Rare Jersey Cameos

As a hockey fan, there's nothing I like more than rare jersey cameos when established NHL stars join another professional team for a short time. It doesn't happen often, but I find those jerseys are more fun to see people wearing due to the conversations they start. I had mentioned this a few weeks back when I was looking for Curtis Joseph's lone appearance with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, but it got me thinking of other jersey cameos from pretty famous NHL players. Based on the lede photo, this article has Detroit tie-ins as well thanks to two players suiting up there!

The Detroit Vipers were the newest team in the IHL in 1994-95, and they needed to fill roster spots with solid players if they hoped to make an impact in the Detroit hockey market. They were playing at the Palace of Auburn Hills to the north of Detroit, so they had a chance to be successful with some distance between them and the Detroit Red Wings. Putting a competitive team on the ice in 1994 would give them a big advantage over the Red Wings, especially with the NHL's labour dispute souring people on that league.

Petr Sykora was one of those players that the Vipers were banking on after his play in the Czech Extraliga, but he started his career with another IHL team before arriving in Detroit. In 1993-94, the Cleveland Lumberjacks signed Sykora on January 31, 1994 after he led the Czech World Junior Championship team in points one month earlier. Sykora, at that time, became just the second underaged European player to ever sign a professional hockey contract in North America.

After making his debut with Cleveland, scoring four goals and nine points in 13 games while becoming the youngest player to ever play in the IHL at 17 years and 71 days when he took the ice for the first time, Sykora decided his time in Cleveland was up, opting to sign with the Detroit Vipers as he looked to improve his standing in the NHL Entry Draft. The Vipers fit Sykora's offensive ways that he had shown in the Extraliga as he scored 12 goals and 29 points in 29 games while wearing #95 in a limited role behind two veteran players. The effort he showed at both the World Junior Championship and with the Vipers got him noticed by Lou Lamoriello as the New Jersey Devils selected Sykora with the 18th-overall pick of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Only two players from that 1995 draft class outscored him in his career - Shane Doan and Jarome Iginla. That's a heckuva a career that included two Stanley Cup championships!

The other player mentioned above can be seen wearing #59 in the image to the left. Slovakian Miroslav Satan had been drafted by the Edmonton Oilers at 111th-overall in the fifth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, but it seems the Oilers couldn't figure out what to do with him as they sent him to four different teams in 1994-95 as they hoped the 19 year-old would begin to develop his game. He spent one game with the Colonial Hockey League's Detroit Falcons where he had two assists, and the Detroit Vipers called him to join their team with the hopes that he could find his offensive game quickly. That didn't happen, though, as Satan was used sparingly throughout the first-half of the season until one night when the TV cameras were rolling.

On December 1, 1994, the Detroit Vipers were playing Wayne Gretzky's hand-picked team of friends and superstars known as the Ninety-Niners in an exhibition game. Wayne and his crew were set to play a number of games in Europe while the NHL lockout was happening, and they used the game against the Vipers as a bit of a warm-up to get themselves ready for their European tour. That's where Miroslav Satan showed the world what he could do.
While that goal wouldn't count in his stats, Satan's talent was on display as he scored the game-winner in that 4-3 by the IHL's Detroit Vipers over the Ninety-Niners. In eight IHL games with the Vipers, Satan scored one goal and four points before he was moved back to Cape Breton. It was in Cape Breton where Satan exploded for points as he skated in 25 games with the AHL club, scoring 24 goals and 40 points in 25 games. It seemed he could be recalled by the Oilers at any time as Edmonton was falling further out of playoff contention.

On April 11, Satan informed the Oilers that he was joining the Slovak National Hockey Team who were competing in the IIHF World Hockey Championship Group B tournament where he lit up the competition. In seven games, Satan scored seven goals and 13 points as he helped Slovakia move back to the Group A tournament in 1996. The 1995-96 season would see Satan join the NHL for good, but for eight games in December 1994 he was skating for the IHL's Detroit Vipers!

The Vipers had a pile of phenomenal NHL players don their jersey over their seven-year history. Among the names you'll recognize are Gordie Howe, Peter Bondra, Jimmy Carson, Mark Fitzpatrick, Sami Salo, Phil Bourque, Jason Woolley, Johan Hedberg, Gerard Gallant, Stephane Richer, Michal Pivonka, Bryan Smolinski, Kevin Weekes, and Andrei Zyuzin. Add in the likes of Sykora and Satan, and the Detroit Vipers have a former player roster that will rival NHL teams.

In 1994, the Vipers had two of the best young European players on their roster. They didn't make any magic together, but they showed flashes of brilliance in their first full seasons as professional North American hockey players. And with that 1994-95 Detroit Vipers season comes a couple of great jersey cameos from two players who had incredible NHL careers before they started those careers!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!