The Hockey Unknows : Brian Bellows

Brian Edward Bellows (born September 1, 1964) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. He was a member of the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens.

Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) Position Left Wing Shot Right Played for Minnesota North Stars Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay Lightning Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Washington Capitals Berlin Capitals National team  Canada NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1982 Minnesota North Stars Playing career 1982–1999

Playing career

Bellows played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers. During this time, he was featured in Sports Illustrated, which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky.^[1]

Bellows was drafted second overall by the Minnesota North Stars, who had acquired the draft pick in a trade with Detroit with the purpose of having a shot at Bellows. North Stars GM Lou Nanne sent Don Murdoch, Greg Smith, and a first round pick (Murray Craven) to the Wings in exchange for what later turned out to be the second overall draft pick. Bellows was often compared to Gretzky, which led to a tough rookie season. The pressure of such comparisons caused criticisms when he did not live up to them. Bellows improved greatly in the second half of the season and finished with 35 goals. In the playoffs that year, Bellows scored 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 9 games.
Bellows played 10 seasons with the North Stars and was popular in Minnesota for his charity work, as well as his goal-scoring. He had a North Star record 342 goals in 753 games, peaking with 55 goals in 1989–90. In 1990–91, Bellows scored 29 points in the post-season to become the North Stars career playoff point leader, and took the North Stars to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When team captain Craig Hartsburg was injured partway through the 1983–84 season, Bellows was named interim captain for the remainder of the season. At 19 years and 4 months, Bellows became captain at an earlier age than Gabriel Landeskog and Sidney Crosby. However, because he was an interim captain, Landeskog is still considered the youngest captain in history.^[2][3]

On August 31, 1992, Bellows was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Russ Courtnall. The trade angered Bellows at first, but he relished the chance to play for the Canadiens. Bellows remarked "I hope to score more than last year. I want to come in and prove I can still play to the levels expected. I was shocked [about the trade] but I'm excited about the new change. My idol was Ken Dryden. It's every kid's dream to play for the Canadiens." In the 1992-93 NHL season his 88 points were the second highest season total of his career, and his 15 playoff points helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1993.

As his career was winding down, Bellows played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. In the 1997–98 NHL season the Capitals made it to the Stanley Cup finals, but lost to the Detroit Red Wings. En route to the Eastern Conference championship, Bellows scored the series-clinching overtime goal in the first round in Game 6 against the Boston Bruins. The 1998–99 season was his last. On January 2, 1999, Bellows scored his 1000th career regular season point, becoming the 54th NHL player to reach that plateau.

Bellows was named to the 1990 Second All-Star team, and played in three NHL All-Star Games (1984, 1988 and 1992). He retired with 485 goals, 537 assists and 1,022 points. He was named the top forward at the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships, as Canada won the silver medal.

Awards

• Member of one Stanley Cup winning team: 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens
• Selected to three NHL All-Star Games: 1984, 1988 and 1992
• Selected to the 1990 NHL Second All-Star Team

 

 

Career statistics

 

The Hockey Unknowns : Patrick Flatley

Patrick Flatley (born October 3, 1963 in Toronto, Ontario)^[1][2][3] is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the NHL for 14 seasons between 1983 and 1997 for the New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

 

Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL New York Islanders New York Rangers AHL Springfield Indians
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	21st overall, 1982 New York Islanders
Playing career	1983–1997

 

Playing career

Flatley attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team for two seasons, helping the team capture the 1983 NCAA Men's ice hockey championship, and was himself named a tournament all-star, a WCHA first team all-star, and a 1983 All-American.^[4][5]

Flatley was drafted 21st overall by the New York Islanders in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft,^[5] and scored on his first NHL shot on goal, against Doug Soetaert of the Winnipeg Jets.^[4] Playing for the Canadian National Team in 1983–84, he scored 34 goals in 54 games. Rejoining the Islanders for the 1984-85 season, he was put on a line with Brent Sutter and Clark Gillies, and scored 9 goals through the first three rounds of the playoffs, becoming a big contributor in the Islanders' drive for their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup. However, the Islanders lost in the finals to the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers.

Although he never emerged as a top scorer, Flatley did become a highly effective role player, adding smart positional play, strong defense, and grit to the Islanders teams in the late 1980s and 1990s. Flatley was sometimes referred to as "the chairman of the boards" because he rarely failed to dig the puck out in battles in the corners. In 1991 he was named the Islanders' fifth captain. Prior to the 1996-97 season, Flatley signed a one year deal with the New York Rangers.^[2]
He played 780 career NHL games, scoring 170 goals and 340 assists for 510 points. His best offensive season, points-wise, was the 1992–93 season when he scored 47 assists and 60 points.^[6]

 

 

Collegiate career

Flatley was a member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship team of 1983, and national finalist of 1982.

 

 

Awards and honours

Pat Flatley was named to the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.^[3]

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1982–83
AHCA West All-American	1982–83

 

 

Career statistics

The hockey unknowns : Doug Smail

Playing career

Doug Smail starred at the University of North Dakota for three seasons from 1977 to 1980, scoring 87 points in 40 games in his final season in the WCHA. His performance was enough to warrant notice from the Winnipeg Jets, and the next season he was a full-time NHL player.

Smail played eleven seasons with Winnipeg, being a top two-way player for them, as he had twelve consecutive seasons in which he scored at least one shorthanded goal, with a total of 28 shorthanded goals in his career.

Perhaps Smail's greatest claim to fame was when he set the NHL record for fastest goal after the opening faceoff by scoring a goal five seconds after the game started on 20 December 1981. Smail finished his career with the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators, but never achieved the success he had in Winnipeg.

After Smail's NHL career was over, he played three seasons in Britain for Fife Flyers and Cardiff Devils before retiring. He was the first player ever to sign for a British team directly from an NHL team when he signed for Fife Flyers from Ottawa Senators.

 He now resides in Colorado with his wife and three children. Smail was the Assistant Coach of the U-16 Team Rocky Mountain AAA Hockey program, where he coached alongside former NHL player Rick Berry last year, and is now the Head Coach of the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U-15 AAA squad.

 

 

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA Second Team	1979–80

• Named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1980)
• Named to the NCAA Championship Tournament MVP (1980)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1990)
• British Ice Hockey Writers Association Player of the Year (1994)

 Records

• Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career shorthanded goals (25)
• Fastest goal to start an NHL hockey game (5 seconds)

 

 Career statistics

Player of the day : Brian Bellows #player #day #hockey #nhl #montreal #stars

Brian Edward Bellows (born September 1, 1964) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. He was a member of the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens.

Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) Position Left Wing Shot Right Played for Minnesota North Stars Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay Lightning Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Washington Capitals Berlin Capitals National team  Canada NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1982 Minnesota North Stars Playing career 1982–1999

Playing career

Bellows played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers. During this time, he was featured in Sports Illustrated, which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky.^[1]

Bellows was drafted second overall by the Minnesota North Stars, who had acquired the draft pick in a trade with Detroit with the purpose of having a shot at Bellows. North Stars GM Lou Nanne sent Don Murdoch, Greg Smith, and a first round pick (Murray Craven) to the Wings in exchange for what later turned out to be the second overall draft pick. Bellows was often compared to Gretzky, which led to a tough rookie season. The pressure of such comparisons caused criticisms when he did not live up to them. Bellows improved greatly in the second half of the season and finished with 35 goals. In the playoffs that year, Bellows scored 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 9 games.
Bellows played 10 seasons with the North Stars and was popular in Minnesota for his charity work, as well as his goal-scoring. He had a North Star record 342 goals in 753 games, peaking with 55 goals in 1989–90. In 1990–91, Bellows scored 29 points in the post-season to become the North Stars career playoff point leader, and took the North Stars to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When team captain Craig Hartsburg was injured partway through the 1983–84 season, Bellows was named interim captain for the remainder of the season. At 19 years and 4 months, Bellows became captain at an earlier age than Gabriel Landeskog and Sidney Crosby. However, because he was an interim captain, Landeskog is still considered the youngest captain in history.^[2][3]

On August 31, 1992, Bellows was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Russ Courtnall. The trade angered Bellows at first, but he relished the chance to play for the Canadiens. Bellows remarked "I hope to score more than last year. I want to come in and prove I can still play to the levels expected. I was shocked [about the trade] but I'm excited about the new change. My idol was Ken Dryden. It's every kid's dream to play for the Canadiens." In the 1992-93 NHL season his 88 points were the second highest season total of his career, and his 15 playoff points helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1993.

As his career was winding down, Bellows played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. In the 1997–98 NHL season the Capitals made it to the Stanley Cup finals, but lost to the Detroit Red Wings. En route to the Eastern Conference championship, Bellows scored the series-clinching overtime goal in the first round in Game 6 against the Boston Bruins. The 1998–99 season was his last. On January 2, 1999, Bellows scored his 1000th career regular season point, becoming the 54th NHL player to reach that plateau.

Bellows was named to the 1990 Second All-Star team, and played in three NHL All-Star Games (1984, 1988 and 1992). He retired with 485 goals, 537 assists and 1,022 points. He was named the top forward at the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships, as Canada won the silver medal.

Awards

• Member of one Stanley Cup winning team: 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens
• Selected to three NHL All-Star Games: 1984, 1988 and 1992
• Selected to the 1990 NHL Second All-Star Team

 

 

Career statistics

 

Player of the day : Patrick Flatley #player #day #hockey #jets

Patrick Flatley (born October 3, 1963 in Toronto, Ontario)^[1][2][3] is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the NHL for 14 seasons between 1983 and 1997 for the New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

 

Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL New York Islanders New York Rangers AHL Springfield Indians
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	21st overall, 1982 New York Islanders
Playing career	1983–1997

 

Playing career

Flatley attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team for two seasons, helping the team capture the 1983 NCAA Men's ice hockey championship, and was himself named a tournament all-star, a WCHA first team all-star, and a 1983 All-American.^[4][5]

Flatley was drafted 21st overall by the New York Islanders in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft,^[5] and scored on his first NHL shot on goal, against Doug Soetaert of the Winnipeg Jets.^[4] Playing for the Canadian National Team in 1983–84, he scored 34 goals in 54 games. Rejoining the Islanders for the 1984-85 season, he was put on a line with Brent Sutter and Clark Gillies, and scored 9 goals through the first three rounds of the playoffs, becoming a big contributor in the Islanders' drive for their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup. However, the Islanders lost in the finals to the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers.

Although he never emerged as a top scorer, Flatley did become a highly effective role player, adding smart positional play, strong defense, and grit to the Islanders teams in the late 1980s and 1990s. Flatley was sometimes referred to as "the chairman of the boards" because he rarely failed to dig the puck out in battles in the corners. In 1991 he was named the Islanders' fifth captain. Prior to the 1996-97 season, Flatley signed a one year deal with the New York Rangers.^[2]
He played 780 career NHL games, scoring 170 goals and 340 assists for 510 points. His best offensive season, points-wise, was the 1992–93 season when he scored 47 assists and 60 points.^[6]

 

 

Collegiate career

Flatley was a member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship team of 1983, and national finalist of 1982.

 

 

Awards and honours

Pat Flatley was named to the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.^[3]

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1982–83
AHCA West All-American	1982–83

 

 

Career statistics

Player of the day : Doug Smail #player #day #hockey #jets

Playing career

Doug Smail starred at the University of North Dakota for three seasons from 1977 to 1980, scoring 87 points in 40 games in his final season in the WCHA. His performance was enough to warrant notice from the Winnipeg Jets, and the next season he was a full-time NHL player.

Smail played eleven seasons with Winnipeg, being a top two-way player for them, as he had twelve consecutive seasons in which he scored at least one shorthanded goal, with a total of 28 shorthanded goals in his career.

Perhaps Smail's greatest claim to fame was when he set the NHL record for fastest goal after the opening faceoff by scoring a goal five seconds after the game started on 20 December 1981. Smail finished his career with the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators, but never achieved the success he had in Winnipeg.

After Smail's NHL career was over, he played three seasons in Britain for Fife Flyers and Cardiff Devils before retiring. He was the first player ever to sign for a British team directly from an NHL team when he signed for Fife Flyers from Ottawa Senators.

 He now resides in Colorado with his wife and three children. Smail was the Assistant Coach of the U-16 Team Rocky Mountain AAA Hockey program, where he coached alongside former NHL player Rick Berry last year, and is now the Head Coach of the Rocky Mountain Roughriders U-15 AAA squad.

 

 

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA Second Team	1979–80

• Named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1980)
• Named to the NCAA Championship Tournament MVP (1980)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1990)
• British Ice Hockey Writers Association Player of the Year (1994)

 Records

• Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career shorthanded goals (25)
• Fastest goal to start an NHL hockey game (5 seconds)

 

 Career statistics