Posts Tagged ‘Enforcer’

I am not even going to give you an excuse as to why I have been a little dodgy with my updating. I’m lazy, I’m busy, I’m a lot of things. Consistent, though, is currently not one of them.

In my last post, I asked for people to nominate some snubbed centers.

A) Thank you for that.

B) After looking at the results for nominations, I realized there was probably an easier way for me to do this, so I’ve created a poll to the right of all the centers. Vote for as many as you’d like. Any player receiving, oh, let’s say…67% of the votes gets in. Any player receiving less is out. Forever. End of story.

C) Next up are the left wingers. Same as above. Poll on the right. If you feel wordy, leave a comment explaining your vote(s).

So again, please vote in the poll to the right.

Now let us turn to some cards, or rather, a card.

Dan Kordic was a big dude. Like 6’5″ and 233 pounds big. The sort of big you don’t really go looking to start something with. Canadian prairie big. Alberta big.

As a defenceman, Kordic began his career in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers. In his first season, he tallied only six points in 63 games. While these numbers would seem to indicate that perhaps he was a scrapper and not a scorer, his 75 penalty minutes don’t necessarily give away a future as an enforcer. Over the next two seasons with Medicine Hat, Kordic put up 30 points in 129 games, but unlike his first year, he accumulated 372 PIMs. That number is still a bit deceiving, though, as he dropped the gloves only fourteen times (but fourteen more times than I have ever dropped them). If he was being groomed to be an enforcer, his time with Medicine Hat did not really reveal that fact.

Kordic’s break came in 1990 when he was drafted 88th overall by the always-tough Philadelphia Flyers. Although he would spend the 90-91 season in Medicine Hat, the big show was not far off.  In his last season with Medicine Hat he netted eight goals and helped out on fifteen others for a total of 23 points in 67 games, while also dropping the gloves six times and earning 150 penalty minutes.

At the start of the 1991-92 season, the Flyers gave Kordic a look. In the pre-season, the role of enforcer seemed to find him as he squared off against Bruins tough guy Lydon Byers. Now a left winger, it didn’t take long after that for Kordic to make a name for himself in the NHL. On October 17, Kordic dropped the mitts in a great, but quick, bout against Wayne Van Dorp of the Quebec Nordiques where the two went toe-to-toe with Kordic prevailing. The rest of his rookie season was sort of up and down in terms of fighting. He held his own against guys like Odelein, Churla, and Kocur but met his match on November 23rd. Playing the New Jersey Devils, Kordic and Randy McKay went at it in a slugfest. McKay got the better of Kordic, leaving him battered and bloody. Dan would drop the gloves three more times that season for a total of eleven fights and 126 PIMs in 46 games. He scored a solitary goal and helped on three others.

Kordic would spend the next most of the next four seasons with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Hersey Bears. He would occasionally get called up, but would last a game or two before getting sent back down. He was used primarily as an enforcer when playing in whatever game the Flyers called him up for. During the 1995-96 season, Kordic suited up in nine games for the Flyers and dropped the gloves three times…against Rob Ray, Donald Brashear, and Marty McSorley. If Kordic was to ever have a future in the NHL, it was going to be with this fists and not his stick.

It wasn’t until the 1996-97 season that Dan Kordic got his biggest shot in the pros. He would play 75 games that season, scoring one goal and assisting on four others, but that wasn’t his role. No, his 210 PIMs and 27 fights were his bread and butter. He fought just about every big gun there was that season. Dennis Vial, Stu Grimson, Brantt Myhres, and Darren Langdon. His most memorable moment of the season, though, came on March 9th against the Washington Capitals when he faced off against Brendan Witt AND Craig Berube. Not one, but TWO toe-to-toe slugfests against two legitimate tough guys. That was Dan Kordic. He would end the season with a great bout versus Ryan VandenBussche.

The following season would be Kordic’s last full season in the NHL. He would lace up the skates for 61 games, score his usual goal and help on another. He duplicated his PIMs with 210 while his fights dropped to a still respectable 18. He would battle Sandy McCarthy, Gino Odjick, cement head Donald Brashear, Mick Vukota, Stu Grimson, and old dance partner, Ryan VandenBussche.

The next season was Dan’s last in the NHL, playing in just two games. His last professional fight was against Krzysztof Oliwa, someone whom he fought twice the previous season. The scrap was spirited but short, much like Kordic’s career. He would finish the 98-99 season between the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL. His last opponent in hockey was Eric Cairns.

Unlike his brother John, who was a bad boy on the ice and a tragic figure off the ice, Dan was able to keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble. Today, Dan Kordic is an enforcer in a different sense. He has traded the fightstrap for the whistle and the orange and black for the zebra stripes. Kordic is now enforcing the rules of hockey on the ice as a referee.

The card is from the 1997-98 Be A Player set and is the autographed version. This is a great set to get signatures of many NHLers who normally might not have a signed card. Kordic’s signature is neat and compact, legible and artistic. So often, I find that the tough guys have the best signatures in the league and Kordic is no exception.

Chugging along…

Last post saw the induction of Bourque, Coffey, and Kharlamov while Fuhr, Lafontaine, Murphy, and Neely go the heave-ho. Sorry fellas, but that is how the cookie crumbles.

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980
1981
1982-1984
1985-1986
1987-1988
1989-1990
1991-1992
1993-1995
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2002
2003-2005

2006
Dick Duff
Patrick Roy

Dick Duff?! Seriously? 1030 games, 283 goals, and 289 assists does not a Hall of Fame career make. Twice he finished in the top-10 for goals in a season and that is it. No individual hardware and no NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Team selections. Six Stanley Cups is nice, but it’s a team achievement unless you put up UNGODLY numbers, which Duff did not. Very good, yes, but not amazing. Maybe he was a great defensive forward, but I can’t really find much anecdotal information on that. Duff is out.

Patrick Roy, on the other hand, is a no-brainer into the Hall of Fame.  18 seasons with a career record of 551-315-131. He finished in the top-1o in wins 16 times (leading twice), GAA 14 times(leading three times), and shutouts 11 times (leading twice). He is second on the all-time career win list. He has three Vezina Trophies, three Conn Smythe Trophies, and four Stanley Cups. He was also named to five NHL All-Star 1st Teams and two 2nd Teams. Roy is in.

Inducted: Patrick Roy
Kicked out: Dick Duff

2007
Ron Francis
Al MacInnis
Mark Messier
Scott Stevens

2007 is a strong HOF year. Let’s start with Ron Francis.

Dude played 23 seasons for starters! During his career, Francis appeared in the top-10 in assists twelve times, leading the league twice. For his career, he is 2nd all time. While he wasn’t known as a prolific goal scorer, he did tally 549 goals which is pretty darn good. Five times he finished in the top-1o in total points and is fourth all-time. He has some hardware to go along with his stats: a Selke Trophy, two Lady Byngs, and two Stanley Cups. Now I have to ask myself, was Ron Francis ever a dominant player? Would you get nervous when he was playing against your team? Was he a game changer? Yes and no. I don’t think he was ever dominant, but he was an elite playmaker who made his teammates better than they probably were. He was a headsy player  who was rarely out of position. It’s hard to argue against a guy who is 2nd in assists and 4th in points. So while he was never regarded as the best of his era, he performed at a high level for a LONG time. Plus, I gotta have a Whaler in the Hall. Francis is in.

In 19 seasons (40+ games) in the NHL, Al MacInnis tallied a total of 340 goals , 934 assists, and 1274 points, all of which are good enough for third all-time among defencemen. He won a Norris Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup while being named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team four times and the 2nd Team three times. He is also one of only five blueliners to score more than 100 points in a season. MacInnis was one of the premier defencemen of his time and certainly deserves to be in the Hall.

I’ll be upfront and honest about this: I have never liked Mark Messier. Ask me why and I can’t even tell you. It’s just one of those totally irrational dislikes that we sometimes get a humans. I think it’s something about the way he looks. Anyways, I am going to be very objective and let his numbers speak for his career. 25 years in the league (plus one in the WHA). Wait, that can’t be right…sweet Jesus it is! Wow, okay. During that time, he would score 30+ goals eleven times, 40+ four times, and 50+ once; six times he would finish with 100+ points. He finished in the top-1o in goals four times, assists six times, and points six times, but would never lead in any of those categories. His playoff numbers are absurd: 295 points (109 goals/186 assists) in 236 games. He won the Hart Trophy twice, the Ted Lindsay Award twice, and took home on Conn Smythe Trophy. Oh yeah, he has six Stanley Cups. And if that is not enough, he is 7th all-time in goals, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in points. Messier is in.

Scott Stevens was one tough hombre who was known to play on that fine line between tough as nails and dirty. I don’t think he was really known as an offensive d-man, but over the course of 1635 games, he did put up 196 goals and 712 assists. Not bad, not bad. He never won a Norris but he did take home a Conn Smythe Trophy and was the captain of three Stanley Cup winning teams. He wouldn’t get in on numbers alone, but Stevens was more than numbers. He was a hard hitter who made opponents change their style of play on more than one occasion. Ask Slava Koslov, Paul Kariya or Ron Francis about going across the middle with their head down. Despite being labeled as a sometimes dirty player, he only ever received four elbowing penalties in his career. Lastly, over his 22 seasons in the NHL, never never finished as a minus player. I want a hard-nosed, physical defencemen in my hall. Stevens is in!

Inducted: Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Mark Messier, and Scott Stevens
Kicked out: No one

2008
Glenn Anderson
Igor Larionov

First Dick Duff and now Glenn Anderson? No way. Six Cups is nice, but 43rd all time in goals, 75th in assists, and 56 is points. Never the best player on his team, let alone the league. GET OUT!

Igor Larionov has to be in because of his pre-NHL USSR career. He didn’t enter the NHL until he was 29, where he proceeded to put up solid but not spectacular numbers. His USSR numbers are about the same, good but not great. I don’t really know what to say here. I almost feel like I have to give the Russian players a pass here, but I don’t know. My gut says he shouldn’t be in, so he’s not. Make an argument for his inclusion and I’ll be all ears. Out. What a weak class!

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Glenn Anderson and Igor Larionov

One more part to go and we’ll be all caught up. SO EXCITING! Maybe.

Now onto something that, to me, is beyond exciting.

A while ago I asked Brett over at My Hockey Card Obsession if he would create a custom cut autograph card of Reggie Lewis for me. If you are not familiar with his work, it is out of this world. I mean, check out his stuff! I’m not sure why card companies haven’t come knocking at his door offering him jobs and obscene amounts of money but I figure it has something to do with the fact that card companies are run by morons with no artistic eye (Panini, I’m looking at you in particular). Anyways, I asked Brett if, when he had time, he could come up with something that would feature my little piece of paper with Reggie Lewis’ autograph on it. You can see it here. Being the nice guy that he is, he agreed and sent me his idea. Of course it looked amazing and so he went ahead with it.

Smash cut to yesterday and me at the post office checking my box. What do I find in there but this thing:

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?!?!

No exaggeration here: I lost my breath. Yeah, I knew what it would look like but actually seeing it in person BLEW. ME. AWAY! I am not sure if Brett knows exactly how much this means to me and how much I will cherish this card. Reggie Lewis was my favorite player at the  impressionable age of 13, when we still believed in heroes. His death affected me big time and this scrap piece of paper was my one tangible link to Reggie. Thank you, Brett, SO SO SO MUCH for this card.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, he goes and sends this along too:

C’MON!

The hockey blogosphere never ceases to amaze me!