Top 10 Greatest Non-NHL players of All-Time

[Howe Elbows 9]

From what I've read about the subject, I get the impression that Tumba was far and away the best Swede of the pre-NHL era, and that Svedberg, while good, would probably rank behind Suchy and a number of Soviet defenders.

Vasiliev:
IIHF Directorate Award Best Defenceman 1973, 1977, 1979
All-Star Team WC 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981

Tumba:
IIHF Directorate Award Best Forward 1957, 1962
Leading Scorer WC 1964

Svedberg:
IIHF Directorate Award Best Defenceman 1970
All-Star Team WC 1968, 1969, 1970

Suchy:
IIHF Directorate Award Best Defenceman 1969, 1971
All-Star Team WC 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971

I don't mind Tumba (or Suchy) being named ahead of Svedberg, I just think the difference between them is small enough to leave room for differing opinions.

 

[Valic]

Tony Hand!

What could have been, we will never know.

 

[Rasputin]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but I am very curious about Jan Suchy. We know he beat out those Russians for the awards but the only article I can find on him is by Patrick Houda. Is there anything else written about him, say in old newspaper articles or books, that you guys can share?

 

[sidewayzLEAFS]

ME

 

[crobro]

erick kuhnhakl (sic)

german superstar

 

[seventieslord]

Best players to NEVER play in the NHL:

1. Taylor
2. Tretiak
3. Kharlamov
4. Mikhailov
5. Firsov
6. Moose Johnson
7. Holecek
8. Maltsev
9. Tommy Phillips
10. Russell Bowie

Best non-NHL resumes, regardless of whether they played in the NHL or not:

1. Fetisov
2. Taylor
3. Tretiak
4. Kharlamov
5. Makarov
6. Newsy Lalonde
7. Mikhailov
8. Firsov
9. Moose Johnson
10. Holecek

missing anyone?

 

[Reds4Life]

Best players to NEVER play in the NHL:

1. Taylor
2. Tretiak
3. Kharlamov
4. Mikhailov
5. Firsov
6. Moose Johnson
7. Holecek
8. Maltsev
9. Tommy Phillips
10. Russell Bowie

Best non-NHL resumes, regardless of whether they played in the NHL or not:

1. Fetisov
2. Taylor
3. Tretiak
4. Kharlamov
5. Makarov
6. Newsy Lalonde
7. Mikhailov
8. Firsov
9. Moose Johnson
10. Holecek

missing anyone?

I'd also consider Vladimir Martinec who is imho better than Holecek.

 

[Pear Juice]

Lennart "Lill-Strimma" Svedberg was invited to play on CSKA. He trained with them for a period of time and then suited up for a
training game '68. The following year Sid Abel offered him a contract to the Red Wings after a successful invitation there but Lill-Strimma declined. A very gifted offensive defenseman. Sadly he died in a car crash right in the middle of his peak in 1972. He'd been a surefire top 10 player if not for that car crash.

 

[Stray Wasp]

Tony Hand

Come on now, he had no business coming anywhere near the list of 10 greatest Non-NHL players. He played a long time in a really ******, high scoring league so his numbers look insane, but it if you look at them on a season by season basis he rarely lead the league in scoring and often barely made the top 10 if at all. These guys that were beating him weren't exactly world beaters either, a lot of them were North Americans who could barely hack it in the AHL so they took off for Britain and put up some crazy numbers.



It would have been interesting but I have my doubts about if he would have been an impact player at all.

I've had the privilege of seeing Tony Hand play live and on TV and despite his talent I fear he doesn't belong on a list with legends like Cyclone Taylor and Kharlamov. Alas he didn't want a career in the NHL badly enough to make the sacrifices necessary to overturn the huge disadvantage of coming from a marginalised hockey culture that had no thoughts of turning its young players into professionals fit to work in mainland Europe or the NHL.

Tony Hand's autobiography boasts a glowing foreword by Glen Sather. Apparently at the 86 Oilers training camp, Sather considered Hand's hockey brain as second only to Gretzky. However Hand cites homesickness, physical and mental exhaustion as factors in his decision not to fulfill his planned season in the WHL, where he scored 4+4 in his 3 games.

As a teenager in Britain he typically played two games a week, logging 40-50 minutes ice time per game against teams of at most two lines, comprising three imports and British amateurs. For practice, a couple of sessions after midnight during the week, so as not to interfere with the local players day jobs. Hockey in GB could not remotely have prepared him for the travelling, volume of games, intensity or media interest in North America. After all, a lot of gifted European players from more highly-rated leagues struggled to cope with these factors.

I don't know where you got the notion that Hand was rarely a top scorer or even top ten scorer in Britain. By my calculations he has four scoring titles, seven second places and three third places. Ten assist titles too.

 

[VMBM]

I'd also consider Vladimir Martinec who is imho better than Holecek.

- 4 Golden Hockey Sticks (more than anyone else & during a very competitive period in the Czechoslovak league)
- 4-time All-Star right wing at the World Championships 1970-1981 (ever wonder why a certain Boris Mikhailov was only 2-time one?)
- definitely the most feared & hated opponent for the Soviets/Tretiak in Europe
- solid performances vs. Canada's best both in 1972 and 1976

Yep, what more could he have done? (I guess the answer is: if Vachon hadn't made that amazing save in the OT of the 2nd final in the 1976 CC...)

I tried to resist, but couldn't help it in the end (we all have our fav players )