Things You Did Not Know About The Canada Cup

Wayne Gretzky Peed Pants in 1987

Game 2 of the 1987 Canada Cup finals is considered by many to be one of the greatest games ever played. Wayne Gretzky, arguably the game's greatest player, considers that game to be the greatest game he personally has ever played.

That game is also memorable to Gretzky for another reason - one of his most embarrassing. He peed his pants right there on the Team Canada bench!

The incident happened during the first overtime. Gretzky, being double and triple shifted, had played a ton of hockey in this game already, and was exhausted halfway through the first overtime. He compared his physical state to that of a marathon runner in his 26th mile. He was on the bench and had no control over his own muscles.

Just as Gretzky realized what was going on, one of the coaches told him to get ready, he was to be going into action at the next chance. Somehow he formed enough energy to go back out and play another shift.

By the way, no one knew Gretzky did this. But as he revealed in his autobiography, he told everyone after the game. His teammates, celebrating a great victory, laughed heartily for nearly 30 minutes.

Two Team Canadas in 1991?

Just days prior to the start of the 1991 Canada Cup, a political coup in the Soviet Union was making headlines world wide. Mikhail Gorbachev was dismissed as the leader of the powerful Soviet Union by hard line communists on August 19. The fallout of such an act of course was far reaching, including the Canada Cup. The coup left Canada Cup organizers scrambling for a contingency plan in case the political upheaval led to the withdrawal of Team USSR.  Alan Eagleson, the tournament's director, suggested the following. "In the event of a Soviet withdrawal, I propose that Canada enter two teams in the tournament." No contingency plan was ever approved by the International Ice Hockey Federation and fortunately Team USSR was not used as a political pawn of the communists

Swedish Female Coach for Team Canada?

Fred Shero, then the coach of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, said that if he were named head coach of Team Canada 1976, he would have named a Swedish woman as one of his assistant coaches. His insistence on this topic was one of the main reasons why Team Canada opted for Scotty Bowman as coach.

Though he would not name the woman, he said that she was the head coach of a Swedish team and plays on a men's team in Sweden. She also spent a year in Canada studying Canadian hockey. Shero added that he had seen the woman play and he felt she was good enough to play in the minor leagues!

Team Canada Snubs Prime Minister Trudeau

Following the Canada Cup, the organizers of the tournament had planned a luncheon for Team Canada with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. However it was a poorly planned event. The players weren't notified of the event until after the final game. At that point all the players had received their plane tickets to send them to their various NHL homes across North America. Most players had to catch flights rather than eat with the Prime Minister. In fact only three players showed up for the meal - Larry Robinson, Butch Goring and Wayne Gretzky.

"I don't think I've ever been to a more embarrassing event in my life" remembers Wayne. "Here's the Prime Minister sitting at a table set for thirty guys and three of us show up!"

"Naturally, we're all a bit disappointed at the result of the game," said Trudeau. "but all of us here are in a game of some kind, including myself, where you win some and you lose some."

Team Quebec in 1981?

Quebecer Guy Bertrand, a local lawyer who acted as a player agent for several Quebec Nordiques including Real Cloutier and Pierre Lacroix, called for a Team Quebec to be allowed to play in the Canada Cup. Bertrand, an obvious supporter of separatism, wanted to see a collection of French Canadians not only take on the Soviets and Americans, but the rest of Canada. 

The idea didn't get much support, yet Bertrand would continue to make noise in the tournament. Even though Canada had Quebec born stars such as Guy Lafleur, Gilbert Perreault, Marcel Dionne, and Ray Bourque, Bertrand called for a boycott a boycott because of Team Canada's ignoring of all Quebec Nordiques player for training camp invitations.

Bertrand's movement was successful, though definitely aided by high ticket prices that were creating similar attendance problems in most rinks in the nation. Quebec City was to host a couple of games, (Czechs vs Sweden in the round robin, plus a semi-final game between the Czechs and Soviets) but ticket sales were so poor that tournament organizers were forced to look for an alternative.

The alternative proved to the nation's capital, Ottawa. The people of Ottawa, starved for hockey with no professional team located there, responded well despite having a small rink.

Mats Thelin

There was a time when European players in Boston Bruins uniforms seemed like an odd fit. The Big Bad Bruins, always banging and brawling, was not often associated with European flash and dash.

But in 1981 the Bruins made a step in that direction by drafting a Swedish defenseman by the name of Mats Thelin. Thelin joined the Boston Bruins in 1984-85. He had just come off of a season where he represented his native Sweden at the 1984 Olympics and the 1984 Canada Cup.

 He played in 73 games plus five playoff contests. Aside from a small groin injury, he made a reasonable adjustment from the European big ice to the tiny ice of the old Boston Gardens.

Thelin was described by none other than the great Swedish defender Borje Salming as "a real solid" defender. He was positionally strong and used his stick well to break up rushes and passes. He was stronger than most ever gave him credit for, too.

He may not of excelled at it or even embraced it, but Thelin was not afraid of the rough stuff. In one game he fought Hartford's Torrie Robertson and, perhaps as you'd expect, did not fare too well. He took 28 stitches to his face that night.

Offensively Thelin was never going to be a great threat. He could make a strong breakout pass but was not likely to ever rush the puck out or man a point on the power play.

Thelin's sophomore campaign was spent far too often in the medical room. He broke his foot in training camp and missed several weeks. Then he hurt his knee and couldn't finish the season. He only got 30 games in that season.

Thelin returned to play 59 games in 1986-87. But again Thelin could not finish the season or participate in the playoffs. This time he had a serious and nagging groin injury.

Not getting a lot of ice time, Thelin made that his last NHL season. Once his contract expired he returned to AIK Solna back in Sweden for many seasons. He finally hung up his skates in 1994.

Steve Graves

The 1980s Edmonton Oilers dynasty was a tough team for any rookie to make. But it always seemed that Steve Graves was knocking on the door.

He never really got to come in.

Graves played in limited action in 35 NHL contests over three seasons with the Oilers, but was mostly relegated to the minor leagues. The former Soo Greyhound was drafted by Edmonton 41st overall back in 1982.

Confusion set in in 1988. Graves apparently went AWOL as far as the Oilers were concerned, as they did not quite know what happened to him. It turned out he grew tired of toiling in the minor leagues and signed to play with a Finnish team for the 1988-89 season. The Oilers only found out when Graves made headlines by scoring four goals for a group of European-based Canadians playing in Moscow's famed Izvestia tournament.

Graves tried to return to the Oilers, who were not pleased and had officially suspended him. Graves said it was all miscommunication. The Oilers offered him a try-out in training camp in 1989 but cut him early on.

Graves ended up returning to Europe for most of the rest of his career. Instead of touring the minor leagues he enjoyed his time in Switzerland and Denmark.

Graves retired in 1993 and got into the financial services industry in Sault Ste. Marie. He also did some scouting for the Calgary Flames.

Dave Debol

Dave Debol was a proud Michigander through and through.

Born in St. Clair Shores, Dave grew up loving hockey. But like a lot of American kids in the early 1970s - especially in rural areas outside of Minnesota - there was not a lot of opportunity for a kid like Debol to advance.

Unless that kid refused to let the dream die. And that's exactly what Debol did.

Debol, who was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, enrolled at the University of Michigan. He was not there specifically to play hockey but rather to study nursing. The University hockey team never recruited him, but did allow him to attend training camp. Somehow Debol made the team as an unlikely walk-on player.

The walk-on player no one had known about went on to become of the greatest players in University of Michigan hockey history. He was an exciting scoring sensation who was quickly dubbed "the Guy Lafleur of college hockey" and, at that time, the second best player in U of M history behind Red Berenson.

Debol could score at will. In his third season he broke Berenson's school record for goals with 43. That included a NCAA hat trick record of three goals in 59 seconds in one game vs. rival Michigan Tech. That year he also establishing school records with 56 assists and 99 points.

Debol powered the Wolverines to one Final Four showdown but they lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Wisconsin that year. Otherwise it was a fantastic collegiate career that would later see him inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame.

Though he was drafted by the Chicago Black Hawks with the 63rd overall pick in 1976, Debol opted to turn pro with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association in 1978. He was just starting to get comfortable with the big adjustment to the pro game when he was struck in the high with the blade of a hockey stick in a game against Winnipeg. His season was over and for a while his career was in jeopardy, but surgery to reattach the retina in his left eye a month later save both his eye and his job.

 The WHA collapsed in 1979 and four of the remaining teams joined the NHL. Debol found his playing rights were now part of the Hartford Whalers, where he would play 92 games over the next two NHL seasons. He scored a respectable 26 goals and 26 assists in that time.

One of the real highlights of his NHL career was hat trick performance against the Red Wings in Detroit in 1981 and of course getting the chance to play with his idol Gordie Howe for a stretch. 

Debol began a vagabond tour of the minor leagues in 1982, which he did not enjoy much. In 1983-84 he tried one more season of hockey by playing overseas in Switzerland. Debol enjoyed the international game as he represented the United States at three World Championships.

Dave retired and returned to Michigan after that season. He has coached at the high school and collegiate levels while also operating his own hockey schools and skill development camps.

Dan Bolduc

The state of Maine has produce only a few top level hockey players over the years. Danny Bolduc may not be the most household name even in Maine hockey circles nowadays, but he was the first hockey player from the state to play in the Olympics and play in the National Hockey League.

The speedy skater Bolduc had just left Harvard (where he studied Government) and had the chance to spend a season playing with the American national team. Though he started the season as a long shot to make the Olympic squad, he had a fantastic year - 41 goals and 72 points in 60 games.

That strong season ended with him going to Innsbruck to participate in the Olympics. He scored two goals in six games at the Olympics, and had a memorable breakaway against the Soviets, though the great Vladislav Tretiak stopped him.

“I gave him three of my best moves. He saved it like I never moved,” Bolduc said.

Bolduc also said the only reason he had the opportunity to turn pro was because he was part of the Olympic team. It also helped secure a spot to Team USA's entry in the 1976 Canada Cup.

Shortly after the Olympics Bolduc signed on with the WHA's New England Whalers for the rest of the season. He would spend a total of three seasons with the Whalers, including 41 games played in 1978-79 when he got to play with Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty.

When the WHA collapsed in 1979 Bolduc signed with the Detroit Red Wings and played half a season with them.

Bolduc would sign two-way deals with Montreal and Calgary, but aside from two games with the Flames he was strictly a minor leaguer from 1980 to his retirement in 1985. The highlight there was being part of the 1981 Calder Cup championship team with the Adirondack Red Wings.

At first Bolduc tried his hand at coaching, serving future NHL coach Terry Crisp as an assistant with the Flames AHL farm team in Moncton. Two years later Crisp got the head coaching job in Calgary and wanted Bolduc to be his assistant in the NHL, too. But the Flames had other plans. They did offer Bolduc the head coaching job, but their farm team relocated to the other side of the continent to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Bolduc decided that if he was not going to the NHL, he was not going anywhere. He ended up quitting hockey altogether, and focused on raising his family at home in Maine. Bolduc opened up an insurance business in the small town of Oakland, Maine.

Kraig Nienhuis

Some people want to be hockey players. Others want to be rock stars.

Kraig Nienhuis got to be both.

Mind you, he was a classic late bloomer who overcame unlikely long odds in both cases, too.

After attending Renessalaer Polytechnical Institute from 1982 through 1985 when they won the NCAA championship, the undrafted Nienhuis emerged as an intriguing NHL prospect, sought after from as many as eleven teams. He could skate and relished the physical game. For what he may have lacked in creativity in his game he made up for in effort. He had pro checker written all over him.

"In five years I went from house-league hockey to the NHL," Nienhuis said. "It's a pretty incredible story."

"I didn't start to take hockey seriously until I was 18," he told The Hockey News back in 1985. "I played mostly semi-pro soccer and football until I was 18."

"Neener," as known to his friends, had played a lot of pond hockey to that point but his organized hockey experience was mostly with a church recreational league. Yet he played hard and was able to walk on to a season of junior B hockey with the Sarnia Bees. That earned him a scholarship offer to RPI.

RPI coach Mike Addesa had the biggest impact on Nienhuis' game.

"I really didn't have any type of style until I got into college," he said. "Then Mike kind of said 'With your physical attributes and your skating ability, you really don't have the finesse or the hands, so we'll make you a checker. That was stamped on my forehead when I came to the pros."

And check he did. But a funny thing happened in his first season with the Bruins. He scored 16 goals and 30 points in that rookie campaign. He said the game just seemed easier at that level, believe it or not.

"It just comes down to a lot more freedom on the ice in the pros, the ability to ad lib. You can innovate a little bit more out there in the pros," Nienhuis said, somewhat surprisingly.

"In college I was so restricted that it seemed like I was bound by chains all the time. In the pros, there's been no chains at all. It's just free wheeling."

"In college everybody just skates a hundred miles an hour the whole time. Everybody's just flying all over. I pros, it's much more slowed down, much more a thinking game."

Ah but that changed the next season, perhaps because of coaching instability as Butch Goring was released. Nienhuis and his ad lib game were demoted to the minor leagues after just 16 games. He would return for only one more NHL game ever in his career.

By 1988 Nienhuis left the North American game but found great enjoyment in playing the game overseas. He would play in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Great Britain and Italy up until 1999.

Kraig Nienhuis certainly did not have the stereotypical after-hockey career that many fringe NHLer have. No he did not sell real estate or work for a brewery.

Instead he front a rock band named 9 House and opened concerts for the likes of ZZ Top, Nickelback, David Lee Roth and the Beach Boys.

Scott Garland

June 9th, 1979 was a sad day in hockey history.

On that day hockey lost 27 year Scott Garland in an automobile accident. He was driving his car on a freeway near Montreal when his tire blew, causing him to lose control of the car and slam into a retaining wall. He died of his injuries shortly thereafter.

Garland was a utility role player. He played center and right wing and even defense. The Regina native made up for any lack of talent with an abundance of try, making him a favorite of every coach he ever had.

Garland overcame long odds to make it to the National Hockey League. He only played in a total 34 career Junior A level games and was never drafted.

After spending 1972-73 hustling every shift as an unaffiliated player in the minor leagues he was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He continued to play in the minor leagues for three more seasons.

Garland made his NHL debut late in the 1975-76 season, finishing the year strongly with four goals and seven points in sixteen games. He also participated in seven of the Leafs ten playoff contests.

Garland earned a full time roster spot for the 1976-77 season. In 69 games he scored nine goals and 29 points, though a broken arm ended his season prematurely.

Then things inexplicably soured between the hard hitting Garland and the Leafs. Instead of playing out his option year of his contract, Garland demanded to be traded from the Leafs or he would retire.

"I need the change and I need to be somewhere where I will be appreciated," said Garland at the time.

True to his word, Garland quit hockey until the trade finally came about. Mind you he needed time to mend a broken collarbone and stretched knee ligaments, anyway. He was going to look into becoming a real estate agent but he returned to the ice late in the season to play 20 games back in the minor leagues.

Through it all, he remained very frustrated by the Leafs not trading him.

"It isn't like I'm some kind of big draft choice or something. I was a walk on in training camp. They could trade me for a bucket of oranges and they'd still come out ahead," he quipped.

The trade finally came in the summer of 1978. He was traded to Los Angeles with Brian Glennie, Kurt Walker and Toronto's 2nd round choice (Mark Hardy) in 1979 Entry Draft for Dave Hutchison and Lorne Stamler. He was a throw-in for sure, but he was part of a fairly significant trade nonetheless.

Garland would only play in six games with the Kings in the 1978-79 season. He spent the rest of an injury plagued season in the minor leagues.

Hannu Kamppuri

To put it politely the statistical record does not reflect well on Finnish goalie Hannu Kamppuri's time in the National Hockey League.

One win in 13 career games, all with the Devils of New Jersey in the 1984-85 season. Ten losses. One tie. Fifty-four goals against for a goals against average over five.

No, Hannu Kamppuri's brief tenure in the NHL was not a great one. But he was a much better goalie than those stats say.

Kamppuri spent years as the backbone of Jokerit Helsinki and then Tappara Tampere back in his native Finland. Four times he was named as the best goaltender in all of Finland, and six times he was a league all-star.

He represented his country at two World Juniors and five World Championships. He was also an unused goalie at the 1981 Canada Cup.

Unfortunately Kamppuri, and a few others, became the subject of controversy prior to the 1984 Olympics. Kamppuri was ruled to be a professional player and was ineligible to play in the Olympics in Sarajevo.

Now most of the players in European countries, including Finland, were paid professionals, but the International Olympic Committee only cracked down on players who had experience in North American professional leagues.

Kamppuri had yet to play in the NHL, but he had spent part of 1978 playing in the lowly Central Hockey League. He also got into 90 minutes of action with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers.

That was enough to prevent Kamppuri from achieving his dream of representing Finland at the Olympics.

Regardless, Hannu Kamppuri is a member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame.

Mats Hallin

With seventeen consecutive playoff series victories and four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in the early 1980s, the New York Islanders Stanley Cup dynasty ranks as one of the greatest hockey teams of all time.

While most people think of superstars like Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Billy Smith, the stereotypical Islander was that of a hard working battler like Bobby Nystrom, Clark Gillies, John Tonelli, Brent and Duane Sutter, Bob Bourne, Butch Goring and Dave Langevin.

But the Isles dynasty never got enough credit for importing European talent, particularly from Sweden. Tomas Jonsson was a real nice find on defense. Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur were two other underrated contributors.

Mats Hallin was brought in the 1982-83 season. He was actually drafted by Washington back in 1978 but the Capitals allowed him to become a free agent. The Islanders moved in to sign the six-foot-two, 200 pounder capable of playing either win.

He quietly played half a season and scored a goal in the playoffs to help the Islanders win what proved to be their last Cup victory of that dynasty.

It was hoped that Hallin would be part of the new generation that would keep the post-dynasty Islanders in contention. Pat Lafontaine, Pat Flatley and Kelly Hrudey were among the others they had hoped would work out.

Unfortunately for Hallin, bad breaks cost him. Bad breaks as in a right knee injury that cost him half of the 1983-84 season, and shoulder surgery that cost him half 1984-85 season plus some of the next.

The Islanders gave Hallin away to the Minnesota North Stars for next to nothing in the summer of 1985. He would play another 44 games with the Stars before returning to Europe.

For all the injuries, Hallin was never one to back down from the physical game. One night he got into a rare fight with Montreal's Kent Carlson. Carlson actually split Hallin's helmet into two with one punch. He also split his hand and was out for six weeks. Hallin lived to tell the story.

Hallin continued playing in Sweden until 1992. He later became a coach and scout. He coached his son Per Hallin alongside Daniel and Henrik Sedin in the 1999 World Junior championships.

Roland Stoltz

Savvy fans of international hockey will recognize the name Roland Stoltz as one of the great pioneers in Swedish hockey history. The star defenseman was arguably the best player in all of Swedish hockey in the 1950s and 1960s, often representing the nation at the World Championships and Olympics.

Other savvy hockey fans will recognize the name Roland Stoltz who played 14 games as a left winger with the Washington Capitals in the 1981-82 season.

It is important to recognize that they are not one in the same. In fact they are unrelated.

While the defenseman Roland Stoltz was rightfully inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999 as he was a very significant player on the world scene in his day.

The forward Roland Stoltz, 20 years younger, had a long career in Sweden, though not nearly as storied.

In the summer of 1981 he signed with the Capitals a free agent. It was hoped that he and Bengt-Ake Gustafsson would be a good match. But it did not work out. In 14 games Stoltz scored two goals and two assists.

Real savvy Caps fans might remember he had a real banana blade that may have been legal in Sweden but was not in the NHL. He even received a penalty for playing with an illegally curved stick.

The Capitals tried demoting Stoltz to the minor leagues for more apprenticing by late November, but Stoltz did not want anything to do with that. An arrangement was made to allow Stoltz to return home to Sweden for the rest of the season and the rest of his career.

Stoltz continued to play in Sweden until 1989.

Al Jensen

Nowadays Al Jensen is a long time head amateur goaltending scout for Central Scouting. His expertise in evaluating puck stopping prospects is second to none.

Which is odd in that Jensen most of his on-ice hockey career as the back up.

Jensen was once a strong junior goalie himself with his hometown Hamilton Fincups (the team also played one season in St. Catherines). He had to learn to share the net with future NHLer Rick Wamsley, but was able to develop into a top prospect himself, also twice playing for Canada at the World Juniors. The Detroit Red Wings drafted him 31st overall in the 1978 NHL draft.

Jensen would apprentice in the Wings farm system for three seasons and was finally rewarded with his first game on November 20th, 1980. Though Jensen gave up seven goals and lost the game in Montreal's fabled Forum, it was a game he would never forget.

It also proved to be the only game Jensen would ever play for the Wings. In the following summer he was traded to Washington in exchange for forward Mark Lofthouse.

Jensen blossomed in Washington, helping the Capitals to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1982-83. He had a strong season with a 22-12-6 campaign.

The next season Jensen was co-winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy with teammate Pat Riggin. Jensen posted a nice 25-11-3 record with four shutouts. He was even asked to play in the 1984 NHL mid-season all star game, but a back injury made it impossible for him to attend.

Riggin emerged as the number one go-to goalie in 1984-85, while Jensen started having to share the back up role with up and comer Bob Mason. Nonetheless, Jensen did what he could in just 14 games - winning 10 and losing just 3.

Riggin was moved for Pete Peeters in 1985-86. During that transition Jensen emerged with a very impressive 28-9-3 record.

But Bob Mason returned in the 1986-87 campaign, forcing Jensen to the sidelines and then to Los Angeles as he was traded for a young defenseman named Garry Galley. He would barely play in LA before disappearing from the league. A nagging groin injury haunted him all season.

All told had 95 wins, 51 losses and 18 ties with 8 shutouts in his 179 game NHL career

"You're only as good as your last shot and that will never change," Jensen advises. "It's all about wins and being successful, and you have to push yourself. If you want to be successful in life as a goalie you have to work on it and you can't be satisfied and get into a comfort zone. You want to be better today than you were yesterday; that's how I always felt."

Jakub Petruzalek

Jakub Petruzalek came to Canada with a dream - to play in the National Hockey League.

Though he would play in just two NHL contests in an otherwise long hockey career, his dream did come true.

Petruzalek was a small but speedy winger out of Litvinov in the Czech Republic. But he felt his best chance to the NHL was not to play limited minutes in the top Czech pro league but get lots of ice time playing in the top Canadian junior leagues. He and his agent put out the word that he wanted to come to Canada.

The Ottawa 67s ended up drafting Petruzalek 23rd overall in a special import draft that welcomes players from all around the world. It did not hurt that the New York Rangers - who drafted Petruzalek 266th overall weeks earlier, helped pull a few strings.

Petruzalek played for the 67s in the 2004-05 season. He helped the top seeded OHL team reach the the Memorial Cup finals. The 67s liked Petruzalek's ability but perhaps they also wanted him simply to help countryman Lukas Kaspar - who knew less English than Petruzalek - adjust. The two Czechs came to Canada together. While Petruzalek was a NHL long shot at best, Kaspar was a first round pick of the San Jose Sharks and a prized addition to the 67s.

The 67s ended up just shy of winning the Memorial Cup that year. Both Kaspar and Petruzalek left the team after just one season.

Short on options of where to play in the 2005-06 season, Petruzalek actually returned to Litvinov for a season to play in the top pro league, but was unhappy with his ice time. Petruzalek jumped at the opportunity to return to the OHL in 2006-07 and play as a 20 year old overager with the Barrie Colts.

"He's a high-end playmaker - he's a really skilled player. He can score goals but he's also a really good passer. He'll make players around him better," said Barrie coach Marty Williamson.

Petruzalek finished the year strongly and then was signed by the Rangers to play in their farm system beginning the next season. But the Rangers were never serious about his future. A few games into his pro career he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes organization.

It was a good move for Petruzalek. Over the next three seasons he got to- play solid minutes for the Hurricanes farm team. He even got called up for a two game stint in the 2008-09 season and recorded an assist.

The next year Petruzalek's dream of playing in the NHL was over. He returned to Europe to play for many more seasons, mostly in the Russian KHL.

Ulf Isaksson

Ulf Isaksson was a long time Swedish player who gave the NHL a shot in 1982-83 with the Los Angeles Kings.

A notable offensive player from AIK Solna, the 28 year old rookie could not complain about his initial NHL linemates. The Los Angeles Kings experimented with breaking up the famed Triple Crown line and moved left winger Charlie Simmer to another line. Isaksson go the first chance to play with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor.

Though he scored a goal in his very first game (against Vancouver's Richard Brodeur), the experiment did not last long. Isaksson struggled in his only NHL season. He ended up with just seven goals in 50 games. Steve Bozek took Isaksson's spot on the top line, just as he had done the previous year when he had a breakout campaign when Simmer was injured. Ultimately Simmer was reunited with his usual linemates.

Isaksson returned to Sweden to complete his storied career there. Twice he helped AIK Solna win league titles and twice he represented Sweden at the World Championships. That included 1981 when Sweden won the silver medal.

Sadly, Ulf Isaksson passed away on Christmas Day 2003 after what was said to be a long illness. He was just 49 years old.

Randy Bucyk

Randy Bucyk was somehow destined to play in the National Hockey League.

But he had far bigger goals in mind.

Randy was born in Edmonton in 1962. By that time his uncle - the legendary Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk - was already dominating the NHL.

It was just a matter of time before Randy would be dominating at hockey rinks, too. He was a natural on the ice and dominated all levels of youth hockey. No matter how good he was, he was always "Johnny Bucyk's nephew."

But unlike Uncle Johnny, Randy loved being in the classroom even more. He was an excellent student and always had dreams beyond the ice.

As a result, going the junior hockey route was never really a strong consideration for Randy. He always had plans of letting hockey take him to University.

"Sports is a stepping stone to get where you want to go if you put it in a proper perspective," he said.

Bucyk ended up accepting a scholarship to study and play hockey at Northeastern University in downtown Boston. He would play there for four years.

He faced a difficult decision in the autumn of 1984. His hockey eligibility was up and he still was a semester shy of earning his degree in civil engineering. He was never drafted by a National Hockey League club, but he was invited to attend the Montreal Canadiens training camp.

He decided he had to give pro hockey his best shot right then and there, as the opportunity may not be there again. He could always finish his degree later.

"Hockey was my dream and I had to make a decision. If you don't try (pro career) you'll always be wondering if you could have made it. You don't want to have that hanging over you. I was confident I could make it in hockey."

Make it he did. He earned a contract that training camp and apprenticed in the minor leagues for the 1984-85 season.

The next season Bucyk made his National Hockey League debut. He would play in 17 games plus 2 more in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He often played on a line with Brian Skrudland and Lucien Deblois. Bucyk was filling in for the injured Mike McPhee on that line.

Montreal won the Stanley Cup in 1986. Because Bucyk played in two games in the playoffs he did get his name on the Stanley Cup and has a championship ring.

Randy never again played for the Montreal Canadiens. He returned to the minor leagues the next season and the team never renewed his contract.

Randy signed as a free agent with the Calgary Flames organization in the summer of 1987. He would play four years with the Flames farm team in Salt Lake City, but only twice got into games with the Flames.

Bucyk hung up his skates after the 1991 season.

Soon after Bucyk returned his focus to business. But instead of using his civil engineering degree to build skyscrapers, he ended up working for the pharmaceutical company Merck out of their Calgary offices. He became their associate director of patient access specifically in the oncology department.

Ralph Intranuovo

Ralph Intranuovo is the son of an Italian immigrant. Father Marco arrived in 1967, unable to speak English. And he certainly had no idea what a hockey puck was.

By 1973 Marco had married and started a family. They had a son that year who would go on to introduce them to nearly every level of hockey available in Canada.

From a young age Ralfaele Intranuovo - know to everyone simply as Ralph - was a natural hockey star. Dad - by now a journeyman bricklayer in Scarborough - wanted his son to play the Italian national sport of soccer, of course, but Ralph truly loved the game on the ice.

He was always a fantastic skater, both in terms of speed and agility. He could handle the puck, too. And he had this sixth sense about him on how to play creative offensive hockey.

Intranuovo's big draw back was always that he was not very big himself. He grew to be five-foot-eight and maybe 180 pounds soaking wet. He learned how to survive in a big man's game by darting in and out of traffic and finding open ice. He could see the ice and the play developing better than most.

Intranuovo showed he could play in the Ontario Hockey League. In three seasons he played in 182 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He scored 106 goals and 258 points.

More importantly, in all three years with the Greyhounds Ralph was able to lead them to the Memorial Cup tournament. The Greyhounds finally won Canada's junior championship in their third try in 1993.

Intranuovo was named as the Memorial Cups' Most Valuable Player at the end of that emotional final game.

For Ralph that was, in many ways, the pinnacle of his hockey career.

Despite his ability to dominate the OHL game with his speed and creativity, he was always a long shot to play in the National Hockey League where brutes and brawn so often win out.

Intranuovo was drafted 96th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 1992. Over six pro seasons he showed he could produce more offensive magic at the AHL and IHL minor league level.

But Intranuovo was only given a limited chance to play in the NHL. His career totalled 22 games - 19 with Edmonton and three more with Toronto. In that time he scored twice and set up four others.

Ralph left the minor league game behind in 1999 and travelled to Europe to extend his career. He played many seasons in Germany and Austria and Slovenia before finally making the family's inevitable return to Italy in 2009.

Ralph played the final four seasons of his hockey career in Italy before hanging up his skates in 2013.

Jack Ingoldsby

During World War II Jack Ingoldsby was a junior aged scoring sensation in Toronto. That made it hard for the Toronto Maple Leafs not to notice the tall, imposing center. And with NHL rosters suffering from players enlisting in the military, they were quick to sign him.

"Ding" Ingoldsby would get into 29 NHL games - all with the Leafs - over two seasons in 1943 and 1944. Then he, too, ended up the Canadian army. He would be stationed at home in Toronto, at least.

Ingoldsby never returned to pro hockey. Upon his return from War commitments he wound up to be a notable senior league player first in Toronto and then for years in Owen Sound. He led the Owen Sound Mercurys to the Allan Cup as Canada's amateur champions in 1951.

Earl Ingarfield Jr.

Earl Ingarfield Jr. played in 39 games in the NHL.

Ingarfield was the son of Earl Ingarfield Sr., the long time New York Rangers stalwart in the Original Six days. After expansion in 1967 he was a popular veteran in both Pittsburgh and Oakland.

Earl Jr. was not quite as successful. He had a couple of solid junior seasons with his hometown Lethbridge Broncos of the WHL but was never drafted by a NHL team.

He would sign with the Atlanta Flames organization in 1979, and followed the organization to Calgary when the franchise relocated in 1980. All told he played 17 games for the Flames.

Part way through that 1981-82 season Ingarfield was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Dan Labraaten. In Ingarfield's only NHL season he scored four goals and four assists in 38 contests.

Ingarfield was farmed out the next season and never returned to the National Hockey League.

It was a mysterious and hasty exit for a player who was once considered to be a very good two way player mature beyond his years.

"He really has wheels," said Flames coach Al MacNeil. "He's got that quick acceleration. From
blueline to blueline he may be the fastest guy on the team."

"I don't do anything super. I just stick my nose in there and try to do the job," he said.

Like father, like son.

As for his skating, he said, "I try to work a bit harder so that I can have that extra step in the third period, I'm not big, so I have to work to take the man out and grind it out with them and maybe get them tired. Then perhaps I'll still have that extra step in the third period and it can make the difference in setting up a goal that can help the team."

Brent Imlach

They say every player who has ever played for the Toronto Maple Leafs knows the immense pressure that comes with playing in the city.

Though he played only three games with the Leafs, few felt more pressure than Brent Imlach.

Yes, Imlach. Son of the Leafs legendary coach George "Punch" Imlach - architect of the Leafs 1960s Stanley Cup dynasty.

Some will say he got into three NHL games because he was the coach's son. Others will say he only got into three NHL games because he was the coach's son. Either way, Brent Imlach still played in more NHL games than most of us.

Brent was a pretty good junior player with the Toronto Marlies and then the London Nationals when he got called up for three games total due to injuries with the Leafs.

Unlike most junior players, Imlach was in no way in awe of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs when he got his brief chance to play.

"From the time I was 12 until I was 20, I think I spent more time at Maple Leaf Gardens than I did at home," Imlach told Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun in 1999. "In the afternoons on Saturdays I would usually go up to the press box and do my homework. Then I'd stay for the Leafs' game."

His first game came against Detroit in 1966. He did not expect to get much if any ice time, and basically hid at the end of the bench watching Gordie Howe more than anybody else. But then his dad sent him out on a second period penalty kill with adamant instructions of "Don't make any mistakes! Don't make any mistakes!" By the third period he was playing a regular shift with none other than Frank Mahovlich!

Of course, being the coach's kid led to some obvious jabs in the dressing room.

"Bob Pulford said to me on the bus one day: `Your dad's a miserable son of a gun.' I said: `That's nothing; I've got to go home to him every night."

Jokes aside, Brent admitted playing for his dad was very difficult.

"I didn't want to play because everybody was going to think the only reason I was on the team was because of my dad. Even I wondered if I was there as a spy. It bothered me. But I wasn't going to let my dad down when they called me up. You might have wished for different circumstances. But now, I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Imlach may not have had made much of his own impact in the National Hockey League, but he did in business and then baseball - his dad kept leaving brochures lying around the house, he said. He quit pro hockey to attend the University of Western Ontario's business school. From there he was very successful working for Molson Breweries. He then left to run the Vancouver Canadiens Triple A baseball team as general manager.

Brent continued living in British Columbia's Lower Mainland for many years.

Ken Solheim

The NHL Trade Deadline has become one of the most anticipated events on the NHL calendar. Television and radio stations provide dozens of hours of coverage - often live regardless if there is anything actually going on.

There was not much media coverage back in 1983. Good thing. There was only one trade that trade deadline. The Minnesota North Stars traded two goal scorer Ken Solheim to Detroit in exchange for future considerations.

Detroit actually cancelled the future considerations  and returned Solheim to the North Stars a little more than year later.

Solheim was a big Albertan winger. At six-foot-three and 210 pounds, he was an imposing figure though he was not noted for his physical play.

The Grand Prairie native was more noted as a goal scorer in junior hockey. He starred with the Medicine Hat Tigers and scored 54 and 68 goals in his two seasons in the WHL. That definitely helped him get drafted 30th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1980.

Solheim would only get to play in five games with the Hawks. Even though he scored twice, he was traded to Minnesota in exchange for veteran Glen Sharpley. That trade was hardly insignificant. Sharpley was a solid depth player and Solheim was a promising up and comer.

Solheim would play parts of four seasons with the North Stars. His only full season in the NHL was 1984-85 when he played in 58 contests. He scored eight goals and eighteen points.

Solheim played in the Edmonton Oilers organization in 1985-86 before retiring from the game.

Bob Bergloff

Bob Bergloff may have been born in Dickinson, North Dakota, but he was a proud Minnesotan through and through.

Bergloff played his high school hockey in Bloomington and was a star with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1977 through 1981. He was part of the Gophers national championship team in 1979.

Bergloff went on to turn pro in 1981, beginning a vagabond five year tour of the minor leagues.

Bergloff did get a late Christmas present in 1982. The Minnesota North Stars were desperate for defensemen, thanks to injuries. Brad Maxwell was on the shelf with a groin injury. Fred Barrett's back seized up. And Gary Sargent's banged up knee required surgery.

To help fill the void Bergloff was called up on December 27th. He would get to participate in two games. He never scored a point, though he did into a fight with Detroit's Joe Paterson.

Bergloff extended his playing days by heading overseas in 1986. He played a seasons in Netherlands and a follow up season in Great Britain.

Bergloff returned to Minneapolis in retirement.

Jordy Douglas

Veteran superstar Dave Keon may have been 40 years old by the 1979-80 seasons, but the man could still play.

Just ask Jordy Douglas.

Douglas was a NHL rookie that season, though he got his feet wet with a season in the World Hockey Association the season before, playing with Gordie Howe at times. Douglas had the great fortune to play along side the legendary Keon for much of that first season and Douglas responded with a strong 33 goal, 57 point season.

The Whalers lost more games than they had won, but young Douglas must have been cloud nine. He ranked third on the team in goals scored behind Blaine Stoughton and Mike Rogers, but some of his other teammates including Gordie Howe, Mark Howe and Bobby Hull.

Douglas' season ended prematurely, however. He suffered a broken collarbone in the 77th game of the season, causing him to miss the playoffs.

Though Douglas would play on in the National Hockey League into the 1984-85 season, he never was able to produce at the same rate again. He would score only 43 more times in those five seasons.

Injuries definitely played a role in that. In 1980-81 he suffered a hairline fracture in his foot. The next year he missed most of the campaign with separated shoulder that required surgery.

The former Flin Flon Bombers junior scoring star also played in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

He finished his career in Finland before returning to Manitoba where he worked in the financial services industry. He also coached youth hockey and worked Manitoba Moose radio broadcasts.

Jordy Douglas played in 268 NHL games, scoring 76 goals and 138 points.

Lou Nistico

Leaping Louie Nistico only played three games in the National Hockey League, though the Thunder Bay native did have a long career in pro hockey.

The London Knights junior star was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars 105th overall in 1973, but he was also drafted by the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association.

"I picked the Toros and I think that was greatest time of my life," he said years later. "We had mostly young guys like Pat Hickey, Wayne Dillon and Mark Napier. the next year we added some older players like Carl Brewer and Jim Dorey, but they had more kid in them than anybody."

"We were lucky because we had a good owner in Johnny Bassett. He was one of the few who never missed a pay day and honoured everything."

Yet, like so many teams in the volatile WHA, the Toros could not survived. The team moved to Birmingham, Alabama, of all places, in 1976.

Nistico enjoyed his time with the Baby Bulls. He had his best season with 20 goals and 56 points.

The Bulls traded Nistico to the Edmonton Oilers, but he balked at that move. He decided to retire on return home to Ontario.

Nistico was playing senior hockey when his old coach in Birmingham, Pat Kelly, go a job coaching with the NHL's Colorado Rockies. Kelly convinced Nistico to join him in Colorado, but after three games Nistico had hurt his leg. He decided to retire for good after that.

Nistico played and coached senior hockey for a few years. He played on a Brantford team that reached the Allan Cup finals. He also was part of a team from Welland, Ontario that had the opportunity to tour Austria and Yugoslavia - another highlight of his career.

Nistico later settled in Ottawa where he was a sales manager for a brewery. He also became heavily involved as an executive in a local junior league.

Hilliard Graves

His penalty minute totals never did reflect what a tough and agonizing player Hilliard Graves was to play against.

Graves was a pest. He was a masterful hip checker and often caught opponents by surprise. Sometimes he would get a little too low and dangerously take players out at the knees. Nothing infuriated the other team more.

Graves was a proud Atlantic Canadian. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick but grew up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He was discovered playing junior hockey with the Charlottetown Islanders on Prince Edward Island. He was a good skater who could bring some nice energy to the game but also had some creativity with the puck.

The California Golden Seals took a chance on him, signing him as an undrafted player in 1970. Against long odds and after two years of apprenticing in the minor leagues he became a full time NHLer in 1972-73.

What a rookie season he had! Graves would score 27 times (on only 128 shots) and add 25 assists for 52 points. That was good enough to place him third in Calder voting as the NHL's rookie of the year behind Steve Vickers and Bill Barber.

"He could skate like the wind and was one of the toughest little players' I've ever seen," remembered Reggie Leach.

The next season Graves' production really slipped, due in large part to development of asthma. It took the better part of the season before doctors could properly medicate the problem.

The Seals moved Graves on in 1974, trading him to Atlanta for John Stewart.

Playing out east meant the pesky Graves faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers - aka the Broad Street Bullies - a lot more. One of the players Graves ended up feuding against the most was none other than Dave "The Hammer" Schultz - the Flyers most legendary tough guy.

Despite being greatly undersized in the frequent altercations with "The Hammer," Graves held his own most nights and really earned the respect of the league.

In Graves nine year NHL career his teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs only once. And that was a quick exit out of the 1976 post season, as the Flames were swept in the best of three series.

"It was depressing, always being on a loser, because I considered myself a better-than-average hockey player, "  he said.

If it was any consolation, other NHL coaches agreed with him about his ability to play in the league. In 1976 NHL coaches voted him the best body-checker in the league.

"Larry Robinson and Denis Potvin were runnersup," he said. "That's a nice group to be in. I could really hip-check and the fans loved that, though I never got a whole lot of penalties."

Fans really appreciated it, too. He was always a fan favorite and a popular player everywhere he played.

Graves would play three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks in the late 1970s before making a brief appearance with the Winnipeg Jets in the 1979-80 season. He finished his pro career playing in the minor leagues back home in New Brunswick.

"Obviously you'd rather be in the NHL, but that was a nice way to wind my career down," he said.

After hanging up his skates he returned home to Dartmouth and managed Amca Food Brokers. He also notably raised racing horses and took up tennis.

In 556 NHL games Hilliard Graves scored 118 goals and 281 points while earning a surprisingly low 209 penalty minutes. He was one of the more underrated players of the 1970s.

Dwight Bialowas

Dwight Bialowas was a proud Regina boy who grew up dreaming of playing not only in the National Hockey League, but for the hometown junior heroes with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

Bialowas accomplished both dreams.

The right shooting defenseman with good size and strong outlet passing skills played two seasons with the WHL Pats. Education remained important to him as he had taken some classes at the University of Saskatchewan at the same time.

The Atlanta Flames drafted Bialowas 18th overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. He was selected ahead of notable defenseman like Tom Bladon, Larry Sacharuk, Jim Watson and Jean Hamel.

After spending the first couple of seasons as a pro apprenticing in the minor leagues, Flames' coach Boom Boom Geoffrion gave Bialowas his shot in the 1973-74 season. In the 1974-75 season Geoffrion gave him a full time job, teaming him with fellow youngster Jean Lemieux. Half way through the year, however, he would be traded to Minnesota with Dean Talafous in exchange for Barry Gibbs.

The move turned out to be a good one for Bialowas. He would go on to play in 118 NHL games over the next three seasons and ended up making Minneapolis his home for life. He led all Stars defensemen in scoring in the 1975-76 season with five goals and 23 points.

All told Dwight Bialowas played in 164 NHL games, scoring 11 goals and 57 points.

Bialowas retired in the Minneapolis area and opened up his own electronics shop. He also became a notable high school softball coach.

Gus Marker

Gus Marker was born in Wetaskewin, but there was no hockey team for him to even think about playing until he was 14 years old. At that time a senior team was formed, and Marker, who barely knew how to skate, tried out for the team.

"They just had town teams in those days," he explained. "They had players 35 years old and down."

"Hockey came real natural-like to me," he said.

Two years later he moved to Camrose and really developed his game with some better coaching.

Playing against such older competition allowed Marker to hone his game nicely. He would go on to play in 326 games in the NHL between 1932 and 1942. He scored 64 goals and 69 assists.

Marker originally had to apprentice in the minor leagues in Tulsa and Detroit before getting his NHL shot with the Red Wings late in the 1933 season. He would help the Wings reach the Stanley Cup final against the Black Hawks from Chicago.

He was traded to the Montreal Maroons for the 1934-35 season. He would enjoy four solid seasons with the Maroons, including a Stanley Cup championship in 1935. The Maroons beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in three consecutive games in the final, with Marker scoring the last goal of the series. . Marker scored the last goal of the third game.

"Cy Wentworth stole the puck for us and broke down the ice with Nick Metz chasing him," he recalled. "I was trailing but at the blueline I caught up. Cy passed the puck to me, took Metz out, and I was in all alone on George Hainsworth, the Toronto goalie."

By this time Marker had established himself as one of the hardest workers in the NHL - a "tiger on the ice."

"He'd take the man out and leave the puck for the defenceman. In his day, many people said he was tougher than Gordie Howe," said a long time friend and Ontario Supreme Court Judge Bill Henderson upon Marker's death in 1997

Marker joined the Toronto Maple Leafs shortly after the Maroons disappeared. He would play three seasons and later coach in the Leafs farm system.

He settled in Kingston, Ont., started a ready-mix and concrete-block business and built a subdivision. He had two of the streets named hockey superstars Charlie Conacher and Howie Morenz. He later invested in a farm and an apartment complex.

Marker was never afraid to work, be it on the ice or off of it.

"Hockey was a decent-enough living, but a fellow couldn't just lay around in summer waiting for the next season to start. You took off your skates and went to work doing something or other."

He was also known to pan for gold in northern Quebec and work on a steamboat in the Northwest Territories. Another time he purchased two train cars full of porridge and repackaged them as his own cereal.

Today Gus Marker is remembered with a trophy in his name honouring the top amateur athlete in the Kingston area.

Randy Rota

Randy Rota was the 33rd overall draft pick in 1970 by the California Seals, only to be traded to the Montreal Canadiens before turning professional. Randy - a cousin of NHLer Darcy Rota - became an even higher touted prospect after a spectacular AHL playoff series with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1973.

The Creston, British Columbia native not surprisingly had a tough time cracking the deep Montreal lineup, but was a top player in their minor league system. Twice he scored 30+ goals and was a playoff hero in each of his two seasons on the farm. In his final stint with Nova Scotia he was on fire, leading all AHL playoff goal getters with 10 in 13 contests. Rota even got his first two games of NHL action under his belt in 1972-73, and registered his first goal and first assist while playing on a line with famous brothers Peter and Frank Mahovlich.

The Los Angeles Kings offered the Habs a deal they couldn't when they offered a 1st round draft pick in exchange for Rota and another spare part in Montreal, cagey Bob Murdoch. That first round pick turned out to be long time NHLer Mario Tremblay.

The deal would haunt LA for years to come. Rota never panned out. After coming in with some fanfare, Rota scored just 10 times in 58 games in Hollywood. He was left off the team's protected list for the 1974 expansion draft.

Refusing to write off Rota's promise because of one poor season, the expansion Kansas City Scouts took a chance on the diminutive center and left winger. However the gamble never paid off for the Scouts either. Rota gave the Scouts two full seasons, scoring 27 goals and 59 points in that time, but was also a combined -77!

The Scouts moved the entire franchise to Denver and became known as the Colorado Rockies, but aside from one game, Rota was not included. He was temporarily demoted to the minors before a trade sent him to the WHA Edmonton Oilers. Rota finished out his career with 93 games over two years in the Alberta capital, scoring just 17 goals and 45 points.

Randy scored 38 goals and 77 points in 212 NHL games, and added 1 assists in 5 NHL post season games.

Randy relocated to Kamloops, BC in retirement and worked in the insurance industry.

From 1963: Rocket Says Howe Is Best

I found this Globe and Mail article from 1963. In it Rocket Richard concedes Gordie Howe was the best player in the previous fifteen years.

Murph Chamberlain

Murph Chamberlain always worked hard, whether it was on the ice or on his farm.

Erwin "Murph" Chamberlain was a ferocious backchecker and excellent penalty killer. "Old Hardrock" was a regular on the NHL scene from 1937 through to 1949.

But Chamberlain also had a reputation as wild hothead.

He, as Dick Irvin more than once called him, as "a real stirrer-upper." He was an incessant talker. One reporter described him as "a man of a 1000 words without much provocation." Those constant arguments came back to haunt him from time to time. He recalled one story where he was waiting in a hospital with a nasty skate to his foot while some of the staff kept buys by arguing among themselves if he was the dirtiest player in the game.

He was also tough as nails, but sometimes his temper got the best of him. He was once suspended for throwing his stick at a linesman. Another time he actually fought a PA announcer. He earned a hefty $50 for that shenanigan.

After a successful amateur career which included an Allan Cup victory with Sudbury in 1937, Chamberlain broke in with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1937-38. Though he proved to be a very capable contributor, his temper and antics did not sit well with Leafs boss Conn Smythe. Smythe moved him to Montreal in 1940.

Though he would have brief appearances with Boston and Brooklyn, Chamberlain would be best known as a Montreal Canadiens player. He would have strong playoffs in 1944 and 1946. Montreal won the Stanley Cup both times.

Chamberlain once explained his role on the Habs star checking line.

"Getliffe (Ray), Watson (Phil) and myself always took the other team's best line. That left you and Elmer (Lach) and the Rocket to score the goals and take the bows."

A broken leg really slowed Chamberlain and eventually forced him out of the game by 1949. He would turn to coaching. He would guide the Chatham Maroons to an Allan Cup championship in 1959-60.

Chamberlain maintained a farm south of Beachville, Ontario and a paper distribution business in London, Ontario. He was said to have worked 12 hour days every day right up until his death on the farm in 1986. A heart attack claimed Chamberlain at the age of 72.

In 510 career NHL games Murph Chamberlain scored 100 goals and 275 points.  He will forever go down as one of the most underrated players in Montreal Canadiens history.

Kilby MacDonald

There probably not a lot of hockey fans out there nowadays that know the name Kilby MacDonald. But there was a time when Kilby MacDonald was the brightest young hockey player in the National Hockey League.

The Ottawa left winger had joined the New York Rangers for the 1939-40 season and helped the Blueshirts win the Stanley Cup. Backed by a 15 goal, 28 point regular season campaign, MacDonald beat out Toronto's Wally Stanowski and Chicago's Doug Bentley as the winner of the 1940 Calder Trophy as the National Hockey's Rookie of the Year.

MacDonald's offensive production would slip in his second season. Then, like so many NHLer players at that time, his NHL career was put on hold as served in the Canadian military. He was stationed in Montreal where he was able to continue playing in a senior league.

Unlike a lot of NHLers who served in the war, MacDonald did find his NHL job waiting for him when he got his release. He played two more seasons for the Rangers, but was never quite the same player he was in his rookie season.

One newspaper source suggested MacDonald suffered from some sort of continual stomach discomfort.

His career totals feature 36 goals and 70 points in 151 games.

"Kibby was the quiet type," said former. "He wasn't a loner ... just never had as much to say as us mouthy people.

"I remember congratulating him on the Calder, saying it was quite an honor. All he said was that, yes, it was a good feat. Hell, if I had finished 15th in the voting I would have been jumping over the moon. He was just one great, quiet individual - very unassuming. "

MacDonald spent many years after hockey working for Labatt's Brewery. He and his brother Ab spent many hours helping to promote local sports.

" He and his brother were around the Auditorium all the time as kids, " said former Journal sports editor Bill Westwick. " Everybody had high regard for Kibby - that was the part of his character that stood out with everybody - that he was such a nice guy. "

Kilby MacDonald spent more and more time in the warm comfort of sunny Florida as he got older. He would pass away in Seminole, Florida in 1986. He was 72 years old.

Charlie Sands

A native of Fort William, Ontario, Charlie Sands was a center and right winger with four NHL teams.

In total Sands played in 431 NHL contests in the 1930s and early 1940s. He scored 99 goals and

The speedy Sands signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1932, though he did not join the big club until the following year. His big break was a season ending shoulder injury to Leafs star Ace Bailey.

Sands impressed in his debut. Globe and Mail sports editor M. J. Rodden described Sands as "a conscientious, hard working player who packs quite a bit of weight" who may "prove himself just the man the Leafs need in this time of trial."

Sands did well playing three games and collecting three assists. It earned him a full season with the Leafs in 1933-34 where he collected eight goals and eight assists in a full season.

After just one season with the Leafs Sands was traded to the Boston Bruins where he enjoyed five solid seasons. Three times he challenged the 20 goal mark three times. He would win a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 1939.

Sands joined the Montreal Canadiens in in 1939 for four seasons after a trade for Herb Cain. He enjoyed four solid seasons as a support player in Montreal.

He would wind up his career with a few games for the New York Rangers.

In 1944 Sands hockey career took an unexpected turn. He ended up in California, playing and coaching for several teams - most notably the Hollywood Wolves.

And, yes, he did complete the Hollywood dream. Sands appeared in the 1946 Hollywood movie production called "Gay Blades." It was a story about a big league hockey star who is scouted by a Hollywood movie company who wants him to star in their movie. No, Sands was not the star of this show. The lead actor was a fellow named Allan Lane. Sands, along with former NHLers Bob Gracie, Ossie Asmundson and Bud Cook, all played background roles for the on-ice scenes.
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Sands remained in California and was employed at the famous Hollywood Bowl at the time of his early death in 1953. He was just 42 years old.

In 2011 Charlie Sands nephew Jim Sands created a critically acclaimed one-man theatre show called Charlie: A Hockey Story.

Flashback: Tretiak Wanted To Play For Montreal

From the February 14th, 1992 edition of the Vancouver Sun:

Vladislav Tretiak says he always wanted to play for the Montreal Canadiens but was forced to lie because of pressure from the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation.

Tretiak, now a hockey commentator for Russian television at the Olympics, said he was severely reprimanded after he mentioned on one Soviet tour he would like to play for Montreal one day.

The Canadiens held his draft rights.

"I told them I was misquoted by western journalists," Tretiak said. "After that I always said I belong to the Soviet people and would finish my career with the Red Army team. You understand I was not telling the truth.

"I would have loved to have played in Montreal. That is my city."

Here is my full Vladislav Tretiak profile

The Paul Whiteman Trophy

In the 1998-1999 season the NHL finally recognized its leading goal scorer in honour of the late great Rocket Richard.

But did you know the NHL previously had an award the top goal getter?

That is Paul Whiteman, handing over the Paul Whiteman trophy to 1928-29 goal scoring leader Ace Bailey. He scored 22 times that season.

Who was Paul Whiteman? Apparently he was an at-the-time famous bandleader. None other than Duke Ellington declared Whiteman to be the "King of Jazz."

How Whiteman got connected with hockey is a mystery. But it was short-lived, probably a publicity stunt. The Paul Whiteman trophy was never again handed out. Bailey kept the trophy. It can now be seen at the Bracebridge Sports Hall of Fame in Bailey's hometown.

Interestingly, the NHL also had the "Greyhound Cup" given to the league MVP. Little is known about this trophy but it appears to have been a corporate ploy in direct competition with the already established Hart Trophy.

Larry Molyneaux

In the fall of 1938 Lester Patrick of the New York Rangers replaced defenseman Joe Cooper with a pair of raw rookies.

One was rugged Larry Molyneaux. The other was Patrick's son, Murray.

Yeah, you know how this story played out already.

Murray, universally known as Muzz, would join his brother Lynn and become a New York Rangers mainstay over the next three seasons before service in World War II interrupted his promising career.

Molyneaux would play just that one season in the NHL before disappearing to the minor leagues. He was used sparingly at that, picking up just one lonely assist in 43 games.

Both rookie defensemen made brief debuts the previous season with the Rangers. Due to injuries to Butch Keeling and Art Coulter, both would continue to play with the minor league Philadelphia Ramblers and, for a couple of games each, the Rangers. Both ended up playing a stretch of seven hockey games in just nine days!

But both obviously acquitted themselves quite well, prompting the Rangers to move Cooper to make room for the new recruits.

While Patrick was clearly a NHL caliber defenseman, Molyneaux was likely just as good. He had been lauded as one of the top defense prospects in the game from the time he turned pro in 1932.

Obs Heximer

Obs Heximer was a junior star in Niagara Falls when the New York Rangers came calling. They were able to sign him in 1929 to a two year contract reportedly totalling $11,000 - a significant sum for any junior player in that era.

Heximer may have been a goal scoring star in junior but not so much at the NHL level - at least not right away. He would only play in 19 games over those two seasons, and scored only one goal. Yet in the minor leagues with the Springfield Indians Heximer was a scoring star who led the team to a championship.

In 1931 Heximer ruffled feathers when he held out in a contract dispute with the Rangers' boss Lester Patrick. The dispute made headlines when Heximer attempted to play a charity game with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Patrick blocked the move.

The Rangers were reportedly trying to force Heximer to take a bit of a pay cut, as they regretted their decision to pay him so handsomely out of Niagara Falls. Heximer balked at this, of course. The issue was not fully resolved until the summer of 1932 when the Rangers sold Heximer to the Boston Bruins for a reported $10,000.

Heximer played the full 1932-33 season with the Bruins, scoring seven goals and twelve points.

Heximer would find himself back in the minor leagues for the following two seasons before resurfacing in the NHL with the New York Americans for 18 games in 1934-35.

Though he would continue playing professional hockey until the end of the decade, that was the end of Heximer's line at the NHL level.

Heximer returned to Niagara Falls and coached senior hockey.

Orville Heximer passed away on July 16th, 1988. He was 78 years old.

Melville Vail

Melville Vail - known in hockey circles as "Sparky" Vail - may have come across as a polite, unassuming fellow off the ice.

But on the ice he had his moments where his temper got the best of him.

Take one night in 1935. While playing with the Cleveland Falcons in the minor leagues, he and Earl Roche of Detroit were each fined a hefty $15 for brawling in the penalty box!

The fight actually cost Vail a lot more than that. He aggravated a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the season and missed more than a few games as a result.

This incident came pretty late in Vail's career. He was in his ninth of ten seasons as a professional hockey player. He mostly bumped around the minor leagues, but did get into a total of 50 games in the National Hockey League, too.

The defenseman played parts of two seasons with the New York Rangers. In 1928-29 he debuted and played 18 games. He even scored three goals and participated in six playoff games.

In 1929-30 he returned for the majority of the season, skating in 32 contests, plus four more in the playoffs. This time around he added one more goal and his only career assist. He suffered a concussion in a scary hit with Sailor Herberts, though it was Herberts who ended up missing action with a shoulder injury.

The Rangers cut him loose after that season, securing a new home for him with the minor league Providence Reds.

It was a disappointing ending of Vail's NHL dream. At one time more than a few people expected him to become a NHL star. The Meaford, Ontario boy was a junior star in North Bay. He was known as a great skater and puck carrier - something of a rarity among defensemen back in those days. The knock on his game was that he wasn't great defensively.

After retiring as a pro in 1936, Vail ended up back in Toronto. He played senior hockey through the 1940s and got a job as a tinsmith and he stayed active in hockey, be it with youth teams or at oldtimers' events.

Sparky Vail passed away in 1983 after suffering from Alzheimer's.

Ralph Taylor

Ever since day on in the history of the National Hockey League, teams and coaches have been looking for physical defensemen.

In that regard Ralph Taylor's reputation preceded him. Off the ice he was said to be a soft spoken man but at the rink his unceremonious nickname reflected his play - Bouncer.

Now this Bouncer was not overly big. He stood five-foot-nine and weighed 180 pounds, which as an average size for hockey back in the 1920s. His penalty minute totals were, shall we say, healthy. In 99 career NHL games he spent 165 minutes in the penalty box.

Taylor may have played 99 games in the National Hockey League (scoring four goals and five points) with the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but the Toronto native was better known in the state of Missouri.

Following his NHL days Taylor had a long tenure in the minor leagues in both Kansas City and St. Louis. After leaving the professional game as a skater he devoted himself to coaching and developing hockey in the St. Louis area at all levels - professional, junior, amateur and youth. As a coach he was said to be almost too nice, and stress passing and team work.

Taylor also worked off and on at a local sporting goods store. He also worked radio broadcasts of the old St. Louis Flyers games when he was not coaching them.

Art Lesieur

Art Lesieur had a surname fit for "The Flying Frenchmen," but the defenseman was actually from Fall River, Massachusetts. 

Yet for a player who played in 100 NHL games back around the 1930s, very little is known about Mr. Lesieur.

Lesieur broke into the NHL in the 1928-29 season, playing two games with the Chicago Black Hawks. He was soon traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Bert McCaffrey.

The rookie did not get very much ice time over the next few seasons, though he did get into a total of 98 games with the Habs. 

Number 16 did step in nicely in the spring of 1931. With Battleship Leduc out with an injury, the broad-shouldered Lesieur assumed a regular role in helping Montreal win the Stanley Cup.

Described as a fast skater and a deadly bodychecker. 

Nick Wasnie

Winnipeger Nick Wasnie was a hockey trailblazer in more than one way.

Most notably, Wasnie was the first player of Ukrainian descent to play in the National Hockey League. A long list of such hockey talent would soon follow - Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower, Bill Mosienko, to name a few - as Canada's prairie provinces had a large Ukrainian population.

Wasnie was also believed to have been the first player in NHL history to wear the number 13. The number was anything but unlucky for him.

Wasnie, who wore the number previously with the Winnipeg Maroons, was a forward with the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1927-28 season when he wore #13 for a few games - some sources say 14, most say 15 and some say 16. All the sources agree that he did not get much ice time but he did manage to score his first NHL goal. No other Black Hawk player would wear 13 again until the turn of the century.

Wasnie soon moved to Montreal, switching to number 14 and finding regular employment. From 1929 through 1932. He was often the forgotten winger of the Montreal's dynamic top line featuring superstars Howie Morenz and Aurel Joliat.

Those two may have lit up the scoreboard night in and night out and got all the glory, but Wasnie was no slouch either. Described as a skilled stickhandler with a powerful shot, Wasnie scored 31 goals and 56 points in his time in Montreal. He also contributed six goals and eleven points in a combined 16 playoff games to help Montreal win back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1930 and 1931.

Wasnie would play full seasons with the New York Americans and then the Ottawa Senators in 1932-33 and 1933-34, respectively. He moved with the Senators when the franchise relocated to St. Louis in 1934-35, though he only appeared in - ironically enough - 13 games.

Wasnie continued playing in the minor leagues until the end of the decade, most notably with the Kansas City Greyhounds of the American Hockey Association.

Wasnie split his post-hockey days between Manitoba and Minnesota.

A Few Changes

GreatestHockeyLegends.com will be undergoing a few changes this summer. Please keep visiting for continued interesting features and stay tuned for some exciting announcements.

I have also established Joe Pelletier Hockey Research Services as an independent business and am currently working for the Canadian Museum of History as well as several authors and publishers.

Trevor Linden's Rookie Diary

The Vancouver Canucks, like most teams, recently concluded their prospects camp. It gives a chance for management and coaches to look at a bunch of wide eyed kids, most of whom will never truly make it in the NHL.

There was never any question that Trevor Linden, a junior superstar drafted 2nd overall back in 1988, was always destined to star in the league. But like all 18 year olds at their first NHL training camps, he was every bit as wide eyed himself. Perhaps he thinks back to those days as he watches these kids now.

I found this while searching through the archives. It is the diary, as published in the Vancouver Sun, of rookie Trevor Linden way back in 1988. It's a pretty neat look into Linden's mindset so many years ago. He discusses his acceptance with his new teammates, his admiration for Bobby Clarke and the Sutters, and having to cook steaks for all of the players in training camp!

Sept 12th, 1988: I was nervous coming in, not knowing what to expect. But now I'm learning to treat it like just another camp. It's just a matter of settling down and playing my game.

My biggest concern coming to camp was my weight. I weighed about 183 after we won the Memorial Cup (with Medicine Hat Tigers) but I really worked hard this summer, lifting weights, to put on some more muscle. I came to camp at about 200.

Any time you put on substantial weight like that you've got to be a little concerned. Will I be as quick with the extra bulk?

I feel good now because I don't think I gave up anything. I can handle the pace and I'm happy with my play along the walls (boards). I want to show the management here that I can play it both ways - either a grinding game or a skating game.

The pace here is a lot faster than in junior, but about the same as in the world junior tournament (Linden played on the Canadian team that won the gold medal). The biggest difference is everyone is so much bigger. It's the difference betwen men and boys. The defencemen are a lot stronger and they hold you up more.

They've got me playing on a line with Rob Murphy (a centre, who was the Canucks' first draft pick in 1987) and Todd Hawkins is playing the left side. I don't know why that was done, but I think we're working well together. I know Rob can play because we were at the world junior training camp together last month (in Kitchener, Ont.)

Sept 13th, 1988:I have no idea what the coaches and management think of the way I'm playing, but I expect that's normal. With more than 70 guys in camp, they don't have time to talk to everyone.

We've had five scrimmages in three days, so we're all pretty tired. But I'm looking forward to playing against the veterans for a change. The pace will be a lot faster and I'll get a chance to learn more.

Training camp is tiring work. We're up at six a.m. for breakfast, a stretch at 7 and we're on the ice at 8. I try to catch an hour of sleep sometime during the day, so I can be ready for the next session. No matter how tired you are, you have to be ready to go.

We're supposed to be in bed by 12 but there's no way I can stay up that long. Last night I had a soak in the hot tub and I was in bed before 10.

We had a motivational meeting with a sports psychologist (Dr. Lee Pulos) for a couple of hours Monday afternoon. He talked to us about visualization, keeping a positive attitude, that sort of thing. I'm really into that mental stuff. I think it's very important. So much about this game is attitude. If you can prepare yourself mentally, it's half the battle.

Sept 14th, 1988: It took me a little while to adjust to a different pace against the NHL guys. The first period I was a little behind. But we got better in the second and by the third period I think our line was playing pretty well.

The first three days were like playing in junior. The play was a lot more scrambly and you had time to float. But you can't float against these guys (NHL players). They're on you before you know it. The rink seems tighter. They move the puck better. Everything is so much faster.

Everybody is here to win a job. There is competition and fights because those things happen. But everyone gets along pretty well.

You might think the veterans wouldn't associate much with the rookies, but that's not the case. If there are any questions, they're there to answer them.

After the first period, Doug Lidster took me aside and gave me some advice on how to pick up my man when the other team is coming out of their zone. He told me it's better to pressure them in their own zone before they get going, rather than waiting for them to come out. I'm here to learn and I appreciate things like that.

The veterans have all been great. They've included the rookies in everything. Garth Butcher took three of us out to dinner last night. Richie Sutter took me out the night before. They've made me feel like a Vancouver Canuck from the start.

Sept 15th, 1988: I'm from Alberta (Medicine Hat), so I'm used to eating lots of beef. But this is the first time I've had to cook my own steak. Usually I just say, 'Dad. I'll have mine medium rare.'

They picked me and two other rookies, Carl Valimont and Steve Johnson, to handle the cooking. Steaks for 70 players, plus the coaches, scouts, trainers and managers!

At least I got to eat a couple of them. I'm a really big eater. My metabolism is so high I can put away a lot of food and not gain an ounce.

We've got one more day of training camp before our first exhibition game and I think everyone is looking forward to the end of camp. Camp is fine, but now you want to get out there and play.

The pace doesn't seem so fast now as it was at the beginning of the week. I'm getting used to it. Still, Wednesday wasn't one of my better days. I just didn't seem to get much done. You have your good days and your bad days. No one can be magic all the time.

It doesn't look like Gretzky will be playing (in Duncan). But our line (Linden, Rob Murphy and Todd Hawkins) will probably be going up against guys like Luc Robitaille and Bernie Nicholls, so it will really be a test. You can't stand around in awe looking at those guys and expect to get anything done. I'm trying to treat it like just another game. But, of course, that's easier said than done.

Sept 16th, 1988:All my life I've worn only two numbers - 16, because that was the number Bobby Clarke, my favorite player, wore - and No. 9, after I got to junior. I guess every player has a special number he'd like to have. But, look. I'm just happy to have a sweater! I'll take any number they give me. Besides, it's the player who makes the number, not the other way around. It was Clarke who made No. 16 great.

The thing about Clarke I always admired was the way he worked. He never stopped trying. It's the same with the Sutters.

When I was a growing up in Medicine Hat, Richie, Ron and Brent Sutter played junior for Lethbridge, only about two hours' drive away. Of course, I was a real Tigers' fan and I used to hate Lethbridge. I didn't like 'em at all. But even if I wanted them to lose, I always liked watching the Sutters play. They just wouldn't quit. Sometimes they'd just beat the Tigers by themselves.

I guess it's kind of funny that I ended up playing here with one. There are a lot of players who've made an impression on me this week. I guess, because I admire players who work as hard as Bobby Clarke did, that the guy I've watched the most is Richie Sutter.

He goes hard. He's going all the time, even when he's playing with a sore back and he isn't at his best. That's the kind of player I want to be.

Sept 17th, 1988 (following Linden's first exhibition game against Los Angeles, in Duncan BC): For me, it was no big deal that Gretzky didn't play. I was already nervous enough. I admit I was a little bit in awe out there.

I started out tentatively and some of the veterans like Tony Tanti and Barry Pederson helped me to settle down. They didn't say anything unusual. They told me not to try and do too much and just play my own game. So I just tried to do the things I've done that got me here - go after the puck, hound the puck carrier, play physical.

Bob McCammon showed a lot of faith in us by playing us in key situations, on the power play and late in overtime when there was a faceoff in the Kings' end. It was a boost for our confidence.

Early in the game, he put five of us (rookies) out on the power play and Rob (Murphy) scored on a slap shot from the slot. Rob had a really big game. He was breaking away in the second period when Ron Duguay tripped him. They put us out on the power play again. I had a good chance to score in close on Doug Keans, but I lifted the puck too high.

Defensively, I wasn't all that happy with the way I played. A couple of times I let the point man slip past me because I turned my back to him. But I'm learning. I feel that in every game, scrimmage or workout I've picked up something that's going to help me improve.

Les Douglas

Les Douglas, known to his fans as either Dead-Eye Douglas, Dynamite Douglas or The Perth Bullet, was born in Perth, Ontario in 1918. He was the fifth of six children of the vice-president of a local mill.


It was in picturesque Perth that Douglas became a notable junior hockey star. This was especially evident in 1937 when he implausibly led the Perth Blue Wings on a bid for the Memorial Cup as Canada's junior champions. Perth eventually bowed to Oshawa in the semifinal, but scouts definitely noticed Douglas. How could they not? He scored 27 goals and 45 points in just 12 games!

Les Douglas, described as "a hard-nosed, playmaking centreman" won no fewer than six professional hockey scoring titles in the 1940s and 1950s. Yet he could only crack a NHL lineup 52 times in his lengthy career.

In 1949-50 Douglas was the obvious choice as American Hockey League MVP as he paced the Cleveland Barons with 100 points - then a nearly unthinkable scoring accomplishment. Carl Liscombe, a couple of AHL seasons earlier, was the first and only other player in pro hockey history to crack the century mark.

Despite his lack of time in the NHL, Douglas did earn a Stanley Cup ring with Detroit in the spring of 1943. He had made a strong late season impression with 13 points in 21 games. That earned him a regular spot in the Wings playoff line up, where he continued to score with three goals and eight points in ten post season contest. 

For his efforts Douglas not only got to hoist the Stanley Cup but he was given a traditional Stanley Cup championship ring to commemorate the achievement. Unfortunately for Douglas he lost his in his backyard garden in Kingston. 

Unfortunately Douglas' NHL career was quickly put on hold thanks to World War II. He spent two years in the Canadian Army, and when he returned tot he Red Wings in 1945, his spot had been filled. 

Douglas continued to dominate at the minor league level, always ranking near the top of the scoring race. He returned to the NHL for a 12 game cameo in 1946-47.

After turning 35 Douglas retired from pro hockey and tried his hand as a playing-coach in senior hockey in Sarnia and then Kingston.

Douglas would settle in Kingston, working for Alcan for many years. He would always remain active on the local hockey scene by coaching and organizing minor hockey. 

Cancer would claim Les Douglas life in 2002. He was 83 years old.