2: 2:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
“All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.� -Gordie Howe
brendan baz: 3
Copyright Š 2014 by Brendan Baz All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2010 ISBN 0-9000000-0-0 Falling Anvil Publishing 123 Mesa Street Scottsdale, AZ 00000 www.FallingAnvilBooks.com
4: 4:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
brendan baz: 5
6: 6:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
table of
Contents
Wayne Gretzky...................................................................................................................... 1 Mario Lemieux.................................................................................................................. 3 Teemu Selänne............................................................................................................... 5 Jaromír Jágr.................................................................................................................. 7 Bobby Orr.................................................................................................................. 9 Gordie Howe............................................................................................................ 11 Patrick Roy................................................................................................................ 13 Martin Brodeur........................................................................................................ 14 Sidney Crosby........................................................................................................... 15 Alexander Ovechkin................................................................................................. 16 Henrik and Daniel Sedin............................................................................................ 17 Ilya Kovalchuk................................................................................................................. 19 Connor McDavid................................................................................................................. 21
brendan baz: 7
wayneGRETZKY “the great one”
Gretzky is considered the greatest player to ever play the game. Many of his records will never be broken. He is the Michael Jordan of the NHL. He is practically a national hero in Canada and coined the iconic quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time
1: 1:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six AllStar records. As of 2009, he still holds 60 NHL records, including most goals, assists, and points. Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive stature, strength and speed, Gretzky’s intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. Gretzky also became known for setting up behind his opponent’s net, an area that was nicknamed “Gretzky’s office”. After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only player to receive this honor. He was one of six players voted to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team. brendan baz: 2
Mario Lemieux played parts of 17 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006. In 1999, he bought the Penguins and their top minor-league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins, out of bankruptcy, and is currently the team’s principal owner and chairman. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. A gifted playmaker and fast skater despite his large size, Lemieux often beat players with fakes and dekes.
marioLEMIEUX 3: 3:
“super mario”
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
Lemieux’s career was plagued by health problems. His numerous ailments included spinal disc herniation, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic tendinitis of a hipflexor muscle, and chronic back pain so severe that other people had to tie his skates.
brendan baz: 4
teemuSELÄNNE
Selänne is
“the finnish flash”
the highest scoring Finn in NHL history, and one of the highest overall; he retired in 2014 11th all-time with 684 goals and 15th with 1,457 points. He holds numerous team scoring records for both the Winnipeg/Arizona franchise and the Anaheim Ducks. Selänne was a first round selection of the Jets, 10th overall, at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, but initially remained in Finland. He led the SM-liiga in scoring as part of Jokerit’s Kanada-malja winning team in 1991–92 before moving to North America. He broke into the NHL by scoring 76 goals in 1992–93. It remains the league record for most goals by a rookie and earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top first-year player in the NHL. He has scored 50 goals in a season three times and topped 100 points on four occasions. He played in 10 NHL All-Star Games, was named to four post-season All-Star Teams and won the inaugural Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 1998–99 as the league’s leading goal scorer.
5: 5:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
Internationally, Sel채nne was a long-time member of the Finnish National Team. He played in five World Championships, winning a silver and bronze medal, and in three Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey tournaments. A six-time Olympian, Sel채nne helped Finland win three bronze medals and, in 2006, a silver medal. He is the all-time leader in scoring at the Olympic ice hockey tournament with 43 points. Sel채nne is now the subject of a top grossing biographical documentary in Finland.
brendan baz: 6
jaromírJÁGR
“jagrmeister”
Jaromír Jágr is currently playing for the New Jersey Devils. He formerly played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins; serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers. After leaving the Rangers, he played for three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Avangard Omsk before returning to the NHL with the Flyers. He is the most productive European-born player who has ever played in the 7: 7:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
NHL and is considered one of the greatest professional hockey players of all-time. Jágr was the fifth overall selection in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, and is the last player drafted in 1990 to still be active in the NHL. He won consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the Penguins. He has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion five times (four times in a row), the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL’s outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players’ Association three times, and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player once, while being a finalist an additional four times. He is also one of only 25 hockey players in the Triple Gold Club, who have played for teams that have won the Stanley Cup (1991, 1992), the Ice Hockey World Championships (2005, 2010), and the Olympic gold medal in ice hockey (1998). Jágr is one of only two Czech players (the other being Jiří Šlégr) in the Triple Gold Club, achieving this feat in 2005.[1] Jágr was the Czech Republic’s flag bearer for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
brendan baz: 8
bobbyORR
“the golden child” During the 1970 Stanley Cup Final in game four, Bobby Orr scored the cup winning goal in overtime to give the Boston Bruins their first Stanley Cup in thirty-one years. When he scored, he was tripped causing him to fly into the air while celebrating his first Stanley Cup. This image has become the most famous photograph in hockey. Many people simply refer to this as, “The Goal.” It is a moment that will go down in history.
9: 9:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
Orr played in the NHL for ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time, especially amongst defencemen. Orr used his ice skating speed and scoring and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position. Many people consider him to be the greatest defencemen to play.
brendan baz: 10
World
gordieHOWE
War II had just ended when he first entered the National Hockey League, and when he played his final NHL season 33 years later, Wayne Gretzky was playing his first. Over those five decades, Howe didn’t just survive, he was dominant - on the scoring lists, in battles in the corners, on gamewinning goals and when the year-end awards were handed out. He was a big man,
11: 11: fourteen hockeyhockey players you need know fourteen players you to need to know 11: fourteen hockey players you need to know
“mr. hockey”
though by modern standards no behemoth, but what set him apart was his incredible strength. Though other superstars could be deemed somewhat better scorers, tougher fighters or faster skaters, no player has approached Gordie Howe’s sustained level of excellence. Incredibly, Gordie finished in the top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons. To endure and excel, Howe needed a unique set of qualities, both physical and mental, and the foundations for his astonishing career were laid in him from an early age.
brendan baz: 12
patrickROY
“st. patrick� Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he played for ten years, and the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he played for eight years, both of the NHL. Roy won four Stanley Cups during his career, two with each franchise. Roy was born in Quebec City, but grew up in Cap-Rouge, Quebec. In 2004, Roy was selected as the greatest goaltender in history.
13: 13:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
martinBRODEUR
“marty”
Brodeur appeared briefly in the NHL in 1992 before emerging as one of its top young players in 1993-94, winning the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year and helping the Devils reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs. The following season, he anchored the team’s run to the Stanley Cup championship, allowing just seven goals in the Devils’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings. Brodeur soon cemented his place among the elite players in the NHL. In 1996, he earned his first of 10 All-Star selections and won his first of five Jennings Trophies for helping the Devils surrender the fewest goals in the league. With his aggressive defensive techniques, Brodeur led the Devils to the Stanley Cup title again in 2000. In 2002, he claimed an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian hockey team, making the Brodeurs the first father-son goal-tending combination with Olympic medals. The following year, he was awarded his first of four Vezina Trophies as the league’s top goalie, and won his third Stanley Cup.
brendan baz: 14
sidneyCROSBY
“sid the kid� Crosby was the first overall draft pick in 2005 and had 102 points his rookie season. At the age of twenty-two, he lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup and he became the youngest captain to ever hoist the Stanley Cup. He and Alexander Ovechkin are fighting to be the Face of the NHL, as they are the best in the game today.
15: 15:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
alexanderOVECHKIN
“alexander the great� Considered an icon in Russia, Alex Ovechkin is one of the greatest players in the game today. With his unique style of skating a love of scoring goals, he has over eight hundred points in nine seasons with the Washington Capitals. Being drafted at the same time as Crosby, they immediately became rivals as some people believe that one of them will become the next greatest player ever.
brendan baz: 16
henrikSEDIN danielSEDIN
“the sedin twins�
Daniel and Henrik Sedin are identical twins playing for the Vancouver Canucks. Having played together throughout their career the pair are known for their effectiveness playing off one another. Henrik, a skilled passer, is known as the playmaker, while Daniel is known as the goalscorer. On February 15, 2013, Henrik became the all-time leading scorer for the Vancouver Canucks. They began their career in the Swedish Elite League with Modo Hockey in 1997 and were co-recipients, of the 1999 Golden Puck as
17: 17:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
Swedish player of the year. Selected second and third overall by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, They have spent their entire NHL career in Vancouver. After four seasons with the club, Henrik became the Canucks’ top-scoring center in 2005–06. They are the face of the Vancouver Canucks and have brought the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011.
brendan baz: 18
ilyaKOVALCHUK
“kovie� Kovalchuk
was the subject of a controversy in 2010. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2010. On July 19, after receiving offers from other teams, Kovalchuk agreed to a 17-year, $102 million deal to remain with the Devils. The length of the deal broke the record for the longest contract in NHL history. However, the contract was rejected by the NHL the next day, on the grounds that it circumvented the
19: 19:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
league’s salary cap. Arbitrator Richard Bloch heard the union’s appeal, and nullified the deal. Consequently, the NHL penalized the Devils for trying to circumvent the NHL salary cap with Kovalchuk’s original contract. As a result, the Devils surrendered $3 million, and a third round draft choice in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
brendan baz: 20
connorMcDAVID no nickname Connor McDavid is not even eighteen yet and he is already being predicted to be the next Wayne Gretzky. He is eligible to be drafted to the NHL in 2015, and is playing for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Because of his high level of play, McDavid was granted Exceptional Player status by Hockey Canada and the OHL and was allowed to be selected in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection at age 15, a year earlier than other players. He was the third player given that status since its creation in 2005; John Tavares was granted it in 2005, followed by Aaron Ekblad in 2011. McDavid was selected first overall by the Erie Otters at the Priority Selection. As the first overall selection, McDavid was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, which is given to the first pick of the OHL
21: 21:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
Priority Selection. Starting in his second game of the season, McDavid recorded a point in fifteen consecutive games, and was named the OHL Rookie of the Month for both October and November. During a game against the Owen Sound Attack on March 9, 2013, McDavid recorded two assists, giving him 37 for the season and setting a new team record for assists by a rookie. He also tied Tim Connolly for most points by a first-year player with 62. In the team’s final game of the season, March 16 against the Guelph Storm, McDavid recorded four assists, giving him 66 total points during the season. brendan baz: 22
thank you for reading 23: 23:
fourteen hockey players you need to know fourteen hockey players you need to know
brendan baz: 24
This book is the property of the National Hockey League,
and the painfully handsome author, Brendan Baz.
us: can:
$1,000,000 $1,000,003
brendan baz: 25