When people think of hockey heritage and heritage rivalries, they might not instantly jump to Calgary vs. Montreal. Most Montrealers would probably cite at least 5 other rivalries they deem to have more heritage. Calgarians are likely in the same boat.
But for this Montreal fan, there couldn't have been a more fitting choice for a Heritage Classic match-up than Calgary vs. Montreal. To me, this was the ultimate rivalry. Montreal is where I grew up. Calgary and the Flames set my hockey dreams alight.
The First Cup
Nearly every hockey fan has a first Stanley Cup playoffs tournament of note in their treasured memories. I was born in the 1970s, but moved to Canada when I was very young. Montreal was a Stanley Cup champion when we arrived, but this was all very alien to me. I probably vaguely knew of ice, but it hadn't been part of my winters till then.
After briefly living within touching distance of the Forum's back exit, my childhood in Montreal for a while consisted of school and playing on the street. Because we lived a stone's throw from a pool, swimming became the big sport. Because of our own heritage, soccer was to be the other pursuit.
1986 was the first playoffs I remember clearly in my house. The excitement at school and in the neighbourhood must have been building for this once oblivious child to take notice of something other than the upcoming Commonwealth Games swim meet. Though not vivid memories, I see snippets of games, I know Gainey and Robinson and Naslund were images from the time. I remember Patrick Roy being the only thing my friends would talk about at school. Even though it seemed a very easy time to grow up without the Canadiens (I think the 1970s must have made many fans more blase about the whole thing), May 1986 was the first spark of interest for hockey in a young mind.
Because the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in Calgary that year, I even got a Canadiens sweater out of it. In a move that I understand much more with time, our swim team coaches made the Canadiens sweater our team uniform for the important under-10 swimming competition in Toronto that June. Oh, how the 19-year starved Torontonians must have loved the gesture. Probably expecting their chance to return the favour to come very soon.
Calgary Olympics
If hockey had eluded me before 1986, sports as spectacle had not. The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles had me rapt. Canada, my country, so gracefully poaching medals left and right. Alex Baumann and Victor Davis, of course, being pivotal figures in all swimmers thoughts from that era.
4 years is a long time to wait for a child. So, when I discovered that 6 months before those Seoul Olympics, that couldn't come soon enough, Canada would be hosting a different set of Olympics, I jumped in feet first. I got the Petro Canada and Post Office gear and scheduled my entire two weeks. I was going to watch the entire event if I could. I probably nearly did. From Pirmin Zurbriggen to that final hockey game, I watched and watched.
If Calgary in 1986 had provided the spark and the sweater, then Calgary 1988 had begun to provide an education in the game of hockey and a basis for something to come. I loved Canada and cheered for Sean Burke, Andy Moog and the guys, but one couldn't help but be fascinated with Larionov, Makarov and Krutov. The Canadiens and Oilers won the NHL trophies, but this showed the young fan a whole world of players who didn't even compete for that one.
1988-89 Season
If I think about how perfect stories are reconciled in the imagination, the 1988-89 season comes to mind. The Canadiens were a good team in 1986, but they had surprised a bit, they certainly came from nowhere into my consciousness. The Flames too had accepted Steve Smith's help to make that final. 1988-89 was different.
Chelios, Roy, Robinson, Naslund, Smith and Richer were battling all season long with far-off rivals Loob, Mullen, Nieuwendyk, MacDonald and Vernon. There were two teams that season. Montreal won the East by a clear 23 points, Calgary cleared the Campbell Conference by 26 points.
The struggle for the President's trophy throughout that year was the most important hockey contest I had come across to date. Because we had moved to Canada, our family didn't really have a notion that regular seasons are unimportant, so scoreboard watching, particularly through the winter and spring of 1989 was tremendously exciting. Back then, of course, things were a bit more romantic.
Because there was no internet and very few people had TSN yet, results from the Western timezones were typically unearthed in the morning newspapers. I can remember raiding my local depanneurs with some frequency to steal a glance at Calgary scores, the exotic boxscores and the standings. Montreal went 14-3-3 over the last stretch to really pour on the pressure. But Calgary put it away impressively with an 8-1-0 run in the final nine. A win less would have been a tie break win, one more loss and tie, Montreal would have received the President's trophy. Those were some riveting boxscores, I can tell you.
And then with only the slight blip of Calgary:Vancouver, both teams swooped into the final as teams do in perfectly written seasons. The Vezina, Norris and Selke trophy laureats would face the storming offense where Doug Gilmour
0-1, 1-1, 2-1(!), 2-2, 2-3, 2-4 and it was done. Despite curfews getting in the way, i watched these where I could. Part of me expected all to go as planned and the good guys to claim victory. The villain with the red moustache was an image I couldn't shake for a long time.
This season and this final, grueling months of anticipation, celebration and work was the first of its kind for me. Hockey may not have been the sport that lived in my imagination before. it was now.
The rest is history
While Calgary may not be the Canadiens most important rivals anymore. For a few short (and pivotal) seasons, the Flames were. The city of Calgary, being the locale for a Stanley Cup victory, a mesmerizing Olympic hockey tournament and a pivotal Game 5 (among other important wins that year) was the second home of my hockey imagination.
For years after, I'd consider the possibility of the pure final (Calgary vs. Montreal) in all predictions and dealings with hockey pools. Probably right up until 1993 with the big 10-man trade and the ensuing playoffs. I knew these were the two best teams of an era, and the stats even back that up.
That's why for me that alumni game (with plenty of characters and villains from that very era) will be very exciting. The game itself will be. This rivalry just works that way.
Showing posts with label Naslund. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naslund. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Canadiens World Junior History
118 Players And Counting
Tonight Louis Leblanc (hopeful future Hab) will be suiting up for the Canadians to battle against the Russians for junior hockey supremacy (well for this year's supremacy). Louis is part of a long history of Canadiens at this tournament.
The World Junior Hockey Championships were held for the first time in 1974. Doug Jarvis, undrafted and representing the Peterborough Petes was the first (future) Canadien to play in the tournament. Though the tournament had humble beginnings, it soon became a barometer for young talent, especially following the Gretzky tournament of 1978. The Canadiens scouts over the years have clearly used the tournament to make their minds up, which is either very efficient or very lazy (I can't quite decide yet). And since Jarvis there have been 117 other World Junior alum to suit up for the big club in Montreal, including a whopping 50 for team Canada.
On the cusp of the tournament final, I thought you might all enjoy an updated look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.
Of the current Habs, there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 7 in all. The list is headed by Josh Gorges and Hal Gill, later bloomers both. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Moen, Halpern, Drache and Picard all missing out on their opportunities.
Team Canada
Alex Auld, Steve Begin, Shawn Belle, Dustin Boyd, Patrice Brisebois, Mike Cammalleri, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, PK Subban, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward
USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok
Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom
Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Jaroslav Spacek, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik
Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme
USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Doug Janik, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, Jay Leach, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Paul Mara, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie
Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber
Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski
Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)
Denmark
Lars Eller
Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom, Mike Cammalleri
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit, PK Subban
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
19 - Paul Mara
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok
Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
17 - Mike Cammalleri
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall
Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.83 - Brian Gionta
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter
Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
11 - Mike Cammalleri
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins
Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall, Brian Gionta
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.79 - Mike Cammalleri
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind
Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
9 - PK Subban
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey, Paul Mara
6 – Andrei Markov, Yannick Weber, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.69 - PK Subban
0.67 - Yannick Weber
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance
Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:
Forward lines:
Mike Cammalleri - Saku Koivu - Nicklas Sundstrom
Mats Naslund – Shayne Corson – Brian Gionta
Martin Rucinsky - Bobby Smith – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko
Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – PK Subban
Scott Lachance – Andrei Markov
Mark Streit – Eric Desjardins
Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer
The World Junior Hockey Championships were held for the first time in 1974. Doug Jarvis, undrafted and representing the Peterborough Petes was the first (future) Canadien to play in the tournament. Though the tournament had humble beginnings, it soon became a barometer for young talent, especially following the Gretzky tournament of 1978. The Canadiens scouts over the years have clearly used the tournament to make their minds up, which is either very efficient or very lazy (I can't quite decide yet). And since Jarvis there have been 117 other World Junior alum to suit up for the big club in Montreal, including a whopping 50 for team Canada.
On the cusp of the tournament final, I thought you might all enjoy an updated look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.
Of the current Habs, there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 7 in all. The list is headed by Josh Gorges and Hal Gill, later bloomers both. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Moen, Halpern, Drache and Picard all missing out on their opportunities.
Team Canada
Alex Auld, Steve Begin, Shawn Belle, Dustin Boyd, Patrice Brisebois, Mike Cammalleri, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, PK Subban, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward
USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok
Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom
Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Jaroslav Spacek, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik
Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme
USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Doug Janik, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, Jay Leach, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Paul Mara, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie
Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber
Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski
Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)
Denmark
Lars Eller
Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom, Mike Cammalleri
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit, PK Subban
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
19 - Paul Mara
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok
Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
17 - Mike Cammalleri
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall
Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.83 - Brian Gionta
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter
Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
11 - Mike Cammalleri
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins
Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall, Brian Gionta
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.79 - Mike Cammalleri
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind
Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
9 - PK Subban
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey, Paul Mara
6 – Andrei Markov, Yannick Weber, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.69 - PK Subban
0.67 - Yannick Weber
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance
Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:
Forward lines:
Mike Cammalleri - Saku Koivu - Nicklas Sundstrom
Mats Naslund – Shayne Corson – Brian Gionta
Martin Rucinsky - Bobby Smith – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko
Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – PK Subban
Scott Lachance – Andrei Markov
Mark Streit – Eric Desjardins
Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Top 100 Habs By Decade:
5. 1979-1989
In recognition of the Canadiens Centennial next Friday, we at Lions in Winter have been doing what we like best – making lists. As a precursor to publishing the definitive LIW top 100, we will be counting down the decades from least successful to most successful and naming our LIW top 10 players for the ten-year span. You should expect a few each day for the next few days.
Though this celebration has inevitably lost some steam due to relentless marketing and pre-game ceremonies for all of living memory, it would be a shame to let it pass unnoticed just because Mr. Gillett wanted to cash in before he cashed out.
5 decades to go and we start to get pretty interesting. If I know my readers, I'd say there are a few who get pretty romantic about some of the upcoming decades – the 1980s being no exception.
The 1980s were a funny time. At one end, you had the clear wane of stars and a dynasty from the 1970s, with retirements and general slowing of production across the board. However, at the other end of the 1980s you have the 1985-1993 period, which as dynasties go is much more silent and forgotten than that of the 1960s. 3 Cup finals (2 in the 1980s) and the 2nd best overall record by a hair to the Calgary Flames.
The list of ten players reflects these two realities with 70s players who fared better but didn't make the grade for that team and (super)stars who were born in the 1980s.
[Note: Each player only appears in one decade's top 10 – so Patrick Roy fans, don't get too ruffled]
10. Doug Jarvis (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Strong defensive forward and big contributor to 1970s success. He won Selke after leaving Montreal.
9. Pierre Mondou (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
A solid offensive contributor who lived in the shadows of some true greats.
8. Doug Risebrough (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
A valuable contributor to the 1970s dynasty, he was still a very valuable member of the team that tried to showdown the Islanders and Oilers.
7. Rod Langway (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
A prodigal talent with the Montreal Canadiens. One wonders what might have been.
6. Pierre Larouche (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Exceptional goalscoring talent who made a brief stop in Montreal.
5. Mario Tremblay (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
A youngster from the dynasty years who came into his own in a leadership role during the 1980s. Only a career-ending injury stopped him from lifting one more Cup.
4. Bobby Smith (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
A big-game player with a talent for passing and scoring. Led the line for the Habs in the late 1980s.
3. Chris Chelios (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
The new anchor of the Habs blueline really came into his own in his last few years in Montreal.
2. Mats Naslund (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
The Canadiens first European superstar and last 100-point scorer.
1. Guy Carbonneau (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Carbonneau, in retrospect, inherited the torch passed from one great Quebecois star to the next for 50 years. His defensive forward tag often clouds the fact that he was a fine scorer who knew how to show people what clutch play meant more than most. The second face of the forgotten mini dynasty of late 1980s and early 1990s.
* Awards: AS= N = Norris; FS = Frank Selke; LB = Lady Byng; All-star; HOF = Hall of Fame; SC = Stanley Cup.
Though this celebration has inevitably lost some steam due to relentless marketing and pre-game ceremonies for all of living memory, it would be a shame to let it pass unnoticed just because Mr. Gillett wanted to cash in before he cashed out.
1979-1989
5 decades to go and we start to get pretty interesting. If I know my readers, I'd say there are a few who get pretty romantic about some of the upcoming decades – the 1980s being no exception.
The 1980s were a funny time. At one end, you had the clear wane of stars and a dynasty from the 1970s, with retirements and general slowing of production across the board. However, at the other end of the 1980s you have the 1985-1993 period, which as dynasties go is much more silent and forgotten than that of the 1960s. 3 Cup finals (2 in the 1980s) and the 2nd best overall record by a hair to the Calgary Flames.
The list of ten players reflects these two realities with 70s players who fared better but didn't make the grade for that team and (super)stars who were born in the 1980s.
[Note: Each player only appears in one decade's top 10 – so Patrick Roy fans, don't get too ruffled]
10. Doug Jarvis (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1975-82 | 560 | 91 | 154 | 245 | +105 | 13 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1981-82 | 80 | 20 | 28 | 48 | +34 | 4 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1976-82 | 72 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 1 | 4 SC | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1979-80 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
Strong defensive forward and big contributor to 1970s success. He won Selke after leaving Montreal.
9. Pierre Mondou (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1977-85 | 548 | 194 | 262 | 456 | +215 | 25 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1981-82 | 73 | 35 | 33 | 68 | +18 | 4 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1977-85 | 69 | 17 | 28 | 45 | (+11) | 2 | 3 SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1983-84 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 9 | +8 | 1 |
A solid offensive contributor who lived in the shadows of some true greats.
8. Doug Risebrough (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1974-82 | 493 | 117 | 185 | 302 | +158 | 19 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1981-82 | 59 | 15 | 18 | 33 | +23 | 2 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1975-82 | 74 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 2 | 4 SC | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1981-82 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
A valuable contributor to the 1970s dynasty, he was still a very valuable member of the team that tried to showdown the Islanders and Oilers.
7. Rod Langway (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1978-82 | 268 | 26 | 101 | 127 | +160 | 4 | AS, HOF |
| Decade best (Season) | 1981-82 | 66 | 5 | 34 | 39 | +66 | 1 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1979-82 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | SC | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1979-80 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
A prodigal talent with the Montreal Canadiens. One wonders what might have been.
6. Pierre Larouche (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1977-82 | 236 | 110 | 126 | 236 | +81 | 10 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1979-80 | 73 | 50 | 41 | 91 | +36 | 7 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1978-81 | 22 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 2 SC | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1979-80 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
Exceptional goalscoring talent who made a brief stop in Montreal.
5. Mario Tremblay (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1974-86 | 852 | 258 | 326 | 584 | +184 | 36 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1981-82 | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | +24 | 4 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1975-85 | 101 | 20 | 29 | 49 | (+5) | 4 | 4 SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1979-80 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
A youngster from the dynasty years who came into his own in a leadership role during the 1980s. Only a career-ending injury stopped him from lifting one more Cup.
4. Bobby Smith (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1983-90 | 505 | 172 | 310 | 482 | +34 | 30 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 1985-86 | 79 | 31 | 55 | 86 | +10 | 7 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1984-90 | 107 | 38 | 46 | 84 | -1 | 6 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1988-89 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 19 | +1 | 1 |
A big-game player with a talent for passing and scoring. Led the line for the Habs in the late 1980s.
3. Chris Chelios (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1983-90 | 402 | 72 | 237 | 309 | +74 | 14 | N, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 1988-89 | 80 | 15 | 58 | 73 | +35 | 6 | N, AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1984-90 | 98 | 16 | 52 | 68 | +8 | 2 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1988-89 | 21 | 4 | 15 | 19 | +2 | 2 |
The new anchor of the Habs blueline really came into his own in his last few years in Montreal.
2. Mats Naslund (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1982-90 | 617 | 243 | 369 | 612 | +120 | 34 | LB, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 1985-86 | 80 | 43 | 67 | 110 | +11 | 7 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1983-90 | 97 | 34 | 57 | 91 | +5 | 9 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1986-87 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | -1 | 3 |
The Canadiens first European superstar and last 100-point scorer.
1. Guy Carbonneau (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1980-94 | 912 | 221 | 326 | 547 | +158 | 33 | 3 FS |
| Decade best (Season) | 1988-89 | 79 | 26 | 30 | 56 | +37 | 10 | FS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1983-94 | 161 | 30 | 43 | 173 | +3 | 6 | 2 SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1985-86 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 12 | +9 | 1 | SC |
Carbonneau, in retrospect, inherited the torch passed from one great Quebecois star to the next for 50 years. His defensive forward tag often clouds the fact that he was a fine scorer who knew how to show people what clutch play meant more than most. The second face of the forgotten mini dynasty of late 1980s and early 1990s.
* Awards: AS= N = Norris; FS = Frank Selke; LB = Lady Byng; All-star; HOF = Hall of Fame; SC = Stanley Cup.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Canadiens World Junior History
103 Players And Counting
The World Junior Hockey Championships were held for the first time in 1974. Doug Jarvis, undrafted and representing the Peterborough Petes was the first (future) Canadien to play in the tournament. Though the tournament had humble beginnings, it soon became a barometer for young talent, especially following the Gretzky tournament of 1978. The Canadiens scouts over the years have clearly used the tournament to make their minds up, which is either very efficient or very lazy (I can't quite decide yet). And since Jarvis there have been 102 other World Junior alum to suit up for the big club in Montreal, including a whopping 50 for team Canada.
On the eve of the big climax to the junior tournament, I thought you might all enjoy a look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.
Of the current Habs (coaches included), there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 10 in all. The list is headed by Guy Carbonneau, who probably would have made the cut in 1978 were it not for some political in-fighting and no Quebec presence on the Gretzky edition of the team (Ray Bourque and Michel Goulet were also overlooked). Robert Lang also missed out, probably because he was a late bloomer if his patchy stats from Czechoslovakia from that time are to be believed. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Kostopoulos, Dandenault, Laraque, D'Agostini, Gorges, Bouillon and O'Byrne all missing out on their opportunities.
Team Canada
Steve Begin, Patrice Brisebois, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Carey Price, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward
USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok
Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom
Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik
Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme
USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie
Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit
Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski
Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)
Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok
Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall
Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter
1.29 – Saku Koivu
Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins
5 – Mats Naslund, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Ryan Walter, Juha Lind, Richard Zednik, Yvan Joly
Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind
Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey
6 – Andrei Markov, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
4 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance
0.50 – Ron Hainsey
0.46 – Andrei Markov
Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:
Forward lines:
Mats Naslund – Saku Koivu – Niklas Sundstrom
Martin Rucinsky – Shayne Corson – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko
Sergei Samsonov – Doug Jarvis – Russ Courtnall
Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – Andrei Markov
Scott Lachance – Eric Desjardins
Mark Streit – Rob Ramage
Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer
On the eve of the big climax to the junior tournament, I thought you might all enjoy a look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.
Of the current Habs (coaches included), there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 10 in all. The list is headed by Guy Carbonneau, who probably would have made the cut in 1978 were it not for some political in-fighting and no Quebec presence on the Gretzky edition of the team (Ray Bourque and Michel Goulet were also overlooked). Robert Lang also missed out, probably because he was a late bloomer if his patchy stats from Czechoslovakia from that time are to be believed. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Kostopoulos, Dandenault, Laraque, D'Agostini, Gorges, Bouillon and O'Byrne all missing out on their opportunities.
Team Canada
Steve Begin, Patrice Brisebois, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Carey Price, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward
USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok
Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom
Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik
Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme
USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie
Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit
Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski
Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)
Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price
Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok
Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall
Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter
1.29 – Saku Koivu
Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins
5 – Mats Naslund, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Ryan Walter, Juha Lind, Richard Zednik, Yvan Joly
Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind
Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey
6 – Andrei Markov, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
4 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance
0.50 – Ron Hainsey
0.46 – Andrei Markov
Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:
Forward lines:
Mats Naslund – Saku Koivu – Niklas Sundstrom
Martin Rucinsky – Shayne Corson – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko
Sergei Samsonov – Doug Jarvis – Russ Courtnall
Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – Andrei Markov
Scott Lachance – Eric Desjardins
Mark Streit – Rob Ramage
Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer
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