Things I've Discovered
- David Kelley, creator of successful TV shows such as Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope, and The Practice, was the stick boy for the New England Whalers in the WHA. Just to add a little icing to that tip, he's also married to Michelle Pfeiffer. Yeah, not a bad outcome at all.
- Ben Hatskin, who owned the WHA's Winnipeg Jets and convinced Bobby Hull to sign in Winnipeg, was once offered a World Football League franchise in Hawaii. Surprisingly, he declined the ownership offer.
- In the last three seasons, the highest scoring player is Steven Stamkos.
- In the last three seasons, he and Martin St. Louis rank #1 and #2.
- In the last decade, Joe Thornton has been the highest scoring NHL player.
- Surprisingly, Martin St. Louis ranks as the second-best player over that decade.
- Andre Lacroix, who was a star in the WHA, played on six different teams in his seven seasons in the WHA, but he was never traded. Not once. The teams he played on either folded or moved. Interesting times in that league.
- In his final season with the Detroit Red Wings, Gordie Howe made $100,000. In their first seasons in the WHA, Mark and Marty Howe made $600,000.
- Charlie Coyle of the Minnesota Wild is planning on wearing #3 this season. He'll officially become the lowest-numbered forward. Taylor Hall of Edmonton held that title before Coyle as he wears #4 for the Oilers.
- Don't look now, but Ilya Kovalchuk has found his groove in the KHL. Helping SKA St. Petersburg to a 6-1-1 record, Kovalchuk has now tied for the lead in goals with six while posting nine points. If there was any doubt as to who was going to win the scoring title, Kovalchuk is erasing those doubts with every goal he scores.
- Yaroslavl Lokomotiv head coach Tom Rowe was relieved of his duties after Lokomotiv's poor start, and youth program coach Pyotr Vorobyov has replaced him. One of the assistant coaches brought aboard by Vorobyov? Former Flyers and Maple Leafs defenceman Dmitry Yushkevich. Now there's a blast from the past!
- Bratislava, Slovakia will host the 2014 KHL All-Star Game. Y'know, in case you were wondering. Book your plane tickets now... or something.
- Kudos to the Brandon Wheat Kings on opening the season 2-0 with two convincing wins over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Wheaties will now play a two-game set against the Jets' Josh Morrissey and the Prince Albert Raiders in PA. Keep it rolling, Brandon!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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4 comments:
I'll comment on the two points that are most relevant to me: first, the Kovalchuk scoring tear. Yes, he is scoring, but he has also missed two games (the first two of the last homestand), and for a time, it was Viktor Tikhonov that was doing the bulk of the scoring. If Kovy was not to win the scoring title, it will be because guys like Tikhonov, Patrick Thoresen and Roman Cervenka are picking up the slack.
As for the Brandon fast start, health is a major factor in the team's ability to keep it up. That didn't happen last year, and you saw the results. Incidentally, Portland isn't off to the best start, either. Then again, they did get out of the gate slowly last year, too. Read into that what you will.
First time reader - I loved reading those stats...keep them coming. Also good move not to establish a team in Hawaii, I'm not sure that would work:)
@DrPete - Good call on the Brandon start. I'd also toss in there that a 2-0 start isn't overly impressive. If it were 10-0, different story. LOL
Tikhonov et al. are certainly helping, and every star player benefits from a strong supporting cast. But Kovalchuk is looking like Kovy during the lockout once again. That should worry the KHL teams.
@Steve - Thanks for reading, Steve! Glad you liked it! :o)
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