goals. In 1997, he won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward.

By 1998, Peca was appointed as the Sabres' team captain, and led the Sabres to the Stanley Cup final in 1999 before losing out to the Dallas Stars.

Final Thoughts:

Glad to have Peca, I feel that he's the perfect defensive 3rd line centre in this.

 

[tony d]

Kevin Stevens, Left Wing

Picture courtesy of a yahoo image search:

Personal Info and Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: LW ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-3 (190 cm)
Weight: 230 lbs. (104 kg)

Born: April 15, 1965 (Age 50.321) in Brockton, Massachusetts

- 3 time all star
- 106 points in 103 playoff games
- 3 time post season all star
- 2 top 10 finishes in goals for a season
- 4 top 10 finishes in power play goals for a season

Legends Of Hockey:

Stevens' game really came together in Pittsburgh and the 1991-92 season was especially significant, as he finished the year behind only Mario Lemieux in scoring. Amazingly, Stevens never went more than three games without a point all season. That year and the year after, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Stevens had four straight 40-goal seasons with the Pens and formed the core of a powerhouse team that included Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis. With Lemieux off the ice for most of the 1993-94 season due to injuries and surgery, Stevens gained the spotlight.

In the end, things did work in his favor for a little while, anyway. Stevens was traded to Boston for the 1995-96 season. However, he only stayed long enough to play 41 games in Beantown before he was traded once again, this time to Los Angeles. In 1997 Stevens was traded yet again, to the New York Rangers, where he remained for three years. He became one of the stars on the team after Wayne Gretzky retired in 1999.

Joe Pelletier:

Brockton, Massachusetts is also the birthplace of Kevin Stevens, hockey's ultimate power forward in the early 1990s. The hockey player who was knocked down several times during his 13-year professional career.

He set an NHL record for most points by a left wing, 123, in 1991-92 and finished second in league scoring behind line mate Mario Lemieux. His 123 points was also an NHL record for an American born player in the NHL. He was also the first NHL player to score 50 goals, 100 points and 200 penalty minutes in one season. He helped Pittsburgh to their second straight cup picking up 28 points in the playoffs.

Kevin's stellar play continued the following season as he scored 55 goals, tying the NHL record for American born players. His 111 points was good enough for 12th overall in the league.

Final Thoughts:

Stevens was a good player for a short time. Much like Neely injuries curtailed what was a good career, I still like him on my 2nd line with Petrov and Balderis.

 

[tony d]

Flash Hollett, Defenseman

Picture courtesy of a google image search:

Biographical Information and Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: D ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-0 (183 cm)
Weight: 180 lbs. (82 kg)

Born: April 13, 1912 in North Sydney, Nova Scotia

-313 points in 562 career games
-2 time post season all star
-10th in goals in 1941-1942
-3 time league leader in games played for a season
-Adjusted points of 463 in 562 career games

Legends Of Hockey:

Hollett eventually made the Leafs for a brief stint and was loaned to the Ottawa Senators for half a season. He then returned to the Leafs for a short time before Conn Smythe sold his rights to the Boston Bruins for $16,000?a move he'd later regret. In1939, the Bruins, and especially Hollett, took pleasure in beating the Leafs to Lord Stanley. In the fifth game of the matchup, he and Milt Schmidt lured Leafs goalie Turk Broda from his net, freeing Hollett to pop home the series winner.

From then on, Hollett became a fixture on the Bruins blueline with his ability to rush the puck and score what was, at the time, a record number of goals for a defenseman.

In 1944, Hollett joined the Detroit Red Wings where he was paired with Earl Siebert. His record-setting 20 goals brought him a first-team All-Star award. But his all-star status was not enough to leverage him beyond a contract dispute with Wings GM Jack Adams. Hollett took the high road, opting to leave the NHL out of respect to his wife's request to stay closer to home in Ontario

Joe Pelletier:

It was in Boston where Hollett established himself as a solid NHLer. Teamed with Shore, Hollett would enjoy 7 seasons with the Bruins, tying NHL records for defensemen when he scored 19 goals in both the 1941-42 and 1942-43 season. Harry Cameron originally set the record in 1921. In 1943 Hollett did break XXXX XXXX record for most points by a defenseman with 44.

But Hollett's greatest moment as a Bruin came in 1939, and at the expense of his old team. It was Hollett who scored a crushing goal in the finals against Toronto to give the Bruins the Stanley Cup! Hollett and the Bruins would win another title in 1941.

Yet all was not well in Boston. Hollett clashed with boss Art Ross. It was once said that Art Ross toyed with the notion of burying him in the minor leagues. Despite the feud, Ross knew he needed Hollett. He was an extraodinary offensive presence from the rear and he had great versatility. Ross would move Hollett up on a forward line whenever a forward got hurt. Hollett would also take turns as a forward while on the penalty kill.

Final Thoughts:

Glad to have Hollett, very good offensive defenseman who can also play spot duty as a forward on pk. He's my #5 defenseman but I like him to do quite well as a #5 defenseman.

 

[Voight]

Marian Gaborik


Awards and Achievements:
Selected to three NHL All-Star Games: 2003, 2008 and 2012
Named the MVP of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game
2014 Stanley Cup
2x 40 Goal Seasons
7x 30 Goal Seasons
Led 2014 Playoffs in Goals (14)

Hart voting - 11(2008), 16th(2012), 17th(2010), 20th(2007)

All-Star voting - 2nd(2012), 3rd(2010), 4th(2008), 8th(2007)

Offensive Accomplishments:

Career - 933 GP | 773 P | 387 G | 386 A
Points - 10th(2010)

Goals - 3rd (2012), 5th (2010), 7th (2008)

Playoffs - 80 GP | 32 G | 25 A


5-Year Peak: 2007-2012
34th in Points, 71% of 2nd place Henrik Sedin
14th in Goals, 78% of 2nd place Ilya Kovalchuk
60th in Assists, 53% of 3rd place Martin St. Louis

10-Year Peak: 2001-2012
21st in Points, 75% of 2nd place Jarome Iginla
8th in Goals, 75% of 1st place Ilya Kovalchuk
48th in Assists, 54% of 2nd place Henrik Sedin

**10 year peak is 11 "years" long b/c of 2005 lockout**

Minnesota Wild winger Marian Gaborik has been called a lot of things in these playoffs -- mostly unprintable. Fortunately for the 21-year-old Slovak, he usually was moving too fast past opposing defensemen to hear the comments being muttered under their breath.

"Marian is going to be as good as he wants to be. The sky is the limit for that kid," said Wild center Wes Walz, who has turned a new playoff pairing with Gaborik into four goals and four assists against Vancouver. "He's 21 years old, and he can dominate games. It's pretty incredible."

With 32 goals, including five in the last six games, Marian Gaborik is heading for a vintage year, like one of his seasons with the Minnesota Wild. Rangers coach John Tortorella has noticed a significant change in the sniper's positioning since last season.

"He's played in traffic all year long," Tortorella said. "It's a huge part of his game this year. He's not swinging out. I haven't gone through all his goals, but a number of them, he's just banging in there. He's made a concerted effort to work on the details of his game, offensively and defensively, and it's paying off for him."

...

About Marian Gaborik

Marian Gaborik of Slovakia is considered one of the most talented offensive players in the National Hockey League, but his career has been consistently hampered by injuries.

Gaborik, 27, was signed as a free agent last July 1 by the Rangers after he played his first eight N.H.L. seasons with the Minnesota Wild, who had chosen him with the third pick over all in the 2000 draft. The Rangers signed him for five years at $37.5 million.

“He is an exciting guy to watch play,†Rangers General Manager Glen Sather said after the signing. “He can skate and does a lot of great things. He’s a great player and he’s young. I certainly think he’s in the top 10 in this league.â€

Gaborik holds the distinction of being one of 43 players to score five or more goals in an N.H.L. game, a feat he accomplished against the Rangers in a game at Minnesota on Dec. 20, 2007.

In an effort persuade Gaborik to sign with them, the Rangers sent a video to his home in Slovakia that featured his career highlights and Rangers players talking about their experiences in New York.

“I watched it right away and it was unbelievable," Gaborik said after he signed. “I felt right away that they were interested in me. It really was very important that they came after me this way.â€

Gaborik scored a career-high 42 goals in the 2007-8 season for the Wild, the only dangerous scorer on a team that consistently ranks among the league’s lowest in scoring. He sustained an injury early in the next season, had an operation on his hip in January and played only 17 games, scoring 23 points. Groin injuries shortened his seasons in 2005-6 and 2006-7.

He has spent the early part of this season among the N.H.L. leaders in scoring.

Gaborik was born in Trencin in the former Czechoslovakia, a town of 56,000 that has produced an astounding number of N.H.L. players, including forwards Marian and Marcel Hossa, Pavol Demitra and Ziggy Palffy, and defenseman Zdeno Chara.

“I first saw him at 16, and everybody knew how special he was right away,†Demitra said while the two were teammates with the Wild. “He’s got that special touch you can’t learn. Look at Gaborik, you see the speed. He’s so fast.â€

Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Chara will form the core of the Slovakian Olympic team, as they did in 2006, when Slovakia finished fifth. The country’s best international showing was winning the 2002 world championships.


Source

Gaborik is a highly skilled player with explosive speed

...

Leading the replacements is free-agent right wing Marian Gaborik, signed away from the Minnesota Wild. When healthy, Gaborik is among the flashiest, most offensively creative players in the game. His health, however, is the biggest reason the Wild allowed him to get away.

Source

"Gabby found a way to play with the new rules that is different than the style I want all the guys to play," Lemaire said. "He's strictly offence. I've tried to make him a two-way player, and I think he can do it. But I don't think he wants to do it."

Source

"I also have the faith that he's going to do the stuff away from the puck. I think he's really worked at a lot of small things in his game."

Source

​

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Earl Seibert, D

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198 lbs
Shot: Right


(Much of the below information supplied by Dreakmur)

Stanley Cup Champion: 1933, 1938
Retro Conn Smythe: 1938
Hart Voting: 4, 4
1st AS Team: 4 times (1935, 1942, 1943, 1944)
2nd AS Team: 6 times (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941)
NHL TOTALS: 645 GP - 89 G - 187 A - 276 Pts

All Star Team Voting Breakdown

Years where voting was NOT separated into LD/RD
1932: 6th
1944: 2nd (behind Pratt)
1945: 7th

Years where voting was separated into LD/RD
1933: 4th for RD (behind Shore, Clancy, C. Johnson) / Overall 8th tied with several (LD’s he was behind: L. Conacher, Hap Day, Bill Brydge, Doug Young)
1934*: 3rd for RD (behind Clancy, Shore) /5th Overall (LD’s he was behind: L. Conacher, C. Johnson)
1935: 1st for LD / Overall 2nd (behind Shore)
1936*: 2nd for RD (behind Shore) / Overall 4th (LD’s he was behind: Siebert, Goodfellow)
1937: 2nd for RD (behind Goodfellow) / Overall 3rd (LD’s he was behind: L. Conacher)
1938: 2nd for LD (behind Siebert) / Overall 4th (RD’s he was behind: Shore, Coulter)
1939*: 2nd for RD (behind Coulter) / Overall 3rd (LD’s he was behind: Clapper)
1940*: 2nd for LD (behind Goodfellow)/ Overall 4th (RD’s he was behind: Coulter)
1941*: 2nd for RD (behind Clapper) / Overall 3rd (LD’s he was behind: Stanowski)
1942**: 1st for RD (ahead of Egan) / Overall 1st (ahead of T. Anderson)
1943*: 1st for RD (ahead of Hollett) / Overall 2nd (behind Stewart)

*Received multiple votes at both LD+RD
**Had enough votes to finish as 2nd Team AS for LD

Notes: I see Seibert finishing behind a lot of converted forwards, but none of them having the staying power Seibert did. You have to wonder if these players were given extra credit during the AS voting process for making the switch and being something new, where Seibert was his same old steady self.

All Star Summary
Overall: 1st , 2nd (3x), 3rd(3x), 4th (3x), 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th

Offensive Accomplishments:
Points among Defensemen – 2nd(1934), 3rd(1935), 3rd(1938), 3rd(1943), 4th(1945), 5th(1936), 5th(1937), 5th(1942), 5th(1944), 7th(1941), 9th(1939), 11th(1932), 14th(1940)

Play-off Points among Defensemen – 1st(1938), 3rd(1932), 5th(1945), 6th(1933), 6th(1936), 8th(1944)

5-Year Peak: 1934-1938
1st in Points, 115% of 2nd place Eddie Shore
1st in Goals, 158% of 2nd place Flash Hollett
1st in Points per game (50+ games)

10-Year Peak: 1934-1943
2nd in Points, 87% of 1st place Flash Hollett, who played quite a bit of forward
2nd in Goals, 68% of 1st place Flash Hollett
4th in Points per game (100+ games)

Earl Seibert was one of the finest defensemen of the era, playing for 15 years in the NHL, during which time he as chosen as an All-star for ten consecutive years, four times for the first team and six times for the second. He was on one championship team and two Cup winners.

Over six feet tall and almost 200 lbs, he was very fast and a superb checker both with stick and body. He was an excellent stickhandler and there were those who thought he would have done well as a forward.

He drew a lot f penalties but they were largely in the line of duty and he was not inclined to enter needless battles.

An excellent rushing defenseman, Seibert scored 89 goals and recorded 276 points. He was also considered one of the best shot-blockers of his era, never afraid to use his body to prevent a goal.

Earl's demeanor was always serious. On the ice, this manifested itself in mature play and tremendous leadership.

...

Seibert was generally regarded as second only to Eddie Shore in terms of skill and rugged play, and Shore once confessed that Seibert was the only man he was afraid to fight. Defensively, Seibert was one of the best shot-blockers in the game, and he could move the puck as quick as anyone.

A writer for the Springfield Daily News, Sam Pompei, once commented, "I've heard a lot of people say Earl was the best player of his era, but Eddie Shore stole the spotlight with his color."

...

In 1938 he led the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games. "The biggest reason we won," coach Bill Stewart asserted, "was that we had Earl Seibert on our defense. The big guy played about 55 minutes a game."

His fine blend of strength, size, and skill drew the attention of many scouts…

….

Seibert was a strong, fast skater, an intimidating force with his stick and his body. He was also one of the better shot-blockers around… Earl also owned excellent puck-handling skills and he was almost impossible to knock off his skates.

Earl Seibert was a great all-around player who helped Chicago to its second Stanley Cup. He was a fearless shot blocker, a powerful skater, and a good passer.

Seibert's demeanor was always serious. On the ice, this manifested itself in mature play and tremendous leadership. Off ice, it meant he was a tough negotiator in contract talks. During his second season, Seibert enlisted his father as his agent in some acrimonious negotiations with the Rangers, but any ill feelings were forgotten by the time New York won the Stanley Cup that spring, beating the Leafs 3-1 in a best-of-five final series. Eventually, though, the Rangers brass tired of Seibert's tenacious haggling and he was traded to Chicago for Art Coulter.

It was in the Windy City that Seibert established himself as one of the best defensemen of his era. He was named to the First or Second All-Star Team each year between 1935 and 1944, a feat surpassed only by Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull and Doug Harvey. Seibert was generally regarded as second only to Eddie Shore in terms of skill and rugged play, and Shore once confessed that Seibert was the only man he was afraid to fight. Defensively, Seibert was one of the best shot-blockers in the game, and he could move the puck just as quickly as anyone.

Compared to most in the National Hockey League, Seibert was a big man at 6-foot two inches in height and 220 pounds. He played the game tough but fair, but had a mean streak, and when partnered with Johnson, was one of the most formidable defence pairings in the league at that time. In addition, Seibert was an excellent puck-moving defenceman who was also a good shot-blocker. He quickly developed into a star.

Seibert was much more than just a rearguard roughian. He was a great shot blocker, and he was a far better skater and puck handler than the departed Abel. Seibert rarely gets remembered as the excellent hockey player that he was. Between 1934-35 and 1943-44, he made the All Star team 10 seasons in a row, six times on the first squad and four times on the second squad. Some old timers insist only Eddie Shore was better.

….

Though he was intimidating and unforgiving, most of the time Seibert was very clean.

I don't think there is a better defense player in the league than Earl Seibert. He plays a hard game at the defence position, and is a more valuable player than Eddie Shore, Babe Siebert or Ebbie Goodfellow. Seibert is down to his playing weight of 210 pounds right now. Although he weighs more than the defence stars I have mentioned, he can break faster and skate faster than any of them.

Let’s put it this way, no one wanted any part of ‘Si’ in a fight. Even Eddie Shore and Red Horner steered clear of him, and Shore and Horner were considered the toughest guys in the League at the time.

It's lucky he was a calm boy, because if he ever got mad, he'd have killed us all.

You just hope somebody gets him before he blasts you, net and all, right out of the rink.

He had acceleration with his second step no one could match and he was probably the best skater of the 1930s.

The New Yorkers made their strongest bid in the second when they rattled sixteen shots at the Northerns' cage. Earl Seibert, the big defense star, played a large part in the Rangers' offensive in this session, and several times sent blistering shots that looked too hot for the Senator goalie to handle.

Rangers' big shot was Earl Seibert, who sailed down the ice with the greatest of ease like the daring young man on the flying trapese and then sailed back again with equal effectiveness, in a great two-way display.

Seibert, whose sharp-shooting eye and natural speed…

Stewart had… outstanding two-way defenceman in Earl Seibert.

….

Earl Seibert remains one of the best two-way rearguards in the league. He is a powerful bodychecker, good blocker and cyclonic rusher.

Thompson still has four experienced men for his defence positions. They are Earl Seibert, the speedy bruiser who can score consistently …

And finally one pillar-of-strength two-way defenseman as your spark and rallying-point (an Earl Seibert or a Dit Clapper).

Earl Seibert, probably the best defence player in the league…

Earl Seibert of Chicago Black Hawks, for instance, would be accorded high rating defensively by any impartial tribunal. Offensively, the Chicago star ranks second only to Walter (Babe) Pratt of Toronto Maple Leafs. ...

….

Without Seibert, the Chicago defense collapsed.

Seibert, the bulwark of the Chicago club’s defense for years – he has played 55 of 60 minutes.

Hawks are pinning their hopes of victory on their great defensive trio of Art Wiebe, Mike Karakas and Earl Seibert, who were largely responsible for the downfall of Detroit. Karakas, former Chicago goalie recalled by the club late in the season, literally "goaled" his team into the final round, while Seibert has been both the defensive and offensive sparkplug of the squad all season.

Detroit had big Earl Seibert, recently obtained in a swap for three players from the Black Hawks, in its line-up. Seibert, of course, turned in his usually dependable game.

Boston's Arthur Ross is just one of the many well-versed hockey men who believes Detroit Red Wings traded themselves to a Stanley Cup when they obtained Earl Seibert...

Toronto's Conny Smythe backs up the Ross claim and looks upon Red Wings as the club to take it all...even Montreal isn't so sure but what they're right...they all agree Seibert will be a damaging fellow in the playoffs now that he isn't carrying a whole team around on his back, which was his chore at Chicago...even goalie Frank McCool of the Leafs gets in a plug for Seibert when he remarks that massive Earl is the most fearsome sight in the whole NHL when he comes charging over the blue line.

It is more than likely that the defensive strength added to the team by old Professor Adams when he secured Earl Seibert is the real cause of the improvement in the work of goalie Lumley.

If and when a hockey "Fall of Fame" is established in Canada - one guy who would seem to richly deserve entry is Earl Seibert, currently starring on defense for Detroit Red Wings. The swashbuckling Seibert has a brilliant 14-year record in the National Hockey League behind him and experts claim he's every bit as good today as at any stage of his sparkling career. Earl is 33 years of age and, barring accidents, has many good years of hockey left in him. A deadly shot and noted as one of the most solid bodycheckers in the business, Seibert is among the few remaining defencemen who can carry the puck from end to end. He spurns modern methods of hurling the rubber into a corner and chasing it.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Sergei Zubov, D

(Much of this information supplied by ck26)

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 lbs
Shot: Right

Stanley Cup winner: 1999, 1994
Stanley Cup finalist: 2000
Olympic gold medal: 1992

NHL second-team all-star: 2006
NHL all-star game: 2000, 1999, 1998
3x top-10 in assists (all skaters): 4th (93-94: 77 (Gretzky, 92)), 9th (97-98: 47 (Gretzky, 67)), 10th (05-06: 58 (Thornton, 96))

Other Notables
Highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in NHL history
FIRST DEFENSEMAN TO EVER LEAD A FIRST-PLACE TEAM IN SCORING (1994 NY Rangers)
SECOND DEFENSEMAN TO EVER LEAD A STANLEY CUP CHAMPION IN REGULAR-SEASON SCORING (Bobby Orr, 1970 Boston Bruins)

Norris Trophy Voting
1993-1994: 4th (Bourque, Stevens, MacInnis)
1999-2000: 9th (Pronger, Lidstrom, Blake, Desjardins, Gonchar, Chelios, Bourque, X)
2000-2001: 8th (Lidstrom, Bourque, Stevens, Blake, Leetch, Gonchar, MacInnis)
2002-2003: 8th (Lidstrom, MacInnis, D Hatcher, Gonchar, Blake, Jovanovski, Chara)
2005-2006: 3rd (Lidstrom, Niedermayer)
2006-2007: 9th (Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Pronger, Boyle, X, Phaneuf, Gonchar, Souray)

CAREER STATS
88-89 CSKA Moscow 29gp 1g 4a 5p 10pim
89-90 CSKA Moscow 48gp 6g 2a 8p 16pim
90-91 CSKA Moscow 41gp 6g 5a 11p 12pim
91-92 CSKA Moscow 36gp 4g 7a 11p 6pim
92-93 Binghamton (AHL) 30gp 7g 29a 36p 14pim +31 11gp 5g 5a 10p +2
92-93 NY Rangers 49gp 8g 23a 31p 4pim -1
93-94 NY Rangers 78gp 12g 77a 89p 39pim +20 22gp 5g 14a 19pts 0pim
94-95 NY Rangers 38gp 10g 26a 36p 18pim -2 10gp 3g 8a 11p 2pim
95-96 Pittsburgh P 64gp 11g 55a 66p 22pim +28 18gp 1g 14a 15p 26pim
96-97 Dallas Stars 78gp 13g 30a 43p 24pim +19 7gp 0g 3a 3p 2pim
97-98 Dallas Stars 73gp 10g 47a 57p 16pim +16 17gp 4g 5a 9p 2pim
98-99 Dallas Stars 81gp 10g 41a 51p 20pim +9 23gp 1g 12a 13p 4pim
99-00 Dallas Stars 77gp 09g 33a 42p 18pim -2 18gp 2g 7a 9p 6pim
00-01 Dallas Stars 79gp 10g 41a 51p 24pim +22 10gp 1g 5a 6p 4pim
01-02 Dallas Stars 80gp 12g 32a 44p 22pim -4
02-03 Dallas Stars 82gp 11g 44a 55p 26pim +21 12gp 4g 10a 14p 4pim
03-04 Dallas Stars 77gp 07g 35a 42p 20pim e 5gp 1g 1a 2p 0pim
05-06 Dallas Stars 78gp 13g 58a 71p 46pim +20 5gp 1g 5a 6p 6pim
06-07 Dallas Stars 78gp 12g 42a 54p 26pim e 6gp 0g 4a 4p 2pim
07-08 Dallas Stars 46gp 04g 31a 35p 12pim +6 11gp 1g 5a 6p 4pim
08-09 Dallas Stars 10gp 00g 04a 04p 0pim -4
09-10 St. Petersburg (KHL) 53gp 10g 32a 42p 32pim +8 4gp 0g 2a 2p 0pim
NHL TOTALS: 1068 GP - 152 G - 619 A - 771 Pts

NHL Playoffs
164 GP – 24 G – 93A – 117 Pts
1999 Lead Playoffs in +/-

Notable Playoff Runs
1994: Won Stanley Cup: 19 pts in 22 GP: t-7th in NHL/2nd among Dmen (4th on team)
1996: Lost Conference Finals: 15 pts in 18 GP: t-17th in NHL/3rd among Dmen (4th on team)
1999: Won Stanley Cup: 13 pts in 23 GP: t-13th in NHL/3rd among Dmen (6th on team)
2003: Lost 2nd Round: 14 pts in 12 GP: t-7th in NHL/2nd among Dmen (2nd on team)


Dallas Stars Season-by-Season Results
Zubov's years with Dallas bolded. The only other significant additions Dallas made for 1996/1997 were the free agent signings of 53-point scorer Pat Verbeek and grinder Dave Reid. That summer's trade of Kevin Hatcher for Sergei Zubov appears to be one of the best in franchise history:

1993–94 … 84 GP … 097 pts … 3rd, Central division, 2nd round of playoffs
1994–95 … 48 GP … 042 pts … 5th, Central division, 1st round of playoffs
1995–96 … 82 GP … 066 pts … 6th, Central division, missed playoffs
1996–97 … 82 GP … 104 pts … 1st, Central division, 1st round of playoffs
1997–98 … 82 GP … 109 pts … 1st, Central division, Conference Finals (Stars added Ed Belfour)
1998–99 … 82 GP … 114 pts … 1st, Pacific division, Stanley Cup Champions (Star added Brett Hull)
1999–00 … 82 GP … 102 pts … 1st, Pacific division, Stanley Cup Finals
2000–01 … 82 GP … 106 pts … 1st, Pacific division, 2nd round of playoffs
2001–02 … 82 GP … 090 pts … 4th, Pacific division, missed playoffs
2002–03 … 82 GP … 111 pts … 1st, Pacific division, 2nd round of playoffs
2003–04 … 82 GP … 097 pts … 2nd, Pacific division, 1st round of playoffs
2005–06 … 82 GP … 112 pts … 1st, Pacific division, 1st round of playoffs
2006–07 … 82 GP … 107 pts … 3rd, Pacific division, 1st round of playoffs
2007–08 … 82 GP … 097 pts … 3rd, Pacific division, Conference finals
2008–09 … 82 GP … 83pts … 3rd, Pacific division, missed playoffs
2009–10 … 82 GP … 88 pts … 5th, Pacific division, missed playoffs
2010–11 … 82 GP … 95 its … 5th, Pacific division, missed playoffs
2011-12 … 82 GP … 89 pts … 4th, Pacific division, missed playoffs

Dallas the year before Zubov came (95-96): GF - 227 (23rd of 26) / GA - 280 (19th of 26)
Dallas in Zubov's first year (96-97): GF - 252 (7th of 26) / GA - 198 (3rd of 26)
*It should be noted that Ken Hitchcock only coached the last 43 games of 1995-96, with 96-97 being his first full season, there was not a large difference in records in 96 when Hitchcock took over (11-19-9 before / 15-23-5 after)

In the late 1990s, the Dallas Stars emerged as one of the dominant franchises in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999 and returning to the finals in 2000. Night in and night out, coach Ken Hitchcock sent out an incredible lineup that boasted goalie Ed Belfour and skaters Brett Hull, Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk, to name just a few. But it may be said that no other player has been as crucial to the team's success as its Russian defenseman, Sergei Zubov.

An offensive-minded rearguard, the 6-foot 1-inch, 200-pound Zubov adds tremendous scoring as well as consistent leadership on the power play. "He brings his great skill with him, and his performance has been so consistent," says Stars general manager Bob Gainey.

Zubov played four seasons with Moscow's Central Red Army team, between 1988 and 1992. In 1990 the New York Rangers drafted Zubov in the fifth round with the 85th overall pick. They assigned him to their AHL farm team in Binghamton, New York, in 1992, and after 30 games he'd registered 36 points and earned a promotion. In his first 49 NHL games he generated a promising 8 goals and 31 points. His second season, 1993-94, he reached his offensive zenith, scoring 77 assists and 89 points. He added 5 goals and 19 points during the playoffs to help the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup since 1940.

After parts of three seasons in the Ranger organization, Zubov was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After only one year in Penguin black and gold, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars. He quickly became a favorite of the Texas fans, wowing them with his strong skating and superb stickhandling, both traits that were at a premium within coach Hitchcock's defensive system.

Although Zubov has traditionally taken few penalties, he is not afraid of physical play. He specializes in quick rushes out of the defensive zone and is an expert at making short, hard passes to set up a forward [breaking out of the defensive zone]. In 1996-97, his first season in Dallas, he was tops among all NHL defenders with 47 assists.

Zubov and the Stars returned to the finals yet again in 2000, only to fall short against a talented New Jersey Devils squad. One of the more durable players in the league, Zubov played in his 700th NHL game during the 2001-02 season and registered career point number 500 that same year, while helping team Russia earn a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Sergei Zubov may be the greatest "second tier" player in NHL history.

By "second tier" I mean he was an amazing hockey player that somehow always escaped the limelight and accolades that were always present for peers like Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Nicklas Lidstrom and one time teammate Brian Leetch.

Sergei Zubov played in 16 NHL seasons, putting up impressive totals: 1068 games played, 152 goals, 619 assists and 771 points. In doing so Zubov became the third European defenseman (Nicklas Lidstrom and Borje Salming) and the first Russian defenseman to record 700 career NHL points

He is also the only defenseman in NHL history to lead a first overall place team in scoring. Bobby Orr didn't even do that. Zubov did that in 1994, the same year he played an instrumental role in helping the Rangers capture the Stanley Cup, giving Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brian Leetch a serious challenge for best defenseman on the team.

Right from Zubov's debut in the NHL he was recognized as one of hockey's smoothest and most intelligent defensemen. He was a brilliant skater, both in terms of speed and lateral ability, and puck handler. The right handed defenseman was a great power play quarterback, seeing the ice incredibly well. He had a good and accurate shot, when he was not reluctant to use it. Where he would get himself into trouble was when he would overhandle the puck at the point. Instead of just putting the puck on net or dumping the puck into the corner when he was pressured, Zubov often tried to make a play out of nothing, making for dangerous turnovers.

Zubov matured into a fantastic two way player, outgrowing rookie over-indulgance for offense at the expense of defense. Because of his skating he was tough to beat one-on-one. He had good size and did not shy away in physical games, although he would never himself play a mean game. He relied more on his reach and agility.

Forget about mean. Some people actually criticized Zubov for not showing enough emotion in games. This notion was ridiculous, an absolute sign of misunderstanding hockey greatness. Zubov was raised in the old Soviet Union, and was trained to be a coldly analytical defenseman like Viacheslav Fetisov or Alexander Ragulin. Hockey was like chess to these guys. They dissected the game into mathematics and probabilities. They played the game with a computer's mindset rather than by raw instinct.

For all his obvious brilliance and his consistently impressive campaigns, only once was he a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman. That was in 2005-06, an amazing thirteen years into his impressive career. The same year he made his only post-season All Star team.

At the height of his game was a masterful blue line catalyst, not unlike Mark Howe or boyhood idol Viacheslav Fetisov.

Part of the reason why he was never recognized as a truly elite defenseman was the fact that it took him a long time to shake his reputation as a high-risk defenseman. True, he made his fair share of bad breakout passes and pinches, but that has to be expected with offensive defensemen.He matured into less of a gambler upon his arrival in Dallas. Not everyone knew that though, because aside from the 1999 Stanley Cup championship run, the Stars were rarely in the national focus.

Another reason may have been his unceremonious departure from Pittsburgh. A year after the Rangers' Stanley Cup victory Zubov was moved with Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh in a blockbuster deal for Ulf Sameulsson and Luc Robitaille. Despite putting up 66 points in 64 regular season games and 15 points in a long 18 game playoff run, Zubov would be moved once again at the end of the season, this time Dallas where he is best remembered. A popular theory out there has Mario Lemieux chasing Zubov out of town because he was not happy with Zubov on the power play. Both players needed to be in control of the puck. Problem was there was only one puck on the ice!

Over the next decade in Dallas Zubov matured into a consistent defenseman at both ends of the ice. Zubov's point totals may have settled just a touch in Dallas, but he was every bit a key Dallas component towards success as Brett Hull or Mike Modano or Derian Hatcher were.

In the summer of 2009 Sergei Zubov returned home to Russia, signing with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. Many are suggesting Zubov, who spent much of his last two seasons in Dallas on the injured list, has played his last game in the NHL, a very real possibility given that he is now 40 years old.

I finally have a chance to write about the Stars again, and more specifically, the story that is in the process of completion as speak: The exit of the great Sergei Zubov.

I think many of us hate to see this happen. Zubov is one of my absolute favorite Dallas Stars for years and years. Imagining this organization moving on without him is as tough to process as moving on without Mike Modano or Jere Lehtinen. But, there comes a time. And that time is now it would appear. Zubov and his agent claim that they have up to 9 teams who are interested in Zubov. That is a believable number, and in reality, you wonder what the other 20 teams are thinking. A healthy Zubov merits a spot on any team in the National Hockey League. A healthy Zubov is amazing.

A healthy Zubov, say one that is somewhere between the ages of 25-37, is one that kills all of the penalties, powers all of the power plays, and plays roughly 30 minutes of every 60 minute playoff game. He is the calmest player on the ice, but also plays with incredible vision and clarity of what each moment calls for. There is no question that Sergei Zubov is a player who belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and it will be an absolute travesty if that doesn’t happen.

But, that is for later. What about now? [While Zubov was out injured] Didn’t the Dallas Stars have the 27th best Power Play in the NHL? And, didn’t they also have the 24th best Penalty Kill in the NHL? And would anyone argue that he is the very best defensemen on both of those units that the Dallas Stars have EVER had? – (Some might suggest Derian Hatcher was the better penalty killer for his fine work clearing the crease in front of Ed Belfour, but I would roll with Zubie) – I think back to the firing of Dave Tippett, and when Joe Nieuwendyk was at the press conference he made reference to the special teams not being terribly special. I would interject that Dave Tippett was trying to make due without his best option on the ice.

He has been a fabulous member of the Stars organization, and his #56 must be retired moments after he does.

http://stars.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=39282
http://insidecorner.dmagazine.com/2009/07/16/preparing-for-life-after-zubov/

Alex Goligoski’s struggles with the Stars this season have given me a greater appreciation of Sergei Zubov. Sellout crowds serenaded GK Ed Belfour at the turn of the 2000 decade when the Stars were among the best teams in hockey. Those crowds also cheered the goal-scoring theatrics of Brett Hull, Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk. But I always believed Zubov was the glue that held that team together. The Russian influence on the NHL was puck control. There was no wasted motion, no wasted passes, few wasted shots. The Igor Larionovs, Sergei Fedorovs and Alexander Mogilnys dazzled North American hockey with their skating and stick work. They controlled pucks and games.

Zubov was a master at it. Hockey is played at an often-frantic pace, but when Zubov claimed the puck, the game slowed down. A calm was restored in the Stars’ defensive end. Everyone in the building could exhale because the Stars would no longer be in danger in their own zone.

Zubov was going to move the puck in the other direction. He could single-handedly win a game of keep-a-way. AFTER ZUBOV ARRIVED IN DALLAS IN 1996, THE STARS BEGAN COMPETING FOR STANLEY CUPS. THEY MADE A QUANTUM LEAP IN THE STANDINGS FROM 66 POINTS TO 104 THAT SEASON AND WON THEIR FIRST DIVISION TITLE IN 13 YEARS. WHEN A HIP INJURY ENDED ZUBOV'S NHL CAREER IN 2008, THE STARS STOPPED COMPETING FOR STANLEY CUPS. THEY HAVENT' BEEN BACK TO THE PLAYOFFS SINCE HIS DEPARTURE.

What Zubov gave this franchise would be difficult for anyone to match. The Stars have seven 100-point seasons in franchise history, and Zubov was on the ice for all of them. Literally. He annually ranked among the league leaders in ice time, averaging almost 26 minutes per game in his Stars career. In the 1999 Stanley Cup championship season, Zubov averaged better than 30 minutes per game in the playoffs. Zubov was the franchise’s security blanket. The Stars wanted him on the ice as much as possible because when he touched the puck, good things happened. HE WAS A PLUS-148 IN HIS NHL CAREER.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/co...oski-needs-to-be-this-team-s-sergei-zubov.ece

ZUBOV IS KEY TO VICTORY
Sergei Zubov, whose absence the last month left Dallas's power play sagging, assisted on two goals with a man advantage last night as the host Stars beat San Jose, 4-0, in the opener of their second-round series.

The Stars came into the game just 2 for 26 on the power play this postseason, but that was without Zubov, who usually runs the unit.

Zubov had a hand in the first one as he backhanded a shot into Shields that caromed to Modano. He was wide open in front of the net and swatted it in for a 2-0 lead with 5:59 left in the first period.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/29/sports/nhl-last-night-zubov-is-key-to-victory.html

"He's like Troy Aikman would be to any NFL team. He's a quarterback, and a great one. He can quarterback the powerplay and he can quarterback the team during even strength."http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAIBAJ&pg=6984,5703035&dq=sergei+zubov&hl=en

By that, Hitchcock means Zubov is a master of directing traffic. Like a basketball point guard, he gets his teammates the puck in the places where they're most comfortable shooting. He's also an exert at zipping the "breakout" pass from his own goal line to the red line, thus springing his forwards for breakaway rushes.http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAIBAJ&pg=6984,5703035&dq=sergei+zubov&hl=en

 

[tony d]

Esa Tikkanen, Left Wing

Picture courtesy of a google image search:

Stats and personal information courtesy of hockeyreference.com:

Position: LW ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 6-1 (185 cm)
Weight: 190 lbs. (86 kg)

Born: January 25, 1965 (Age 51.037) in Helsinki, Finland

- 4 time Selke finalist
- 3 top 10 short handed goals finishes
- 132 points in 186 career playoff games
- 630 points in 877 career regular season games
- 3 30 goal seasons

Legends Of hockey:

When the Oilers were looking for a third man to round out the team's first line, he got the opportunity to play alongside Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri. The three seasons between 1986 and 1989, when he occupied left wing on the line with his famous teammates, were his most productive in the NHL, earning him 78, 74 and 78 points respectively.

With the departure of Gretzky from the Oilers, Tikkanen's role became even more important. In 1990, when the Alberta team captured the Cup a fourth time, their first without the illustrious number 99, Tikkanen had a truly great series with 24 points in 22 playoff games.

The next stage of his NHL career was with the New York Rangers. It started out in a rather dramatic fashion, with Tikkanen playing against the Edmonton Oilers. His old club had traded him only four hours earlier on March 17, 1993, in a swap for American center Doug Weight. In the Big Apple, Tikkanen was again in the right place at the right time, helping the Rangers end their 54-year Stanley Cup drought.

Joe Pelletier:

Tik was one of hockey's most colorful characters. He was one of those guys you love to have on your team, but you can't stand playing against him. He's a pest, an aggravator and a troublemaker, yet at the same time an electric teammate who brought tons of life to a team. He shadowed the opposition's best forwards and at the same time came up with big goals himself.

He was perhaps as perfect a defensive specialist who ever played in the NHL. An aggressive forechecker with great anticipatory skills, Tik literally shadowed the opposition's superstar on a nightly basis. Not only did he successfully smother that player, but he aggravated the hell out of him too. He would do almost anything - yapping his not-always-clean mouth, using his stick in a unceremonious fashion, or physical abuse bordering on mugging charges. He hounded his assignment relentlessly. The better the name, the better Tik played. Not only did this get the superstar off of his game, but it got the whole opposition off of their game. The team became more worried about protecting their superstar and getting even with Tikkanen. Tik thrived in that role, and so did his team, who would then proceed to take apart the opposition offensively. While Tik never won the Frank J Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward, he was a finalist on 4 occasions.

Final Thoughts:

Glad to have Tikkanen, I feel he's going to be quite the pest to deal with for opposition 1st lines in this thing, glad to have him.

 

[tony d]

jean Pronovost, Right Wing

Image courtesy of a google image search:

Personal info and stats courtesy of hockey reference.com:

Position: RW ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-0 (183 cm)
Weight: 185 lbs. (84 kg)

Born: December 18, 1945 (Age 70.075) in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec

- 4 40 goal seasons
- 774 points in 998 career games
- 4 time all star
- 99th all time in career goals
- 4 top 10 finishes in game winning goals

Legends Of Hockey:

Jean Pronovost was the eleventh of 12 children. His older brother, Marcel, had already hit the road to a successful career in pro hockey by the time young Jean laced up a set of blades. But nonetheless, big brother Marcel remained Jean's idol even though he was not present to oversee his development in hockey.
Having an all-star defenseman for a brother convinced the younger Pronovost that playing a well-rounded brand of hockey with defense as a foundation was the best way to insure success.

In 1975-76, on a line with XXXX. and XXXX, he achieved the pinnacle of his career when he scored 52 goals in 80 games. In 1978, Pronovost was traded to the Atlanta Flames for XXXX. In Georgia, Pronovost continued to play his usual rock-solid, two-way game. But the club failed to generate even a hint of contending for the Cup -- the one elusive achievement lacking in his career. He noted that the Flames had talent, but they appeared, from his perspective, to lack the necessary desire to win.

Joe Pelletier:

Jean Pronovost was no slouch either. He played 998 NHL regular season games, scoring 391 goals including 52 in 1975-76 with Pittsburgh.

It was with the Penguins that Pronovost enjoyed his best seasons. He was a nice piece on one of the top lines of the 1970s along side center XXXX. and left winger XXXX.

Final Thoughts:

I was glad to get Pronovost, guy seems like a good 2 way for a 3rd line.