St. Louis Blues Legends

Jerry Melnyk

2011-12-25T22:48:00.000-08:00

This is Jerry Melnyk, often referred to as Gerry Melnyk. He was a long time minor leaguer in the dying days of the Original Six. He played with the Detroit Red Wings for two seasons (1959-61) and Chicago Black Hawks for one season (1961-62) but spent much of his career in the minor leagues. He ended it in style though, returning to the NHL in his final season of play. That was the NHL's first year of expansion, and the veteran forward caught on with the St. Louis Blues in 1967-68.

Melnyk, described as a clever play-maker, totalled 269 NHL regular season games. He scored 39 goals, 117 assists and 116 points. He added another 6 goals and 12 points in 53 playoff contests. Interestingly, Melnyk played in six NHL post-seasons, challenging in the Stanley Cup final in five of them. Sadly, Gerry Melnyk never would win the Stanley Cup.

Prior to the 1968-69 season the Blues traded Melnyk to Philadelphia in exchange for Ab McDonald. However Melnyk would suffer a heart attack and ended up retiring before ever playing with the Flyers.

Instead he began scouting for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was the scout who was so adamant that Bobby Clarke was the best player in the 1969 draft. But Clarke was a diabetic, and that scared off all the teams. Melnyk was furious when the Flyers passed on Clarke at 6th overall, taking Bob Currier (who would never play a game in the NHL) instead. Melnyk must have seriously relieved to see Clarke still available in the second round of the draft. Melnyk had by then convinced the Flyers to take the man who would become the heart of the franchise. The rest, as they say, is history.

By the way, Melnyk was also instrumental in the Flyers going "off the board" to draft Peter Forsberg in 1991.

Jerry Melnyk passed away in June 2001, several months after being diagnosed with leukemia. He passed away in Edmonton, his life long home. He was born there, and was a junior and minor pro star with the Edmonton Flyers in the 1950s.

Floyd Thomson

2011-12-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

This is Floyd Thomson's 1974 O Pee Chee hockey card.

Floyd Thomson, who inherited his father's nickname "White-Pine," played with the St. Louis Blues from 1971 though 1977. In that time he played in 411 games, scoring 56 goals and 97 assists for 153 points.

The 6'0" 190lb left winger took a most unusual route to the National Hockey League. In the summer of 1970 he travelled all the way to Johannesburg, South African of all places to play hockey in a summer league. When he returned to North America he impressed enough at the St. Louis Blues training camp to sign a minor league contract and played in Kansas City of the CHL.

Over the next five seasons Thomson was a regular player with the St. Louis Blues. He was a utility forward and penalty killer, applauded for giving 100% on every shift. Though his penalty minute totals do not suggest it, he was also not afraid to mix it up when necessary.

"He could muck the puck out of the corners. If there was any trouble he could look after that too," said teammate Gary Sabourin.

Thomson exited the NHL in 1977 but found a home with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL for the next five seasons. He served as team captain for three seasons, and helped his team win two league championships.

Dallas Drake

2011-06-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

An aggressive forechecker, Dallas Drake was an abrasive player who was not a lot of fun to play against. A good open-ice hitter, Drake was stronger along the boards and in front of the net than his wiry frame suggested he would be.

He could credit his quick and powerful skating as the key to his game, as well as his never-ending hustle. He was a feisty pest who often made the highlight reels by running over opponents in sometimes spectacular fashion. By often leaving his feet targeting his opponents up high he garnered a reputation as a dirty player.

A grinder at heart who was sometimes shoe-horned into a top 6 role, Drake was better suited on a third line checking/energy unit. Most of his goals came by darting into traffic and battling for loose pucks near the crease.

Not that Drake contributed to the offense all that often, but 177 goals and 477 points in 1009 career games are very solid numbers. The Northern Michigan University star was drafted by Detroit by mostly split his 15 year NHL career with Winnipeg/Phoenix and St. Louis before returning to Michigan for one final season. What a final year it was, as it ended with Dallas Drake and the Detroit Red Wings hoisting the Stanley Cup!

Rick Meagher

2011-04-27T16:06:00.001-07:00

Rick Meagher was a very unheralded player for 15 pro seasons, 11 of which were in the NHL on a full time basis. In fact many people didn't even know who he was until the 1989-90 season when he won the Frank J. Selke trophy as the NHL's premier defensive forward.

Meagher was definitely a worthy of recipient of the award. He made a career of covering the NHL's superstars.

"He puts a blanket on them" said Blues general manager Ron Caron. "He's got the speed and the tenacity."

Meagher had speed to burn. In an era dominated by speed, Meagher was probably in the top 5% of the NHL's best skaters. Meagher also was a smart hockey player. He had good anticipation skills which helped him excel defensively. Meagher wasn't totally without offensive skills. He scored a career high 24 goals in 1981-82, and 144 goals in his career. Meagher wasn't an offensive wizard by any stretch, but he was so valuable as a penalty killer, faceoff man and defensive specialist he just never really had the opportunity to take an offensive role on the team.

What Meagher really lacked was size. He was only 5'8" 175lbs though some publications list him as high as 195lbs. Because of his size he wasn't an overly physical player but as Caron described him he was tenacious though he took very few penalties.

Rick Meagher was never drafted by an NHL team. He played for 4 years at Boston University, which at the time wasn't considered to be a high level of hockey, at least in comparison to today's NCAA. He was an all star every year at BU and was named to the NCAA championship all tournament team in 1977.

The Montreal Canadiens signed the speedster as a free agent in 1977 but he only played for the Habs in 2 games, spending the rest of the next 3 years in the minor leagues. Montreal sent him to the Hartford Whalers in a swap of draft picks deal prior to the 1981 Entry Draft. He split the 1980-81 season with the Whalers and their minor league team, but by 1981-82 he became a full time NHLer. Rick found himself on the move again after just 4 games in Hartford in the 1982-83 season. The Whalers traded him and Garry Howatt for Merlin Malinowski and Scott Fusco. Rick enjoyed almost 3 full seasons in the swamp lands of Jersey.

On August 29, 1985, Meagher was traded to St. Louis for tough guy Perry Anderson. It was in St. Louis where Meagher really found his niche as a penalty killer and defensive force. He was even named captain for the 1989-90 season.

Meagher retired in the 1990-91 season. He retired with 144 goals, 165 assists and 309 points in 691 games.

Steve Tuttle

2011-04-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

Steve Tuttle is best remembered as the player whose skate sliced Clint Malarchuk's neck during a game.

"Tuts" went hard to the net on a routine play. Colliding with Sabres defenseman Uwe Krupp, Tuttle crashed into the crease, losing his balance. As he went face first into the ice, his leg kicked up and his skate blade hit Malarchuk in the neck, nearly cutting his jugular vein and ending his life almost instantly.

Of course the injury was completely accidental, but in many ways described how Tuttle played. He wasn't physical by any means - he was a lean 6'1" 185lbs with little upper strength - but was an energetic skater, always buzzing around creating small bursts of havoc. He was best used as a penalty killer as he combined good spurts of speed with smart anticipation to pressure the pointment on the power play.

A product of the University of Wisconsin, Tuttle was at the very best average in almost every physical category by NHL standards. Although the Blues thought his skills were developable, he lacked any threat of an NHL shot or playmaking abilities. His skating was strong with the short bursts of speed but also good agility.

Tuttle played for 2 1/2 years in St. Louis directly out of university before being demoted to the minor leagues. In the end Tuttle was basically the victim of the Blues depth. A right winger, Tuttle was either best suited for the 2nd line (which Greg Paslawski was much better at) or as a regular scratch (5th right winger). Brett Hull obviously held down the top spot while Herb Raglan and Todd Ewen played strong physical roles on the third and fourth lines. However Tuttle's skills didn't develop as hoped by year 3, and Tuttle was sent to the minors.

Despite lighting up the minor leagues, Tuttle never returned to the NHL. Traded to Tampa Bay and later Quebec, Tuttle played for several years in the IHL, mostly with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Gino Cavallini

2011-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

Gino Cavallini was signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames on May 16, 1984 after a storied career at Bowling Green University. He played there for 2 years, and led them to the NCAA championship in 1984. It was Gino that scored the championship winning goal in the 4th overtime of the final game!

Gino, brother of Paul - a fellow NHLer - was a rugged crasher and banger who loved to work the boards and the corners. He had great size to do this, and decent skating ability, although lacked good acceleration to become a true power forward. Despite his aggressive play he was a very disciplined player. His highest single season PIM total was just 81 minutes in 1990-91. Gino had a booming slap shot but lacked accuracy. Otherwise he head little puck skills and no creativity, and relied on banging loose pucks in front of the net to pad his goal scoring totals.

Gino spent a season and a half with the Flames organization before he was traded with Eddy Beers and Chalie Bourgeois for Joe Mullen, Terry Johnson and Rik Wilson. Gino was best known as a St. Louis Blue, playing with them from 1986 until 1992. Brother Paul joined him in St. Louis late in 1987.

Gino was exposed on waivers and claimed by a young Quebec Nordiques team on February 27, 1992. He added some veteran leadership and grit to the young team, helping to rebuild the once sorry franchise.

Gino left the NHL by 1993. He went on to play three seasons in Milwaukee of the IHL. He excelled in a prominent role there, scoring at least 43 goals each season, including 53 in his second season. Gino then left for Europe to finish his career.

Gino Cavallini played in 593 NHL contests, scoring 114 goals and 159 assists for 273 points. He added 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points in 74 Stanley Cup contests.

Ed Kea

2011-02-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

This defensive defenseman was born in Weesp, Holland, the only Dutch born player in the NHL to this date. He was the youngest of 14 children and moved to Canada with his parents when he was 4-years old. Ed is Jeff Beukeboom's uncle who is Joe Nieuwendyk's cousin.

Ed was a big (6'3" and 200 Ibs) defenseman who wasn't very fast but who played very well positionally. He played his junior hockey for the Collingwood Kings and was discovered by Fred Creighton who saw him play in the EHL. He then recommended the Atlanta Flames to take a look at Ed. Ed was signed as a free agent by Atlanta on October 6, 1972.

Ed didn't make the team in his first year and was sent down to Omaha Knights (CHL). He continued to play in the CHL the next season as well, although he had a three game stint with Atlanta. When the 1974-75 season began he was a regular with Atlanta. Ed played some steady hockey with the Flames until the 1978-79 season. At that time he was only one of two players on the Atlanta team who remained from the initial Flames training camp in 1972 (together with goalie Dan Bouchard).

Ed was traded to St.Louis together with Don Laurence and a draft pick for Garry Unger. He played four very steady but unspectacular seasons in St.Louis. During the 1982-83 season Ed had decided that he would retire after the season.He got sent down to Salt Lake of the CHL in the mid of the 1982-83 season.

Four weeks from retirement tragedy struck. During a CHL game with Salt Lake against Tulsa Oilers, Ed and two opponents, Mike Backman and George McPhee chased the puck along the boards and converged on the puck at the same time. McPhee threw a devastating, but clean,check on Ed. Ed banged his head into Backman's shoulder and flew backwards. As he went down, his head smashed into the top of the boards and he fell forward face-first onto the ice. By the time the trainer could reach Ed, the defenseman had blood coming out of his ears. He was carted off on a stretcher, hisplaying days had come to an end. Ed needed a life-saving operation and spend two months in the hospital. He eventually recovered after a very long time.

It was a sad ending to the career of this deeply religious man. His head injury caused a lot of debates around the pro hockey leagues when it came to helmets. Ed was not wearing one when the injury happened and a lot of people said that the injury would have been avoided if he had used one. In the end the main thing was that he survived this horrible accident.

Ed played a total of 583 NHL games plus 32 playoff games, scoring 175 points and 6 more in the playoffs.
On August 31, 1999, Ed died at his summer home in Ontario. He had drowned in an accident. He was survived by his wife Jennifer and 4 children.

Nelson Emerson

2011-02-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

Nelson Emerson was a crafty little player in St. Louis, Winnipeg and Hartford before bouncing around the league. He was a speedster with a real nice skill set perhaps best known for his uncanny harmonious play on the opposite wing of power forward Brendan Shanahan in both St. Louis and Hartford.

Emerson was a real speedster, darting in and out of traffic. His balance overcame his lack of size, as did playing with a brute like Shanny. But Emerson was very complimentary too, showing creativity with quick give and go passes and setting up behind the net. He was a master puck dangler.

That helped him become a power play specialist. He could operate on the point because of an excellent, low point shot, or down low where he lured defenders out of position with his patience.

Emerson's speed and intelligence made him a natural on the penalty kill as well.

As versatile and as creative as he was, Emerson was always a complimentary player, albeit an almost a perfect one at that.

The Blues drafted Emerson 44th overall in 1985. Their patience with him was rewarded. He moved on to play for Bowling Green for the next four seasons, being named as a Hobey Baker finalist an amazing three times. He became the school's all time leading scorer and was later named to the school's Hall of Fame.

After one monster season in the minor leagues, Emerson joined the Blues full time in 1991-92. In the next two seasons became a 25 goal and 70 point threat.

The Blues were impatient and hungry for their first Stanley Cup, and began trading away top young talent in return for veteran help. He was moved to Winnipeg in exchange for offensive defenseman Phil Housley.

Emerson put his best numbers of his career, scoring 33 goals and 74 points. But the Jets turned around and flipped Emerson to Hartford after just one season.

It was a great gamble for Hartford, as they had previously acquired Brendan Shanahan. Reuniting this dynamic duo did not garner as much offensive returns as was hoped, even though Emerson chipped in 29 goals.

Shanahan left Hartford the final season and Emerson's offensive numbers went into a tailspin. He would never return to the same offensive numbers even in stops with Carolina (where Hartford relocated), Chicago, Ottawa, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

In 771 NHL games Nelson Emerson tallied 195 goals, 293 assists and 488 points.

Bob Bassen

2011-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is Bob Bassen. If I could pick to relive the career of any hockey player in NHL history, it just might be Bob Bassen. I always have a soft spot for role players, and Bob Bassen was the best of the best.

Bassen was a second generation NHLer. His father Hank was a goalie in the Original Six era. He was orn in Calgary and trained with the Medicine Hat Tigers. Though he was never drafted, Bassen went on to his own 15 year, 765 NHL game career in a much different era. Yet he played every game as if he was a throwback to hockey's glory days.

Bassen was a sweat and guts competitor, always delivering an honest effort as a most valuable role player. In doing so he was the ultimate role model and team player.

Bassen was a much better player than the sum of his parts. He was an average skater, though he had a fair degree of agility. Due to his strong understanding of smart positioning he appeared quicker than he was. He did not possess a great shot. In fact all of his finesse skills would be determined to be average.

Yet his work ethic would over come that make him a valuable competitor. He would play far bigger than his 5'10" 180lb frame suggested. He was not scrappy, but he played with a dogged determination to get loose pucks and shut down offensive attackers. He had a low center of gravity which really enabled him to battle against bigger and better forwards.

Bassen was the type of player coaches love. A bottom six forward who could inspire the entire team in under 15 minutes of action a night. He was highly intelligent on the ice and understood team dynamics off of it. He also endeared himself to the fans.

Because Bassen, unlike say a Bob Gainey, never played on a great team, and he only scored goals in double digits 3 times in 15 seasons, history is destined to forget just how good Bob Bassen was. Hopefully this website helps keep alive the truth.

Bob Bassen could play on my hockey team any day of the week.

Apparently Bassen returned to St. Louis after his playing days and became a mortgage broker.

Dick Lamby

2011-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Dick Lamby was a big, strong and aggressive defenseman with great mobility and strong on his skates.

He attended from Salem State University, the only NHL graduate ever produced at that school. Dick had some very steady seasons at Salem State and was NCAA All-Star both in 1974 and 75. During the 1974-75 seasons Dick racked up 57 points (including 25 goals) in 26 games. He was then selected 135th overall by St.Louis in the 1975 draft. His impressive play gave him an invitation to play for USA during the 1975-76 season and an eventual shot at the 1976 Olympics. Dick was impressive during the 63 games he played for USA, scoring 47 points (12 goals, 35 assists).

He made the final cut and played in the 1976 Olympics. After that thrilling experience Dick went on to play two seasons for Boston University. He racked up a total of 104 points (24 goals and 80 assists) in only 54 games. In time for the 1978 World Championships in Prague, Dick was called into action to represent USA once again.

When Dick made his debut with St.Louis in the NHL he had more experience than most players his age. Although he spent most of the 1978-79 season playing for Salt Lake (CHL) he managed to play 9 games for St.Louis (4 assists).

Dick never won a regular job on the St.Louis defense and only played a total of 13 more games for the Blues the following two seasons. The rest of the time he played in Salt Lake. St.Louis lost their patience with Dick and traded the curly haired defenseman to Colorado with Joe Micheletti for Bill Baker on December 4, 1981. Baker ironically had also represented USA in the Olympics - but he won the Gold in 1980.

After the trade when Dick realized that he didn't figure in Colorado's plans either he decided to quit playing. He was tired of the travelling between various minor league teams. In a little bit over a year he played in Salt Lake, Fort Worth, Dallas and Muskegon.

What looked to be a bright future in the NHL never panned out and that was really a shame because Dick was pretty solid defenseman, especially offensively.

Brett Hull

2011-01-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

Brett Hull and Henri Richard share some things in common. They are both among the games greatest ever. And in terms of hockey's legendary status, they both had even greater relatives.

Henri had to live under the shadow of his brother "The Rocket," Maurice Richard. To make things even harder for him, he had to do in Montreal, where The Rocket is god.

Brett Hull had come from under the shadow of his dad, "The Golden Jet" Bobby Hull. Like Henri Richard, Hull's abilities lifted the shadow and he now ranks right up there with dear old dad, some say even ranks higher.

"The Golden Brett" was a happy-go-lucky kid who people said was too lazy to make the NHL. But Brett soon proved them wrong. He was a goal scorer. A pure sniper, perhaps the best sniper that ever lived. His all-round game really improved over his career as he learned to use his teammates more and no longer was a defensive liability.

But scoring goals was always what he loved to do.

Hull scored 105 goals in just 56 games in Penticton at the Junior B level as a teenager. He then moved on to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, a team and city he loved dearly, and recorded 84 goals and 144 points in a total of 90 games. There was no doubt this guy could score. Whether he could play at the NHL level was still a topic of debate by many scouts.

In the 1984 Entry Draft, the Calgary Flames took a chance on the chubby kid from Belleville Ontario. He was their 6th choice, 117th overall. He would be assigned to Moncton of the American League in his first season, where he scored 50 goals in 67 games as a rookie, but clashed with head coach Terry Crisp. It would not be the last time Hull would struggle to be understood by a head coach.

1987-88 marked Brett Hull's permanent arrival in the NHL. Also getting promoted to the NHL, much to Hull's dismay, was coach Crisp. He played 52 games with Calgary and recorded 26 goals and 52 points, impressive totals for a rookie on a talent rich team like the Flames of the late 1980s. Hull was buried behind fellow right wingers Lanny McDonald, Hakan Loob, Joey Mullen and Mark Hunter. As a result Hull struggled to find his confidence and ice time. Already established as Crisp's whipping boy, Hull was often a healthy scratch.

Despite the lack of ice time, the choppy skater was getting noticed around the league for his ability to score goals. So much so that rival GMs kept inquiring about Hull's availability on the trade market. At the trading deadline, the Flames moved the scoring sensation along with Steve Bozek to St. Louis for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley. Ramage and Wamsley played significant roles in Calgary's Cup win in 1989, but Hull went on to superstardom that he never even dreamed about.

After recording 41 goals in his first full year with the Blues, Hull exploded in 1989-90, tallying 72 goals to break Jari Kurri's record for goals by a right winger. He added 41 assists for 113 points and won the Lady Byng trophy and a First All Star Team placing. Hull, who would sign a whopping $7.1 million four year contract in the summer, was quick to credit center Peter Zezel for his success. Unfortunately for Hull Zezel was traded away about two weeks after Hull's contract signing.

The following year began with Hull very much feeling the pressure to at least come close to his success from the year before. Burdened with the massive contract and fear of playing without Zezel, Hull determinedly got off to a quick start. Soon he found a new center - Adam Oates, the best playmaking center of our era whose name was not Wayne Gretzky. With the help of Oates feathery passes, Hull blew away his own record and scored 86 goals in 78 games! Only Wayne Gretzky has scored more goals in a single season (87 and 92 goals). Hull finished with 131 points and won another First All Star Team berth, the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy.

In fact, it is scary to think that Oates missed 19 games that season due to injury. Had he stayed healthy, could Hull have toppled Gretzky's record of 92? Could Hull have approached the century mark?

During the 1990-91 season Hull became only the fifth player in NHL history to record 50 goals in 50 or fewer games. Hull did it in 49 games, tying Gretzky for the fourth-fastest 50 goals in history. Only Gretzky (39 games and 42 games) and Mario Lemieux (46 games) reached 50 faster than Hull. Other 50-goal scorers in 50 games were Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy, who both needed the full 50 games to hit 50 goals.

Just incase there was any doubt about his goal scoring dominance, Hull again tipped the 70 goal mark the following season. Again he scored 50 goals in exactly 50 games, joining Gretzky as the only players Gretzky to achieve the 50-50 mark twice in his career.

Unbelievably Hull had 228 goals in a span of 231 NHL games - absolutely mind boggling! There was no doubt about the sweet music of Hull and Oates in St. Louis.

Despite his success, his outspoken nature and his embracing of USA over Canada made if hard for Hull to get the same adoration as stars like Gretzky or Steve Yzerman. Hull was often criticized by Canadian fans for his betrayal of his birth country. Born in Ontario and raised in BC, Hull held dual citizenship as his mother was an American. When the time came for international tournaments, Hull opted to skate for Team USA instead of Team Canada.

Inexplicably, the Blues traded Oates after the 1991-92 season. Hull's goal totals declined to realistic yet still impressive numbers, but he openly admitted he was never quite the same player following Oates' departure.

Hull remained with the Blues until the end of the decade. Always known as a loose cannon with his comments, Hull carried on a well-reported and bitter feud with coach/GM Mike Keenan for several years and was one of the first players to criticize the defense-first style of hockey that rose in the mid-1990s. Hull was even once quoted suggesting golf was his true sporting passion and that he didn't even like hockey the way it had become in the late 1990s.

In 1998-99, Brett Hull's more than 10-year run as the face of the St. Louis Blues organization finally came to an end in a contract dispute. Although both sides were close on the salary issue, somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million per season, the Blues refused to give Hull the no-trade clause he demanded and that they granted goaltender Grant Fuhr. When the team imposed contract deadline passed, Hull, a man of principle, left for Dallas.

Often considered to be the type of player who would put himself ahead of the team. He finally shook that label in 1999 after signing as a free agent with the Dallas Stars. Under coach Ken Hitchcock, Hull bought into the the coach's defensive game plan that saw Hull's offensive opportunities plummet, yet the team's success skyrocketed. Hull played great - hustling back to cover his man, digging hard for lose pucks, doing small intangibles that helps the team win.

And Hull was rewarded that spring as the Stars won the Stanley Cup. Finally Hull could be called a champion instead of chump. For good measure, it was Hull who scored the Cup winning goal, in dramatic fashion in overtime, nonetheless.

That goal of course was very controversial. In overtime of game 6 of the Finals against Buffalo, Hull lifted the puck over a sprawling Dominik Hasek. However the only problem was that Hull's skate was in the crease. At this point in history the NHL reviewed every goal on video to make sure crease violations were enforced. However this goal was allowed to stand, much to the dismay of Buffalo fans.

Three years later in Detroit, Hull recreated himself again, playing with youngsters Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on a line Hull dubbed the "two kids and an old goat" line. The trio was instrumental in helping the Red Wings win the 2002 Cup.

Hull retired just 5 games into his 19th season, now with the Wayne Gretzky coached Phoenix Coyotes. After missing a full year due to the 2005 NHL lockout, Hull found he couldn't perform at the level he wanted.

Hull finished with 741 goals, the third highest in NHL history. Only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) had more, while father Bobby ranks 12th with 610. Brett added 650 assists for 1391 points.

He finished with 103 playoff goals, fourth all-time behind Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri. His 24 game-winning goals in the playoffs tie with Gretzky for the most all-time and reinforce his reputation as one of the greatest clutch scorers of all time.

So what is the secret to Brett Hull's success? Even Hull admits he doesn't really know. One piece of advice Brett took from his famous father, was the idea that when a player is most out of the play is when he's actually most dangerous. Brett Hull has always played the game with that in mind — sometimes skating away from the play to lose a defender and then doubling back to come into a prime scoring area with no one defending against him.

Brian Sutter

2011-01-09T19:56:00.002-08:00

Hockey has a long history of great families achieving great things in the National Hockey League and in hockey in general. The Patricks, the Hulls, the Howes, the Espositos, the Mahovlichs.... - the list goes on and on - but no one can top the Sutter family of Viking Alberta. The hard working farming family of Grace and Louie Sutter sent 6 sons to the National Hockey League!

The Sutter brothers are of course known for their work ethic. Simply put, no one who ever skated a shift in the National Hockey League ever outworked a Sutter.

"That's the type of player I was. I wasn't very talented so I had to work hard. I wasn't a good skater, I wasn't good with the puck, so I had to work hard to make up for it" Brian said, although it could have been equally said about any of his family members

Brian is the oldest of the six brothers who made it to the NHL, but he isn't the oldest brother in the family. Gary Sutter (no, not Gary Suter) is two years older than Brian and is the only one of the seven Sutter brothers who didn't play in the NHL. A rushing defenseman who idolized Bobby Orr, Garry perhaps was the least "Sutter-like" of the Sutters, but all of the brothers will tell you that he was the most skilled of the 7. He was invited to major junior training camp at the same time as Brian, but he shocked the Red Deer Rustlers when he turned down the offer in order to stay home with his girlfriend and work on the farm.

That meant Brian had to go to Red Deer and later Lethbridge alone, which was not easy for the youngster. But Brian stuck with the team and became the heart and soul of the team. Budding superstar Bryan Trottier was the MVP, but Brian was every bit as important.

Being first of the brothers to go to junior, Brian did more fighting than any of the brothers, but by doing so he would set the tone for all of his brothers, all of whom followed Brian to Red Deer and Lethbridge when they were old enough to play junior. The others were able to come in and the Sutter folklore had already been around the league once. As long as they never backed down, and no Sutter has ever done that, they were assured of a slightly easier time in junior than Brian.

Brian was rewarded for every drop of blood and every bead of sweat when he was drafted in 20th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 1976. Not bad for a kid who openly admits he never expected to do anything other follow in his father's footsteps and work on the farm. It was a great move for the Blues too. Other than Bernie Federko, perhaps no player symbolizes the St. Louis Blues. He played 12 seasons in the NHL, all with the St. Louis Blues, 9 of them as a captain. When he retired he became the head coach.

It wasn't easy for Brian at first by any means. Brian rarely played in his first two years in the league. When he did play he mostly fought. He had some classic battles with Terry O'Reilly, Gordie Lane and especially Keith Magnuson. By fighting he again helped set the stage for his brothers who would follow him to the NHL. But he also impressed the Blues with his heart and his desire, plus his good defensive play. Soon the Blues were using him more and more.

By 1978-79, his third year in the league, he scored 41 goals and 80 points. And he did that without changing his physical game one bit. From that point forward he would be a consistent 35 goal, 70 point threat, as well as someone who would spend 200 minutes or so in the penalty box each season.

The 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons were tough on Brian. He bled St. Louis blue, yet the season was a tumultuous one for Blues fans as the team owners - Ralston-Purina - allowed the Blues to go bankrupt and it was said the Blues were all but officially moving to Saskatoon, although the NHL never allowed any move. The Blues were in limbo until Harry Ornest stepped in as the new owner. His pockets weren't overly deep however. The Blues only kept 25 players under contract and took no frills travel and accommodations in order to meet their bills. Players such as Joey Mullen were traded away because of the financial situation. Brian, who by this time was team captain, somehow kept the team together during all this and playing their heart out. Brian led by example and had his two best seasons during this time - scoring a career high 46 goals in 1982-83 and a career high 83 points in 1983-84.

Things got better for the Blues franchise shortly, but by 1985-86 things hadn't gone as nicely for Brian. Years of rugged play finally caught up with the usually durable winger who stood just 5'11" and weight around 170 pounds. He had broken his scapula that season, a rare hockey injury. He hurried back to the game, and reinjured it, costing him about half the NHL season. He felt better the following season, but had little strength due to the recovery process. Doctors wouldn't let him play anymore than the 14 games he did dress for. Sitting out those games was probably the toughest thing Brian had ever gone through in hockey - not because of the pain he was in, just because he was forced to sit and watch his teammates and he wasn't able to help out at all.

Brian made a full recovery in 1987-88, but was placed on a checking line with Rick Meagher and Herb Raglan. Brian thrived in the reduced role. He didn't care that he wasn't on the top line. He was just glad to be back on the ice. And he gave it his usual 100%.

Brian had played out his option year in '87-88 in order to return to the game, which left his status somewhat in limbo come the offseason. Brian never expected his career to change the way it did that summer though. Head coach Jacques Demers also ran out his contract and signed a lucrative deal with Detroit. That left the Blues without a coach. The Blues reportedly were after Mike Keenan as coach, but things never worked out there. So they turned to their captain, and asked Brian to coach the team. After some careful consideration, Brian agreed to retire and become the Blues head coach.

Brian would coach the Blues until 1992, and achieved a higher level of success with Brian behind the bench than they did when he was on the ice. This was partly due to the superstar accomplishments of Brett Hull, who thrived under Sutter as coach. Brian even won the Jack Adams award in 1991 as the NHL's top coach.

All coaches get fired, usually sooner rather than later. Brian knew this would happen sooner or later, thus ending his long relationship with the Blues. That came in the summer of 1992, but Brian wasn't unemployed long. He went on to coach the Boston Bruins for 3 years. He also coached the Calgary Flames from 1997-2000 and was named head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2001.

Brian had a great deal of influence on his younger brothers, so much so that you'd have to think things might have been different had Brian not been the first to junior and then the pros.

"He works so unbelievably hard in the summertime", Duane said, and continued. "I worked with him at a hockey school over the summer and I couldn't believe how hard he was working. It was because of him that I had such a good rookie camp and made the team (NY Islanders). He just works his ass off all the time. The harder he's worked, the more he's improved."

Brian retired with 303 goals, 333 assists and 636 points in 779 games plus 1786 well earned penalty minutes. The Blues retired his jersey number 11 back in 1988 and are forever grateful for Brian Sutter's contributions to their franchise. He is considered to be one of the top coaches in the game today, as is his brother Darryl. Perhaps all 6 Sutters will again be in the NHL at the same time, this time all as coaches? Not likely you say? We'd agree, except this is the Sutters that we are talking about.

Bernie Federko

2011-01-09T19:56:00.001-08:00

Bernie Federko is one of the greatest players to play in the NHL, only not everyone knows it.

Federko recorded 11 straight 20-goal seasons and four 100-point seasons in his illustrious NHL career. He became the first player in National Hockey League history to record 50 assists in 10 consecutive seasons. 13 of his 14 NHL seasons were spent in St. Louis where he is considered to be arguably the greatest Blue ever. When he was traded to Detroit late in his career, he was the Blue's all time leader in seasons, games played, goals, assists and points.

Yet recognition was hard to come by for the native of Foam Lake Saskatchewan. Being over shadowed by some of the NHL's greatest offensive forces (Federko played in an era of 150 point scorers like Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy, Kurri and Yzerman), Federko's skill was often overlooked in St. Louis. Another reason that Federko was overlooked was that his team never came close to accomplishing much in the playoffs like the Oilers or Islanders did. It didn't help that St. Louis was one of hockey's smallest markets either.

Federko was one of the game's best playmakers in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. His outstanding hockey sense and anticipation combined with his soft hands placed him among the league's elite playmakers. Unselfish is probably the best adjective to describe Bernie, although under-rated also comes to mind. Wayne Gretzky of course popularized using the area behind the net (better known as Gretzky's Office) as an area to set up plays, but Bernie was also adept in that area, and actually used that area to his advantage earlier than Gretzky did.

Bernie was an average skater, a step slow in comparison to the Gretzkys and Yzermans of the league. He however had great balanced which made him hard to knock off the puck, despite his average size. This also enabled him to excel in traffic. Federko was never a physical player, but was always willing to take or give a hit in order to make a play.

Bernie was an under-rated goal scorer as well. He was a consistent 30 goal threat during his prime. He peaked at 41 in 1983-84 and scored more than 20 in 11 consecutive seasons. His wrist shot was particularly deadly. .

Federko's career started by playing three spectacular years with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades. In his final season with the Blades, 1975-76, Bernie recorded 72 goals and 187 points in 72 games. In total Bernie scored 133 goals and 211 assists for 344 points in just 206 games. His incredible numbers earned Federko the 7th overall selection by the Blues in the 1976 Amateur Draft.

After starting the year with the Blue's farm team in Kansas City of the CHL, Bernie debuted with St. Louis in 1976-77 in 31 regular season games, notching 23 points.

Federko went on to play 12 full seasons with the Blues. He notched seven 30-goal seasons and he had nine seasons with at least 80 points, including a career best 107, also in 1983-84. He became Mr. St. Louis Blue, leading the team in all major career scoring statistics.

After 13 years in St. Louis, Bernie was traded to the Detroit Red Wings prior to the 1989-90 campaign. Federko and fellow veteran Tony McKegney in exchange for Paul MacLean and Adam Oates - a younger but very similar player to Federko. He played just one season in Detroit, scoring 17 goals and 57 points in 73 games. It was a tough year for Federko.

"It was kind of a different year for me after being in St. Louis for 13 years. It was really kind of a shock to be traded first of all. And to end up in Detroit and on a team that didn’t make the playoffs … we had made the playoffs the last 10, 11 years straight that I was in St. Louis and we didn’t make the playoffs in Detroit. It was almost a really kind of a rotten year."

One of the few highlights for Federko in Detroit was playing in his 1000th career NHL game, which also happened to be his final game in the NHL.

"It was the last game of the season and it happened to be 1,000. And I think when I look back now, if I hadn’t hit the 1,000 mark, if it would have been 999, I may have decided to play another year because I think it was important to get to 1,000. And I think when I look back on it, if I hadn’t have got it, I would have been very disappointed. So as it turned out, it was 1,000. I think maybe it was the writing on the wall that it was time to retire.”

Upon retiring from the NHL in 1990, Federko had recorded 369 goals, 761 assists and 1,130 points in 1,000 regular season games. He added 101 points in 91 playoff contests. Bernie also played in the 1980 and 1981 NHL All-Star Games.

After retiring, Federko returned to St. Louis where he has become a fixture on St. Louis Blues broadcasting programs. The Blues also retired Bernie's #24. It was a bittersweet moment for Bernie, as he told NHLPA.com.

“It was a special moment. There’s no question it was a special moment. But it was kind of … I still had that little boy in my heart that I wanted to finish my career in St. Louis. So I think that as I look back, even though the banner’s hanging there, it isn’t as special as it would have been if I would have played my whole career in St. Louis. But it was a really special moment when they asked me to do it. But it was something that was always missing and even today, it still is always missing, the fact that I played my 1,000th game in another uniform. Because it was a dream … especially after being here for 13 years, that I wanted to finish here. And everybody knew it but because of the nature of the business, it didn’t end that way. But I don’t think there’s anything greater, a more flattering incident, then when they do hang your jersey up. The St. Louis Blues were my life even though I played that one year in Detroit. The Blues were still my life. It’s almost something that was not there, like that year did not happen."

Al MacInnis

2011-01-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

When you think of Al MacInnis you think of his booming slap shot. His overall effective game which ranked him as one of the most complete defenders of any era is totally overlooked by his 100 mile an hour blast from the point that puts the fear of god into goalies and anyone standing in the way.

He developed his shot by spending countless winter (and summer) hours firing a puck against a barn back home in the tiny community of Port Hood, Nova Scotia. Over the years he learned to make his shot doubly effective by keeping the shot low, rarely over a foot off the ice, so that it was perfect for tip-ins and rebounds. But how did he shoot so hard?

MacInnis maximizes his upper body strength by keeping his hands high on the stick and relatively close together compared to other shooters, thus creating a larger arc on the swing. He also has a bit of a golf "wedge" blade on his stick, which gives his shots extra lift. He also uses an extremely long stick, which again creates a large arc.

Perhaps even more amazing than the strength and velocity of his shot was his accuracy. It was pretty rare to see a player block a MacInnis shot of any kind, especially the big slapper. MacInnis knew how to get puck through traffic and on to the net. It was this uncanny skill that he would pass on to many defensive partners, most especially Chris Pronger.

His shot got him into the NHL. He was always known for his shot during his playing days, and will be forever remembered for his awesome blast. But if you look past that shot, you'll notice he was a complete defenseman with an incredible career.

MacInnis was a good skater in terms of lateral movement and agility, but he had average speed. He rarely rushed the puck, instead preferring to make crisp outlet passes. He played a very effective physical game, but was anything but a punishing physical presence. His game based on subtle intelligence, and if not observed closely, it can be taken for granted, even ignored.

At least until he winds up to shoot. Then everyone takes notice.

"It was a shot that gave me the opportunity," admits MacInnis. "I think most players unless you come into the league as a Gretzky or a Lindros or Lemieux or Jagr, there are a lot of us that come in the league where you shine in one area. A lot of guys, it might be their scoring touch. Might be their skating ability. Or it might be their shot. That has been with me my whole career."

And what a career it was. MacInnis, who always preferred the old wooden sticks, spent 13 years as a member of the Calgary Flames, leading the team to a Stanley Cup championship in 1989 and capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy for his efforts.

MacInnis won the MVP award by recording at least one point in the final 17 games, a playoff record for defensemen. He also became the first defenseman in history to win the playoff scoring race. In doing so, he became the first defenseman Larry Robinson in 1978 to be so honored.

Many believe that MacInnis' devastating slap shot rattled Montreal's Patrick Roy to the point of distraction in the Finals, turning the series in Calgary's favor. Whether true or not, it certainly adds to the legend.

By the time MacInnis was traded to St. Louis in July of 1994, he was Calgary's all-time leader in games played (803), assists (609), and points (822).

"Chopper" had several productive seasons with the St. Louis Blues, seemingly only getting better with age. In 1999, his 18th year in the league, he was named as the league's best blueliner, winning the Norris Trophy for the first time.

MacInnis, now an elder statesman and starting in 2003 the St. Louis team captain, had a tremendous effect on Chris Pronger's career, acting as a mentor and role model. But a two serious injuries to his left eye coupled with a long lay off due to the 2004-05 NHL lock out ended MacInnis' playing career.

There can be no doubting MacInnis' career will land him in the Hall of Fame career. Take a look at his career accomplishments. Stanley Cup, Canada Cup, Memorial Cup and an Olympic gold medal highlight his trophy cabinet. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy, Norris Trophy, 10 All Star nods. He is one of only 4 defensemen to surpass 100 points in a season. He scored 340 career goals, 166 of them on the power play. He totaled 1274 points in 1416 NHL games.

But he will always be known for that big slap shot of his.

Jack Egers

2010-12-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

Jack Egers was once a promising prospect who unfortunately never fulfilled his potential due to a rash of injuries.

Egers quickly developed a reputation for his wicked slap shot. In fact, he was given the moniker "Smokey" because supposedly could "knock the sap out of the wood of his stick with his rocket of a slap shot."

"That boy can kill somebody," said Emile Francis, his coach with the Rangers.

GM Jake Milford even dared to compare his goal scoring prowess to that of Maurice Richard.

And Boston goaltender Gerry Cheevers even predicted Egers would be a 50 goal scorer. Cheevers made the prediction when Egers was just a rookie in his first NHL playoffs. Cheevers gloved down the Egers missile, but it left a welt on his hand.

But injuries really wreaked havoc on his hockey career. Early in his career he quite infamously smacked his head on the ice, resulting in a severe concussion that re-sparked the helmet debate. Egers even admitted he would have used a helmet if it was not for the unspoken peer pressure about not wearing a helmet. Egers also nearly ended up swallowing his tongue and went into convulsions.

Originally a draft pick of the New York Rangers, it wasn't until Egers joined the St. Louis Blues in the 1971-72 season that he began to blossom. Back to back 20 goal seasons earned him a spot in the National Hockey League.

Things started falling apart in 1973-74, Egers was traded back to the Rangers in exchange for Glen Sather. However in 34 injury plagued games, he scored just 1 goal. The true statistics to sum up his season were 1 surgery on his right leg, 1 surgery on his left knee and 1 injured shoulder. In a word - ouch!

After that disaster of a season, Egers was exposed in the expansion draft and was selected by the Washington Capitals.

"He's a tall rangy kid with a good shot," explained Caps GM of the time Milt Schmidt. "There's definitely an injury factor with him. But you know the potential is there."

Unfortunately, the potential was never realized. Egers, who was known to use excessive amounts of tape on his stick, played in just 26 games over the next two years before retiring from pro hockey. He scored 6 goals and 5 assists in his time with the Caps, but clearly he couldn't get past his assortment of serious injuries.

In 284 career NHL games, Jack Egers scored 64 goals and 69 assists for 133 points.

Egers joined the fire department after hockey, rising all the way to the title of captain of the Kitchener, Ontario fire department.

Below is a photo Jack Egers tending the net while smoking in a moment of fun:

Special thanks to Jennifer Conway

Mark Hunter

2010-12-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Born in Petrolia, Ontario, Mark Hunter was the youngest of the three Hunter brothers to play in the NHL. Dave was the oldest and is best known for his role playing days with the great Edmonton Oilers. Dale was considered to be the best of the three. He was the heart and soul of the Quebec Nordiques and Washington Capitals before closing out his career with the Colorado Avalanche. By the way, Tim Hunter, who also played during the 1980's, was not related to the Petrolia Hunters.

The Hunter brothers were known for playing an abrasive, penalty filled game. They were all chippy and scrappy players, though none were by any stretch considered to be a heavy weight. But they were also all key players on their respective teams. They all were solid defensively and put up decent numbers offensively.

No one ever suggested any of the Hunters made it to the NHL based on their talent more than their aggressive style of crash and bang hockey. Mark was maybe the least talented of the three. He was strong on his feet but lacked agility and balance to be a good skater. His best talent was his shot. He had a booming shot from the slot and he loved to use it. He scored 42 more goals than assists in his career. He never handled the puck very well and didn't use his linemates effectively. His attitude was to shoot first and ask questions later.

Mark was as strong as horse and that helped him play in the NHL as long as he did. The biggest of the three brothers, Mark was at times a great corner man, creating havoc because of his hardnosed play. However he lacked consistency in that aspect of his game.

No one ever questioned the desire or work ethic of either Dave or Dale, but they often questioned Mark's. Maybe it was his plodding skating style or his inconsistent play, but Mark's stay in each NHL city he played in was always short. Also, due mostly to his hardnosed style of play, Mark was very injury prone. He never played a full season.

Mark was drafted in 1981 by the Montreal Canadiens 7th overall. He was selected directly ahead of Grant Fuhr. Al MacInnis and Chris Chelios were also chosen that year.

He had a decent rookie season in 1981-82 when he scored 18 goals and had 143 PIM in rather limited ice time. However the following two seasons would be disasters for Mark. Severe injuries caused him to play in only 53 of a possible 160 games in those two seasons. Missing so much ice time early on his career really set Hunter's development back, which partially explains why Hunter became somewhat one dimensional as a shooter/banger.

Mark had a healthy 4th season in Montreal in 1984-85. He scored 21 goals but just 33 points. The Habs gave up on Mark in the summer of 1985. Injuries had cost a once promising career to become quite limited in their opinion. They gave him to St. Louis in a deal which saw a ton of draft picks swapping.

The move to St. Louis proved to be a great move for Mark as he proved Montreal wrong. In 1985-86 Hunter scored a career high 44 goals and 74 points while adding 171 well-earned penalty minutes. He had a strong playoff that spring as well, scoring 7 goals and 14 assists as the St. Louis Blues were the surprise of the post season.

Hunter continued to score at a good clip the next two seasons. He scored 36 and then 32 goals before he was traded to the Calgary Flames in the summer of 1988. Hunter was packed with Doug Gilmour (and Steve Bozek and Michael Dark) in the big trade for Mike Bullard, Craig Coxe and Tim Corkery.

Hunter played more of a third line role in Calgary, thus affecting his offensive output. Playing behind names like Joe Mullen and Hakan Loob, Hunter potted 22 goals and just 8 assists in 1988-89. 1989 of course was the first time that the Calgary Flames captured the Stanley Cup. However by playoff time Mark was a scratch more often than not during the playoffs. He appeared in 10 of 22 games but was used sparingly even in those 10 games.

After being scratched for 12 playoff games it came as no surprise that Mark's days in Calgary were numbered. However serious knee surgery put any relocation plans and his career on hold. Mark appeared in just 10 games in 1989-90.

Mark came back to play regularly in 1990-91 with the Flames. But he clearly didn't have the same offensive zest and seemed to have lost a step after the knee surgery. Prior to the trading deadline Hunter was traded to Hartford in exchange for Carey Wilson, a former Flame.

Hunter played the next season in Hartford before being traded to Washington in exchange for Nick Kypreos. Hunter only played 7 games with the Caps and actually finished his career in the minor leagues.

Chris Evans

2010-07-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

Not much was expected of Chris Evans once his junior career had ended 1968. Standing just 5'9" tall and weighing 180 pounds, the general consensus was Chris was far too small to play a defense position at the National Hockey League level.

Chris persevered however. Chris starred for two seasons in junior hockey with his hometown Toronto Marlies. His stay there was highlighted by the 1967 Memorial Cup championship.

Chris turned professional in 1968 when he played with the lowly Tulsa Oilers of the CHL. Aside from 2 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1969-70, he bounced around the minor leagues for three years before getting a chance with the Buffalo Sabres

That chance occurred during the 1971-72 season. Chris used his puck moving game to impress the NHL with a 6 goal, 24 point season in 61 games with the Sabres. Ultimately he'd end the season as a member of the St. Louis Blues. The Sabres traded Chris to St. Louis for George Morrison and a second round draft pick in 1972 which was used to draft Larry Carriere.

Chris would play two solid seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He would depart St. Louis in 1974 for stops in Detroit and Kansas City before returning to St. Louis in 1975 to round out his NHL career with 19 goals and 61 points in 241 games.

That was not the end of Chris' hockey career however. He jumped to the WHA starting in the 1975-76 season, and would enjoy three seasons in the rival major league, scoring 11 goals and 62 points in 204 games. He also played in the little-known Pacific Hockey League in 1978-79 before heading to Germany for two seasons. In 1980-81 he returned for a brief stint in the league that gave him his professional start - the Central Hockey League. He played 6 games with the Wichita Wind upon completion of the German season, thus ending his hockey career.

St. Louis Blues Greatest Players

2010-07-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Bruce Affleck
Wayne Babych
Red Berenson
Jacques Caron
Norm Dennis
Blake Dunlop
Steve Durbano
Bernie Federko
Bob Gassoff
Mr Goalie" Glenn Hall
Bob Hess
Brett Hull
Craig Janney
Vitali Karamnov
Alexander Khavanov
Ralph Klassen
Mike Liut
Al MacInnis
Connie Madigan

Greg Millen
Michel Mongeau
George Morrison
Adam Oates
Larry Patey
Noel Picard
Rob Ramage
Gary Sabourin
Larry Sacharuk
Frank St. Marseille
Brian Sutter
Pierre Turgeon
Tony Twist
Garry Unger
Rick Wamsley
Doug Wickenheiser
Scott Young

Vitali Karamnov

2010-06-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Blues were one of the last teams to explore Eastern Europe as a source of hockey talent. And when you get the best of the leftovers, you don't always get the best.

The Blues first tapped into Russia in the 1992 draft. The Blues looked at drafting some of the older, overlooked Russians, taking 5 in total.

Vitali Karamnov was the Blues' 2nd choice, 62nd overall in the 92 draft. Nicknamed "Big V" as the Blues drafted a smaller player also named Vitali (Prokhorov) who was known as "Little V", Karamnov (and for that matter Prokhorov) was brought over immediately at the age of 24 to join the Blues. Joined by center Igor Korolev, it was hoped that these older Russian players could step in and infuse some speed and offense into the Blues attack.

The initial Russian experiment never really worked though. Never a star with his old club Moscow Dynamo, Karamnov struggled through an injury plauged 1992-93 season which saw him play mostly in the minors.

Having adjusted to the North American game and culture somewhat by the 1993-94 season, Karamnov played most of the year with St. Louis, but only scored 9 goals and 21 points in 59 games. Although he was big (6'2" 185lbs) and able to handle the NHL's bigger players, he was hardly a good fit on the third or fourth line. With production like that, Karamnov's days were certainly numbered.

Karamnov played another poor season with the Blues in the lockout shortened 1995 season. He played in 26 games, scoring 3 goals and 10 points but finished the year in the minor leagues.

Karamnov was released as a free agent after 1995 and immediately went back to Europe. He first played in Finland and then Germany.

Karamnov played in 92 games, scoring 12 goals and 20 assists. Ask any Blues fan who remembers him and they'll tell you that the thing they remember most about him is how frequently he lost his helmet while on the ice. It became a source of amusement for the fans and the Blues broadcast team.

Michel Mongeau

2010-05-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Despite scoring 71 goals and 180 points in just 72 games in his last year of junior hockey, Michel Mongeau was never drafted by the National Hockey League.

Why? Well, he had a number of strikes. Offensively gifted without doubt, Mongeau, who was an overaged junior and hadn't show enough in his prior 2 junior seasons to impress NHL scouts, was puny at just 5'9". Also, many wrote off Mongeau's fine season on account of his more prolific teammates - Mario Lemieux early in his junior career, and later Vincent Damphousse.

Mongeau signed on as a free agent with the IHL's Saginaw Generals, and turned in a strong rookie year. He found the net 42 times while assisting on 53 other goals en route to winning the Garry F. Longman Memorial Trophy as the IHL's top rookie. Yet Mongeau was still disappointed as his fine season still translated into zero interest from the NHL.

Frustrated, Mongeau took an offer to play in France for a year in 1987-88, but returned to the IHL in 1988-89. This time he stepped up his play even higher. He led the league with 76 assists and was near the top with 117 points.

This time the NHL noticed, specifically the St. Louis Blues. The Blues signed the elusive skater to a contract, though Mongeau must have known that he would most likely be returned to the IHL for most of the year. And that's exactly what happened. Mongeau had a monster season in 1989-90, leading the IHL with 78 assists and 117 points. He was named to the First All Star Team and won the Leo Lamoureux Trophy as the top scorer and the James Gatschene Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player! He will always be remembered as one of the greatest players in IHL history.

Mongeau also realized a dream, as he was recalled by the Blues late in the season. He responded well, scoring one goal and 5 assists in 7 games. He looked right at home on a power play unit that included Brett Hull. Mongeau even got into two NHL playoff contests, contributing 1 assists in 2 games.

Unfortunately Mongeau couldn't make the next leap. He played only 7 games for the Blues in 1990-91, instead returning to Peoria of the IHL. His stats slipped just slightly, falling to "just" 106 points. But Mongeau had a dominant IHL playoffs. In 19 games he scored 10 goals and a league leading 16 assists for 26 points en route to winning the IHL championship. For his efforts, Mongeau was rewarded with the Bud Poile Trophy as the IHL's playoff MVP.

Mongeau got his best shot in the NHL in 1991-92. After again tearing up the IHL in stints which accumulated to 32 games, Mongeau spent half a season in the NHL with the Blues. In 36 contests he tapped in 3 goals (2 on the power play) and 12 helpers for 15 points. He was used primarily as a power play specialist, as his size and lack of defensive play (he was okay defensively, but not great) really hindered him at the NHL level. Mongeau described his NHL stint as "too short" but had no regrets.

The Tampa Bay Lightning claimed Mongeau from St. Louis in the 1992 expansion draft. Many though that Mongeau would get a good shot with a lowly expansion team, but he only appeared in 4 contests with the Bolts, and spent most of the year in the minors. In February 1993 he was sent with fellow Francophone Martin Simard and Steve Tuttle to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for big winger Herb Raglan. However Mongeau never appeared in a Nords jersey.

By 1993-94 Mongeau returned to Peoria, this time without an NHL affliation. He was tired of bouncing around and wanted to return to site of his best years. He would also move on to continue his career in Europe
In the mid 1990s, Mongeau was the victim of a terrible on-ice incident involving Chris Tamer, a future NHLer.

"I was skating toward the goal and I stopped to fake a shot on goal. That’s when Tamer caught up with me and cross-checked me from behind. I fell head first on the goal post and got 7 fractures to the face : upper-jaw, left cheek, nose and both eye sockets. I now have 3 metal plates in my face. The rehab was very difficult and painful. My jaw was wired for a month and my face was very sensitive. Eating with a straw is quite an adventure and a very good way to lose weight... It took 10 months before I could play again and it changed my style drastically." said Mongeau.

Mongeau sued Tamer for damages, but got no compensation.

"At the first trial, we got no result because a ‘strong woman’ in the jury made it turn into a mistrial. At the second trial, the jury side with me but also decided that it was an accident. Go figure. I didn’t get any compensation and my lawyer got $60,000 in debt."

Mongeau returned to Laval where he continued to play senior hockey until 2004.

In May 2010 Mongeau succumbed to skin cancer. Survived by his wife and two children, he was just 45 years old. He will forever be remembered in hockey circles as a scoring machine.

Norm Dennis

2010-03-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

When the St. Louis Blues came to the NHL in the late 1960s, they looked to build a veteran team for instant success. It worked as they made it to the Stanley Cup finals the first three years of their existence.

Aurora, Ontario's Norm Dennis never figured prominently in any St. Louis success. He was acquired in 1968 after establishing a reputation as a solid minor league pro who was buried in the Montreal farm system for years.

Dennis was destined to be buried in the St. Louis farm system, too, as it turned out. He was called up for brief trials in four consecutive years, the best of which came in 1970. He scored three goals in five contests, the only three goals in his twelve game NHL career.

Dennis also participated in five Stanley Cup playoffs games, going pointless.

Dennis bounced around the minor leagues until 1975 when he moved to Trail, British Columbia. He continued to play hockey at a high level of senior competition with the legendary Trail Smoke Eaters. For a time he coached the Smokies, too.

Tony Twist

2010-03-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

While he was never considered to be the undeniable toughest man in hockey like Bob Probert or John Feguson before him, Tony Twist was reputed to be the heaviest puncher of his time. However an offseason motorcycle accident in 1999 would mean that Twist would miss the following season and ended his career

The 31-year-old left wing was hurt Aug. 9, 1999 when his motorcycle rammed a car that cut him off. The other motorist was cited for failure to yield and driving with a revoked license. Twist suffered a broken and dislocated pelvis, broken toe and bruised left knee. The critical issue was internal bleeding that threatened his life and delayed pelvis surgery for nearly four days and pushed a detailed knee exam back a week.

Twist was flipped off the bike and landed several feet away, feet first. Police say that a normal human being would have been injured much more severely than Twist was, and credited Twist's incredible strength and tree-trunk-like legs with limiting the blow somewhat.

What made matters worse for the popular St. Louis player known as "Twister" is that just hours earlier the Blues management informed him that they would not be renewing his contract this summer. He was an unsigned unrestricted free agent at the time of the accident. The Blues graciously paid all of his medical bills.

Twists initially vowed to return to hockey, but that never happened.

The son of an RCMP officer, Twist was born in Sherwood Park Alberta but grew up in Prince George, British Columbia before leaving home to join the WHL's Saskatoon Blades. He played two years in the WHL, scoring just 1 goal but piling up 407 PIM which got him drafted by the Blues 177th overall in 1988.

It was as a youth he learned he actually enjoyed fighting, not a trait shared by all NHL tough guys. Twist prepared for each game (right through his NHL career) by punching a concrete floor for 15 minutes. He did this to condition his knuckles for what laid ahead.

Twist made an impression in his first NHL training camp in 1988. He and veteran NHL tough guy Todd Ewen seemed to really have a rivalry going. Tony also met Kelly Chase, who played pretty much the same role as Tony. Both wanted Ewen's job, and both of their careers would follow the other's. Despite the spirited camp Twist was sent to the minors to develop as a player.

"Chaser and I both knew we had to do something to establish ourselves, so I said that I was going to go out and fight in every game. In the first six exhibition games, I had three fights and our coach Wayne Thomas said "what are you doing?". I said "Wayne, new league, I've got to establish myself". I probably fought thirty-five or thirty-six times. It was a good year."

It certainly got Twist some notice, and after another fight filled training camp in 1989, the Blues gave Twist an opportunity to play. He split the year between the NHL and IHL, playing in 28 games with the Blues, and racking up 124 PIM, and no points, by the way.

Twist's first game was something he'll never forget.

"My first NHL game is extremely memorable because it was opening night at Chicago Stadium," Twist told NHLPA.com. "It was in my second pro year. Todd Ewen was suspended from the year before, so I got the call for Opening Night. Just to be in that arena when the national anthem was being played, if you've never experienced it, you can't understand the adrenaline rush. It was unbelievable. My first game, Chicago Stadium, I had tears in my eyes! Wayne Van Dorp was the resident heavyweight for Chicago at the time. Of course I didn't play much, although I did play long enough to fight Wayne! It was a good fight, and I think I got the best of him without a doubt. That game is definitely one of my most
memorable moments."

However Twist finished the year in the minors, and started the following year in the minors until a trade took him to Quebec. Oddly enough he was traded for Darin Kimble, an old sparring partner of Twist's from the WHL days.

Twist was happy about being moved to Quebec.

"I got a chance to play. It was a great move for me. It was a tremendous opportunity for me because Pierre Page gave me the chance to be something. I didn't play a lot, but whether I played or not, I was on the ice an hour before practice and an hour after practice. Like I said, I didn't play a lot, but I was on the ice for hours and hours and hours with the assistant coaches like Clement Jodoin, Don Jackson and Jaques Martin. Those guys made me a better hockey player and in the long run, I was able to extend my career because of the situation."

Twist especially enjoyed the Battle of Quebec games between the Nords and the Montreal Canadiens. Twist was their heavyweight, and lo-and-behold who ended up in Montreal as their heavyweight? Todd Ewen.

"I went after Todd, but he wouldn't fight me, and when I wasn't looking, he jumped me from behind. We started fighting and I gave it to him and I was happy to do it! I wasn't at all pleased with him suckering me from behind. It was a re-ignition of our rivalry and a great game to be a part of, the rivalry between the Nordiques and the Canadiens!"

Twist played three and 1/2 seasons with the Nordiques before becoming a free agent in the summer of 1994. Oddly enough there was interest through out the league for Twists services. Oddly enough because while he was one of the league's top enforcers, he had never scored a goal and only had 7 assists while playing sparingly in parts of 5 NHL seasons.

Twist elected to resign with his old team, the St. Louis Blues.

"First, I really enjoyed the city of St. Louis. It is a city that really showed me a lot of respect. Second, Mike Keenan. I knew he had a good relationship with his tough guys. I knew he'd give me a chance to play as well as do my job, and even reward me for doing my job. That's exactly what the case was."

Twist would remain with the Blues until his motorcycle accident 5 years later. He even scored 10 goals in that time, an average of 2 goals a season. His first NHL goal came against Vancouver and was during a Hockey Night In Canada telecast! It came in his 181st game, the longest stretch an NHLer had to wait from the start of his career at that point!

"Twister" became a very popular player in St. Louis. His charity and community work were the as much a passio for him as hockey or motorcycles, and helped to make him almost as popular a personality as superstar Brett Hull was in the Missouri city.

Bruce Affleck

2010-02-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Born and raised in British Columbia's Okanagan region, Bruce Affleck was a solid NHL defenseman for nearly 300 games, most notably with the St. Louis Blues.

Bruce was born in Salmon Arm and played junior hockey in Penticton. He played so well their that he was offered scholarships to play at American colleges. In 1972 he chose to attend the University of Denver largely because he so respected coach Murray Armstrong. He also used to opportunity to study business administration.

Attending the University of Denver was probably the best thing that ever happened to Affleck. Not only was he a standout all star with one of the strongest university teams in the country, but he caught the eyes of NHL scouts at a time when it was still very rare for college hockey players to make the jump to the NHL. The California Golden Seals drafted him 21st overall (The Hockey News rated him as the third best prospect and best defensive prospect) in 1974, although he was traded to St. Louis before he ever played a game in California.

The move to St. Louis was good as Affleck. Originally he had a tough time cracking the line-up, so tough his teammates nicknamed him "Scratch." But soon he had a chance to play regularly for three and half seasons. In 280 games (including later stints with Vancouver and NY Islanders) he scored 14 goals and 80 points. By 1979 he found himself buried in the minor leagues where he was twice named top defenseman in the CHL and once named league MVP.

After playing a couple of seasons in Switzerland Affleck retired in 1986 to spend more time with his family. Which brings me to the other reason why attending the University of Denver was such a great thing for Bruce. He met his future wife, a girl by the name of Cecily Quinn. Her father was the first governor of Hawaii. In 1976 he ran for the position of Senator with Affleck spending his summer off the ice working hard on the campaign trail.

Affleck returned to St. Louis after he hung up the skates. He worked in the corporate community before re-joining the Blues in a variety of capacities, including group sales, radio color commentator and president of the alumni association.

Alexander Khavanov

2009-12-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

For reasons I am not completely certain of, ever since Alexander Khavanov broke into the NHL as a 28 year old rookie I was keenly interested in his underdog story.

He was a classic late bloomer if there ever was one. Coming out of junior back, no elite in Russia team was interested in him. He left the game completely for 2 years, turning to academic world. He was always a good student and idolized Albert Einstein as much as any hockey player. He chose study at the prestigious Moscow Civil Engineering School.

He probably should have been working in a Moscow office somewhere, but the university coach convinced him to return to the ice. He did, and before you know it he was captaining the Russian national team, playing at World Championships.

In 2000, thanks to keen eye of St. Louis scout Ted Hampson and assistant GM John Ferguson Jr., he came to St. Louis. He was a skilled rearguard, often forced to play his wrong side in St. Louis because of a lack of right handed defensemen. He handled it all with great poise, perhaps too much as some suggested he lacked a sense of urgency. He also lacked a physical game, which likely kept his NHL minutes lower than he wanted to play. Ferguson later brought Khavanov to Toronto for his final season, in 2005-06.

In total Khavanov played in 348 NHL games, scoring 27 goals and 102 points before returning to Europe for a final season.

As a civil engineer who once quit hockey and never expected to play beyond the recreational level ever again, Alexander Khavanov probably savoured every minute of his career more than most.

Larry Patey

2009-11-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Larry Patey was a 12 year veteran of NHL wars. He played in 717 games and was a noted defensive specialist. In 1981 he was runner up to Bob Gainey and Craig Ramsay for the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward in the league. That year he scored a league leading 8 shorthanded goals.

Not bad for a late bloomer. Patey was never a top player on his youth teams, and never even played major junior hockey. Instead he accepted the opportunity to play for Boston University back when it was still rare for serious NHL prospects to play there.

He never did get a chance to suit up with the BU Terriers. Freshmen weren't allowed to play at the time. Patey found a little known team in Braintree to keep active while studying. It was during an exhibition game with the United States national team that NHL scouts first really noticed him.

Patey would be drafted 130th overall by the California Golden Seals in 1973. Patey would drop his studies and turn professional. He would played 98 games in the Bay Area, but was best known as a St. Louis Blue. Despite scoring 25 goals and 45 points in his first full NHL season, late in 1975 Patey was traded to St. Louis in exchange for Wayne Merrick, a similar type of player.

Patey emerged as a top defensive forward in St. Louis. He formed a suffocating defensive tandem with winger Mike Crombeen over the next 7 seasons.

A devastating back injury all but ended Patey's career in 1983. He would play in only 33 NHL games over the next three seasons, the last two of which were with the New York Rangers.

Patey retired 1985 having played 717 games. He scored 153 goals, 163 assists and 316 points.

Patey held a lot of interesting off ice interests, too. He held a pilot's license since the age of 15. He pursued his real estate license during his spare time, and became a successful St. Louis area realtor after retiring from hockey. He remained in the game by opening his own hockey school, giving back to youth in the community. He also was active in the Blues' alumni organization and played in charity games.

Ralph Klassen

2009-09-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

You look back now at the career of Ralph Klassen and you wonder what went wrong. He was an extremely high draft pick, 3rd overall in a weak class of 1975, selected ahead of names like Pierre Mondou, Tim Young, Bob Sauve and Doug Jarvis. Yet despite his lofty draft position, the center iceman from Saskatchewan only scored 52 goals in his 9 year career. Only once in those 9 seasons did he reach double digits in goals!

Despite his lack of offensive contributions, Klassen actually was a valuable member of some weak teams in California/Cleveland, Colorado and St. Louis. He was a jack of all trades utility player who would do the unnoticed deeds that help a team win. Klassen is the perfect example of a player who's contributions simply never could be quantified by any statistics.

An explosive skater, Klassen was a top shadow and premier penalty killer. He learned how to use his speed expertly, thus making him even more potent. Instead of going full throttle all the time, Ralph knew how to turn on the jets at just the right time.

Despite his less than daunting offensive statistics, Ralph wasn't lacking in offensive talent. He actually was a pretty good playmaker, though rarely played with elite scorers to put up big numbers himself.

Had Ralph Klassen played with some of the stronger teams in the NHL during the 1970s and 1980s, he could have been a higher profile player. He was a desired player, appearing in 497 career contests. He is also believed to be the only player who was property of 4 different NHL teams on the same day, thanks to a series of complicated trades

Connie Madigan

2009-06-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Connie "Mad Dog" Madigan is the answer to a common trivia question. Who is the oldest NHL rookie ever ? Yep, Connie Madigan is your answer. When Connie was called up by St.Louis in February 1973 he was 38 years, 4 months old. Never before or since have anyone older than that debuted in the NHL. When Connie was called up by St.Louis he had a long professional career behind him in the minors.

Connie's youth in Port Arthur was a tough one, and he literally fought his way into hockey from the time he first laced on skates at the age of five. One of his neighbours from that time remembered Connie very well and once said about Connie.

" I remember Connie and his buddies as youngsters. When they needed a ride home, they didn't mind "borrowing" a police car to get it."

Connie's tough childhood rubbed off on his play. He was a very tough customer who set numerous league records in penalty minutes. He picked up a staggering total of 3537 PIMs during his career, 2181of them in the tough WHL.

He was once asked by a reporter if was ever going to soften up on the ice, Connie responded. " I can't, I know only one way to play this game, and I'm not too cute. If you don't have heart and you don't want to win, you should get out. Besides, there's always someone ready to take your spot."

After a junior career with the Port Arthur Bruins and Humboldt Indians he went to the NY Rangers training camp in 1955 but was cut. After that Connie became a hockey drifter and played for 12 different clubs.

Connie was a pretty controversial figure from time to time, which probably kept him buried in the minor leagues. Even some of his teammates didn't like him because he was so outspoken. Don Head, a goalie who was Connie's teammate in Portland (WHL) summed it up best when he said, "Listen, the guy isn't always smart. But he hates to lose, and he'll never quit trying. He's strong, he has a good shot and he's hard to check."

Another teammate in Portland was Tom McVie who later went on to become an NHL coach. His view on Connie was about the same as Don Head's. " His drive and desire are the strongest parts of his game. He wants to win so bad that he can taste it."

A typical Connie Madigan trademark was that he always played his best hockey against teams that had dumped him, or as Connie put it "You always play your hardest against a team that gets rid of you."

But Connie wasn't just a brawler. He was a seven time All-Star in the WHL as well as an All-Star in the IHL. In 1968 he won the Hal Laycoe Cup given to WHL's outstanding defenseman.

Connie spent most of his professional career with the Portland Buckaroos in the WHL, 11 seasons in total. He was probably the most hated rival in the old Buckaroos' Glass Palace. He never gave the opponents any breathing room. Fittingly enough, he retired with Portland in 1975 at the age of 40.

His drive and desire deservedly gave him a shot in the NHL at an age when most players were retired. All his penalty records are eclipsed by now but his late rookie debut will probably stand the test for many years to come, if not forever.

Scott Young

2009-06-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

When looking back at Scott Young's statistics, the one thing that surprised me is how often he moved around the NHL. I thought he was a fantastic support player, which is probably what made him so desirable by other teams. They were willing to pay a nice price in hoping Young would breakout with his new team.

I best remember Young with the Hartford Whalers, who drafted him 11th overall in 1986, and with St. Louis, where he played in 5 seasons, the most of his many tenures. He also played with Pittsburgh, Quebec/Colorado, Anaheim and Dallas.

I also remember Young as a very important member of Team USA in the late 1980s and through the 1990s as well as the 2002 Olympics. Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, he always answered the bell when his country needed him, playing in three world juniors, three Olympics, three world championships, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and two stints with the US national team regular season.

I remember being intrigued by Young at the 1986 draft. He was an all star defenseman at Boston University, but also utilized as a swing man who would play forward, most notably at the World Juniors. He played right wing for most of his NHL career, probably because of his average size, but I always have considered the rare players who could excel both at forward and on defense to be the most intelligent and valuable players in hockey.

I remember someone on Hockey Night In Canada once referred to Scott Young as a "hockey machine." It was a pretty good quote. He excelled in so many facets of the game.

Young had a very heavy slap shot, which caught more than a few goalies by surprise. He liked to tee up one timers near the top of the right face off circle, and was often used on the right point on the power play.

He definitely had a shooter's mentality, firing away whenever possible, and darted in front of the net for rebounds and loose pucks. But what he wasn't was a finisher. He had a career year in St. Louis in 2000-01 with 40 goals, otherwise he was a 20 goal, 50 point threat.

Raised as a defenseman, it comes as no surprise that Young was a diligent defensive forward. He read plays well, had good anticipation and an active stick, as well as the speed and quickness to get to pucks first. He was a regular on the PK unit as well as the PP unit. He was not a physical player by any stretch, which limited him a bit in the true checker's role.

He was a reliable performer game in and game out, and in the playoffs. With his speed, shot and ability to read plays he played a long time, 1181 games in total plus 141 more in the playoffs. He scored 342 goals and 756 points in the regular season, plus 44 goals and 87 points in the Stanley Cup post-season.

Blake Dunlop

2009-05-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

Blake Dunlop was a classic late bloomer.

A high draft pick, 18th overall in 1973 by the Minnesota North Stars, Dunlop had a wonderful final year of junior hockey with his hometown Ottawa 67s. He led all Ontario junior hockey players in scoring with an amazing 60 goals, 99 assists and 159 points in 62 games, all while studying psychology and sociology at Carleton University on the side.

Still, Dunlop was just 5'10" tall and he was not considered to be a great skater. He was still a long ways away from the NHL.

Despite tearing up the minor leagues in scoring, Dunlop had trouble accomplishing much of anything at the NHL level from 1973-1978. In 1977 the Stars actually gave up on Blake and moved him to Philadelphia for a draft pick. A year later Dunlop finally showed he could score at the NHL level, chipping in 20 goals and 48 points in 66 games.

The Flyers were looking for some goaltending help, and moved Dunlop and veteran defenseman Rick Lapointe to St. Louis in exchange for Phil Myre. The move was a great one for Dunlop. He had played in 72 games in 1979-80, scoring 45 points, but exploded for 20 goals, 67 assists and 87 points in 1980-81. The NHL rewarded Blake with the Bill Masterton trophy for all his years of persevering before finally getting a chance to prove how good he could be.

Blake backed that up with two more solid seasons. 78 points in 1981-82 and 66 points 1983-84. So what was the major difference that allowed Blake to become a top scorer in St. Louis?

Quality ice time of course, but also a quality linemate. Blake was teamed with Swedish import Jorgen Petterson. Jorgen was a great player who patrolled the LW on Dunlop's line. Petterson was a big winger who could handle the physical play and was a good stick handler. Petterson and Dunlop were a perfect pairing. Petterson scored 37, 38 and 35 goals in his first three NHL seasons, all with Dunlop as his center.

The duo were also great off ice friends, sharing a love of tennis. In fact, in his teens Dunlop was one of the top junior tennis players in all of Canada.

The Blues, and particularly Dunlop, got off to a slow start in 1983-84. He scored just once plus 10 assists in the first 17 games before he was released. He was signed as a free agent in early December by the Detroit Red Wings, but he never got on track in the Motor City - finishing the year with just 6 goals and 14 assists in 57 games in red and white.

That disappointing year proved to be the final year for Blake Dunlop as a professional hockey player. He would return to St. Louis to make his post-hockey home, raising two sons and two daughters, all of whom played hockey of some variety, too. Cole played at the University of Arizona, Connor at Notre Dame and Sascha played field hockey at the University of Michigan. Younger daughter Torrie was also into field hockey.

Blake Dunlop tallied 130 goals and 404 points during his NHL career. He became the St. Louis branch manager and financial consultant for AG Edwards brokerage firm.

Jacques Caron

2009-03-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Martin Brodeur's recent milestone victories have elicited a great deal of interest in those who have influenced him over the years. Perhaps no figure has been more intimately involved in Brodeur's success than Jacques Caron, the tall, silver-haired, 69-year-old goaltending coach for the New Jersey Devils.

Caron joined the Devils' coaching staff in 1993, at which point Brodeur was serving humbly in their American Hockey League affiliate in Utica. Caron recognized at a very early stage that the organization had someone extraordinarily special brewing in the pipeline. "I could see his total ability was unbelievable," he later recalled. Using his bilingualism to communicate with the young goalie and make him feel right at home, Caron orchestrated an almost father-son relationship that has endured now for over fifteen years.

More than anyone else, Caron was responsible for developing that hybrid style of Brodeur's we are so accustomed to seeing today. "When I came in," Caron remarked, "he was a typical Québec goaltender; a butterfly goaltender. They play their feet real wide and they fall on every shot, hoping the puck hits them with a thud, with no control." Caron immediately got to work on Brodeur's balance, lateral mobility, and angular positioning. In due course, with Caron's guidance, Brodeur learned how to spend more of his time standing up.

Brodeur credits Caron for keeping him razor sharp during practice sessions, thanks to their endless private on-ice drills and video tape analyses. In between periods of games, Caron is always on hand to provide Brodeur with both technical suggestions and emotional support. Said Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello, "we just can’t overestimate the value of Jacques." In fact, even though Caron goes about his duties quietly, he is universally recognized around the league as one of the most valuable goaltending coaches of his generation.

Caron's own playing career spanned 18 seasons, most of which were spent either as a backup or in the minors. He established himself playing for the AHL's Springfield Indians from 1961 to 1968. The team was coached by the legendary Eddie Shore, who employed unorthodox tactics such as tying his goalies to the goalposts in order to drill home the importance of having strong footing. (That was old-time hockey for you!) Throughout his minor league career, Caron won a Calder Cup in the AHL; a Patrick Cup in the Western Hockey League; and a Lockhart Cup in the North American Hockey League.

The 1967 Expansion Los Angeles Kings acquired Caron, and although their goaltending was solid with the combination of Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge, he did manage to log in one game in December (a 4-2 loss). He would enjoy more action during the 1970s with St. Louis and Vancouver, as well as with Cleveland of the World Hockey Association. In all, his numbers were respectable, and his pretzel-like mask memorable; however, his time in the big leagues was plagued with intermittent episodes of retirement, stress and uncertainty.

In 1980, Caron opened a summer goalie school (one of the first of its kind) in his hometown of Rouyn-Noranda, Québec. He worked with the Hartford Whalers as a goaltending coach for several years before solidfying his hockey legacy with Brodeur and the Devils.

Frank St. Marseille

2009-03-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Frank St. Marseille got interested in hockey later than most Canadian players. He did not start skating until the age of eight and didn't play organized hockey until he was 14. He played for the junior team in Levack until he was 21 and graduated from those ranks. Most players had been moved up by then, but not Frank.

He had a tryout though in the juniors with the Toronto Marlboros (OHA) when he was 17. He and Jim Pappin went to Toronto to try their luck. Pappin made the Marlboros, Frank didn't. Frank remembered that time very well.

"There must have been 100 boys at the camp. I only got on the ice a couple of times. I don't think anyone even noticed me. Before I knew it, I was back on the bus, heading home. "

In 1961 and 1962 Frank had three game tryouts with the New Haven Blades of the Eastern League and with Sudbury Wolves of the Eastern Professional League, but he wasn't retained either time. Then during the fall of 1962, he tried out with the Chatham Maroons of the Senior Ontario Hockey Association and made the team, earning $ 50 per game. He got 39 points in 45 games.

Then Chatham moved to the IHL and Frank moved with the team. He scored a respectable 64 points in 70 games during the 1963-64 season. Chatham then dropped out of the league and Frank was picked up by the Port Huron Flags (IHL). Frank had three impressive seasons with Port Huron between 1964-67. He scored 97, 90 and 118 points for a total of 305 points in only 210 games.

At this point Frank was 27-years old when he went on to beat all the odds. He got a shot at the NHL thanks to his brother Frederick. Frederick was struggling to make it as a classical singer in Los Angeles when he decided to write a letter extolling the overlooked abilities of his brother Frank to Lynn Patrick, who at that time was the GM and coach of the Los Angeles Blades (WHL). Hockey people were looking for talent everywhere at the time. Patrick was sufficiently interested to take a trip to Toledo to see Frank play for the Port Huron, Michigan team. He was impressed by Frank's play and signed him as a free agent for his St.Louis organization on November 23, 1967, which is where he landed when the Blades' organization did not get the NHL berth.

Frank started the 1967-68 season by playing for the Kansas City Blues (CHL). After 11 games Frank had 15 points and was recalled to St.Louis where he made his NHL debut as a 28-year old. He scored 16 goals and 32 points in 57 games for St.Louis and earned himself a regular spot on the team. Frank played in three consecutive Stanley Cup finals, losing all three of them.

Franks tenure in St.Louis lasted for six seasons before he was traded to Los Angeles for Paul Curtis on January 27,1973. At the time of the trade Frank held the St.Louis team records for games played and points. Despite that Frank was a very underrated player. He was a consistent and reliable performer.

Meanwhile, all this time, brother Frederick still was struggling to establish himself in his profession. Frank admitted that there were many parallels between the brothers.

"Maybe it's the way we grew up, but we're not the kind of guys who give up on what we want. It was tough for me, but it has been tougher for Fred. If I was underrated as an hockey player, Fred is more underrated as a singer. I wish I could write a letter for him that would open doors for him as his letter opened one for me. But he is beginning to get some breaks now and I know he will make it."

Frank came from a family of nine children, three brothers and six sisters, all who were married. They all grew up in the mining town of Levack, Ontario. Their father worked in the mines. When he came home from the dangerous, dirty work down below ground, he relaxed with music and turned his children to music. Frank's father was an outstanding athlete who played softball as a shortstop until he was 48.

Anyway, Frank played in Los Angeles until the 1976-77 season. His best season in LA was a 53 point performance in 74-75. His career high came in St.Louis 69-70 (59 points). Frank finished his hockey career in 1977-78 when he played one season in the AHL for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.

What are the odds today to get to the NHL by writing a letter? It's more probable to get struck by lightning, but Frank managed to get a shot at the big league thanks to his brothers letter. He was an unspectacular player but he deserved every minute in the NHL.

Larry Sacharuk

2009-02-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

Bobby Orr couldn't do it. Paul Coffey couldn't do it. Larry Sacharuk did though.

Larry who? And what did he do?

Larry Sacharuk is the only defenseman to score 50 goals at any serious level of hockey. He did it in his final season of junior hockey with his hometown Saskatoon Blades in 1971-72.

Alright, so he did it in the juniors. No other defenseman in junior hockey history has ever scored 50, including Orr and Coffey. A very few, such as Paul Reinhart, scored 50 goals but also spent a significant part of their season at a forward position as well as the defense position. Sacharuk was primarily a rearguard.

No professional league has ever had a 50 goal scorer. The NHL has come close a few times, such as record holder Paul Coffey's 48 or Bobby Orr's 46. But otherwise the key minor leagues such as the AHL, IHL, ECHL, not to mention major league WHA has ever had a 50 goal scoring defenseman. And while trying to figure out all the semi-pro and very low minor league teams through out history is like finding a needle in a haystack, it is believed that none of them has ever had a defenseman who scored 50 times in a season, either.

Despite his incredible feat, Larry never really found his place in the NHL with the exception of one season. Otherwise he was a strong player at the AHL level before heading over the pond to play in Europe.

Sacharuk was drafted 21st overall in 1972 by the New York Rangers. With the arrival of Bobby Orr in the NHL, it became necessary for every team to have at least one offensive defenseman. However the Rangers already had a superstar scoring blueliner in Brad Park. Since the rest of Sacharuk's game was suspect at the NHL level, particularly his skating and defensive coverage, he spent most of his first two pro season tearing up the AHL. He scored 41 goals and 70 assists for 111 points in 106 games, including an AHL record (since beaten) 27 goals in one season. But in 31 NHL games over those two season, he had just 3 goals and 7 points.

Many teams became interested in acquiring Sacharuk, and the St. Louis Blues were the lucky team that was able to acquire him in time for the 1974-75 season. The price: Bob MacMillan.

"(The Rangers) didn't need me," explained Sacharuk. "They have Brad Park doing that kind of job. So being traded to St. Louis was a lucky break for me."

It certainly was. Sacharuk proved he could play at the NHL level that season when he scored a team record 20 goals, including a hat trick against Vancouver early in the season.

Surprisingly the Blues then turned around and traded Larry and a first round draft pick back to the New York Rangers in exchange for highly promising Greg Polis. That move proved to be unlucky for Sacharuk. He played one injury plagued season in New York (scoring 6 goals and 13 points in 42 games) before a 2 game appearance in 1976-77. Otherwise the Rangers buried him in the minor leagues until 1978-79, likely because of a devastating eye injury suffered early in the 1975-78 season.

In 1978-79 Larry signed with the WHA Indianapolis Racers but that lasted only 15 games.

Larry resurfaced in the CHL with the Birmingham Bulls in 1979-80 before heading across the pond to play in Europe. He spent two years in Austria and one in Britain.

Bob Hess

2009-01-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Bob Hess couldn't live up to the lofty expectations placed on his young shoulders. Then again, when you are compared to Bobby Orr, not many can.

St. Louis coach Garry Young predicted Hess would be another Orr after evaluating his rookie NHL season.

"You really can't compare anyone with Orr," he said. " But when you see what this kid is doing at 19, you have to feel he'll be another Orr by the time he's 25."

Hess entered the NHL with high expectations even without the Orr comparisons. Hess was the St. Louis Blues' first pick in the 1974 Amateur Draft, and he immediately was rushed into the lineup. Hess' rookie season included 9 goals and 30 assists for 39 points in 76 games, as well as lots of praise.

"He's smart with the puck, a great skater. Defense is a tough position for a rookie because his mistakes are more likely to show up. But Bobby doesn't make many mistakes," said Young.

Unfortunately the dreaded "Sophomore Jinx" caught Hess, like so many other strong rookies before him and since. Hess would struggle with injuries and confidence. Over the next three years his highest games played total was just 55. His defensive deficiencies showed themselves to the point where St. Louis experimented with him on left wing. By 1979 he was finishing the season in the minor leagues.

Early in the 1980-81 season Hess was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Bill Stewart. He immediately became one of the strongest members of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres chief minor league affiliate. In 1981-82 Hess would spend about half a season with the Sabres due to an injury depleted blue line.

That would prove to be Hess' final season in the NHL, although he would re-appear for three games in 1984 with the Hartford Whalers. Hess opted to extend his career until 1985 by playing as an unaffiliated player in Europe and in the minor leagues.

Gary Sabourin

2008-05-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Gary Sabourin was a strong two way forward who worked hard to improve himself into a scoring threat.

"I'm just an average hockey player so I have to hustle," explained Sabourin of his hard working style "I score goals, yes, but in spurts. Most of the time, I have to rely on hard work."

Originally a prospect of the New York Rangers during the Original Six days, Gary was part of package sent to St. Louis in exchange for the coveted Rod Seiling. Sabourin would go on to become a fine player in St. Louis for 7 seasons.

Sheer perseverance got Gary into the National Hockey League. A good example of his work ethic was after his impressive rookie season where he impressed with his desire and dedication but only score 13 goals. He was told by the St. Louis coaching staff that he was missing too many goal scoring opportunities. So during his first summer as an NHLer Gary took home 100 pucks and practiced his aim and target shooting all summer long.

The extra effort paid off handsomely in his sophomore year, as he almost doubled his goal total to 25. Aside from an injury plagued 1970-71 season, Gary would continue to be a 20 goal scorer until 1973-74, twice reaching 28 red lights.

1973-74 was Gary's last season in St. Louis, and was one to forget. He had two knee injuries as he hurried himself back into the lineup, and had a spat with coach Lou Angotti. In the summer he was traded to Toronto, a move welcomed by Sabourin.

Off season surgery never fully fixed Sabourin's injuries though, and he never got untracked in Toronto. He moved on to the California Golden Seals and returned to the 20 goal level in 1975-76, but injuries ended his career the following season. That final season was actually spent in Cleveland as the Seals franchise moved to the Ohio city and became the Barons.

George Morrison

2008-03-03T20:44:00.001-08:00

This is George Morrison. He's hardly a legend of hockey. He played 115 games over 2 NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues, scoring 17 career goals. He had a lot more luck with the University of Denver, winning the NCAA championship in 1969, and in the WHA, where he scored 123 goals over 5 nice campaigns in the 1970s.

While he isn't a hockey legend per se, he is the focal point of a legendary story involving himself, Scotty Bowman and hot dog.

During the 1970-71 the Blues were in Los Angeles playing the Kings. It was the dying minutes of the game and Morrison still had not seen the ice all game.

He finally gave up all hope that coach Scotty Bowman was going to use him that night, so he decided to get himself a snack. He convinced an arena usher to bring him a hot dog and a soft drink.

Waiting for the coach to be watching the play in the opposite direction, Morrison would sneak a couple of bites before, much to his surprise, Bowman called his name. "Morrison! Get out there and kill that penalty."

Not wanting to get caught pulling this stunt, the startled Morrison slipped the hot dog down the cuff of his glove and leaped onto the ice.

In the midst of a fierce battle for the puck, Morrison was jolted and the hot dog flew high into the air, mustard and relish flying in all directions!

"I never did find out if Scotty knew it was me who had the hot dog in my glove," he recalled. "But I'm sure he suspected it was me. He must have, because it was a long time before he played me again."

Noel Picard

2008-03-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

It is perhaps the most famous photo in hockey history. Bobby Orr flying through the air, like the Superman he almost was. His arms up in victory, as he just scored the Stanley Cup winning goal of 1970.

Those in the background are also immortalized. Glenn Hall is the goalie who gave up the goal. And a young defenseman named Noel Picard is guilty of hooking Orr's leg's, propelling his jump into flight.

Noel Picard seemed destined to be immortalized, though not necessarily in a great light. A couple years earlier the towering rookie defenseman was the laughing stock of the league. Playing against the same Boston Bruins in 1967-68, a tired Picard hustled to bench head down, yelling for his replacement. The gate opened up and he quickly took a spot on the bench, only to find all the players were laughing uncontrollably.

After looking up he realized exactly why they were so amused. Picard had jumped on to the Bruins' bench!

The play was still alive, and a St. Louis player quickly jumped on the ice to even the playing field. Picard didn't care. He immediately vacated enemy territory and made a b-line to the Blues bench, which in those days was on the opposite side of the rink. He dove in over the boards, hoping no one would notice, but the observant referee was forced to blow his whistle and call a "too many men on the ice penalty."

Despite these gaffes, Noel Picard was emerging as a pretty dependable defenseman in his 335 NHL game career. The Quebec born Picard - who was given the name Noel because he was born on Christmas Day - was buried in the Montreal Canadiens system for most of the 1960s. Come expansion in 1967 he joined the Blues for 5 seasons, and became a fan favorite.

Picard would likely have enjoyed a longer NHL career, or definitely would have caught on with a WHA team, had he not severly injured his foot in the summer of 1971 in a horse riding accident that kept him out of much of the two seasons. Doctors had even considered amputating his foot. Much to his credit he worked his butt off to get back into the NHL, but the already slow-footed defender lost considerable mobility and greatly hampered his game.

After a season in Atlanta, Picard retired in 1973.

Garry Unger

2008-02-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

It may be hard to believe nowadays, but there was a time when the Detroit Red Wings were the weakest of the weak in hockey. Head back to the late 1960s and especially the 1970s. They were ridiculously outpaced by their Original Six counterparts. Even most NHL expansion teams and even some of the WHA teams were stronger than the Red Wings.

The Red Wings made some real bonehead moves back then. Most notably they alienated a young Marcel Dionne and later let him get away. Another young star they chased out of town was Garry Unger, all because of his hair.

In 1971 the Wings had an old school coach named Ned Harkness. In some ways he was the epitome of the later day Mike Keenan, a strict authoritarian who would make unreasonable demands, but without Keenan's success.

Harkness and Unger clashed almost immediately. Unger, who scored 42 goals as a sophomore in 1969-70, had a somewhat misplaced reputation as a playboy. He was good looking with rosy cheeks, and he wore colorful clothes. His signature had to be his shoulder length blonde hair. He was known to use a hair dryer as much as a hockey blade torch. And hey it must have worked, as he was dating Miss America in 1970.

It may have been the 70s, but Harkness would have none of this. He ordered all of his players to get crew-cuts. Unger refused, and on February 6th, 1971 he, Tim Ecclestone and Wayne Connelly were traded to St. Louis in exchange for expansion scoring star Red Berenson. It turned out to be a terrible trade for the Wings.

Berenson had a couple of solid seasons in Detroit, but he was near the end. Connelly and Ecclestone would go on to become solid NHL players, while Unger erupted in St. Louis. In each of his 8 seasons as Mr. Blue he scored at least 30 goals. Year-in and year-out he would lead the Blues in most offensive categories.

Of course Unger also became known as Mr. Ironman. Unger never missed a game until December 22, 1979, then playing with the Atlanta Flames. He participated in 914 consecutive NHL games, breaking Andy Hebenton's record of 630 games in the process. The ironman record has since been upped to 964 games by Doug Jarvis.

Unger said :...back then it was difficult for me to complain about a sore ankle or leg when I knew that in two weeks it was going to fine, yet my sister was never going to be able to walk again.” His sister suffered from polio, but despite that she “could be so peaceful and happy with her life despite the fact that she couldn’t walk.”

Unger also tamed his playboy image while in St. Louis, too. Unger moved into the guest house of the Blue's owner's ranch some 40 miles from downtown St. Louis. Unger loved the horses and the outdoors. Instead of partying in the city for a night on the town, he spent more of his free time dirt biking, mountain climbing and water skiing.

Unger always remained a free spirit. One off-season he decided to drive cross-country in a convertible with the top down. Even when he hit heavy rains he would keep the rag top collapsed, claiming "it gave me a sense of accomplishment."

Unger accomplished a lot in life, thanks to hockey. But he was never the most likely candidate to become a hockey star. His father, a member of the Canadian Army, build a rink in the backyard of the family home in Edmonton. Garry was given a pair of skates, but they were girl's figure skates. Undaunted, Garry painted them back and taught himself to skate.

Much of Garry's formal hockey development occurred in Calgary, where his father was transferred. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Unger to a C-form in the days before the creation of a entry draft. He would move to southern Ontario and play with the London Nationals.

Garry barely had a chance to play for the Leafs. He got into just 15 NHL games with the Leafs before he was included in the big Frank Mahovlich trade to Detroit. Unger, Mahovlich and Pete Stemkowski headed to the Motor City in exchange for a package including Carl Brewer, Norm Ullman, and Paul Henderson.

Garry Unger moved to Detroit where his famous battle over his hair would be waged. Towards the end of his career he came to realize that perhaps success came too early in Detroit, and that the best thing that ever happened to him was the trade to St. Louis where he would escape the limelight somewhat and mature as a person and a player.

Late in his career Unger would be able pass these lessons on to budding NHL superstars Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey. Unger finished his career with parts of three seasons in his hometown of Edmonton.

Unger retired from the NHL in 1983. He played in 1105 games, scored 413 goals, 391 assists and 804 total points.

He would briefly come out of retirement and play in Great Britain later in the 1980s. His playboy lifestyle well behind him, he became quite religious while spending much of his post-playing days riding buses and coaching the low minor leagues.

Greg Millen

2008-02-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

Greg Millen was the 102nd overall draft pick of the 1977 Entry Draft. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was returned to junior hockey for the 1977-78 season. He ended up playing with the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds which featured a 16 year old phenom named Wayne Gretzky.

Millen had a much better Penguins training camp in 1978. With veteran goalie Dunc Wilson retiring in the summer, a position opened up for one of the Pens young goaltenders. Millen beat out Gord Laxton for the back up spot. Millen did well, sporting a 14-11-1 record with 2 shutouts and a 3.37 GAA.

Millen's status in Pittsburgh quickly grew. The next season he gradually overtook the starting goalie role, playing in 44 games (18-18-7) and by 1980-81 was without question the Pens go-to guy. He played in 63 contests for a less than great team. He went 25-27-10 with an inflated 4.16 GAA.

The summer of 1981 was an interesting one for Millen. The Pens dragged their feet on resigning Millen. A free agent subject to compensation, Millen reached a deal with the Hartford Whalers and wanted to use it as leverage with the Pens. However the Pens never answered Millen as GM Baz Bastien was on a golfing vacation. Assuming that the Pens weren't interested, Millen signed with the Whalers, even though he really would have liked to have stayed in Pittsburgh. Baz Bastien was surprised by the events. The Pens got Kevin McClelland and Pat Boutette for the Whalers signing of Millen.

Millen served the Whalers well as their #1 goalie for the next 4 years. He was the Whalers workhorse, even leading all goalies in games played in 1982-83. Unfortunately for Greg, the Whalers weren't the strongest team during the early 80s, and his stats suffered for it. He lost a lot more games than he won, but played admirably and always kept an upbeat attitude.

Greg was traded to St. Louis on February 21, 1985. Packaged with Mark Johnson, Millen was traded for Mike Liut and Jorgen Petterson. Liut was one of the better goalies in the league but the Blues were under some financial hardship at the time and traded Liut away. Millen had the unenviable task of replacing Liut while playing with a team that was stripping down to trim the budget.

Millen and the Blues struggled for quite a while in St. Louis, but by 1988-89 he resurfaced as a strong goaltender once again. He led the league in shutouts with 6, including 3 in a row. He finished the year with a 22-20-7 record and a 3.38 GAA.

Millen played well in 1989-90 but found himself out of the picture just before Christmas 1989. With a young Curtis Joseph ready to take over the role of starter from Millen, the Blues traded Millen to Quebec who were in desperate need of a veteran goalie.

Millen originally refused to report to the Nordiques. The St. Louis Blues had made Millen some promises but backed out of them by trading him, leaving Millen dejected.

Millen did report, and enjoyed his time in Quebec. "They treated me really well" he said. "Sometimes I think they are too good to their players. They try to make up for the fact that a lot of people don't want to be there."

Even though Millen was happy personally, he was unhappy professionally.

"It wasn't working. I wanted to finish my career with a chance to win a Stanley Cup and there was no chance there."

Having said that, Millen asked for a trade and got it on March 5, 1990. Packaged with Nordiques legend Michel Goulet and a draft pick to Chicago for Mario Doyon, Everett Sanipass and Dan Vincelette.

Millen enjoyed finishing the season with the Blackhawks. Playing under Mike Keenan, who Millen described as "a totally new experience," Millen backstopped the Hawks into the playoffs. The Hawks were considered to be a good contender for the Cup, which of course is exactly what Millen had desired. However the Hawks ran into Mark Messier and the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the playoffs, and Millen and the Hawks season was over.

1990-91 proved to be the weirdest for Millen. Eddie Belfour had arrived as the Hawks number one goalie and Keenan's favorite netminder. However to everyone's surprise Keenan brought in Jacques Cloutier to back Belfour up. Millen appeared in only 3 games all year, and sat in the press box otherwise. Millen had quickly fallen out of favor with Iron Mike.

Millen became New York Rangers property in the summer of 1991 but moved him to Detroit before he finished his minor league conditioning stint. He played in 10 games for the Wings before retiring at season's end.

Millen posted a 215-284-89 in 604 contests. He posted 17 career shutouts and a career 3.87 GAA. In the playoffs he went 27-29 with a 3.42 GAA.

Millen went on to become a highly respected hockey broadcaster, most notably with Hockey Night In Canada.

Rick Wamsley

2008-02-10T13:27:00.001-08:00

Drafted 58th overall in 1979 by the Montreal Canadiens, Rick Wamsley started his career with minor league Nova Scotia in the AHL. In 1980 the Canadiens called him up, still looking for a replacement for the Ken Dryden who retired a year earlier. Wamsley filled in solidly for 3 seasons. In 1981-82 he and Denis Herron shared the William Jennings trophy for allowing the fewest goals against in the entire league.

Wamsley, Herron, and for that matter Richard Sevigny all filled in nicely in Montreal, but the team was not keeping up with the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers in battles for Stanley Cups. A goaltending carousel would exist in Montreal until Patrick Roy arrived in 1986. Wamsley was moved to St. Louis in 1984.

Wamsley was happy with the move to St. Louis because of the team's association with goaltending legend Jacques Plante. Plante had helped Wamsley in Montreal and continued to do so with the Blues. Wamsley always credited Plante with helping achieve big league success.

Wamsley would spend 4 seasons with the Blues, splitting crease responsibilities mostly with Greg Millen.

Despite his solid play in St. Louis, Wamsley will always be remembered for his departure. Near the trading deadline in 1988, Wamsley and Rob Ramage were traded to Calgary in exchange for journeyman Steve Bozek and a young sniper named Brett Hull. Hull would go on to become one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, but Wamsley and the Flames would the Stanley Cup in 1989.

Though he rarely played with starter Mike Vernon around, winning the cup was his career highlight.

"When Doug Gilmour scored the empty net goal with about a minute left to clinch it, I wouldn't say my life flashed before my eyes, but I thought back to my parents driving me to practices and games and all the teams I played for over the years. Winning the cup was everything you thought it'd be when you were 12 years old playing in your driveway."

Wamsley continued in the back up role in Calgary until January 1992 when he realized another childhood dream. Part of the big Doug Gilmour for Gary Leeman trade, Wamsley became a Toronto Maple Leaf.

"I grew up watching the Leafs on Hockey Night In Canada in my grandfather's basement, which made putting on the blue and white sweater very special."

Wamsley would retire as a Leaf the next season, but would stay in the game as a long time goaltending coach. As a player he was a stand up goalie to a fault, particularly susceptible to low shots to the corners. As a coach he's had to keep learning the game, as the stand up style is essentially non-existent anymore. But one area of the game that he always seemed to master, and perhaps thanks to Jacques Plante, was mental preparedness necessary to be a NHL goalie. He was a very consistent goalie, always pretty good if never elite.

Rick Wamsley played in 407 NHL games, compiling an impressive 204-131-46 record. He posted 12 shut outs and a career 3.33 goals against average, a very respectable number for a goalie in the 1980s.

Wamsley also twice represented his country in international play. He helped Canada medal at the 1983 (bronze) and 1985 (silver) world championships.

Craig Janney

2007-12-10T23:30:00.000-08:00

Wayne Gretzky is without doubt the greatest playmaker of all time. Now Craig Janney certainly isn't the second best of all time, but he may have been the second best of his era. Adam Oates and Doug Gilmour also deserve recognition as the best set up man not named Gretzky in the 1990s.

Janney was the puck feeder for some great players, most notably Cam Neely in Boston and Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan in St. Louis. He was an extraordinary puck master, creating space for his line mates with slick moves. He possessed great hockey sense, much like Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle.

Janney was quick to dish off acclaim as he is to dish off the puck.

"I've been pretty fortunate to play with some terrific goal scorers," said the unpretentious center. "The guys who pass the puck are only as good as the guys who put it in the net. That's the real hard job, the scoring. I've been fortunate to play with guys like Neely, Hull and Shanahan."

However Janney was also labeled as a very soft player. The game plan against Janney was to hit him early and he would not be a factor for the remainder of the game. He would often just turnover the puck rather than take a hit to make a play. During his prime he was more willing to get his face rubbed against the glass, but in his latter years he lost a step and was unable to sneak away from a big hit. That of course, coupled with his spotty defensive play, landed him in many coaches and fans dog house.

Janney also takes offense to being labeled soft.

"It's a tag finesse players sometimes get labeled with," said Janney. "We take our hits making plays, not by being physical. I'm not going to run over anybody, but I certainly will try to get in their way and take them out of the play. Teammates and opposing players will respect you if they see you taking the extra hit to make a play. Some people don't see it from that perspective."

Janney was drafted 13th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1986. After playing 2 years at Boston College, Janney dropped out of school to join the United States national team program, and would have a strong showing there. He not only made the team that would compete in the 1988 Olympics, but starred there, scoring 6 points in 5 Olympic contests!

Immediately following the Olympics, Janney turned pro and finished the season with the Bruins. He stepped in and looked like an NHL veteran. He scored 7 goals and 16 points in the final 15 regular season games, and added 6 tallies and 10 helpers as the Bruins went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals! Unfortunately for the B's, the Edmonton Oilers were too strong in the finals.

Janney battled a nasty groin injury the following year, but still was strong with 62 points in 62 games, followed by another strong playoff, though the Bruins only made it to the second round that year.

But in 1989-90 the Bruins returned to the Finals to once again face the Oilers, only to once again fall to Messier and co. Janney, once again battling the groin injury during the regular season, was spectacular in the playoffs, notching 19 assists and 22 points in 18 playoff games!

Janney finally put his groin injury problem behind him and played his first full NHL schedule in 1990-91. He responded well, notching 26 goals, 66 assists and 92 points. He continued his fine play in the playoffs, scoring 4 goals and 18 assists in 18 more playoff games.

Craig Janney was dealt halfway through the 1991-92 season. The St. Louis Blues moved fellow playmaker extraordinaire Adam Oates in exchange for Janney and journeyman defenseman Stephane Quintal. Janney was expected to replace Oates as Brett Hull's set up man, as Oates became involved in a bitter contract dispute with the Blues. A funny thing happened though as Janney clicked better with left winger Brendan Shanahan than Hull.

Janney enjoyed some fine statistical years in St. Louis. He finished that 1991-92 season with 6 goals and 30 assists in 25 games. The follow year he scored a career high 82 assists and 104 points. He slumped somewhat in 1993-94 due to a sprained knee, but still posted 68 assists and 84 points in 69 games. Despite his great production, Adam Oates was producing even better numbers in Boston, thus making it hard for Janney to get respect with the St. Louis fans and media.

A weird thing happened to Janney and the Blues near the end of the 1993-94 season. The Blues signed restricted free agent Petr Nedved from Vancouver and an independent arbitrator named Janney and a second round pick as compensation. Janney however refused to report, and the Canucks swung a subsequent deal to allow St. Louis to keep Janney in exchange for defensemen Jeff Brown and Bret Hedican, as well as young forward Nathan Lafeyette. The Canucks also got to keep the draft pick, which turned out to be Dave Scatchard.

Over the summer of '94, the Blues inked Iron Mike Keenan as the team's new boss. Keenan hated anyone that he thought was a soft player, and it didn't take long for Janney (not to mention Brendan Shanahan, Curtis Joseph and Steve Duchesne among others!) to be chased out of St. Louis.

"I enjoyed my time in St. Louis very much," said Janney, who totaled 226 points in 178 games with the Blues prior to Keenan's arrival. "It was a difficult situation when I left, but it's one that other players have gone through many times. It's difficult for anyone to go through something like that, but Mike Keenan just didn't want me to play for him."

"I asked for a trade to get out of there because I was upset that I was becoming a distraction to my friends on that team," said Janney. "I was making a lot of money and not earning it. Mike Keenan has control of that organization. He is the general manager as well as the coach and is trying to get the guys he wants on that team. That's his prerogative, he's the boss."

Janney was sent to San Jose in exchange for mobile defenseman Jeff Norton. In San Jose, Janney took on a veteran's leadership role for the first time in his career.

"He is the first star we have had on this team who is still in his prime, and he's been great with the kids," said GM Dean Lombardi. "To some degree his work with our young players has been a very pleasant surprise. The kids all look up to him because it's the first time they've been exposed to a star while he is still in his prime. They all knew what Sergei Makarov and Igor Larionov had accomplished, but it's a bit different with Craig Janney coming in."

However Janney never had a star player to set up in San Jose, and that contributed to Janney's less than great production. He scored "just" 18 goals and 82 points in 98 games over 2 years. The Sharks really struggled during Janney's tenure there as the result of some poor drafting and a lack of depth.

The Sharks moved Janney to Winnipeg near the end of the 1995-96 season in exchange for defensive forward Darren Turcotte and a draft choice. Janney accompanied the Jets to Phoenix when they became the Coyotes. However his production continued to be less than stellar as he played less and less. His soft play and lack of defensive prowess really hurt him at this late stage of his career as he became more one dimensional than ever, and he was able to produce enough to survive with that lone dimension.

Janney split one last season in 1998-99 between two of the worst teams in the league - the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders. He scored just 5 goals and was often a healthy scratch in both cities.

Janney entered the NHL with a bang, but left the NHL with a whimper. Its too bad, he was pretty good during his prime. In 760 NHL games he scored 751 points, 563 of which were assists.

Wayne Babych

2007-09-21T04:48:00.001-07:00

Wayne Babych was on the verge of becoming the dominant power forward of his generation. Then disaster struck.

Wayne and his brother Dave grew up in Edmonton, dreaming of playing in the National Hockey League together. Both would become stars in the junior leagues, high draft picks in the NHL and NHL stars.

Wayne, who was three years older, started out with the old Edmonton Oil Kings that transferred to Portland, Oregon in 1976. Babych erupted into a junior star. He scored back to back 50 goal seasons, and once scored a hat trick in the span of just 25 seconds.

The Blues would draft Babych 3rd overall in the 1978 NHL Amateur draft, just behind Bobby Smith and Ryan Walter, and ahead of the likes of Ken Linseman, Brad Marsh and Al Secord.

Babych would turn pro immediately, turning down chances to play in Portland with brother Dave, who was joining the junior club that season, and chances to play professional baseball in the Montreal Expo's organization.

He stepped right into the St. Louis lineup and never looked out of place. Donning the #10 jersey he played 67 games along side the Blues top guns, Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter, on the "Kid Line." Babych brought blazing speed and a shot that Danny Gallivan would have called cannonading. At 5'11" and 190lbs, he was quite a bit smaller than his brother, but his upper body strength was second to none. He could dominate the boards and corners and he hit like a truck.

Babych would score 26 goals, 36 assists and 63 points, all then-rookie records for the franchise. He was a finalist in rookie of the year voting that saw the Calder Trophy go to Smith of the Minnesota North Stars.

After a 59 game sophomore season where he scored 26 goals and 61 points, Babych benefited more than most with the resulting coaching change. The following season saw Red Berenson take over the bench management duties. Babych was moved onto a line with playmaker Blake Dunlop and Swedish speedster Jorgen Pettersson. Babych erupted for a 54 goal-96 point season, though he could only muster 2 playoff tallies in 11 games.

Babych was as big of a star in St. Louis as any athlete let alone hockey player. He would sign a 4 year contract worth over $400,000 with a $125,000 signing bonus, huge dollars for 1981.

That would be the apex of Babych's career. He could have been the best power winger of the 1980s. He could skate, shoot, score, hit and fight. He was a highly underrated fighter who was not afraid of the odd dust-up no matter who his opponent was.

In a pre-season game Babych dropped the gloves with Winnipeg's Jimmy Mann, one of the biggest, baddest goons of the day. Just as Babych was about to throw a punch, the linesman intervened, grabbing his arm. Babych's rotator cuff was severely ripped.

Doctors tried a lengthy rehabilitation process followed by surgery to take the rotator cuff apart and rebuild it. They were never able to properly fix it, but Babych tried to play on, despite the pain.

But he was never the same. He even worsened the injury due to more fighting.

After three seasons of failing to crack the 20 goal mark, and after a failed trade attempt to Edmonton, the Blues exposed Babych on waivers in 1984. The Pittsburgh Penguins were looking for goal scorers to play with their new phenom Mario Lemieux. Babych played alongside Lemieux and Warren Young, scoring 20 goals for the least time in his career.

The following season Babych was moved to Quebec and then Hartford, where Wayne and Dave Babych finally achieved their childhood dream. They were in the National Hockey League, playing together for the Whalers. Wayne has said "it was a dream come true" and worth all the pain in his career.

"Dave set me up for my first goal in Hartford," Wayne told Gary Mason in the book Oldtimers. "I went through some kind of hell in my career, but to play with my brother is all I wanted to ever do."

Unfortunately injury hell was not over for Wayne Babych. In a pre-season game in September, 1986, Babych was slashed across his left leg, breaking it horrifically. At one point he was told he may not have use of the left leg again, let alone play in the NHL again. But the determined Babych worked incredibly hard to regain his form, and even suited up for the final four games of the regular season.

Those games also proved to be the final four games of Wayne Babych's career. Still suffering of significant pain in the leg and of fear of further damage to the leg, Babych left training camp in 1987. He retired with 519 NHL games played, 192 goals scored, 246 assists and 438 points.

Because Babych retired after fewer than 20 games after the injury, Babych qualified for a NHL disability pension. He took the money and ran a water slide park in Winnipeg before he and his brother got into the golf business, building and operating a couple of courses.

Through all the injuries and pain, Babych never lost the love of the game. He continues to play in many Oldtimers hockey charity games throughout the season.

Pierre Turgeon

2007-09-05T13:38:00.001-07:00

Though the news broke earlier this summer, Pierre Turgeon has officially retired.

Turgeon hangs up his blades with 19 NHL seasons under his belt. The 1987 1st overall draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres scored 515 goals, 1,327 points in 1,294 games. Although he didn't have the reputation as a great playoff producer, he had a very respectable 97 points in 109 post season contests.

The Sabres made Turgeon the face of their franchise, immediately drawing comparisons to the team's only previous franchise player, Quebecois Gilbert Perreault. To Sabres selected Turgeon over the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Joe Sakic. Based on skill and ability, #77 deserved that lofty status, but I believe his legacy will not match that of those two fine players.

A gifted natural athlete, Turgeon excelled at the finesse game. The strength of his game was his hockey sense and play making ability. Though he had an excellent shot with a quick release, he was always a playmaker first, then a goal scorer. His vision and creativity combined to make him a lethal setup man and tough to defend.

I would go as far as to say Turgeon was beyond amazing when he had the puck. He never looked at the puck, ut he always had it in perfect control. Without the puck, in typical quiet Pierre Turgeon form, he was so elusive, appearing out of nowhere and disappearing from checks.

Turgeon was very efficient on the ice, which led to some detractors. He was uncanny with his positioning, which he undoubtedly learned in order to make up for a lack of foot speed. Since he was usually in the right spot at the right time, Turgeon never had to scramble to get into the play. Critics called him lazy, when in fact he was extremely economical.

Many critics also pointed to his lack of a physical game, and with merit. Turgeon was a big pivot at 6'1" and 205 lbs, but he never really imposed himself on the opposition. He was never afraid to go into traffic areas to score goals, and he took checks while making plays with the pucks, but he really needed to initiate more of a physical game for him to have reached his full potential. Had he been able to, he would be remembered as one of the best of his generation.

I think what his critics don't point out enough though is rarely did Turgeon have a strong supporting cast. There's no doubting he had the ability, and make no mistake he had the desire to be a dominating NHL figure. He just didn't have the temperament to be a dominating solitary force. Too often in his career, especially in Buffalo and Long Island, and even to some degree in Montreal, he was asked to turn an average team into a Stanley Cup contender. He just wasn't that lone-warrior type of player.

Unable to win in the post season, the Sabres moved Turgeon in 1991 in a 7 player trade that also headlined Pat Lafontaine. Playing with Derek King and Steve Thomas on his wings, Turgeon erupted for his best season in 1992-93 when he recorded a career-best 58 goals and 132 points in his first full season on Long Island. The NHL awarded him the Lady Byng Trophy as he only picked up 13 minor penalties. More importantly, Turgeon was enjoying his first taste of post season success and leading the Islanders to the Conference Finals. En route, however, Turgeon the recipient of one of the ugliest muggings in hockey history. As Turgeon celebrated a goal in a blowout playoff win against the Washington Capitals, Dale Hunter came up behind him and flung him into the boards. Turgeon injured his shoulder and Hunter received a 21-game suspension. The Islanders, and particularly Turgeon, were never the same.

Hunter's mugging may have altered hockey history, suggested New York Daily News writer Frank Brown. He wrote:

"Pierre Turgeon had been a dynamic, involved personality. He was becoming the emblem of the Islanders and the Club was saying 'This is our symbol of future greatness to come. This is the offensive superstar we haven't had since Mike Bossy and this is the hope for a bring new arena on Long Island and million dollar visibility in the marketplace.

"Everything changed by one mean-spirited little prick. When Pierre Turgeon got up, he left some piece of himself on the Nassau pond. From the minute he returned, he was hesitant; he was a perimeter guy; he was a guy who was not activating the energy level of his team the way he had been. He didn't have that drive to the front of the net."

That year turned out to be more of the exception to the new rule as opposed to his arrival as a superstar. He returned to the 90 point level and below. Much like the Sabres, the Islanders must have felt Turgeon was not going to live up to that franchise player designation and moved him to Montreal for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider.

Montreal was an odd destination for a French Canadian player with a reputation for shunning the spotlight. But Montreal, and more importantly Montreal fans, wanted a French Canadian scoring star to lead them back to glory. To make matters worse, Turgeon was burdened with the team's captaincy.

Though his stay was brief, Turgeon put up some good numbers in Montreal. He only played one full season, leading the team in scoring in 1995-96 with 38 goals and 96 points. He teamed well with fellow Frenchman Vincent Damphousse. But the captain's spotlight, especially in media-crazy Montreal, never sat well with Turgeon's quiet and reserved temperament. He handled it all gracefully, especially during the closing of the Montreal Forum, but there was always a hit of reluctance as well.

As brilliant as he could be, he just never had the personality to take his image and his game to the highest level. Unappreciative and unfair Montreal fans quickly turned on their captain, booing him out of town.

Turgeon went to St. Louis, where he could play in some anonymity. Playoff success was easier to find, three times playing 10 or more games. Injuries capped Turgeon around the 60 game mark in St. Louis, therefore making the likes of Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis, Pavol Dimetra and Brett Hull as the go-to guys. It was quite unfortunate that Turgeon couldn't have enjoyed his previous injury free seasons in St. Louis, though ultimately, for all their money spending ways, the Blues were never a true Stanley Cup contender.

From 2001 through 2007 Turgeon spent his seasons miscast and injury prone in Dallas then Colorado. His career came a quiet end in 2007, having played in just 17 games in what proved to be his final season.

Comfortable out of the limelight, Turgeon was always cast in someone's shadow. In Buffalo it was the franchise's previous French Canadian superstar Gilbert Perreault. In Long Island it was the shadow of the man he was traded for, Pat Lafontaine, who possessed natural flair and speed and erupted in Buffalo. In Montreal he was in the shadow of all the French Canadien greats who came before him.

Without doubt he had the ability and talent to stand side by side with his shadow makers. He just never quite had the desire to make it happen. Perhaps if it wasn't for Dale Hunter, he would have emerged as a true superstar.

Though he was as talented and as brilliant as most any of his peers, I suspect Pierre Turgeon's legacy will not see him land in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Interestingly, in 2007 Turgeon was inducted into another Hall of Fame. He was the first Canadian enshrined in the Little League World Series Hall of Fame.

Doug Wickenheiser

2007-06-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Doug Wickenheiser has survived almost 600 NHL battles, but on January 12, 1999 he lost the biggest battle of his life. The man affectionately known as Wick died of a rare form of cancer in his lungs. He was only 37 years old, leaving behind a wife and three young daughters.

Wickenheiser was the first overall draft pick in the 1980 entry draft by Montreal, picked ahead of such names as Denis Savard and Paul Coffey. He became a victim of his incredible junior hockey success as he couldn't live up to the lofty expectations placed upon him.

The Regina, Saskatchewan native starred with the home-town St. Pats of the WHL. His final season saw him score a league leading 89 goals and 170 points while being named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.

His reward for his junior success was to be the first overall selection by the Canadiens. However the move was unpopular from the start as the French-speaking media and fans wanted local junior star Denis Savard. Wickenheiser would struggle early, and was often sitting on the bench in Montreal while Savard was blossoming into one of hockey's most electrifying performers. Wickenheiser never had a chance under the intense pressure.

Wickenheiser, who was drafted by Montreal scout Ron Caron, was traded part way through the 1983-84 season. Caron, now manager of the St. Louis Blues traded skillful Perry Turnbull for Wick, Gilbert Delorme and Greg Paslawski. Wickenheiser fell in love with the city and the city loved his hard working, hard checking style. While he never was able to establish himself as a scoring sensation that many expected he would, Doug managed to reinvent himself as a hard working defensive center.

Wickenheiser's biggest moment in the NHL came in the 1986 conference finals as the Blues faced the Calgary Flames. Wickenheiser scored the overtime goal in game 6 which forced a decisive game 7 - winner take all - winner advances to the Stanley Cup finals. The goal, perhaps the biggest moment in St. Louis Blues history, is known as the "Monday Night Miracle." Unfortunately the Blues lost game 7 to the Flames.

In the summer of 1987, Wickenheiser became one of Pat Quinn's very first acquisitions in Vancouver as he was claimed in the training camp waiver draft. Wickenheiser performed admirably in his only season in Vancouver, playing all 80 games and filling the role of 4th line center.

He would then bounce to the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals as a free agent before stints in Europe and the IHL. He retired from active duty in 1994, although his last full NHL season was back in 1987-88.

Doug Wickenheiser is a cousin of women's hockey player and Olympic and world gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser.

Rob Ramage

2007-06-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

Rob was one of the best two way blue liners in his 15 years in the NHL. He was big, physical and good in both ends of the rink. He was a great leader and character player. He was an excellent skater for his size (6'2" 200lbs), a smart playmaker and power play quarterback. He was solid in his own zone as well. The only thing Ramage lacked was speed.

Rob enjoyed a stellar junior career with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey Association for three seasons. Ramage played the 1978-79 season with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association where he scored 12 goals and 48 points with 165 PIM as a 19 year old playing against some of the finest talents in hockey. His incredible play on the blue line earned him what he calls his greatest personal hockey highlight - being selected first overall in the 1979 Entry Draft by the Colorado Rockies. That 1979 draft was perhaps the deepest in history, with names like Mike Gartner, Ray Bourque, Michel Goulet, Rick Vaive, Kevin Lowe and Paul Reinhart also taken high. While Ramage isn't considered to be quite in their class, he didn't disappoint, enjoying a fine NHL career.

Ramage joined the Rockies in 1979 and quickly developed into a legitimate NHL d-man. He posted a career high 20 goals along with 42 assists in 1980-81. In three seasons with Colorado he scored 41 goals and 132 points with 529 PIM.

Rob actually scored one of the most infamous goals in NHL history, but never got credit for it. NY Islanders goaltender Billy Smith got credit for it. Smith was the last player to touch the puck for the Islanders before Ramage picked up the loose puck. The Rockies had already pulled their goalie for an extra attacker and were buzzing around the Isles net, trying to even the score. Ramage, who had pinched in to keep the play alive, put the puck back to the point, only to realize that is where he should be! No one had covered his position when he pinched in. The puck slid all the way down the ice into his own goal. It was the first time a NHL goaltender was given credit for scoring a goal.

Prior to the 1982-83 campaign, Ramage was traded to the St. Louis Blues where he spent six years. "Rammer" was struggling a bit but assistant coach Barclay Plager took the youngster under his wing. Ramage credits Plager with being the most influential person in his NHL career. Ramage fully developed in St. Louis. It was in St. Louis where he recorded his best offensive season in the NHL as he notched career-highs with 56 assists and 66 points in 1985-86.

Rob was then traded to Calgary during the 1987-88 season in "the trade that brought the Cup to Calgary." Rammer and back up netminder Rick Wamsley went to Calgary in exchange for Steve Bozek and young hot shot named Brett Hull. While Hull would go on to achieve superstar status in St. Louis, Ramage and Wamsley helped the Flames win the Stanley Cup the following year as he tallied 12 points in 20 playoff games during Calgary's championship run.

Before the 1989-90 season, Ramage was traded to Toronto where he played for two seasons. The following year he was claimed by the Minnesota Stars in the 1991 Expansion Draft and he then split the 1992-93 season between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. He helped the Canadiens capture the Stanley Cup championship that year, his second Cup ring.

Rob, who wore #55 much of his career, began the 1993-94 season with the Habs but finished the year with the Philadelphia Flyers and it was after that season that he decided to hang up the blades.

Over his 15 NHL seasons, Rob scored 139 goals, 425 assists and 564 points in 1,044 regular season games. He added 50 points in 84 playoff contests.

After trying his hand at hockey broadcasting, Ramage became a successful stock broker and financial consultant out of St. Louis. He was always very active in the NHL alumni association.

Unfortunately, his life has been on hold since Christmas time 2003. On Dec. 16, 2003, Ramage was charged with impaired driving in the three-car accident that killed former NHL All-Star defenseman Keith Magnuson. The two friends were returning from the funeral of ex-NHL player Keith McCreary in Bolton, Ontario. McCreary, the chairman of the NHL Alumni Association, had died from cancer.

Magnuson, 56, died instantly, while Ramage and a woman in one of the other vehicles were also hurt, but their injuries were not life-threatening. Ramage required surgery for a dislocated hip. Police charged a hospitalized Ramage with impaired driving resulting in death -- a violation punishable by up to life in prison.

At last word Ramage's lawyers have been purposefully dragging out all court proceedings, and his case has yet to go to court (as of June, 2007).

Mike Liut

2007-06-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

By all standards, Mike Liut had a stellar career highlighted by his fantastic 1981 season.

Liut finished second in Hart Trophy balloting - a true rarity for a goaltender of any era - while leading his St. Louis Blues to the Smythe Division championship. The only player to get more votes that season was Wayne Gretzky.

Liut had an unbelievable season. His 33-14-13 record was among the best in the league, though he didn't have as much as help as some of the other goaltending leaders. Thus the NHL named him a First All Star. To make up for his Hart Trophy snub, Liut's true measure of success was in winning the Lester B. Pearson award. The trophy named after the great Canadian Prime Minister was given out annually to the player deemed to be the best that particular season, as voted on by the players themselves! You can't get a much higher honor than that.

In the absence of recently retired Ken Dryden, Liut had become arguably the best goalie in the game right out of nowhere. He was very similar to Dryden in many ways. He was an articulate man who took the American college route to the NHL while the practice was still fairly uncommon. He was a big octopus of a goalie, much like Dryden before him. And after leading the NHL in wins in his first year, Liut had established himself as one of, if not the best goalie in the National Hockey League with his incredible sophomore year. (note: Liut didn't win the Vezina trophy, as at that time the award was still given to the goalie with the best GAA, not necessarily the best goalie in the league.)

When it came time to select Team Canada for the 1981 Canada Cup, Liut was an obvious choice. Once Billy Smith went home with a broken finger, Liut was the man expected to lead the team between the pipes. Liut wasn't his midseason self in the September tournament. He played well, but wasn't as dominating as he was the previous year with St. Louis. He looked shaky at times, and rarely looked brilliant. Yet Canada had floated through the round robin tournament undefeated.

Despite his less than expected performance, head coach Scotty Bowman stuck with Liut over Don Edwards, who was Bowman's goalie with the Buffalo Sabres. Liut was given the green light to play in the final game of the 1981 tournament against the Russians.

The rest as they say is history. As fans at the Montreal Forum and around Canada and the world on television sets at home watched in disbelief, the Soviets lit up the red lamp behind Liut 8-1. Canada had played well in the first half of the game, but the Soviets, particularly Sergei Shepelev, were able to pounce often on Liut in the second half of the middle period. Then in the third period, with Canada seemingly deflated and surrendered, the Russians added 5 more goals to completely humble Liut and the Canadians.

Liut was never quite the same after that. He went on to an enjoyable long career in the NHL, with St. Louis and later Hartford and Washington. He was often the most valuable player on some weak teams, especially in Hartford. In fact he finished runner up in Vezina trophy voting in the summer of 1987.

Despite his fine 1986-87 season which saw him post 31 wins and a league leading 4 shutouts with the Whalers, Liut was overlooked for Team Canada for the 1987 Canada Cup, much like he was in 1984. For all the respect that Liut had earned in his long NHL career, it was as if he was never forgiven for the 1981 debacle

"That all goes back to the disastrous game in 1981" recalled Liut at the time. "That's a game I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life. That's just the way it is."

In fairness to Liut, it wasn't his fault entirely. The defensemen and forwards in front of him were flat and later quit on him. And when Canada suffered its worst defeat in history, somebody needed to be named as the scapegoat. Why not the goalie who let in 8 goals?

Liut said he didn't take his omission from future Canada Cup invitations personally, though deep down you know he would have liked to have the chance to redeem himself.

"I'm disappointed in a way, but it really doesn't ruffle me." said Liut of the 1987 tournament where his chances of playing would have been slim regardless with Grant Fuhr and Ron Hextall invited to camp. "There's my family and rest and golf and another NHL season to prepare for. I really don't mind."

Liut also didn't like the Canada Cup format.

"We're all better at Christmas than we are in September. The guys who play in the Canada Cup pay a big price."

Liut then pointed admiration in the direction of the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers players who routinely showed up for international play.

"For 4 years the Islanders played into June, and then there was a Challenge Cup and Canada Cup and so on. Hey, that's hard on anybody. You get only one or two months off and you're at it again. A pace like that is bound to take its toll."

"I think the Edmonton players probably best understand what the Islanders had to go through because, now, they have to go through the same thing."

"Players have to pay a big price to represent their league and Canada and the United States" continued Liut, forgetting to mention the various European countries that had NHL representatives. "It's an honor, to be sure, but the players have to pay a big, big price."

Bob Gassoff

2007-05-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bob Gassoff was a tough, hard-nosed, rough and ready defenseman who played for the St. Louis Blues in the 1970s. Although he only played 4 years in the NHL, he established himself as one of the elite enforcers during the "anything goes era" including bench clearing brawls and all-out fighting on a regular basis.

During his brief time with the Blues, Gassoff was not only the Blues’ chief enforcer, but was evolving into a fine all-around defenseman and leader. Standing only 5-foot-10, and weighing 195 pounds, Gassoff was never going to be a true league heavy weight like Clark Gillies or Willi Plett, but he was fearless and possessed with a drive and determination to succeed. He earned the respect of teammates and the entire league.

The Quesnel, British Columbia native was selected the 48th pick in round #3 of the 1973 amateur draft by St. Louis. Breaking in with the in with the Blues in 1973-74 with a 28 game stint, he had no goals, three assists and 84 penalty minutes. A left-handed shooter, he played 60, 80 and 77 games the next three seasons and established himself as one of the most rugged players in a brutally physical game. In 1975-76, Gassoff had a career high 306 penalty minutes. In his final season, 1976-77 he had a career-high six goals and 24 points, with another 254 minutes in penalties.

But most people will remember Gassoff as a roughian. Gassoff's most celebrated fight was with Dave "Tiger" Williams in 1974-75 in which he bloodied the Tiger and received a match penalty.

Gassoff never shied from dropping the gloves in but began to feel frustrated by NHL referees.

"They figure that anything that happens to me, I deserve it," Gassoff once said of the referees. "But I don’t think I play that dirty. When I go to take out a big guy — and I’m not big — they see me coming and they get their stick up. If I bring my stick up, even though I don’t hit them with it, the ref thinks so.

"I’m proud that I’m known as being tough, but I’d like to have people recognize my hockey skills. I’ve proved that I can fight. Now I have to work on the rest of my game. I don’t want to be known as a goon. I’ll fight anytime someone tries to push me or one of teammates around, but I don’t go out on the ice looking for fights."

Gassoff fought all comers, once challenging the entire Philadelphia Flyers bench. Former Teammate Gary Unger once said of him, "I remember playing against the Flyers, and Don Saleski and Dave Schultz kept taking runs at our smaller players. Bobby came on the ice and blasted Saleski with a hit at mid-ice, and as Saleski laid there, Bobby just looked down at him, daring him to get up. Saleski never did."

Gassoff was a big part of the Blues' building puzzle in the 1970s, a piece they would have to deal with losing. Tragedy claimed the life of Bob Gassoff much too young.

On Memorial Day weekend, 1977, the Blues team gathered for a post-season party at Garry Unger’s farm near Gray Summit, Missouri. Gassoff was riding one of the farm's motorcycles and collided with a vehicle on a road near the far. Not wearing a helmet, Gassoff died instantly.

Gassoff’s death stunned the Blues, who did not recover from the death of their leader. The Blues failed to reach the playoffs the next two seasons and in 1978-79, they managed only 48 points which was a franchise low.

Teammate Bernie Federko once said that "Bobby was irreplaceable" and former defense partner Bruce Affleck stated that Gassoff was without peer as an enforcer. "He was the toughest player I’ve ever seen," said Affleck.

The Bob Gassoff Trophy was established in 1978 in his honor and was given to the most improved defenseman of the Central Hockey League. His #3 jersey was retired by the Blues in 1977.

Two months after Bob Gassoff's death, wife Diane gave birth to the couples' only child, Bob Gassoff Jr. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently profiled Gassoff Jr., a former hockey star at the University of Michigan who is now a Navy SEAL, an elite commando unit, in the United States military. He is operating somewhere in the middle east, although his exact whereabouts is classified.

Steve Durbano

2007-03-10T10:36:00.001-08:00

They called him "Demolition Durby" and "Mental Case Durbano." He is perhaps hockey's baddest man - both on and off the ice.

Durbano was a journeyman defenseman for parts of 6 NHL seasons. His toughness was legendary, and also the reason he was so highly touted when he came out of junior. He was drafted 13th overall in the 1971 Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. The Rangers passed on names like Terry O'Reilly and Larry Robinson to get Durbano.

The Rangers, however, traded Steve before he even played a game in the NHL. He ended up in St. Louis where he made his NHL debut in the 1972-73 season. He would go on to play with Pittsburgh, Kansas City/Colorado before returning to St. Louis in 1978 to finish his career. Durbano scored 13 goals and 73 points in 220 NHL games.

Durbano sat out 1127 PIM in his 220 NHL games, a average of over 5 minutes a game! The 5.1 PIM per game is the highest mark for anyone with more than 1000 minutes. When the Broad Street Bullies were brawling their way through the mid-seventies, Durbano led the league in penalty minutes with 370. When asked who was the toughest player of his day was, he'd always answer "I was. I still have all my teeth, and I'm proud of that."

Many of Durbano's fights didn't happen on the ice. He was an alcoholic and routinely was in bar room brawls wherever he went. But the bar room brawls almost seem saintly compared to some of the other stuff Durbano has done in his life. In 1983 he was convicted for drug trafficking and in 1998 he was found guilty of running a prostitution ring.

In December 1998, The Hockey News ran an article on hockey's baddest player. Durbano has moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He moved to the "Gateway to the Arctic" to escape his past and start over. The article said that Durbano was cleaning up his act somewhat - he worked hard as an Electrolux salesman and claimed to have given up cocaine.

However he remained a heavy drinker and died in 2002 of liver failure.

Glenn Hall

2007-01-02T20:25:00.001-08:00

Hockey players, especially goaltenders, have pre-game rituals. Some are more unusual than others. But no one had a stranger ritual than former NHL goaltending great Glenn Hall who, because of nerves, would literally become physically ill while waiting the start of a game.

More often than not, before the first face-off, during the rest periods or after the game was concluded, Glenn quietly and unobtrusively would throw up

"I always felt I played better if I was physically sick before the game. If I wasn't sick, I felt I hadn't done everything I could to try to win," Hall once said.

It obviously worked for Hall, as the man nicknamed "Mr. Goalie" has to be considered a prime candidate as the greatest goalie ever played.

Glenn Hall is also renowned as the grandfather of the butterfly goalie. He was the first goalie to practice and perfect the now common butterfly stance, as he'd fall on his legs to take away the bottom corners and five-hole and let his rapier-like arm reflexes take care of the top corners. Glenn would meet the shot with his feet wide but his knees close together to form an inverted Y. Instead of throwing his whole body to the ice in crises, he would go down momentarily to his knees, then bounce back to his feet, able to go in any direction. Practically every goalie in hockey today relies on the strategies he perfected.

During his 18-year NHL career, which began in 1952 and ended in 1971, Glenn posted a 407-327-163 record, 2.51 goals-against-average and recorded 84 shutouts. He was a First Team All-Star seven times, won three Vezina Trophies, was voted the league's top rookie in 1955-56 and was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy in a losing cause in 1968. Despite his lengthy career, Glenn won his only Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 1961—the last time Chicago captured the title.

Hall actually started his career buried in the Detroit Red Wings system in the early 1950s. With the great Terry Sawchuk established as the number one goalie, it seemed as though Hall would have to wait forever for his turn to get a chance at full-time play in the league. But Hall kept the pressure on Sawchuk, eventually leading to the surprising Sawchuk trade to the Boston Bruins in 1955. Hall took to the Red Wings crease, and turned in a memorable rookie season, coming within one shutout of Harry Lumley's modern record of 13 set two seasons previously. He allowed only 2.11 goals against as he played in each and every game and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

Hall played one one more season with Detroit, before yet another shocking trade involving a Red Wings goalie. This time Hall was packaged up in the infamous Ted Lindsay trade to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hall was a huge part of the Blackhawks turnaround, backstopping them to the Stanley Cup championship in 1961. The Hawks became the toast of Chicago for the 1960s, selling out every ticket for 14 seasons. With the likes Pierre Pilote, Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, the Hawks were hot. But it was Hall who was synonymous with the Hawks, playing seemingly every game. In fact, despite this taxing pre-game ritual, Glenn holds the NHL record for most consecutive complete games, 502, by a goaltender. That's 502 straight contests without missing a minute of play. Not one single minute over the span of 8 seasons. That is one record that is certain never to be broken. Even more amazing is he accomplished this feat while playing without a mask.

At the age of 36, he was left unprotected in the Expansion Draft and was chosen by the newly minted St. Louis Blues. Due in large part to Hall's improbable heroics, the Blues marched all the way to the Stanley Cup final in their first year in the league. Though they would eventually lose to the Montreal Canadiens in four games, Hall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league's top playoff performer. In 1968-69, Jacques Plante joined the team and the two veterans shared the goaltending duties, and split the Vezina Trophy. The duo returned the Blues to the Stanley Cup finals in both 1969 and 1970, only to lose again.

Hall retired in 1971, returning to Alberta to tend to his farm, while working with the Blues and later Calgary Flames as a goaltending coach and consultant.

Red Berenson

2007-01-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

Prior to NHL's expansion in 1967, there were many great hockey players toiling in the minors of hockey because there just wasn't enough room in the NHL. So when the NHL doubled in size from 6 to 12 teams, many of these players were given the chance to finally prove themselves at the NHL level. The first superstar to emerge from this group was a red-haired kid from Regina Saskatchewan named Gordon Berenson.

Berenson first turned professional late in the 1961-62 season when he appeared in 4 late season games with the Montreal Canadiens. Nicknamed "The Red Baron" because of his hair and name, Berenson took a very unusual route to the NHL in those days by attending the University of Michigan rather than progressing through the Canadian junior ranks. He was the first Canadian born player to go directly from American college to the NHL.

Berenson played a minor role with the Canadiens. He received very limited ice time in 136 games with the Habs over 5 years. Berenson spent most of his time in the Eastern Professional Hockey League and the American Hockey League where he tore up the score sheets.

In the summer of 1966, Montreal gave up on Berenson and traded him to the New York Rangers for Ted Taylor and Garry Peters. However Berenson had an injury riddle first season with New York and as a result never gained the ice time he needed to thrive. He scored only 5 assists in 30 games in 1966-67.

The following season was the first season of NHL expansion. Berenson actually started the season with Rangers, quietly scoring just 2 goals and 1 assist in 19 games, before he was moved to the expansion St. Louis Blues. That trade turned out to be one of the greatest in St. Louis Blues history. They acquired Berenson and soon to be cult legend Barclay Plager in exchange for Ron Stewart and Ron Attwell.

Berenson almost instantly became a scoring threat once he arrived in the mid-west city. He finished the season with 51 points in 55 games with St. Louis. He was also instrumental in helping the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Finals in their very first year in the league!

By this time Berenson was the talk of St. Louis, and the League. His style of play and scoring success had put St. Louis on the hockey map and fans in the arena. Few St. Louis players were ever as popular as Red.

The next season saw Red score a career high 82 points, but is best remembered for one magical night on November 7, 1968. Red Berenson scored 6 goals against the Philadelphia Flyers to become the first "modern" player to score 6 goals in a single game. Seven players have scored 6 goals in one game. Darryl Sittler is the only other modern player to accomplish this. Names like Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe, Richard, and Hull never were able to to accomplish this incredible feat. But Berenson is quick to point out that he also hit the post and missed on what he described as two excellent chances in that game as well. That would have tied Joe Malone's 1920 record of 7 goals in one game. Amazingly this feat occurred on the road, making Berenson the record holder for most goals in a game by a visiting player.

For another year and a half Berenson would exploit NHL goalies for the St. Louis Blues, but found himself traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1971 for political reasons. Berenson at the time was the president of the NHL Players Association, and the move was considered in media circles to be a union busting move.

Berenson would enjoy three and a half seasons with the Red Wings before being traded back to St. Louis in late 1974. He remained a top player with the Wings, as demonstrated by his inclusion on Team Canada for the Soviet showdown in the 1972 Summit Series.

After returning to St. Louis, Berenson would play 3 final seasons with the Blues before retiring at the end of the 1978 season. Berenson, who played in 5 NHL All Star games, retired with 261 goals, 397 assists and 658 points in 987 games.

Berenson turned to coaching after his playing days. Red coached the Blues from 1979 to 1982, winning the Jack Adams Trophy in 1981 after a 45-18-17 season. Berenson also served as an assistant coach under Scotty Bowman in Buffalo from 1982 through 1984. His head coaching all time record is a very impressive 100-72-32 for a .569 winning percentage.

After leaving the NHL in 1984 Berenson went back to the University of Michigan where he served as a long time head coach. His record there is unbelievable. He is the winningest coach in the college scene throughout the 1990s, including two national championships (1996, and 1998).

Adam Oates

2007-01-02T20:20:00.001-08:00

Growing up in Weston, Ontario, Adam Oates lived every Canadian boy's fantasy. He grew up playing hockey on the ice and in the streets, dreaming of playing in the National Hockey League.

Only Adam Oates' role model was not Montreal's Guy Lafleur or Toronto's Dave Keon like so many Canadian kids. He grew up idolizing his dad's favorite English soccer star - Stanley Matthews. Known as the Wizard of Dribble, Matthews is considered to be the most beautiful passer who rarely scored himself. When Oates started playing hockey and lacrosse as a child, his father insisted that he "be like Stanley - unselfish."

Oates' father's insistence on passing and setting up teammates obviously paid big dividends. Oates’ puck handling and distributing skills, as well as his sure hands, have made him the second-best passer of his time and the player most commonly compared with the best, Wayne Gretzky. Like other on-ice visionaries, Oates changes speeds and uses subtle shifts in movement and positioning to put defenders off balance. He became an NHL star because of his impeccable passing skills, uncanny ability to anticipate plays and outstanding on-ice vision. He was at times unselfish almost to a fault. But he was far from a one dimensional player. In fact, he was an underrated defensive center and was particularly utilized on the penalty kill or when there was a defensive zone face-off late in the game. His defensive awareness made him invaluable as it would allow his coaches to go head to head with the other team's big line without fear.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's the second best playmaking center behind Wayne Gretzky in hockey," said Brett Hull.

Hull should know. Considered to be one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the game, Hull enjoyed his finest years in the three seasons Hull and Oates made fine music in St. Louis. Hull scored 72, 86 and 70 goals in those three seasons, an unthinkable total of 228 goals in 231 games.

Hull may be Oates' most famous recipient, but not his only. Oates is the only player to center three 50-goal scorers - Peter Bondra, Cam Neely and Hull. He is also the only one to center two players , Neely and Hull, who scored 50 goals in 50 games

He ranks 6th all time in career assists, with 1079 in 1337 games, trailing Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque, Mark Messier Ron Francis, and Wayne Gretzky, all of who played more games. His career assists per game ratio of 0.85 is only outdone by Bobby Orr (0.98), Mario Lemieux (1.13) and Gretzky (1.32).

Not bad for a kid who was never drafted. Oates flew under the scouts radar, as he never intended to play junior hockey, instead hoping to catch on with an American university. In the fall of 1982 he accepted a full scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnical Institue (RPI) where he earned a degree in management. Even then he was never considered to be a top NHL prospect. His own coach, Mike Addesa, once affectionately called “a stumpy, heavy-footed, poor-skating, no-shooting kid.” Addesa was not too critical of Oates though. Oates set all school scoring records and led the RPI Engineers to an unexpected NCAA championship in 1985.

The NHL finally took notice and the Detroit Red Wings took a chance on the kid by offering him one of the richest rookie free agent contracts. Playing behind Steve Yzerman, Oates quietly solidified his reputation as an elite NHL playmaker with the Red Wings, earning close to an assist per game by his final season in 1989.

The summer of 1989 brought a surprise trade. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues along with Paul MacLean in exchange Tony McKegney and Bernie Federko, the long time face of the Blues.

Though initially devastated by the trade, Oates quickly prospered in St. Louis, where he teamed up Brett Hull. Hull would become the unquestioned goal scoring king and league MVP, with many thanks to the quiet play of Oates. Oates, too, was spectacular, particularly in 1990-91 when he had 90 assists and 115 points in only 61 games and was named to the NHL Second Team All-Star.

Despite the Blues rise and the dominance of Hull & Oates, the Blues curiously opted to play contractual hardball with Oates. The Blues handed over the keys to Hull, and were cursed around the league for what some irresponsibly high contracts to free agents like Scott Stevens and Brendan Shanahan. When it was Oates' turn to cash in, however, the Blues opted not to, and during the 1991-92 season he was traded to the Boston Bruins in return for Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal.

Oates had perhaps his best seasons yet in 1992-93, as he scored a career-high 45 goals, 97 assists and 142 points to finish third overall in regular season scoring behind Mario Lemieux and Pat LaFontaine. Oates credited his higher goal totals to the fact he played down low on the power play, as opposed to on the point as in St. Louis. Oates' 97 assists were the best of his career, and even more amazing since he didn't have a true superstar to play with, as sniper Cam Neely was injured for all but 13 games during the season.

The next season, Oates again finished third with 32 goals, 80 assists, and 112 points, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Sergei Federov. This time Oates and Neely teamed up for their most spectacular season together. Neely's leg injuries would persist, and he would only get in for 49 games. But in that time Neely scored 50 goals, most of which were set up by Oates.

Oates played with Boston until the 1996-97 NHL season, when a blockbuster trade took him, Bill Ranford and Rick Tocchet to the Washington Capitals for Jim Carey, Anson Carter, Jason Allison and a draft choice at the 1997 trading deadline. Oates helped lead the Capitals to the Stanley Cup finals the next season, but failed to win as the Capitals lost to the Red Wings. Oates continued to have productive seasons with the Caps, leading the league in assists in 2000-01 and 2001-02, despite nearing 40 years old.

In 2002-03, Oates returned to the Stanley Cup Finals, this time with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, but again his team was beat out, this time in seven games by the New Jersey Devils. Though his offensive production was down this late in his career, and his skating was poorer than ever, he remained a power play expert and a face-off specialist extraordinaire.

Adam Oates retired in 2004. It will be interesting to see if history is as unfair to him as contemporary times. He was one of the true greats, but was somehow always overlooked. Just the way Adam Oates likes it to be.