Sunday, July 6, 2014

U.S. Invasion At The Memorial Cup

portland winterhawks whl
Canadian Hockey League teams have been based in the United States of America as early as 1976-77 when the Portland Winterhawks were relocated to Portland, Oregon from Edmonton, Alberta. Three times since, American teams have won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions. On four occasions, U.S. cities have hosted the tournament. Portland hosted in 1983 and 1986 while Seattle, Washington hosted in 1992 and Spokane, Washington hosted in 1998.

It might be called the Canadian Hockey League but teams based in the United States have participated since the Edmonton Oil Kings became the Portland Winter Hawks at the start of the 1976-77 WHL season. The CHL is made up of three leagues across Canada, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL).

Currently, there are three teams from the Ontario Hockey League based in the U.S. (Erie Otters, Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit) and five teams from the Western Hockey League (Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans). The Lewiston Maineiacs were the only U.S. team in the QMJHL and they were relocated back to Canada for the 2011-12 season.

Since Portland entered the league in 1976, on just three occasions have American teams been crowned Memorial Cup champions. Only twice has an American team has made an unsuccessful appearance in the final game and six U.S. franchises have gone to the tournament. The Winterhawks reached the final in 2013 before falling to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.

In 1983, the Portland Winterhawks beat the Oshawa Generals 8-3 on home ice in the Memorial Cup final to win their first. The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP was handed out to Alfie Turcotte of the Winterhawks. Turcotte went on to play 112 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals. Future NHLers Ray Ferraro and Cam Neely led Portland offensively. In fact, the two were part of a group of six players on the team to reach the 100 point plateau. Read more about that excitingly offensive team here: 1982-83 Portland Winterhawks.

In 1991, the tournament was held in Quebec City and the Spokane Chiefs were the victor with a 5-1 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the final. The Stafford Smythe Trophy went to Pat Falloon of Spokane. Falloon was the second overall pick of the San Jose Sharks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and played 575 NHL regular season games with the Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Falloon holds a bit of San Jose Sharks trivia as the player with the most points in a rookie season for the National Hockey League club. Trevor Kidd and Ray Whitney were team leaders for Spokane while NHL veteran Bryan Maxwell was the bench boss.

Portland returned to championship form in 1998 as the Winterhawks edged the OHL’s Guelph Storm 4-3 in overtime in the final that was hosted by the Spokane Chiefs in Spokane, Washington. The Smythe Trophy went to the goaltender on the losing team, Chris Madden. Portland was led by NHLers Marian Hossa and Brenden Morrow. The team was coached by Brent Peterson, another NHL veteran.

The latest U.S. teams to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament before Portland’s 2013 loss to Halifax were the Lewiston Maineiacs and Plymouth Whalers in 2007. Despite the 50/50 odds, neither team made it to the final. The 1995 Detroit Junior Red Wings are the only other American team to make it to the final and lose. The Erie Otters and Seattle Thunderbirds are the only other U.S. based teams to qualify for the tournament. Erie went in 2002, while Seattle participated back in 1992 as the host city.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

4 Canadiens Draft Picks In 1984 To Play 1,000+ NHL Games


patrick roy montreal canadiens o-pee-chee rookie card
Some NHL franchises just have a superior system for developing players from within. Where some teams since the 1960’s have only drafted a handful of players that have gone on to play over 1,000 NHL regular season games, from just the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens drafted and developed four players that went on to surpass the 1,000 game plateau in the National Hockey League. Even the first overall pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984, Mario Lemieux, played just 915 over his Hockey Hall of Fame career.

Petr Svoboda


Petr Svoboda was the fifth overall pick at the 1984 NHL draft. He is listed as playing for the Czechoslovakia national junior team but his junior hockey club was HC Litvinov. The defenseman and native of Most, Czech Republic played with Montreal from 1984-85 until a trade sent him to the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 1991-92 season and continued on in the NHL until 2000-01.

Along with the Habs and Sabres, Svoboda also played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Over 1,028 games, he scored 58 goals and totalled 399 points. Petr was part of the 1985-86 Stanley Cup winning team in Montreal and went to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996-97 before being swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

Shayne Corson


Shayne Corson was taken eighth overall by Montreal after playing three years of major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1985-86, one with the Brantford Alexanders and two with the Hamilton Steelhawks. Both those teams are predecessors to the present day Erie Otters. Corson played two separate stints with the Canadiens, 1986-87 to 1991-92 and 1996-97 to 1999-00. He saw his first action with the club in 1985-86 with three regular season games while still a junior.

He played in the NHL until the end of the 2003-04 season, also appearing with the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. Corson played 1,156 regular season games, contributed 693 points. He also played in 140 playoff games but the closest he came to a Stanley Cup championship was a loss in the finals to the Calgary Flames in 1988-89.

Stephane Richer


Stephane Richer was drafted from the QMJHL’s Granby Bisons in the second round, 29th overall. Richer played two years in the QMJHL, 1983-84 and 1984-85. Part way through his second season, he was traded from Granby to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Like Shayne Corson, Richer had two stints with the Canadiens, 1985-86 to 1990-91 and 1996-97 to 1997-98. His first action with the Habs came in the form of a single game played during the 1984-85 season while still a junior in the QMJHL. He also appeared in nine AHL Calder Cup playoff games that year with the Sherbrooke Canadiens.

Stephane played 1,054 regular season NHL games before retiring after 2001-02, also playing for the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored 421 goals and totalled 819 points. Twice with the Canadiens, Richer reached the 50 goal plateau with 50 in 1987-88 and 51 in 1989-90. He played for two Stanley Cup winning teams, the 1985-86 Canadiens and the 1994-95 New Jersey Devils.

Patrick Roy



Like Richer, Patrick Roy was drafted out of the Granby Bisons. Roy, a Hockey Hall of Fame goalie since 2006, played for the Bisons from 1982-83 to 1984-85. He was a third round pick of the Canadiens, 51st overall. He played for Montreal from 1985-86 to 1995-96, earning the first of his three Conn Smythe Trophies as he led the Habs to the Stanley Cup in his rookie year.

Patrick was traded to the Colorado Avalanche during the 1995-96 season and finished his career with that club, retiring after the 2002-03 season. Roy was part of four Stanley Cup winning teams, two with Montreal and two with Colorado. Along with his three Conn Smythe’s, he won the Jennings Trophy five times and the Vezina Trophy on three occasions. His number 33 has been retired by both the Canadiens and Avalanche.

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

3 First Overall Picks In Boston Bruins History


gord kluzak boston bruins o-pee-chee hockey card
In the half century that the NHL Amateur Draft (NHL Entry Draft) has existed, the Boston Bruins have selected the first overall pick on just three occasions. The first played just 24 games with the Bruins. The second was meant to be a star defenseman but injuries got the best of him. The third is still starring in the National Hockey League but not with the Bruins.

Barry Gibbs - 1966


Barry Gibbs was the first overall pick at the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft. Gibbs was drafted from the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the days before the WHL covered all of Western Canada. Gibbs played 24 games with Boston over two seasons, 1967-68 and 1968-69. The following year, he was traded away from the Bruins and became a regular in the NHL with a string of mediocre teams.

Gibbs played an impressive total of 796 games in the National Hockey League from 1967-68 to 1979-80. Along with the Bruins, Barry played with a lacklustre group of NHL teams that included the Minnesota North Stars, Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings.

His only personal accolade in pro hockey came in 1968-69 when he was awarded as the CHL’s Most Valuable Defenseman with the Oklahoma City Blazers. That Blazers team finished first overall in the nine team league. In the playoffs, Oklahoma City reached the finals but fell in five to the Bobby Kromm coached Dallas Black Hawks.

Gord Kluzak - 1982


In 1982, once again Western Canada was the source of Boston’s first overall pick. Gord Kluzak played junior hockey with the Billings Bighorns of the WHL. The Bighorns franchise became the current Tri-City Americans. In his final year with Billings, 1981-82, Kluzak helped Team Canada to a Gold Medal at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.

Kluzak caught on as a regular with Boston right from the start and played two full seasons before having to miss the entire 1984-85 season due to a knee injury. He never fully recovered and after eleven knee operations, Gord called it a career after playing just 299 games in the National Hockey League, all with the Bruins.

Joe Thornton - 1997


The Bruins took Joe Thornton first overall at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft after playing just two years of junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. In his first year in the OHL, Thornton was honoured with the Emms Family Award. In his second, he totaled 122 points in just 59 games. Like Gord Kluzak before him, Thornton helped Team Canada to Gold at the 1997 IIHF World Juniors.

Joe played with the Bruins from 1997-98 until a trade sent him to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-06 season. In his time with Boston, Thornton was team captain for several seasons and exceeded the 100 point plateau in 2002-03 with 101.

In a year mixed between the Bruins and Sharks in 2005-06, Joe won the Art Ross Trophy with a combined 125 points. Thornton finished just two points ahead of Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers. He was also the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. The following year, Thornton topped 100 points with 114 in his first full season with San Jose. In 2006-07, Joe placed second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, six points behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As of the end of 2013-14, Thornton remains with the San Jose Sharks.