4 1986 NHL 1st Rounders To Play 1,000 Games Or More

Just four players drafted in the first round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft went on to play 1000 or more regular season games in the National Hockey League. In fact, just three others in the entire draft were able to accomplish the feat. The first overall pick was Joe Murphy, going to the Detroit Red Wings out of Michigan State University. Murphy played 779 regular season games over his career.

Vincent Damphousse – Toronto Maple Leafs

Vincent Damphousse was the sixth overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Damphousse was selected from the Laval Titan of the QMJHL. Vinny went on to play nearly 1,400 regular season games in the NHL between 1986-87 to 2003-04 with the Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks. He totalled 1,205 points on 432 goals and 773 assists.

Brian Leetch – New York Rangers

Brian Leetch was selected ninth by the New York Rangers out of the United States High School system. Between 1987-88 and 2005-06, Leetch played in 1,205 games, contributing 1,028 points on 247 goals and 781 assists. The bulk of Brian’s career was spent with the Rangers but his final two saw him dress with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. Leetch was the Calder Trophy recipient in 1988-89 as the NHL’s top rookie. Over his career, Brian won the Norris Trophy twice and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1993-94.

Scott Young – Hartford Whalers

Scott Young went eleventh overall to the Hartford Whalers after playing with Boston University. Young played nearly 1,200 games between 1987-88 and 2005-06 with the Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars. He scored 342 goals and assisted on 414 for 756 career points.

Leetch and Young were teammates on the 1988 United States Olympic team that competed in Calgary. The team finished seventh in a winter Olympic games that saw the Soviet Union capture gold, Finland get the silver and Sweden take the Bronze.

Tom Fitzgerald – New York Islanders

Tom Fitzgerald was the 17^th pick, taken out of the United States high school program by the New York Islanders. Fitzgerald played three games less than 1,100 between 1988-89 and 2005-06 with the Islanders, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. Fitzgerald played with Leetch over his final two seasons with the Maple Leafs and Bruins.

The other three players in the overall draft to reach the 1,000 game plateau include Adam Graves (2^nd round, 22^nd overall – Detroit Red Wings), Teppo Numminen (2^nd round, 29^th overall – Winnipeg Jets) and Lyle Odelein (7^th round, 141^st overall – Montreal Canadiens). 1986 was a draft that saw only two players from the Ontario Hockey League get selected in the first round. In contrast, eleven from the OHL went in the 2012 first round. Six of the draftees were from either the U.S. High School or College system.

Upsets Abound In 1981-82 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 1981-82 National Hockey League season was the end of an evenly distributed regular season schedule. Teams now played more games against teams in their own division than the other teams in the league. The Colorado Rockies were in their last season in Denver. The following season, the franchise relocated to East Rutherford, New Jersey to become the present day New Jersey Devils. It was also the year that the record for most goals in a single season was set at an unbeatable level with Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scoring 92.

1981-82 was also a year of playoff upsets. The New York Islanders were looking for their third Stanley Cup championship in a row. The Edmonton Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky, were assured to challenge the Islanders for the ultimate prize. At least, that’s the way it should have played out.

Four of the eight first round matchups were upsets. The Quebec Nordiques ousted their provincial rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, three games to two. The Canadiens finished the regular season with 109 points and were first in the Adams Division. Quebec finished with 82 points and in fourth place in the Adams. That 27 point differential was wiped out in five short games.

In the Norris Division Semi-finals, the fourth place Chicago Blackhawks took out the first place Minnesota North Stars three games to one. Minnesota finished the regular season twenty-two points ahead of the Blackhawks with 94 to Chicago’s 72.

The other Norris Division Semi also ended with the underdog on top. The third place St. Louis Blues beat out the second place Winnipeg Jets in four games. This upset was not quite as dramatic as the Blues finished just eight points behind the Jets in the regular season.

The Edmonton Oilers expected run to a Stanley Cup championship ended prematurely against the Los Angeles Kings in the Smythe Division Semi-finals. The Kings finished the season winning just 24 games while losing 41 and tying 15 for just 63 points. The Oilers finished second overall to only the New York Islanders with a total of 111 points. The Kings took the series in five games. Their run would come to a halt in the next round, however, when they bowed out to eventual Stanley Cup finalist, the Vancouver Canucks.

The upsets continued in the following round. In the Adams Division final, fourth place Quebec beat out the second place Boston Bruins in seven games. In the Smythe Division, fourth place Chicago defeated third place St. Louis in six.

The magic would end for the Quebec Nordiques in the conference finals when they came up against the New York Islanders. The Islanders easily swept the Nordiques in four games. It would also come to an end for the Blackhawks as Chicago lost out to the Vancouver Canucks in five games.

Although Vancouver was always the top seed in each series until the finals when they lost out to the Islanders in four games, their run to the finals should be seen as an upset of sorts. Vancouver finished the season with a weak record of 30 wins, 33 losses and 17 ties. The only reason they ranked high is because they were in the weakest conference. They were seeded second in the Smythe and fourth in the conference. Their point total would have placed them eighth in the other conference.

The Oilers licked their wounds and came back strong the following season. The Islanders won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup in 1982-83, the last for the franchise, but the Oilers would make it to the finals against New York this time. The following season, the Oilers won the Stanley Cup and would win it again in three of next four seasons. One dynasty had replaced another.

 

3 Two-Time Winners of the Jean Beliveau Trophy in the QMJHL

The Jean Beliveau Trophy has been awarded each season since 1969-70 to the player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the most points during the regular season. Three times in the history of this QMJHL award, a player has won in consecutive seasons.

J.F. Sauve

Jean Francois (J.F.) Sauve of the Trois Rivieres Draveurs won the Jean Beliveau Trophy in 1978-79 with 176 points and 1979-80 with 187 points. In 1978-79, Sauve finished eighteen points ahead of Denis Savard. Savard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. The Draveurs were regular season champs (Jean Rouleau Trophy) and playoff champs (President’s Cup) in 1978-79.

In 1979-80, Sauve increased his point total but finished just five points ahead of Guy Carbonneau. Carbonneau would move on to a lengthy career with the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL. J.F. Sauve played a total of 290 games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques.

Guy Rouleau

Guy Rouleau won his first of two Jean Beliveau Trophies five years after J.F. Sauve won his last. In 1984-85, Rouleau totalled 163 points with the Longueuil Chevaliers, placing him 15 points ahead of future Hockey Hall of Fame member Luc Robitaille. The following season, Rouleau was traded to the Hull Olympiques and finished the season tied with Robitaille with 191 points each. Guy was awarded the Jean Beliveau because he’d scored more goals than Lucky Luc.

Over his QMJHL season, Rouleau tallied 543 points in just 260 games. He never played a game in the National Hockey League but played professionally throughout the hockey world. In North America, Guy played in the AHL, ECHL and WCHL. In Europe, he played in Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

Sidney Crosby

The last QMJHL player to win the Jean Beliveau Trophy twice was none other than Sidney Crosby. Sid the Kid won the scoring title in 2003-04 and 2004-05 with the Rimouski Oceanic. In his first season, he totalled 135 points and finished 18 points ahead of teammate Dany Roussin. The following season, Crosby increased his numbers to 168 points and finished 52 ahead of Roussin, who once again came in second.

In Crosby’s final season in Rimouski, the team won the Jean Rouleau Trophy, the President’s Cup and lost in the final game of the Memorial Cup tournament to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Sidney, of course, was the first overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, shortly after that Memorial Cup game. He has been the leader of the NHL team since.