MLD 2014 BIO Thread

[VanIslander]

Post bios here for future reference.

Stats, quotes, references to books, newspapers and other sources are all welcomed.

The All-time Bio Thread has ATD and MLD bios on it and are good to look at next time and beyond!

Click to read more...

 

[ResilientBeast]

2 time third team all star (2012, 2014)
3rd in Hart Voting 2014
4th in Hart Voting 2012
Ted Lindsay Finalist 2014
377 Pts in 415 Games
61 Pts in 57 Playoff Games

Assists
2010-11 NHL 51 (8)
2011-12 NHL 65 (2)
2012-13 NHL 35 (6)
2013-14 NHL 58 (4)


Points
2010-11 NHL 78 (11)
2011-12 NHL 93 (3)
2012-13 NHL 48 (13)
2013-14 NHL 86 (3)


Adjusted Points
2010-11 NHL 83 (10)
2011-12 NHL 103 (3)
2013-14 NHL 96 (2)


Adjusted Assists
2010-11 NHL 55 (8)
2011-12 NHL 71 (2)
2012-13 NHL 66 (6)
2013-14 NHL 64 (4)

Less than six years after the general manager forgot his name at the draft podium, Claude Giroux has become the face of the Philadelphia Flyers.

And after a star turn on HBO’s 24/7, where the fellow nicknamed G stood out as much for his personality as his playmaking, his profile is on the rise – perhaps to the point he can help fill the void left by Sidney Crosby as one of the league’s marquee names.

One month after turning 24, Giroux entered this week’s NHL games tied for second in league scoring with Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos and trailing only Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin.

Unlike that pair, however, Giroux was never picked at the top of the draft and was a walk-on tryout in the Quebec junior league at 17 after every Ontario Hockey League team passed him over.

Giroux remains one of only a dozen NHL regulars listed under 175 pounds, but his teammates all rave how he plays big and has a rare willingness to go anywhere on the ice.

“The one thing that sets him out from a lot of players,†winger XXX said, “is he’s got a huge heart. He just battles for every little bit possible.â€

Beyond those obvious charms, Giroux is also a coach’s dream, with XXX leaning on him as his top forward in almost every situation.

“Claude has really become a go-to guy,†XXX said, a reference to Giroux’s growing faceoff prowess that might as well apply to the rest of his game. “Someone you can count on.â€

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/claude-giroux-a-little-big-man/article546286/

Giroux’s greatest talent is his playmaking ability. Boasting excellent hands and great vision, the diminutive winger is able to use his quick skating ability to turn something out of nothing. Giroux, despite his size disadvantage, does not mind getting his nose dirty, and will stand in to take a hit in order to make a play. He does get bodied often, but the shifty winger is agile enough to avoid checks on a regular basis.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/claude_giroux/

Scouting Report: A lack of size will always hurt Giroux's NHL status, but his offensive prowess is undeniable. He led all QMJHL rookies with 103 points in 69 games in 2005-06... led Gatineau and finished in a tie for 11th place in the overall scoring race... an Ontario native, Giroux was passed over in the OHL Priority Selection and wound up with Gatineau as a walk-on... owns an impressive offensive arsenal and plenty of hockey sense... displays the guts required for smaller players to flourish in the pro game... must play a simpler game when the competition becomes greater...

Impact: In very un-Philly fashion, the Flyers add a tremendous offensive boost for the future. They had enough size and grit but needed more scoring potential in their ranks. Giroux should eventually develop nicely alongside the likes of XXX, XXX, XXX et al. He'll need to add some bulk, but he could be the steal of the first round.

http://www.hockeywilderness.com/2012/8/11/3228546/what-if-the-wild-had-selected-claude-giroux-instead-of-james-sheppard

 

[ResilientBeast]

Goals
2006-07 NHL 43 (5)
2008-09 NHL 40 (5)

2006-07 NHL NHL All-Star Team (2nd)

Has scored at least 20 goals in every season he has played.

2 Time 40 Goal Scorer
6 Time 60 Point Scorer

From VanIslanders excellent Bio

Texas selects a 6'2, 208 lbs. left winger who is a 2nd team NHL all-star, two times top-5 in NHL goals and has 313 points over 5 full NHL seasons, who had been the MVP of the NCAA championship Frozen Four tourney as a Golden Gopher freshman, scoring the winners in the semifinal and final, going on to gain a rep as a clutch scorer in the NHL with 25 game winners and the NHL Plus-Minus Award for a league high +47 season. He scored his NHL franchise's 10,000th goal and impressively scored four natural hat tricks in a row, matching an NHL record set by Cy Denneny between 1923 and 1924 with the old Ottawa Senators. The Austrian led the NHL in powerplay goals that season with 20 despite missing a couple of weeks with a fractured jaw. Better panic, here comes...

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=26577815&postcount=609

Thomas Vanek has had a stellar NHL career which had humble beginnings. As a member of the Gophers at University of Minnesota for two seasons, Vanek scored an impressive fifty-seven goals and fifty-six assists in just eight-three games. In the 2002-2003 season, Vanek’s stellar play helped the Gophers win a national championship while it earned him NCAA Froze Four Tournament MVP honors and he was named to the Froze Four All-Tournament Team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

His forty-two goals were the most ever scored by a rookie in the history of the Rochester Americans. Vanek played a leading role on a team that set several franchise records and finished with a 51-19-6-4 record.

After his time in the AHL, Thomas Vanek would spend his first eight NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Vanek put up one hundred and thirty-two points in his first two seasons. In the 2006-2007 season, Vanek led the league in plus/minus with a +47 and he was a fundamental part of a dynamic Sabres offense that scored three hundred and eight goals - twenty more goals than the next closest team.

Despite the criticism, Vanek performed well for the Sabres. He averaged at least thirty goals and sixty points each season for the next five seasons. His success in Buffalo always was tempered for fans by his large contract and many debated whether or not he lived up to it to the money.

In addition to his offensive skills, on intangible of Vanek’s game is his strong will to win. While he had many critics in Buffalo, perhaps Vanek’s biggest critic is himself. Vanek is a tireless worker who constantly holds himself accountable. When he misses an opportunity, fans will often see him voice his frustrations as he heads to the bench. His fire and passion for the game is infectious and it often leads him to follow up a missed opportunity with a great play.

http://thehockeywriters.com/time-bring-thomas-vanek-back-state-hockey/

 

[Hedberg]

LW Herb Cain

5'11, 165 lbs
Shoots Left

1943-44 2nd Team All-Star
1935, 1941 Stanley Cup Champion

2nd (43-44), 2nd (44-45), 4th (39-40), 8th (34-35) in Goals
3rd (43-44) in Assists
1st (43-44) in Points

206 G, 194 A, 400 in Pts in 570 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey

Cain was a tremendous player during his lengthy and successful career.

Coach T.P. Gorman formed the explosive Green Line (Cain, Bob Gracie, and Gus Marker) and the English Montrealers won the Stanley Cup in the spring of 1935.

In 1939, Cain was sent to Boston for Charlie Sands, and he became one of the most popular players in town. At the time, he became the 13th player to score 200 career goals and won the scoring championship with a then-record 82 points. I

Joe Pelletier

Coaches love a player who practices as hard as he plays. Herb Cain was an enthusiastic and gifted skater who fits the previous description.

In November of 1939 he was traded to Boston where he would emerge as one of hockey's top players. In 1943-44 ... [he] set the NHL record for points in one season with 82. A very popular player with the Bruins fans, Cain's other big moment with the Bruins came in 1945-46 when he became just the 13th player in NHL history to score 200 goals in a career.

His departure from Boston left the bitterest of memories for Cain. Art Ross, the Bruins boss, decided Cain's career in the NHL was over. Though other teams inquired about his services, Ross was determined to bury Cain, a 2nd team all star just two years earlier, in the minor leagues.

Why? Turns out Cain held out for more money one year in Boston. Nowadays players withholding their services for more money is commonplace, but back then it simply was not done, and anyone who tried was punished. Cain was punished by being sent down to AHL Hershey with the condition that Hershey could not sell him to any NHL club.

 

[Hedberg]

C Herbert "Buddy" O'Connor

5'7, 145 lbs
Shoots Left

1944, 1946 Stanley Cup Champion
1947-48 Hart Trophy
1947-48 2nd Team All-Star
1948 Lionel Conacher Award

Played in 1949 All-Star Game
Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame

9th (47-48) in Goals
2nd (47-48), 3rd (42-43), 4th (43-44), 9th (48-49) in Assists
2nd (47-48), 9th (43-43) in Points

140 G, 257 A, 397 Pts in 509 NHL GP


Stan Fischler's "Who's Who in Hockey"

An automobile accident forced Buddy to miss much of the following season (48-49), which Ranger's manager Frank Boucher pointed out was the only reason the Rangers failed to make the playoffs.

New York Rangers: Millennium Memories - NY Post
"The Powerhouse: Buddy O'Connor" - originally by Jimmy Powers Nov 2, 1947

M. Boucher really came up with a corking good centre... O'Connor was one of Montreal's best-liked athletes and it is obvious he may well achieve the same status in New York. You cannot help liking the guy... Quiet, retiring off the ice, a gentleman on the ice and an accomplished artist in action by virtue of brains, deft stick handling, and clever maneuvers."

Joe Pelletier

Buddy was a soft-spoken Irishman who was one of the lightest players in NHL history, only weighing 142Ibs. He was a very skilled puck handler with great passing skills. He rarely picked up a penalty and only received 34 PIMs in 509 games.

The Bulletin, Jan 27, 1948

Buddy O'Connor, the New York Rangers's sparkling playmaker...

Montreal Canadiens "Our History":

According to conventional wisdom, 5-foot-7, 142-pound Herbert “Buddy†O’Connor was too small to play in the rough-and-tumble NHL. The Montreal native proved the experts wrong, playing six stellar seasons with the Canadiens to begin his Hall of Fame career.

A masterful stickhandler and powerful skater who could control the puck as well with his skates as with his stick, O’Connor often wove his way through entire opposing teams.

In his first three seasons with the Canadiens, the newcomer accumulated over 100 assists, lifting fans from their seats with his artistry before dishing the puck to teammates who almost invariably redirected it to the back of the net.

Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol.3 (originally posted by EagleBelfour)

Buddy was a fast and tricky centre with exceptional ability as a playmaker. He could control the puck and his smooth and accurate passes seemed almost effortless. He had a quiet and unasuming manner that enabled him to keep out of trouble, and in consequence he had an extraordinary penalty record.

 

[King Forsberg]

John Van Boxmeer

Reading Eagle, May 9 1980

Buffalo (AP) Though it seemed he had played much more than half the game, John Van Boxmeer was chipper and fresh after helping keep the Buffalo Sabres alive in the NHL semifinals.

It was from the Rockies that Scotty Bowman acquired Van Boxmeer for the Buffalo Sabres in 1979. Bowman was now with the Sabres and recalled how he had reluctantly moved Van Boxmeer three seasons earlier. The Sabres need the two-way flexibility the defenseman provided. Van Boxmeer responded with a +40 season and help the Sabres climb to first place in their division.

Norris Voting
11th - 1982
18th - 1981

All Star Voting
11th - 1982
17th - 1981
25th - 1980

Played 58% of teams Powerplays
Killed 21% of teams penalties

Team Scoring (Scoring among D men)
1978 - 3rd (2nd)
1979 - 4th (1st)
1980 - 8th (1st)
1981 - 4th (1st)
1982 - 2nd (1st)

Defensemen Scoring
4th - 1981
7th - 1982
12th - 1978
12th - 1980
19th - 1979

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Brian Bellows, W

2nd Team All-Star in 1990
3rd in goals in 1990
4th in 1991 playoff scoring, led North Stars in scoring in SC final defeat

Captain of North Stars in 1994

Traded to the Montreal Canadiens just prior to the 1992-93 season, Bellows proved to be the key component the Habs had been looking for. He sparked the team’s offense using size and strength to overcome the clutch and grab tactics used in the NHL of the 1990s. Bellows adapted quickly to his new home, registered the fourth 40-goal campaign of his career in his first season in Montreal.

An exciting and gritty player, Bellows put his speed and puck-carrying ability to good use for the Canadiens, catching passes on the fly and bearing down on his target. He was, as he had been since childhood, always a force to be reckoned with in the offensive zone.

In 1992-93, he finished the regular schedule with 88 points, good enough for third place on the team, and he continued to produce offensively throughout the playoffs. Bellows notched 15 points in the postseason, third best on the team that year, and the Canadiens went all the way, winning Stanley Cup No. 24 that spring.

Bellows also has developed a good touch around the net and he's dangerous with the puck around the bottom of the faceoff circle...He shoots a lot and will chase the rebounds.

Bellows is pretty conscientious defensively and posted the second-best plus/minus on the club, highest among the forwards. He plays his position well and doesn't wander and comes back fairly deep in his own zone.

Bellows is a mucker and grinder. He's gaining strength as he gets older and he's using it better. He's become stronger along the boards and more able to take men off the puck and that complements his finesse game well, because Brian can certainly make plays after he has the puck. He will lean into opposition and hit, and Bellows will take the rough going for his plays.

Bellows combines tremendous scoring ability with excellent physical ability as one of the NHL's best-if unsung-power forwards...That strength and balance makes him almost unbeatable along the boards, his stride driving him through checks and his balance keeping him upright to continue making plays.

Bellows has very good hand skills and makes good plays out of the corner, making accurate passes through a maze of legs or leading a teammate into the clear. He is not, however, an exceptional puck carrier because of his straight ahead style and lack of agility. His excellent hockey sense and vision help him in his playmaking.

Bellows is a mucker and a grinder and likes to initiate the hitting. He is, however, not a heavyweight and you won't find him in any battles with the Proberts and Neelys. And interestingly, unlike other power forwards his size-like Gerard Gallant or Rick Tocchet-fighting is not a part of Bellows' game.

The media out of the midwest is one reason why people don't know how good a player Bellows is. He's tougher than Gallant and a better scorer than Tocchet, yet is virtually unmentioned when discussions rages about the League's best power forwards.

Bellows' physical game powers his finesse game, and it is his ability to work the corners and boards that make him the player he is. His aforementioned skating ability is key, as is Bellows' desire-when he wants to be, he's pretty close to unstoppable; he can initiate a lot of intelligent and effective hitting. He is also very strong in the upper body, so he gets his shot off while being checked or out-wrestles a defenseman for a loose puck.

Players like Bellows, the NHL's power forwards, are the League's most valued commodities.

He can drive the net as well as any of the NHL's best power forwards. He is not very fast on open ice but he is nimble in traffic. Bellows doesn't have many lace-trimmed moves. He prefers traveling the shortest distance between himself and the net.

Bellows has tremendous hand skills and can pick the puck out of a tangle of sticks and skates. He is a good passer but the real beauty of his game lies in his shot. He can shoot in tight or rifle a one-timer from the circle. Bellows is an excellent power play quarterback, and even when other teams try to key on him and shut him down, he can play through it.

Bellows is not a good checker although he plays responsibly and is better than he used to be.

Bellows has incredible strength and he uses every ounce of it, he will grind along the boards and in the corners. He will use his body to bump defensemen off the puck and, when he doesn't get back defensively, will sacrifice himself.

The knock on Bellows in past years has been his inconsistent efforts, but Bellows quieted those critics with an outstanding playoffs. Bellows took nothing for granted during the regular season as he proved himself to a new coach and GM. And when crunch time came in the playoffs, Bellows was there.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Lubomir Visnovsky, D

All-Star Team Voting: 4th (2011), 18th (2007)
Norris Voting: 4th (2011), 10th (2006), 16th (2007)

Defensemen scoring: 1st (11), 4th (06), 8th (07)
Led 2006 Kings in scoring
Team TOI: 1st (2006), 1st (2007), 1st (2011), 2nd (2004), 2nd (2008), 2nd (2009), 3rd (2010), 3rd (2012), 3rd (2013)

1x World Championship All-Star Team in 2003
WC Defensemen scoring: 1st (2003), 1st (2005), 2nd (2000), 3rd (2008)

Winner of Slovakian league MVP during 2004-05 lockout over other NHLers such as Michal Handzus, Pavol Demitra, Miroslav Satan

Assets: Is a solid power-play performer blessed with a blistering shot from the point. Skates very well and possesses great quickness. Adept in the transition game, he likes to lug the puck up ice and has excellent offensive instincts.

Flaws: Is below average in terms of his size (5-10, 197 pounds) for NHL defensemen, so he has trouble handling big forwards at the highest level. Is somewhat injury-prone. Also, he's starting to wear down with age.

Career Potential: Veteran power-play quarterback.

"Well, he's had the type of year that people would have to take notice, not only from a goal-scoring standpoint, but the number of minutes he plays, the matchups he plays -- both him and [Toni] Lydman play against the other teams' top lines consistently," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle told ESPN.com Thursday.

"So people have to take notice when a player is achieving what he's achieving stats-wise, and then you look at the minutes and his role, he's played good hockey for our hockey club."

"He's competitive guy, he's also been very durable this year," Lupul said. "He's played a lot, especially earlier in the year when we were short-staffed on D. I mean, he can shoot the puck, he can rip it from the point and he's able to get a lot of those shots through. And, you know, defensively he reminds me of a guy like Kimmo Timonen in Philly. He doesn't get as much recognition because he's a smaller D, but I've seen him shut down guys like Crosby and Ovechkin and play head to head with them all night."

"I think the game has changed from that standpoint," said Carlyle. "That skill has an opportunity to show itself more than it did before. The no hooking, no holding, no obstruction, it allows the skill player to get himself in position to move the puck more effectively. He's one of those guys, he's a first-pass player, he sees things on the ice that other guys don't see."

The Ducks are hanging on in the Western playoff race and these days are doing it without Vezina-caliber goalie Jonas Hiller. That their season didn't go down the tubes without Hiller shows me just how valuable both Corey Perry and Visnovsky have been this season.

Whether or not the Norris Trophy voters notice is another question.

[QUOTE="11 Los Angeles Kings" Sports Illustrated 10/8/2001]Their defense,
even without Blake, was strong last year. Veteran blueliner
Mathieu Schneider, who efficiently runs the power play, and
Lubomir Visnovsky can dish the puck like point guards.[/QUOTE]

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Billy Taylor, C

Point Finishes: 3rd(1947), 5th(1943), 10th (1946), 12th(1942), 14th (1941)
Goal Finishes: 7th (1946)
Assist Finishes: 1st(1947), 3rd(1941), 4th(1943), 9th (1942), 16th (1946)

Playoff Point Finishes: 4th (1942), 8th(1947)
Playoff Assist Finishes: 2nd(1942), 3rd(1947)

Billy "The Kid" Taylor played over 300 NHL games with four different clubs in the 30s and 40s. He was a fine playmaker and face off man who amassed nearly 200 career assists.

In 1942-43 Taylor finished sixth in NHL scoring with 60 points in 50 games while playing on a line with Lorne Carr and Sweeney Schriner. After spending two years in miltary service, he scored 23 goals for the Leafs in 1945-46. In September, 1946, Taylor was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Harry Watson. He notched 63 points for the Motowners and set an NHL record with seven assists in one game versus the Chicago Black Hawks. He didn't last in Detroit and played for the Bruins and Rangers in 1947-48 before Clarence S. Campbell suspended him for gambling violations.

That boy has everything. He beat us single-handed last Saturday night to put us out of the playoffs, and don't think we didn't try to handle him with bodychecks. He's as elusive as an eel, and he makes no mistakes when opposition crops up.

Here to watch the Dominion junior hockey finals, Lester Patrick today called Billy Taylor, of Oshawa Generals, "the greatest junior I have seen in 20 years."

This was no mean praise, because Patrick as manager of New York Rangers, is interested directly in Oshawa's opposition Edmonton Roamers who are a Ranger farm team. But there was no question about the Silver Fox's enthusiasm for the little Oshawa center.

"The way Taylor passes is incredible." Patrick declared, "I will venture to say there aren't more than a half dozen centers in the National League who lay down passes as well as he does. And he does everything else well. He should have a great career."

Patrick pointed to the fact Taylor bagged five goals when the Generals won the first game of the finals Monday and four goals and five assists in their second straight victory last night. He thought something pretty startling would happen to Oshawa if Taylor were put in the Edmonton lineup Saturday night.

Patrick was asked if Taylor looked better than Charlie Conacher did as a junior, the year before Conacher joined Toronto Maple Leafs. "There, of course, you have almost directly opposite types." Patrick said "IT is hard to draw a comparison, but the statement still goes. Taylor is the best junior I have seen in 20 years. If you must get down to cases, there is the fact that Conacher needed to be fed the puck to pile up his scoring records, while Taylor practically makes his own plays."

Sublime Courage
Andy (Toronto Star) Lytle picked Fred (Cyclone Taylor, Howie Morenz and Milt Schmidt as the three greatest centers of hockey and even named Billy Taylor as better than Syl Apps. Elmer (Monreal Herald) Ferguson comments: "Sir Andrew risks life itself by such a breach declaration in a city where Sylvanus is a legend of flaming white greatness...though darned if we don't believe Andrew is right."

The Leafs acquired 23-year-old Harry Watson from Detroit Red Wings and Vic Lynn from Buffalo Bison and, in turn, Red Wings received the Leafs high-scoring Billy Taylor, one of the most outstanding centers in the NHL.

 

[Hedberg]

RW Mickey Redmond

5'11, 188 lbs
Shoots Right

1968, 1969 Stanley Cup Champion
1972-73 1st Team All-Star
1973-74 2nd Team All-Star

Played in 1974 All-Star Game
Played 1 game in the 1972 Summit Series

2nd (72-73), 3rd (73-74), 9th (71-72) in Goals
7th (72-73) in Points

233 G, 195 A, 428 Pts in 538 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey

Redmond got in on two Stanley Cup victories with the Canadiens before being traded to the Red Wings as part of a package to bring Frank Mahovlich over to Montreal in 1971. In Detroit, Redmond was slowed by injuries in the early going, but quickly bounced back to catch fire. In his second season with the club, he became the first Red Wings in team history to top the 50-goal mark in a single season. And to make sure it wasn't just a dream, he went out and netted another 51 goals the following year.

But his quick rise to the top was followed by an equally fast decline, starting from the moment he felt the first tinge of pain at the base of his back. He played through the intermittent pain for several seasons, until the problem became unbearable. Upon having his back examined it was determined that he'd suffered permanent damage to a nerve running directly to his right leg. The pain grew so severe that he had difficulty walking.

An operation aimed at repairing the damage was unsuccessful, forcing Redmond to retire prematurely at the age of 29 in 1976.

Joe Pelletier:

Mickey Redmond scored 52 goals in 1972-73, becoming only the 7th player in National Hockey League history to score more than 50 goals in one season.

The speedy right wing turned pro with the Montreal Canadiens in 1967.

Redmond, an admittedly streaky scorer and notorious slow starter, was described by his coach Johnny Wilson as erratic but as good as anyone when hot.

"He's dedicated, but he gets disgusted quickly when things go wrong and tends to get down on himself too quickly. But when he gets some breaks and gets going good, he's almost impossible to stop."

Redmond was a bit of a one dimensional player in that his shot was his punch ticket. In 1974 author Bill Libby described Redmond perfectly.

"The 5'11" 185lb Redmond was a strong skater, but not a clever puck-carrier. His strength was in his arms, not his body, and he couldn't barge over people. He had to be set up. But if a team got the puck to him, he had a low wrist shot that he got away with remarkable quickness and a slap shot which had the force and accuracy of a rifle."

 

[Hedberg]

D Dick Redmond

5'11, 178 lbs
Shoots Left

3rd (73-74), 3rd (76-77), 8th (72-73), 8th (74-75), 10th (79-80), 10th (71-72) in Defense Goals
3rd (73-74), 7th (71-72), 7th (72-73), 8th (74-75) in Defense Points

133 G, 312 A, 445 Pts in 771 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey

Redmond established himself as an all-around defenseman who wielded a heavy, accurate shot from the point and could headman the puck to good effect. Such skills kept him in good stead for many years to come as he moved east to Chicago for four-plus seasons.

Joe Pelletier:

Dick Redmond was a confident, almost cocky, defenseman blessed with all the tools - great skater, good vision, and a blistering shot which made him a good power play quarterback. He was not exactly noted for his defensive game, which may have only been average at best, but that was not why he was in the lineup.

Redmond was one of those players who had a real nice skill set but something prevented him from taking that next step. What that something was exactly frustrated fans and coaches alike. Instead he was a level or two below the best - a serviceable offensive blue liner who seemed to wear out his welcome eventually.

Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals (quote originally posted by TheDevilMadeMe)

Most of Redmond's teammates immediately recognized his talents. XXX remembered that Redmond 'had the hardest shot outside of Bobby Hull in the game. He was great on the point of the powerplay...' XXX called Redmond 'as good a skater as I've ever played with. He could shoot the puck hard."

 

[Hedberg]

D Adrian Aucoin

6'2, 215 lbs
Shoots Right

1st (98-99), 10th (01-02) in Defenceman Goals
2nd (01-02), 2nd (02-03), 4th (03-04) in TOI/G

5th (03-04), 8th (01-02) in Norris Voting
Played in 2004 All-Star Game
Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks 05-07

121 G, 278 A, 399 Pts in 1108 NHL GP

Forecaster

Was a savvy veteran. Handled the puck well and settled things down in the defensive zone. Possessed sound leadership qualities, too. Had a very good shot from the point.

Lacked top-level skating ability. Didn't always play with enough aggression in the defensive zone, which hurt his overall effectivness. Lost his shooting prowess late in his career.

Joe Pelletier

Known for his heavy slap shot, Aucoin was one of the last players to use a full wooden stick. He even scored on his very first shot in his first NHL game.
But he was far more than just a heavy shooter. He was really solid if unspectacular in most aspects of the game. He was heavily relied upon by his coaches, often leading his team in ice time.
Peter Laviolette, his coach with the New York Islanders, was never afraid to overwork Aucoin.

"It doesn't seem to affect him," Laviolette says of Aucoin's workload and the possibility that he might burn out his best defenseman. "It doesn't look like he's bothered by all those minutes. His play at the end of the game is sometimes better than it is at the start. His 40th minute may be better than his first. We've watched him, and there's no difference in his play. He absorbs all those minutes and recovers quickly."

Legends of Hockey

After that year, he was drafted by Vancouver, but rather than return to BU he opted to play for Canada's National team, with an eye to the 1994 Olympics.

Aucoin first played for Canada at the 1993 World Juniors on a gold-medal team and fulfilled his dream a year later. He stayed with the National program, and then played at the Lillehammer Olympics, joining Vancouver's AHL affiliate to close out the season and focusing on a career in the NHL.

As a member of Vancouver, he scored a goal in his first NHL game on May 3, 1995 against San Jose. In the next two years he slowly moved up the team's depth chart, and by 1996-97 he was an important part of the team's defence. Two years later, he made greater strides to eminence by scoring 23 goals from the blueline after making a full recovery from the previous year when he missed half a season with a serious ankle and groin injuries. Some 18 of those 23 scores were on the power play, tying a league record for defencemen held by Denis Potvin.

Five for Howling

Brought to Phoenix primarily as a shutdown defenseman, Aucoin demonstrated another hidden talent that the Coyotes put to good use in 2009-10. He set an NHL record for most consecutive game winning shootout goals in a single season, with a quick high glove-side shot that few goaltenders could stop.

 

[Hedberg]

D Dan Hamhuis

6'1, 202 lbs
Shoots Left

2007 World Championship Gold Medal
10th in Norris Voting (11-12)
2014 Olympic Gold Medal

51 G, 216 A, 267 Pts in 755 NHL GP

Forecaster

Can play a sound defensive game, log big minutes and also be used in a shutdown role. Moves the puck well out of the defensive zone. Has loads of hockey sense. Can also be used in an offensive role, if required.

Elite Prospects:

A defenceman with excellent hockey sense. Skilled with the puck, can play big minutes. Not very aggressive, but is a terrific hip-checker.

Canada Olympics

Hamhuis first wore the maple leaf internationally at the IIHF World Junior Championship, winning bronze in 2001 and silver in 2002. He went on to suit up at the IIHF World Championship for the first time in 2006. The following year, he helped Canada win world championship gold, followed by a pair of silvers in 2008 and 2009. Hamhuis returned to the IIHF World Championship in 2013 as Canada finished fifth.

Pass it to Bulis

Hamhuis is one of the most underrated defencemen in the NHL and, this season, he’s even been underrated by many Canucks fans, who have latched onto some of his defensive miscues and turnovers. The fact remains that Hamhuis is the best defencemen on the Canucks, leading the team in ice time and all Canucks defencemen in Corsi%.

The Canucks have outscored their opposition 40-to-28 at even-strength while Hamhuis is on the ice, so the errors that he has made haven’t cost the Canucks too dearly. It seems to me that he has made more errors this season than in previous years because he’s on the ice so much more than before. When you’re on the ice and handling the puck that much, you’re going to make a few mistakes.

Put simply, the Canucks are a far superior team when Hamhuis is on the ice than when he’s on the bench. As an example, when Tom Sestito, the Canucks worst puck possession forward, is on the ice with Hamhuis, his Corsi% is 50%. Normally the Canucks are badly outshot when Sestito is on the ice, though he has improved of late, but when Hamhuis is with him, his puck possession statistics are dead even.

 

[Hedberg]

RW Russell "Barney" Stanley

6'0, 175 lbs
Shoots Left

5th (16-17), 6th (1919) 8th (17-18) in PCHA Scoring
3rd (21-22) in WCHL scoring
1918 PCHA 2nd Team All-Star
21-22, 22-23 WCHL 1st Team All-Star

1915 Stanley Cup Champion
Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame

62 G, 37 A, 99 Pts in 80 PCHA GP
81 G, 36 A, 117 Pts in 137 WCHA GP
0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts in 1 NHL GP

The Morning Leader, Nov 26, 1923

The defense, well aided by Barney Stanley, who acted as a very capable third defense man most of the evening, were equal to the best Ottawa had to show.

Legends of Hockey

For the next three seasons he handled the dual responsibilities of playing and coaching with the Edmonton Dominions and Albertas in the ASHL before signing on with the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in February 1915.

One of Stanley's greatest thrills in hockey occurred during his first game with Vancouver when Cyclone Taylor assisted on his first professional goal in a game at Portland. Vancouver moved on to the PCHA championship that season and hosted the 1915 Stanley Cup series against Ottawa Senators, winners of the National Hockey Association championship. Stanley scored four goals in the third game of the series as Vancouver defeated their Eastern opponents handily by a combined score of 26-8. The victory brought Vancouver its first and only Stanley Cup.

Stanley was a PCHA Second Team All-Star in 1918 and continued with Vancouver until the 1919-20 season when he gained amateur reinstatement and was named the playing coach with Edmonton of the Big-4 League. He turned professional once again with Calgary of the Western Canadian Hockey League in 1921-22 and played with teams in Regina and Edmonton until 1926. After a season as playing coach with the Winnipeg Maroons of the AHA, Stanley was named manager and coach of the Chicago Black Hawks in September 1927. He posted a 4-17-2 record behind the bench and even appeared in his one and only NHL game that season.

Historical Dictionary of Ice Hockey - Laurel Zeisler

During the 1925-26 season, he played for the Edmonton Eskimos, paired on defense with Eddie Shore

The Hockey News Century of Hockey: A Season-Byseason Celebration - Steve Dryden

Former Chicago coach Barney Stanley designs a pith and fibre helmet and presents it at an NHL governors' meeting

 

[Hedberg]

RW Jimmy Peters

5'11, 165 lbs
Shoots Right

8th (52-53) in Goals
1946, 1950, 1954 Stanley Cup Champion

125 G, 150 A, 275 Pts in 574 GP

Legends of Hockey

Jimmy Peters was a scrappy winger who was known as a "Fighting Irishman" in the company of the Flying Frenchmen of Quebec.

In the early years, Peters usually skated on the Habs' defensive line. In that context, Peters excelled as an effective checker and a nifty stickhandler with a respectable shot. The rap on his game was that he tended to lack confidence in his own prowess.

During the finals of his first big-league season, Peters and his defensive corps were instrumental in shutting down the Bruins' Kraut Line of Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart. The end result was a Stanley Cup victory for the Habs.

Years Of Glory: The Official Book of the NHL's Six-team Era (originally posted by seventieslord):

Jim Peters played an important role in the Wings' championship season.

The Windsor Daily Star Mar 20 1946

The famed pony line was sent against Billy Reay, Jimmy Peters... of the Candiens who checked them closely all night and it was seldom indeed when they could get a shot away

The Montreal Gazette Mar 25 1947

They also have the best checking line in hockey in Kenny Mosdell... and Jimmy Peters. It has been pointed out that none of this line has scored many goals, but the fellows who have played against them have scored even less. And they have been assigned to most of the high-scoring lines in the league.

The Windsor Daily Star Mar 30 1946

For the post-season series cagey Dick Irvin, Canadiens coach, lined up Billy Reay... and Jimmy Peters against the Bentleys-Mosienko trio and his strategy paid dividends.

 

[Hedberg]

LW/C Charley "Rabbit" McVeigh

1923 WCHL 1st Team All-Star (on LW)
1927 Retro Selke Winner

84 G, 88 A, 172 Pts in 397 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey:

Forward Charley McVeigh was a consistent two-way player for nearly 400 games in the 1920s and '30s. He managed to hit double figures in goals four times despite playing on weak teams for most of his career.

Greatest Hockey Legends:

McVeigh was nicknamed Rabbit because he was so quick on the ice. According to the Time account above, he was also quite the scrappy player. Considering he was quite small at 5'6" and 145lbs, it was a good thing this early day pest was able to dart away from the many bigger players who must have wanted to pound him.

The Border Cities Star, Dec 12, 1931

McVeigh, the tiny veteran who won his name by his agility at jumping over his rival's sticks without losing the puck.

The Border Cities Star, Feb 1, 1927

McVeigh, a real goal-getter as well as a skating whirlwind and amateur contortionist. McVeigh is called the most popular player in Chicago and it's not all because he can tumble around the ice like a jumping jack.

TIME magazine, March 10th, 1941 (originally posted by VanIslander)

Pint-sized Charles ("Rabbit") McVeigh came home from World War I hard of hearing and full of fight. Like many another Canadian, he turned to U. S. hockey for a living. A star forward, the scrappy little fellow made a name for himself as a rough-&-tumble player, who never minded how big they came. Some time ago National Hockey League Linesman McVeigh, fractious as ever, called a close one on the Detroit Red Wings. Up streaked burly Ebbie Goodfellow, Red Wings captain, to give the umpire a piece of his mind. Calmly eying the big man hovering over him, McVeigh waited until he paused for breath, then let him have one. 'Listen!' said he icily, 'In the last war I got a dollar ten a day for killing big tramps like you!'

Blades on Ice by Chrys Goyens and Frank Orr (originally posted by VanIslander)

Dick Irvin, Mickey MacKay, George Hay and Rabbit McVeigh were the cornerstone of the Chicago franchise.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Red Hamill, LW

Hamill was known as a tough but clean player. Not much of a playmaker at all, he had an outstanding peak as a goal scorer.

Awards and Acheivements
Stanley Cup Champion (1939)
Chicago Blackhawks Captain (1947)

Scoring
Points: 15th (1942), 15th (1946), 19th (1943), 20th (1947)
Goals: 2nd(1942), 3rd(1943), 9th(1946), 15th(1947)

Missed 1944 and 1945 due to WW2.

In the 4 seasons before and after World War II, which are 1942, 1943, 1946, and 1947, Hamill was 2nd in goals. Max Bentley, Doug Bentley, Syl Apps, Toe Blake, and Sid Abel were among the leaders.

Red Hamill made a six game NHL appearance with the Boston Bruins during the 1937-38 season. He came back for another six the following season, and stayed through the playoffs, sharing in the Bruins Stanley Cup victory, their first in a decade. The tough, hard-hitting winger divided his time between the Bruins and the IAHL Hershey Bears for the next three seasons before being sold to Chicago in December 1941.

With a brief interruption for military service (the 1944-45 season) Hamill played the next eight years with the Black Hawks. He was a consistent, if not prolific scorer and played with enough grit to earn him ice time up until the 1950-51 season.

Born in Toronto on January 11th, 1917, Robert "Red" Hamill was about as tough as they come. He was sort of an early day Wendel Clark-type of hockey player.

….

…his reputation was clearly being made for his hard hitting style…

….

Hamill scored 128 goals and 94 assists for 222 points in 419 NHL games. He picked up only 160 penalty minutes, which suggests even though he had a zest for the rugged part of the game, he was very clean. Still, this is a surprisngly low total when newspaper archive searches turn up repeated stories of him in wild battles.

 

[Hedberg]

RW Grant Warwick

5'6, 155 lbs
Shoots Right

7th in Goals (48-49)

1942 Calder Trophy Winner
Played in 1947 All-Star Game
1941, 1954 Allan Cup Champion
1955 World Championship Gold Medal

147 G, 142 A, 289 Pts in 395 NHL GP


NY Rangers:

Warwick was excuised from military service during World War II when a Canadian Army examination found that he had lost 50 percent of the hearing in one ear and had a punctured ear drum in the other. The Canadian military`s loss was the Rangers` gain, as Warwick turned in his hiighest-scoring season with the Blueshirts in 1944-45. That performance came on the heels of a skull fracture that limited him to 18 games in the 1943-44 season.

Despite jumping right to the Rangers from junior hockey as a 20-year-old without ever having played a minor-league game, Warwick went on to enjoy two 20-goal seasons during his seven years with the Blueshirts and also broke the 40-point mark twice.

Joe Pelletier

Grant, a gnarled, scarred former NHL rookie of the year was the playing coach and inspirational force of the team [Penticton Vs].

Legends of Hockey

Often in the doghouse in Boston for taking too many penalties, Warwick was welcomed with open arms in Montreal, where he played on a line with Bill Reay. But early in the 1949-50 season with Montreal he broke his nose and eventually ended up with the AHL Bisons.

Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide Of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL - Andrew Podnieks (quote originally posted by seventieslord)

It was in large measure due to his great play for the Regina Rangers en route to the Allan Cup that the Rangers wanted Warwick for the following year. Although he stood just 5'6", he was a chunky 172 pounds, and with a low centre of gravity he was tough as nails to knock around.

Total Hockey (quote originally posted by seventieslord)

When the IIHF ordered Warwick to return the trophy in 1956, he had an exact replica made and sent it overseas instead. The original World Championship trophy would remain in Penticton where for many years it was displayed in a restaurant.

Stan Fischler's Hockey Encyclopedia (quote originally posted by seventieslord)

"Knobby" Warwick played a robust and efficient brand of offensive hockey for the Rangers from 1941 until he was dealt in 1947

BC Radio History - Penticton Vees

To say the robust Vee's were a 'hit' at the 1955 Championships in West Germany would be an understatement. Led by the Warwick Brothers... the Vee's made an immediate impression with the fast-skating, hard-hitting style of hockey.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Bob Murray, D

Averaged 22.41 minutes per game of estimated TOI over 1008 game career
His teams had solid goals against ranks his five years as a top pair defenseman: 5/21, 6/18, 7/17, 9/21, 9/21

Defenseman scoring: 11th (1979), 13th (1980), 13th (1981), 19th (1987)
2x All-Star Game appearances (1981, 1983)

Captain of Blackhawks in 1985-86

Bob Murray can move the puck, skates well and can shoot better than a lot of people give him credit for. Ask some goalies.

Has made steady improvement in six-season career with Hawks...Now among premier backliners in NHL, knocking on all-star door...Good rusher and key man on Hawks' power play...Shot among hardest in league...Spent rookie pro season with Dallas in Central League...Has been a fixture on Hawks' defense ever since.

Missed close to half the 1981-82 season with a knee injury...Returned to be key man in playoff success...Slowly matured into front-line player...Excellent rusher, strong puckhandler with a good shot... Goalies claim he has one of the hardest shots in NHL.

Front-line defenseman who is good at all areas of the game... Very efficient defensively...

Solid, reliable backliner who was one of the few Hawks regulars who had a plus figure in 1983-84... Good defensively and a fine rusher...

Murray is underrated as a defenseman, but he knows how to play his defensive angles well and he reads rushes well too, making him an above average defenseman. Because he's not big and forwards will sometimes beat him on strength, Murray has adopted a smart approach to the game that works very well for him.

Murray still has a good slapshot from the right point and switches to the left side on the power play. If the point coverage isn't good, he'll pinch in to the top of the faceoff circle for a shot.

Solid, dependable, consistent and unknown: that's Bob Murray. He doesn't do anything fancy, he just gets the puck and moves it out of the Hawks zone quickly, efficiently, and correctly. Murray plays his defensive angles as if he were writing a textbook, and he has to do that because of his size. He reads the offensive rush and anticipates its ramifications very well.

Bob remains an outstanding skater, but he doesn't have the quickness he once had, so he doesn't rush the puck as he used to - at least not when partner Doug Wilson is healthy. When Wilson is out, Murray opens up his offense to compensate. His offensive instincts are very good and that's why he's a fixture on the power play.

He sees the lay well in both zones and gets the puck to his teammates in the opening. He'll pinch in prudently at the blue line and he uses a good slap shot from the point as a scoring weapon.

Murray is a direct contradiction to Darwinian principle of only the strong surviving. Rather, he embodies the theory regarding the inheritance of acquired characteristics: He learned how to be smart, how to play the body when the situation is in his favor, how to make the most of what he has.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Frank "Pud" Glass, F

ECAHA 2nd Team All-Star in 1908
Captained the Wanderers in 1910 as they reclaimed the Stanley Cup from Ottawa

Glass seems to have played every forward position at one point. He started as a LW, played rover, LW, RW, and center during the Wanderers best years, and ended his career as a LW with the Canadiens.

On almost every championship team or, in fact, any club of note, one can usually find at least one player less gifted than his more brilliant teammates, never makes the headlines, never hears the acclaim of the crowd for scoring the winning goal, but just battles along, doing his best, but at the same time being one of the most important cogs of the machine.

One of these unsung heroes was Frank "Pud" Glass, a member of the Wanderer team which captured the Stanley Cup three times in four years. Thrown into the shade by the deeds of Marshall, Gardner, Russell, Stuart and other luminaries, Glass is almost forgotten of that great team which the Strachans organized ot start the season of 1904. But the club officials apparently knew his worth, for in 1907 when the league demanded that the salary list of the Wanderers be made public, Glass was the second highest paid man on the team. Only the great Hod Stuart drew a larger salary. Wanderers of that time were composed of both amateur and professional players. Stuart, Glass, Hern and Johnson were classed as pros...

Glass played centre for Wanderers and in the famous game against Ottawa for the 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.

Glass was a small aggressive player and he and his pal Johnson from Point St. Charles would have loomed big in any record of assists in the years they combined with the great scoring Russell.

He captained the Wanderers when they won the Cup the first year the NHA was organized.

Glass did enough checking back for two players in centre ice last night, so Smith can confine his play to attack, and at that he has few equals.

Johnston [sic] and Glass, the other pair on the line, showed the qualities that have made them fixtures on the champions line for four years. Johnston's tremendous skating was as usual a feature of the game, and Glass worked without a let up, breaking up plays in centre ice, helping out the defence, and adding another feature to his play in scoring two of the seven goals. Glass has been noted as a poor scorer, but he got into the Edmonton defence effectively last night.

Glass did his usual effective work in breaking up plays by the other side...

Vair and Glass showed up pretty strong all the way...

This article is interesting because it's written, by Pittsburgh's paper, before a match between the Pittsburgh Bankers and Wanderers. It's basically a homer account of the potential match up building up Pittsburgh's players. The writer compares the players at each position and gives Pud Glass the advantage over a young Tommy Smith. This is only one of two areas Montreal supposedly has the edge.

Consider the other comparisons to appreciate this praise for Glass: They suggest it's a saw off between Hern and Pittsburgh's Mackay in net, Walter Smail and Pittsburgh's McRoble, and Cecil Blachford and Pittsburgh's Edgar Dey. Pittsburgh supposedly had the edge at center with Harry Smith over Moose Johnson or Bruce Stuart, and at right wing with Sixsmith over Ernie Russell(!). The only area other than Glass/T. Smith conceded as an advantage for Montreal is Art Ross over Pittsburgh's Povey.

Tommy Smith may not be quite as finished a player as Glass, and the advantage here will be with the men from Montreal.

Breakdown of Montreal's dynasty years where they held the Stanley Cup for parts of six seasons and went 7-1 in challenge series.

1906: Wanderers tied the Cup-holding Ottawa in the ECAHA with 9-1 records before beating them 12-10 in a two game playoff for the Cup.

1907: Defended the Cup once before losing to Kenora. Wanderers won the Cup back later in the season over Kenora.

1908: Defended the Cup in all three challenges

1909: Defended the Cup in their only challenge, before losing the ECAHA title to Ottawa and forfeiting the Cup to them in the process.

1910: Regained the Cup in 1910 by winning the NHA title over Ottawa. Beat Berlin from the OPHL in their only challenge.

1911: Unable to defend the Cup as they again lost it to
Ottawa being defeated by them for the NHA title.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Bill Fairbairn, RW

Killed 36% of teams penalties for units 2% above average
3x Top 10 in SH goals: 4th (1972), 7th (1973), 8th (1974)

Bill Fairbairn, who was nicknamed Bulldog as a junior, was a tenacious two-way hockey player who loved to hit.

"I used the boards a lot, grinding it up and down one side," explained Bill as described his style of play. "I stayed on my wing and used the boards as sort of a cushion you might say. It was a pretty hard cushion, but a cushion nonetheless."

But unlike many pugnacious wingers of his day, Fairbairn was fair, pardon the pun. He was a very clean player for the most part. He only accumulated 173 PIM in 658 regular season games. His highest PIM seasonal total was 53 PIM in 1971-72, and that was uncharacteristically high for the little guy.

Call him a digger...Skates up and down his wing and seldom wanders away from it...That's what makes him such an effective checker and defensive performer...Teams with linemate Walt Tkaczuk as Rangers' to penalty killing unit and one of the very best in the league...

Except for hard-working former Ranger Bill Fairbairn, the North Stars' lack checking skill among their forwards...Eight-season veteran developed into North Stars' best all-around forward following trade by Rangers..."He's not spectacular but he's steady and he always works hard," says GM Jack Gordon...Had played 394 consecutive games until benched by Ranger coach John Ferguson...Quietly efficient right wing who can take punishing checks and still control puck or make the play...Outstanding penalty killer with talent for scoring shorthanded goals...

No longer a scorer, but has retained sturdy checking habits...Durable guy who carved career out of forechecking...Hard to dislodge once he plants himself near crease.

A rock-solid competitor who could take a hit as well as anyone in the league...Originally pegged as a checker, Fairbairn earned a full-time job in New York the following year and so impressed the Rangers that with his outstanding two-way play that when Bob Nevin went down with an injury, Fairbairn replaced him the team captain on a line with Dave Balon and Walt Tkaczuk.

Tkaczuk remembers Fairbairn as terrific at digging in the corners and willing-maybe too willing-to absorb the physical punishment that usually entailed. "He wouldn't leave the boards," Tkaczuk said, "and he would wait for a guy to hit him. Then at the last second, he'd give me the pass so I could get a two-on-one. I would ask him, "Would you please, every once in a while, get off the boards and go to center ice?"

"When the game was on the line," said Fairbairn's former coach, Emile Francis, "guess who was out there-Fairbairn. When we came down to the last minute of a period or a one-goal game, trying to protect the lead, guess who was out there-Fairbairn. I put him against the other team's best lines. He and Tkaczuk could kill penalties but were so offensive that the other team couldn't get out of their own end when we were shorthanded. They used to call Fairbairn 'Dog' because he would bite you in the ass. He would come after you. He wouldn't let you alone!"

Fairbairn was such an expert penalty killer that he and Tkaczuk once controlled the puck just by themselves for one minute and 44 seconds of a Los Angeles Kings power play, prompting cheers from Kings fans when Don Kozak finally managed to get the puck off Fairbairn's stick.

“In Tkaczuk and Fairbairn,†said Gilbert, “we have the best penalty killers in hockey.â€

Fairbairn is known as “an honest hockey player†in National Hockey League circles. No flashy moves or classy style, just dead-ahead determination and hard work.

So you would dig it out in the corners more than shoot it on your line.

“Well, me and Wally were the diggers and the passers and Davey Balon was usually the goal scorer. And later on Steve Vickers, you know? He would place himself at the side of that net and he’d put everything in.

While New York’s 50-goal man, left winger Vic Hadfield, has given the Canadiens plenty of trouble, Bowman singled out right winger Bill Fairbairn as a particular thorn in the Canadiens’ efforts.

The Rangers, who smothered Hull with three different players – Bruce MacGregor, Bill Fairbairn and Rob Stewart…

Francis said the turning point in the game came in the second period just after a Chicago goal by Pat Stapleton made it 3-2 at 12:10. Bruce MacGregor of the Rangers was penalized 1.5 minutes later and Chicago had a chance to tie the game.
“That was the most important two minutes of the game,†Francis said. “Walt Tkaczuk and Bill Fairbairn sure did a good job of penalty killing.â€

They did it [win Game 6 eliminating the Canadiens from the playoffs] because of the almost flawless penalty killing by Walt Tkaczuk and Bill Fairbairn.

Balon scored only 10 goals his first term back but enjoyed his best season ever last year with 70 points, joining linemates Walt Tkaczuk and Bill Fairbairn as the second highest scoring line in the NHL.

 

[Hedberg]

C Mike Ricci

6'0, 200 lbs
Shoots Left

1994 World Championship Gold Medal
1996 Stanley Cup Champion
Captain of the San Jose Sharks 2003

6th (92-93) in All-Star Voting (true story, he received 1 vote )
3rd (99-00), 4th (01-02), 12th (88-89), 25 (03-04) in Selke Voting

243 G, 362 A, 605 Pts in 1099 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey

With the Nordiques, Ricci finally settled in as a true NHL character. An offensively gifted player, Ricci established a career high 78 points in his first seasaon with Nordiques and quickly became a fan favorite.

Over the years, Ricci's game has evolved away from the finesse style of his junior days towards a more defensive approach although he still spots his share of goals and assists. Ricci joined the Nordiques in their transition to Colorado in 1995, capturing a Stanley Cup later that spring. After parts of six seasons with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, Ricci was traded to the San Jose Sharks during the 1996-97 campaign and went on to play parts of seven seasons with the club. The former OHL star continued to play a game replete with leadership, character, and dogged defense for the club surpassing the 1000 games played mark during the 2003-04 season.

Mile High Hockey

The Colorado Avalanche employed some of the very best two-way forwards in the entire NHL during the late 1990s and the early 2000s.

To say "Reech" was a gritty guy on the ice is probably unnecessary, but to say he was invaluable to the early Colorado Avalanche is absolutely required. His work as both an antagonizer of opposing top lines as well as a constant scoring threat places him firmly on the list of Top 19 Avalanche Players Of All Time.

When the Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche, "Reech" enjoyed instant Denver fan approval for his nasty, persistent defensive play as much as his iconic face and flowing mullet. His offensive skills weren't totally lost, though, because he scored 17 points in 22 playoff games in 1996, the first year the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.

Other teams' top lines were hard pressed to score against the grinding lines coach Marc Crawford was able to put on the ice. Ricci, along with his fellow third- and fourth-liners, were as much responsible for the first Cup as were Forsberg, Sakic and Valeri Kamensky.

Mike Ricci cemented his reputation as a defensive power forward with the Sharks, playing seven seasons with that team and forming the cornerstone of their penalty killing unit. He often led the team's forwards in blocked shots and takeaways.

Let's Go Sharks

Mike is a grinding centerman who is willing to pay the price to score goals. His work ethic and skills have made him a mainstay in the NHL, although he's not an offensive force. His core skills make him a valuable player to have on any bench. He excels at penalty killing and faceoffs (led the Sharks in face-offs won in 1997-98).

His biggest drawback is a lack of speed, although he is smart enough to play consistent positional hockey.

 

[Hedberg]

LW Nick Mickoski

6'1, 193 lb
Shoots Left

Played in 1956 All-Star Game
9th (54-55) in Assists
Runner up for best defensive forward in the 1958 Coaching Poll

158 G, 185 A, 343 Pts in 703 NHL GP

Legends of Hockey

Left-winger Nick Mickoski played over 700 NHL games for four different clubs during the Original Six era. He was a fine goal scorer and playmaker whose 6'1" frame was difficult to bump off the puck.

Mickoski joined the Chicago Black Hawks in 1954-55 and was a fine two- way worker

NY Rangers

"Broadway Nick" Mickoski was a popular figure on the Rangers during his seven years with the team — the highlights of which were a big role in the 1950 Stanley Cup Finals run and a 20-goal season in 1950-51.

Manitoba Hall of Fame

Mickoski, 6' 1" and 183 lbs. had size and also speed. Between 1947 and 1960, the man they called "Broadway Nick," and "Galloping Nick," appeared in 703 NHL games with New York Rangers, Chicago, Detroit and Boston. He recorded 158 goals and 185 assists for 343 points. That would have been a fine career but Mickoski was not ready to call it a day. He played six more seasons in the minors with Providence Reds, Winnipeg Warriors and San Francisco Seals. The Seals won the WHL championship in 1962-63 with Mickoski finishing second in league scoring with 95 points. After a year coaching the Seals, Mickoski played three seasons of senior hockey with Grand Falls, Newfoundland, chalking up a healthy 218 points. He went on to be the last coach of the Winnipeg Junior Jets and the first coach of the WHA Jets.

Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide to Everyone Who Ever Played in the NHL - Andrew Podnieks (originally posted by TheDevilMadeMe)

Skated like the wind

 

[Hedberg]

D Clem Loughlin

6'0, 180 lbs
Shoots Left

1915 Allan Cup Champion
1925 Stanley Cup Champion (Captained team)

1924 PCHA 1st Team All-Star
1921, 1922, 1923 PCHA 2nd Team All-Star

43 G, 29 A, 72 Pts in 186 PCHA GP
8 G, 16 A, 14 Pts in 101 NHL GP


Legends of Hockey

Defenceman Clement Loughlin played briefly with the Detroit Cougars and Chicago Black Hawks in the late 20s. He was a solid positional player who used his hard shot to score a few goals over the years. Most of his pro hockey was played in the PCHA where the more wide-open style suited his talents.

Born in Carroll, Manitoba Loughlin played senior hockey with the Winnipeg Monarchs and Strathconas before joining the PCHA's Portland Rosebuds in 1916-17. After one more year in Oregon, he joined the Victoria Cougars and was an integral part of the club's fortunes for eight years. Along the way he hit double figures in goals scored twice, was placed on the PCHA second all-star team three times and named to the first team in 1924. In 1925 he got his hands on the Stanley Cup after the Cougars vanquished the Montreal Canadiens in the final series. Loughlin remained with Victoria when it joined the WCHL/WHL after the demise of the PCHA.

Joe Pelletier

Clem Loughlin, at the age of 32, debuted the next season in the NHL. The Detroit Cougars (later named the Red Wings) purchased the entire Victoria Cougars hockey club and all its player contracts, forcing Loughlin to move to the Motor City. Loughlin was a key player in the first season with Detroit, scoring 7 goals and 10 points in 34 games, a solid contribution for a defenseman.

At 5'11" and 180lbs, Loughlin's best years were with Victoria in the PCHA. He was a 4 time PCHA all star.

Clem spent his off-seasons and retirement in Viking, Alberta where he was first a rancher and later a hotelier. He stayed active in the local youth hockey scene. All six of the Sutter brothers who made it to the NHL will attest to Loughlin's contribution to hockey in Viking.

Ottawa Citizen Dec 17, 1926

Cougars added their third goal on a lone rush by Clem Loughlin... Loughlin checked him out of a goal...

Hockey Manitoba

Born in Carroll, Manitoba Loughlin, a solid positional player, played senior hockey with the Winnipeg Monarchs, winners of the 1915 Allan Cup.

Winnipeg Free Press March 13, 1915 – “ Loughlin never played as he did tonight. He stopped rushes single-handed and rushed up the ice at such speed that he could not be stopped. He was the hero of the night and his name will go down in the history of the Allan cup series of 1915 as being the wonder of wonders.â€

 

[Hedberg]

C Syl Apps Jr

6'0, 185 lbs
Shoots Right

Played in 1975 All-Star Game
4th (73-74), 6th (75-76), 8th (72-73) in Assists
7th (73-74), 10th (75-76) in Points

183 G, 423 A, 606 Pts in 727 GP

The Hockey News: Backchecking by David Salter

From 1972 to ’77, Apps Jr. averaged 82 points, including a career-best 99 in ’75-76. One of his career highlights was being named MVP of the 1975 All-Star Game at the Montreal Forum.

After narrowly missing 100 points, Apps Jr. saw his career decline when he suffered a high groin pull in 1977 that forced him to roll out of bed each morning. His production dropped in consecutive seasons to 61, 52, 37 and finally 21 points before he retired in 1980. Nine games into 1977-78, the rebuilding Penguins dealt him to the Los Angeles, where he finished his career, though not on a positive note.

Joe Pelletier

One scouting report on Apps during his first professional season summed up his play like this: Apps, Jr. is a splendid skater, a good puck handler and playmaker, just like his father."

The Rangers .... traded him to Pittsburgh for hustling forward Glen Sather. Sather was a popular worker in Pittsburgh, but Syl immediately stepped in became a star in the Steel City.

"That was the best trade I ever made," proclaimed the architect of the deal - Red Kelly, then the coach and GM of the Penguins.

"He just didn't get enough ice time in New York," advised Syl Sr. "I was pleased when he was traded to Pittsburgh because Red Kelly, in my estimation, is one of the outstanding NHL coaches and Syl is play a lot of hockey."

Syl Sr. and Kelly had great respect for each other because they were both stars who faced off against each other back in the 1940s. Red agreed that Syl Jr. had a lot in common with his old man.

"Young Syl's dad was a great guy and a great player. He went so fast I looked like a post on the ice by comparison. His son shows similar qualities. He's strong and he hits and he has a good fake. This is something that has to be born in a hockey player. It comes from breeding. Young Syl has the breeding and I've always said that bloodlines are a wonderful thing."

Kelly added: Syl doesn't skate as fast as his dad. Busting out of his own end, he could really hunchi his shoulders and go. But I think maybe he handles the puck a bit better. Physically, he's just as strong."