iThe competely meaningless, redundant NHL All Star game will be played tomorrow and the score, as usual, will be in the order of 16-15. Actually the term game is likely a misnomer for this non-event because games, by definition, are competitive. When no one whomsever, managers, coaches and players, couldnt care less who wins, its not a game; its a joke. The All Star game wasnt always so inconsequential by the way. It does, however, get me thinking about some of the top hockey stars of all time. Can there be anyone, anywhere, who doesnt know that Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe are the top two offensive players in the history of the NHL? A great trivia question: Who is third on the list among professional hockey players? Its nobody that just about anyone would guess. The operaive word is professional, which includes leagues other than the NHL, several of which are defunct, having disappeared several years ago. Having been an addict to the game at all levels since childhood, in the very early 60s, I would put my nickels and dimes together to buy the weekly Hockey News. The first half of that publication contained articles and statistics aboiut NHL teams and players exclusively. The rest if it covered the minor leagues and even international teams - that was the part I read first, always. Don Cherry played in the 50 and 60s on several teams in a number of minor leagues. He often mentions some of the players from those times on his show. However, I have never, even one time, heard him speaking the name of American Guyle Fielder, who played primarily in the old Western League. In fact, Gretzky, Howe and Fielder are the only hockey players in history to have compiled mre than 2000 points. If Fielder was such a prolific scorer, why didnt he play in the NHL? He did play 15 NHL game over the course of a few seasons with three different teams, compiling no points. He was diminutive in stature, even by the standards of the day and not extremely fast on his skates. Realizing that the best he would ever accomplish in the NHL was the role of a fringe player who would be called up only occasionally and traded often, he declined all promotions to the big time after his limited attempts. Besdes, he had a very good gig going in the Western League, where he became a legend, mostly with the Seattle Totems but later with the Portland Buckaroos (both great names. Original sweaters for them are collectors items.) So, there you go, the third leading scorer, all time, in pro hockey - Guyle Fielder: https://youtube/watch?v=yaISbkpJ2qY
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 23:24:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015