3 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg Retired Numbers

The Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nurnberg have played in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga since the 1995-96 season. The team has yet to win a championship but reached the finals in 1998-99 and 2006-07. The Ice Tigers play home games at the Arena Nurnberger Versicherung in Nurnbert, Germany, an 8,300 seat venue that opened in 2001. The team has retired the numbers of three players over their history.

4 – Martin Mueller

Mueller played for the team in their pre-DEL days and when they were known as EHC 80 Nurnberg. Martin played for the club from 1984-85 to 1991-92 and helped the team get promoted from the tier 3 Oberliga to the tier 2 2.Bundesliga for the 1987-88 season.

Martin played pro hockey from 1980-81 to 1993-94, all in Germany. Previous to that, he played for West Germany at the 1978 IIHF World Hockey Championships, held in Montreal and Quebec City in Canada. Over six games, he scored four and assisted on two. West Germany finished seventh out of eight teams in the tournament. That year, the Soviet Union won gold, Sweden won silver and Canada won bronze with Wayne Gretzky leading the tournament in scoring.

In his first year of pro, Mueller scored 56 and assisted on 36 for 92 points over 43 games with ERC Freiburg of the 2.Bundesliga. He finished seventh in the league for goals and eight for points. The team was led in scoring by Murray Heatley, father of current NHLer Dany Heatley.

Two years later in the Oberliga, Martin scored 64 and assisted on 46 for 110 points over just 33 games for SV Bayreuth. He placed third for goals, seventh for assists and third for points. His performance helped Bayreuth move up to the 2.Bundesliga for 1983-84. His offensive leadership continued with the team’s promotion. In 1983-84, he scored 77 goals and assisted on 34 for 111 points over 45 games. He finished second in the league in goals. Mueller was teammates with Jiri Crha that year. Crha was the number one goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a dreadful 1980-81 NHL season.

Over his career, Mueller played 236 regular season games in the 2.Bundesliga, scoring 242 and assisting on 149 for 391 points. Over 110 games in the Oberliga, Martin scored 195 and assisted on 151 for 346 points.

7 – Paul Geddes

A native of Prince George, British Columbia, Geddes played in Germany from 1989-90 to 1997-98 in the 2.Bundesliga and DEL. Paul played for EHC 80 Nurnberg in the 2.Bundesliga for 1992-93 and 1993-94. He jumped to the DEL with the team for 1994-95 and played for the renamed Ice Tigers for two more seasons, 1995-96 and 1996-97.

Geddes played CIAU hockey for the University of Calgary from 1983-84 to 1986-87. In Germany, he played 206 games in the 2.Bundesliga, scoring 220 and assisting on 191 for 411 points. In the DEL, Paul played 184 regular season games, scoring 73 and assisting on 89 for 162 points.

In 1991-92 with TSV Peissenberg in the 2.Bundesliga, Geddes scored 57 and assisted on 54 for 111 points over 47 games. He finished third in goals, tied for eighth in assists and fourth in points. The following year, he moved over to Nurnberg and finished fourth in the 2.Bundesliga with 44 goals. In 1993-94, he once again finished fourth in the league, this time with 45 goals.

12 – Martin Jiranek

From Bashaw, Alberta, Jiranek played university hockey in the NCAA with Bowling Green State from 1988-89 to 1991-92. The prospect of the Washington Capitals put in three years in the American Hockey League with the Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates before moving to Europe.

After a year in Austria and a year in Italy, Martin settled in with the Ice Tigers. He played with Nurnberg from 1996-97 to 2003-04. His DEL totals include 537 regular season games, with 179 goals and 263 assists for 442 points. Over 74 playoff games, he added 23 goals and 40 points.

In 1998-99, Jiranek scored 24 and assisted on 45 for 69 points over 47 DEL games. He tied for tenth in the league for goals and placed second for assists. Two years later, he was a DEL All-Stars with the Ice Tigers in 2000-01. Currently, Martin is in his second year as Sports Manager for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.

 

NHL Hockey Trivia: Denis Potvin

Denis Potvin was to be the next Bobby Orr when picked by the New York Islanders in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. Although not quite achieving the greatness of Orr, Potvin’s career went down as one of the greatest ever for a defenseman.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Islanders great, Denis Potvin, with the following four hockey trivia questions.

Q. In what year did Denis Potvin become only the second defenseman in NHL history to surpass 100 points in a single regular season?

A. Potvin contributed 101 points in 1978-79 for the New York Islanders while missing seven games. Denis became the second defenseman to accomplish the feat with Bobby Orr being the first. Just Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis and Brian Leetch have reached the plateau since.

Q. What Ontario Hockey League team’s record does Denis Potvin still hold for most points by a defenseman in a single season?

A. Potvin had 35 goals and 88 assists for 123 points in just 61 games in 1972-73 for the Ottawa 67’s. The total stood as an OHL record until Bryan Fogarty had 155 with the Niagara Falls Thunder in 1988-89.

Q. The New York Islanders retired number 5 in honour of Denis Potvin in 1992. His number is also retired by the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, however it is not number 5. Which number is retired by the Ottawa 67’s in honour of Potvin?

A. Denis Potvin wore number 7 with the Ottawa 67’s and that is the number that is retired for Denis, as well as Doug Wilson. When Potvin arrived with the Islanders for the 1973-74 season, despite being the first overall pick, he lost number seven to Germain Gagnon who was in his second season with the Islanders and was therefore the veteran. Gagnon made it 62 games into the season before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Potvin could have reclaimed the jersey number but chose to stick with number 5. Gagnon made it two more seasons in the NHL before retiring with the Kansas City Scouts after the 1975-76 season.

Q. To this day, in which NHL arena will you hear the chant, “Potvin Sucks”?

A. Of course, Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Rangers when the Islanders cross the river to play their rivals. Some people still have the nerve to argue that Toronto and Montreal have the most heated rivalry in the NHL. It just doesn’t compare to the hatred that Islanders and Rangers fans have for each other.

Bonus: Denis Potvin won the Max Kaminsky Trophy twice, 1971-72 and 1972-73, as the Ontario Hockey League’s top defenseman. He also won the James Norris Trophy three times as the NHL’s top defenseman.

Potvin is one of just three players to win the Kaminsky Trophy on more than one occasion. The other two are Bryan Berard and Ryan Ellis. There are also just three players that have won both the Kaminsky Trophy and Norris Trophy. The other two are Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Johnny Bucyk

Johnny Bucyk was a long-time Boston Bruins star that was an integral part of the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ era of the early 1970’s. Although, we’ll find out, Bucyk was not a regular in the penalty box like many of his teammates. Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Johnny Bucyk with the following four trivia questions.

Q. What was Johnny Bucyk’s first National Hockey League team?

A. Bucyk played his first two seasons in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. Before the 1957-58 season began, Johnny was traded to the Bruins for the legendary goaltender, Terry Sawchuk. Bucyk played the rest of his NHL career with Boston, retiring after the 1977-78 season. In 1955-56, Johnny played 38 games for the Red Wings, scoring one goal and totalling nine points. In 1956-57, he became a regular, appearing in 66 games, scoring ten goals and totalling 21 points.

As for Sawchuk, he was returned to Detroit, a team that traded him to Boston just before Bucyk started his National Hockey League career.

Q. With a career total of just 497 minutes in penalties over 1540 regular season games, how many times did the gentleman Johnny Bucyk win the Lady Byng Trophy?

A. Bucyk won the Lady Byng as the most gentlemanly player in 1970-71 and again in 1973-74. In each season, Johnny totalled just eight minutes in penalties with the Bruins. In two other seasons in which Bucyk played nearly a full schedule did he sit less than ten minutes in the box. In 1967-68, Johnny received four minor penalties over 72 games, yet Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks was awarded the Lady Byng with 14 PIM. In 1971-72, Bucyk sat just four minutes in the penalty box while playing the full 78 game schedule but the Lady Byng went to Jean Ratelle of the New York Rangers who spent an equal time in the sin bin.

Q. What jersey number was retired by the Boston Bruins in honour of Johnny Bucyk?

A. After his final season, 1977-78, the Bruins hung number 9 from the rafters of the Boston Garden in honour of the player that wore it for 21 seasons. Of course, in his first two years in the NHL, Bucyk did not wear number 9. As a member of the Detroit Red Wings, that number was already taken by Gordie Howe. Johnny wore number 20 while with Detroit. He took on number 9 right from his first game with Boston.

Q. During the 1970-71 season, at the age of 35, Johnny Bucyk became the oldest NHL player to do what?

A. With 51 goals, Bucyk became the oldest NHL player to surpass the 50 goal plateau. With an additional 65 assists for 116 points, Johnny finished third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy behind teammates Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. Another teammate, Ken Hodge, rounded out the top four that season with all four Bruins surpassing 100 points. Johnny’s 51 goals placed him second in the NHL, 25 goals behind teammate and league leader Phil Esposito.

Wichita Thunder Retired Numbers

The Wichita Thunder were one of six charter teams that formed the Central Hockey League for the 1992-93 season. The Thunder and the Tulsa Oilers are the only two of the six that remain untouched today. Along the way, the Thunder have retired the jersey numbers of five players.

Ron Handy - 9

Ron Handy played with Wichita from 1992-93 to 1994-95 and helped the team to Ray Miron President’s Cup championships in 93-94 and 94-95. In his second season with the club, his 109 points placed him fourth in the CHL. The Thunder have retired number 9 in his honour.

Handy was a third round pick of the New York Islanders at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, 57^th overall. He played a total of 14 games in the NHL with the Islanders and St. Louis Blues. His junior career was stellar, playing in the Ontario Hockey League from 1980-81 to 1982-83 with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Kingston Canadians. His 148 points with Kingston in his final season placed him second in the league, behind only Doug Gilmour of the Cornwall Royals and his 177 points.

Jason Duda - 11

Jason Duda played for Wichita from 1996-97 to 2009-10. For the Thunder, he has the most games played, goals, assists and points in team history. On the CHL all-time list, Duda is placed third for goals, assists and points and second overall for games played. In 2004-05, he led the league with 96 points and was awarded the Joe Burton Award. Jason is the assistant coach of the 2012-13 Wichita Thunder. The team retired number 11 in his honour.

Rob Weingartner - 15

Rob Weingartner played with the Thunder in their first four years of existence, 1992-93 to 1995-96. In 1994-95, he placed fifth in the CHL with 274 penalty minutes. A few years later, with the Louisiana IceGators, he placed eighth in the ECHL with 334 PIM. Ron Handy was also with Louisiana that season and led the league in assists. Weingartner was head coach of the Thunder for part of the 2007-08 season. His number 15 is retired by Wichita.

Robert Desjardins - 35

Robert Desjardins was CHL rookie of the year in 1992-93. The following season, Desjardins was honoured with the Bill Levins Trophy as the most valuable player in the CHL. Those were Robert’s only two years of professional hockey. He had been MVP before. In 1986-87, he won the Michel Briere Memorial Trophy as MVP in the QMJHL. He was also OUA MVP with Concordia University in 1990-91. Number 35 is retired by the Thunder in honour of Robert.

Travis Clayton - 38

Travis Clayton played with the Thunder from 1997-98 to 2007-08 and played 880 regular season games in the Central Hockey League. Over his CHL, he totalled 983 points. The Thunder have retired number 38 in his honour.