Goals – Frank Banham
Banham exploded for 83 goals in 1995-96, his fourth of four
years with the Blades. Frank finished the season 152 points in 72 games. He led
the league in goals with twenty more than the runner-up, Jarome Iginla of the
Kamloops Blazers. His point total placed him second to teammate Mark Deyell.
Deyell recorded 159 points on a Saskatoon team with the fourth worst record in
the WHL with just 59 points.
Frank was drafted into the National Hockey League after just
his first year in the WHL. He was taken in the sixth round of the 1993 NHL
Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, 147th overall. In total,
Banham played 32 games in the NHL between 1996-97 and 2002-03 with the Anaheim
Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes.
Banham has been in Europe since 2004-05, playing in Russia,
Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden. He played the 2012-13 season with Szekesfehervar
of Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) and will play with the club again
in 2013-14.
Assists – Bruce Eakin
Soft handed Eakin assisted on 125 goals in 1981-82. He also
scored 42 goals of his own to total 167 points in 66 games with the Blades.
Bruce was responsible for two of his teammates, Marc Habscheid and Todd
Strueby, both scoring over 60 goals that year. It was his second of two years
with Saskatoon and Eakin led the WHL in assists while finishing third in the
league for points.
Bruce went into the 1981-82 season a prospect of the Calgary
Flames. He was selected in the tenth round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by
Calgary, 204th overall. He ended up playing 13 games in the National
Hockey League with the Flames and Detroit Red Wings. Eakin played in Europe
from 1987-88 until retiring after the 1998-99 season. He appeared on teams in
Finland, Germany and England.
Points – Bernie Federko
In his third of three seasons with Saskatoon, 1975-76,
Bernie scored 72 goals and assisted on 115 for a team record 187 points in 72
games. He led the league in points and was awarded the Brownridge Trophy for
his efforts. The Brownridge was renamed the Bob Clarke
Trophy in 1987, in honour of the Flin Flon Bombers and Philadelphia Flyers
legend.
Federko was popular at hockey drafts following his 1975-76
offensive outburst. The St. Louis Blues chose him seventh overall at the 1976
NHL Amateur Draft and the Edmonton Oilers chose him sixth overall at the 1976
WHA Amateur Draft. Of course, he took the NHL route.
After playing half of his first year of pro hockey with the
Kansas City Blues of the Central
Hockey League, earning rookie of the year honours, Federko became a regular
star with the St. Louis Blues and never looked back. He played exactly 1,000
NHL regular season games in a career that spanned from 1976-77 to 1989-90.
His entire career was spent with the Blues, with exception
of his last, which was in a Detroit Red Wings jersey. You couldn’t fault the
Blues for trading him. Federko and Tony McKegney went to Michigan for Paul MacLean and Adam Oates. MacLean was in the twilight of his career but Oates
became a superstar for the Blues, forming a dynamic duo with Brett Hull. Oates
is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame with Federko. Both Oates and MacLean were
head coaches in the NHL in 2012-13.
Bernie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
His jersey number 15 is retired by the Saskatoon Blades. His number 24 is
retired by the St. Louis Blues.
