4 Two-Time Winners of the WHL's Bobby Clarke Trophy

The Bobby Clarke Trophy is presented each season to the WHL player with the highest point total. Originally dubbed the Brownridge Trophy, it was re-named in 1987 to honour Clarke, one of the best to play in the league. The trophy was introduced for the 1966-67 season and Clarke won the scoring title the next season. Four players have won the Bobby Clarke / Brownridge Trophy on more than one occasion.

Bobby Clarke - Flin Flon Bombers

Bobby Clarke, himself, was the first to take the WHL (WCHL at the time) scoring title in consecutive seasons. As a member of the Flin Flon Bombers, Clarke totaled 168 points in 1967-68, 37 points ahead of teammate Reg Leach. Clarke and Leach would, of course, reunite with the Philadelphia Flyers team that won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1973-74 and 1974-75. Clarke led the league the following season with 137 points.

Bobby was a second round pick of the Flyers at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 1,144 regular seasons NHL games between 1969-70 and 1983-84, all with Philadelphia. Three times, Clarke surpassed the 100 point plateau in a season. Three times he was a Hart Trophy recipient as the NHL’s most valuable player. He finished his career with 1,210 points and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.

Tom Lysiak - Medicine Hat Tigers

Tom Lysiak was the next WHL player to win the scoring title in consecutive seasons. With the Medicine Hat Tigers, Lysiak led the league in 1971-72 with 143 points, ten more than teammate Stan Weir. The following season, Lysiak led again with 154 points, seven points ahead of Dennis Sobchuk of the Regina Pats.

Tom was the second overall pick at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, going to the Atlanta Flames and behind just Denis Potvin who went to the New York Islanders. The Houston Aeros also picked Lysiak in the second round of the WHA Amateur Draft, 23rd overall. Tom played 919 regular season NHL games between 1973-74 and 1985-86 with the Flames and Chicago Black Hawks.

Brian Propp - Brandon Wheat Kings

Brian Propp put up serious numbers in winning the Brownridge Trophy in 1977-78 and 1978-79. In the first season, Propp finished 22 points ahead of teammate Ray Allison with 182 points. The following year, on 94 goals and 100 assists, Propp led the league with an incredible 194 points, 41 ahead of Allison in the WHL scoring race. The two were part of one of the greatest Canadian junior teams of all-time in 1978-79, as the Brandon Wheat Kings finished with 58 wins, five losses and nine ties for 125 points.

Propp was the fourteenth overall pick at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Bobby Clarke led Philadelphia Flyers. By then, the Broad Street Bullies era had pretty much come to an end but the Flyers were still a great team. Propp played 1,016 regular season games over his NHL career that lasted from 1979-80 to 1993-94. Brian played for the Flyers, Boston Bruins, Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers.

Brian is known for his hard luck with Stanley Cup finals. Five times over his career, Propp went to the final series without a single victory to show for it. Three times, he played for the Cup with the Flyers and he played once each with the Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars.

Rob Brown - Kamloops Blazers

Rob Brown won the scoring race in 1985-86 and 1986-87 in record setting fashion. With the Kamloops Blazers, Brown led the league with 173 points the first season. In 1986-87, Rob set the present day record with 212 points, 66 points ahead of the next closer contender in capturing the Bobby Clarke Trophy.

Despite the numbers, Brown was drafted way down in the fourth round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played a total of 543 NHL regular season games from 1987-88 to 1999-00 with the Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings. Playing on a line with Mario Lemieux in 1988-89, Brown enjoyed his best NHL season with 115 points in just 68 games.

Brown was a standout in the now defunct IHL, where he played in between NHL stints. On three occasions, he won the Leo Lamoureux Memorial Trophy as the league’s scoring leader. In 1993-94, he led with 155 points as a member of the Kalamazoo Wings. In 1995-96 and 1996-97, he led with the Chicago Wolves, totalling 143 and 117 points.

3 Goalies in 1st Two Rounds of 1990 NHL Entry Draft

The 1990 NHL Entry Draft is best known for an outstanding crop of first round skaters, including Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci and Jaromir Jagr. Something that set the 1990 draft apart from other years was the number of goalies picked in the early rounds. It is rare to have a goaltender go in the first round. In 1990 there were two. In fact, over the first two rounds there were three goaltenders selected. Each of the three went on to successful NHL careers.

Trevor Kidd – Calgary Flames

Kidd was taken in the first round by Calgary, eleventh overall out of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. Trevor played three years in the WHL from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Most of his time was spent in Brandon until a midseason trade sent him to the Spokane Chiefs in his final year. He was selected as the Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the year for 1989-90. Kidd was on the Team Canada roster for the 1990, 1991 and 1992 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Trevor played in the National Hockey League from 1991-92 to 2003-04 with the Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was picked up by the Atlanta Thrashers at the 1999 Expansion Draft but was traded to the Panthers before playing a game. He finished his pro hockey career with a year in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with the Hannover Scorpions in 2005-06.

Martin Brodeur – New Jersey Devils

Shame on the nineteen teams that passed over Brodeur at that 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Active in the NHL until 2014-15, Brodeur is not only a given for the Hockey Hall of Fame, likely his three year wait period will be waived, an honour reserved for the chosen few like Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky.

Martin was a third round pick of the Verdun Junior Canadiens at the QMJHL Entry Draft in 1989. In 1989-90, Verdun was relocated and became the St. Hyacinthe Laser. Brodeur played with St. Hyacinthe from 1989-90 to 1991-92. The franchise is now the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Brodeur got his start in the NHL playing four games for the Devils in 1991-92. He became a regular with the club in 1993-94 and has been there since. He holds NHL records for most games played by a goalie, most wins, most shutouts, etc, etc, etc. Martin won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1993-94. He has been awarded the Vezina Trophy four times. The Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times and lost in the finals two other times, largely due to the goalkeeping of Martin Brodeur.

Internationally, Brodeur has played in four Olympic Winter Games for Canada. The team won gold in 2002 and 2010. Martin has appeared at the World Championships twice for Canada, winning gold in 2004. That number would have been higher if the Devils had not been so successful in the Stanley Cup playoffs through the years.

Felix Potvin – Toronto Maple Leafs

Another goalie out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Potvin played for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Chicoutimi took him in the second round of the 1988 QMJHL Entry Draft. In 1990-91, Felix was named the CHL goaltender of the year. The following year, 1991-92, he was honoured with the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Award as the top rookie in the American Hockey League.

Potvin played in the NHL from 1991-92 to 2003-04 with the Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins. Known as a decent puck handler, Felix totalled 16 assists over his NHL career.

4 Philadelphia Flyers Jack Adams Award Winners

The Jack Adams Award has existed in the National Hockey League since the 1973-74 season. The award is handed out each season to the best head coach in the league. Two teams, to date, have had their coaches win the Jack Adams Award on four occasions. One of those teams is the Detroit Red Wings and the other is the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fred Shero

Fred Shero was the first ever recipient of the Jack Adams Award in 1973-74. His Flyers finished the regular season with 50 wins and 112 points in 78 games and were placed first in the West Division. The point total was a 27 point improvement over the previous season. After sweeping the Atlanta Flames in the first round and ousting the New York Rangers in seven games in the semi-finals, Philadelphia won the Stanley Cup in six games over the Boston Bruins.

The 1973-74 Flyers were led by Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish, Bill Barber and Bernie Parent. They would win the Stanley Cup the following year as well, their last Cup victory to this date. Shero coached the team from 1971-72 to 1977-78. He followed that up with three years as bench boss of the New York Rangers. His teams were runners-up twice, Philadelphia once and New York once.

Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn, in just his second year as head coach, won the Jack Adams Award in 1979-80. The Flyers totaled 116 points during the regular season, good for first overall in the NHL. After ploughing through the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers lost to the New York Islanders in the finals.

Reg Leach led the 1979-80 Flyers with 50 goals while Ken Linseman led the team in points. Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber were still key factors on the team.

Pat Quinn coached in the NHL from 1978-79 to 2009-10 with the Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. Quinn never won a Stanley Cup but did find his way to the finals again in 1993-94 with the Vancouver Canucks. Pat won the Jack Adams again in 1991-92, with Vancouver.

Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan won the Jack Adams Award in his first year as head coach, 1984-85. ‘Iron Mike’ coached the Flyers to first overall in the NHL with 113 points. Once again, Philadelphia made it to the finals after beating the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Quebec Nordiques. Unfortunately, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers proved too strong and beat the Flyers in five to take the Stanley Cup.

Tim Kerr led the Flyers that season with 54 goals. Also leading the team were Brian Propp, Dave Poulin, Mark Howe, Rick Tocchet and Pelle Lindbergh.

Keenan coached in the NHL from 1984-85 to 2008-09 with the Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. Two of Mike’s teams in Philadelphia were runners-up for the Stanley Cup. He also coached the Chicago Blackhawks to an unsuccessful run at the finals. Behind the bench of the 1993-94 New York Rangers, Keenan got his only Stanley Cup.

Bill Barber

Bill Barber was head coach of the Flyers for just a season and a half. He took over from Craig Ramsay part way through the 2000-01 season and Philadelphia had a 31-13 record under the former player, earning him the Jack Adams. The team finished with 100 points and a second place Atlantic Division seeding. The Flyers lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabres in six games. Mark Recchi, Keith Primeau and Simon Gagne starred.

Barber coached the following season and hasn’t coached since. Bill played for the team from 1972-73 to 1983-84. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.