Drafted Into Obscurity < Kirk McCaskill >

Many hockey players who get to skate in the professional North American hockey leagues are not just limited to puck skills. These men of ice are talented athletes who skate in excess of 20 mph, deftly handling a solid rubber disc the size of 1 inch by 3 inches through a crowded parade of competitors weighing over 200 lbs and possess an uncanny timing to fire the puck off their sticks up to and over 100 mph.

One of these talented men of ice figured he could throw a baseball faster then he could shoot a hockey puck and went on to pitch for two teams over an above average 11-year Major League Baseball career - Kirk McCaskill.

Before Kirk McCaskill took the to the mound in his first MLB game in Los Angeles, he skated as a pro hockey prospect in the NHL's Winnipeg Jets farm system in Sherbrooke, Quebec.


Baseball pitcher Kirk McCaskill playing
 ice hockey for the AHL's Sherbrooke Jets 

The University of Vermont grad played a full-four year career for the Catamonts from 1979-1983. In 1981, McCaskill's hockey career was taking off. He lead the Catamonts, getting NHL scouts interested in his on-ice prowess, scoring with 51 points in 32 games. The Winnipeg Jets came calling in the summer of that year, drafting McCaskill in the fourth round, #64 overall at the 81 NHL Entry Draft.

It appeared that the Jets had some talent on their hands because by 1982, McCaskill had his finest college season, scoring 30 goals and 49 points, becoming an NCAA All-American first team all star and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award. 

McCaskill playing for Vermont in 1982 -
photo courtesy HistoricImages.com

By the spring of 1982, McCaskill was keeping his baseball hopes alive by signing a pro contract with the California Angels, playing Class A baseball in Massachuesettes which didn't affect his college eligibility. When the fall came, McCaskill went back to school for the start of the NCAA hockey season. In January 1983, McCaskill left the University of Vermont to join the California Angels spring training camp in Arizona, playing in lower pro baseball leagues over the spring and summer. But he refused to give on the puck dreams and eventually returned to hockey by the fall of 1983 by siging with the Jets.  

At Winnipeg's training camp in September 1983, McCaskill failed to impress Jets coaching staff, having head coach and long time pro Barry Long commenting, "McCaskill plays hockey the way he plays baseball - once every four games." 

McCaskill was unable to hook on with Winnipeg Jets roster and was sent down to their AHL farm team in Sherbrooke. McCaskill played out the full 1983-1984 year in Sherbrooke, scoring 22 points, with 10 goals and was called up for one NHL game but never was put in the lineup.

Kirk McCaskill pitching for
the Los Angeles Angels in 1991
- photo courtesy Panini America Ltd.

McCaskill walked away from hockey after his frustrating experience in Winnipeg and devoted himself completely to baseball in 1985. The Kapuskasking, Ontario native made his major league debut in May of 1985, never looking back and finding his way into hockey obscurity. 

The Global Game

The Tale of Two Thomas'

Before the jaw-dropping, acrobatic game-saving style of Boston Bruins star goalie Tim Thomas came along, oddly there was a hockey player with the same name who donned red, white and blue of the USA Hockey 25 years earlier.


Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas playing for Team USA at the 2010 Olympics

The two-time NHL goaltender of the year suited up for team USA in 2010 in Vancouver. Thomas was a back-up to fellow Michigan native Ryan Miller, helping the team to a silver medal.

Wisconsin Badger
Tim Thomas

Wisconsin star defenseman Tim Thomas was a smaller puck-rushing d-man who anchored the Badgers blueline in the early 1980's NCAA Div I men's hockey. Thomas' prolific college career ranks him fourth all-time among UW Badger defenseman, collecting just over a point a game average over four years with 154 points in 151 games.

Early in the 1984 season, Thomas was tapped to join the United States men's national hockey team to compete in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Going into the tournament the 1984 team carried in the uneviable pressure of living up to the "Miracle On Ice" 1980 gold medal winning team four years earlier. Version 1984 had the same formula that team organizers used in 1980 - a college-laden roster, featuring future star NHL'ers such as Pat LaFontaine, Chris Chelios, Al Iafrate and Ed Olczyk. With all that firepower, experts expected at least a medal round berth, but the Americans flamed out, finishing far out of the medals, seventh overall with very average 2-2-2 record.

Team USA's Tim Thomas in
pre-olympic action against the
 Minnesota North Stars in 1984

Unfortunately for Thomas, he was the last cut from the final 20-man Olympic roster heading to Sarajevo after playing for the US squad in all the pre-olympic games. On his return to Wisconsin, the Minnesota native continued his fine play for the Badgers, making second team All-American in 1985 and posting a very impressive 63 points in 42 games.

Although he was never drafted into the NHL, Thomas played 20 minor pro games for Indianopolis Checkers and Balitmore Skipjacks from 1986 to 1988, registering a respectable 14 points, before retiring from hockey for good in 1988.

The Global Game

Free Agent Frenzy

Can you remember a time when the Detroit Red Wings were a struggling franchise and a doormat of the NHL? Look up the sports news from the early 1980's and you'll find a team in desperate need of talent and identity. Lean times were upon the Red Wings as the team was shut out of the NHL post season six out of nine seasons, including a run from 1979 to 1983.

A year before in 1982, a new era was beginning to unfold in the Motor City hockey arena. Pizza magnate and avid sports fan Mike Illitch bought the team and installed up and coming assistant general manager Jimmy Devellano as the Red Wings new GM. It seemed as though Detroit's fortunes were slowly turning around. The Red Wings finally got back to the post season in back-to-back years in 1984 and 1985 being oustaded in the first round in both years, while adding one of the greatest players ever to wear the winged wheel on his chest - Steve Yzerman through the NHL draft in 1984.

By 1986, the Red Wings organization were ready to take the next step in the NHL winning heirarchy. Wanting to make a huge splash  Devellano waded into the undrafted, free agent waters, looking for those players that were not caught in the net of the NHL scouts trollers. Illitch gave Devellano the "all go" signal to allow the team to spend as much money as possible to land the biggest diamonds in the rough.

Those diamonds came in the form of a trio of  US college hockey players Ray Staszak, Tim Friday and Dale Krentz that were best forgotten by Red Wing fans. 

Ray Staszak

Staszak was coming off a wildly successful season as a junior at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Staszak was the CCHA player of the year and first all star after putting up 72 points in 38 games in 1985. Detroit needed a leg up on their Norris division foes and Staszak, standing at 6'0" 200 lbs, looked like he might be one of those talented gems that fell through the extensive NHL scouting ranks. And in the summer of 1985, Devellano was so convinced of Staszak's future pro potential, he signed the Pennsylvania native to highest free agent contract in league history at a whopping 1.3 million dollars over four years !!! This was an unheard of sum for such an unheard of player. Hockey experts and pundits throughout North America could believe what they have seen, heard and read.

Was Detroit actually breaking the bank for a untested college hockey player?  Yes, they had and now the pressure was on the 22-year-old to produce early and often.

But it was never to be for Staszak. Although he made the opening night roster for the Red Wings it would take four NHL games to supplant his future as a hockey oddity. Four games would all Staszak would ever see at the NHL level as he was sent down to the Detroit AHL farm team in Adirondack. A series of injuries to his shoulder and stomach permanently derail his once promising career and sour the Red Wings on this million-dollar flash-in-the-pan.




Tim Friday playing for RPI

Detroit continued it's 1985 college free agent foray, going after championship pedigreed defenseman Tim Friday. Friday was a star defenseman on the 1985 NCAA Div I champion Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers hockey team.



Friday with Detroit in 1986



At 6'10" 190 lbs, Friday wasn't a huge presence on the back end but he was known to be responsible in his own end of the ice and for finding the space for a quick pass up to the forwards. The Red Wings were trying to get younger on the back end and made a few trades to get the right combination speed, skill and size. Friday was supposed to fit that bill but after 23 games, posting no points and putting up a -9, the native of Calfornia was sent down to the AHL for the rest of the 1985-86 season after inccuring a shoulder injury. Friday regained his top form again in Adirondack, while helping the AHL team to the 1986 Calder Cup league championship. Friday never saw the bright lights of the Joe Louis Arena and the NHL again as he retired from hockey that summer, reportedly due to a worsening shoulder injury.

Dale Krentz was a solid forward

Krentz with Adirondack in 1988





Drafted Into Obscurity < Dan Dorion >

The annals of National Hockey League are littered with incredibly talented also-rans and could've beens. A multitude of players who, if they had the right coaching and situations, might have gone on to dazzle a generation of fans and captivate their never-ending dreams of championships.

  

Dorion with Utica in 1987 

One such player had all the talent, magic hands and ice presence to succeed but none of the size to play such a physically demanding game - Dan Dorion. Standing at a diminutive 5'9" and weighing a small 180 lbs, Dorion was always given the unenvial task of proving himself time and time again because of his tiny stature. Even though he was a proven dominating sniper at every level of hockey he had played in, Dorion's size was always in question. And this was the case again in the summer of 1982 when the New York native was tapped by the newly-minted New Jersey Devils. Dorion's stock fell as a far any talented player's stock could fall as the Devils made him their last pick in the 12th round of the entry draft.

The NHL's braintrust have always held the belief that bigger is better. Year after year general managers around the league task their scouting staff to find the next great player who combines the important measures of size, speed and talent. And its always the same critirea in that same order. For players like Dan Dorion, who have incredible talent, the deck is consistently stacked against them. No matter how many goals they score (ironic, isn't that the object of the game??) little men who burn out the lamps with league-leading titlting tallies always seem to be looked upon with suspicion.

Western Michigan Mustangs

Maine in 1987

Dorion was lighting up the USHL for Austin, 96 points in 50 games, as an 18-year-old when the Devils came calling. The tiny scorer continued his development in the US college ranks at Western Michigan University. While with the Broncos, Dorion put up some prolific numbers running up an incredible 293 points over his four college years, placing him 8th overall for career NCAA men's hockey. In 1986, he was the runner up to the Hobey Baker award for best men's hockey player and was a finalist for the award two year's earlier in 1984.

 After such an amazing college career one would think NHL scouts would've been knocking down his door for a chance to draft such a talent. But it wasn't to be for Dorion as his size became his major stumbling block.

Utica in 1989

Dorion playing for his country in 1986

Dorion finally got his crack at the NHL in the spring of 1986, playing three games while adding his only points - one goal and one assist.
He was on his way to hockey obscurity after New Jersey left him to languish in the AHL for the next season in 1987, finally giving him another taste of NHL action - one last game in 1988.

Dorion as he could see the writing on the wall of his limited NHL career. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers AHL farm team in 1988 and Dorion was on his way to Europe permanently a year later in 1990.
As a footnote to his pro hockey career, Dorion had a four-year-run in the British Hockey League, starring for Nottingham and Humberside to close out his time on the ice.

The Global Game

The Big Clothes Dresser

Legendary hockey players don't always come from the usual power nations of Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland. There is always a once-a-generation player who stuns the world with his on-ice prowess and mind-bending skills from the outer-reaches international hockey. One such player starred on the professional hockey rinks of Germany and impressed the world at numerous international competitions during the 1970's and 1980's - Erich Kühnhackl.

Better known as the red-headed step child of the International hockey scene, German ice hockey has always been known as the also-rans in major ice hockey competitions. The Germans do a great job of competing but never truly test perennial contenders. But that was never the case when Kühnhackl was on the attack. Generally accepted as the greatest German hockey player ever, Kühnhackl was the perfect mix of height, speed and skill.

Standing at 6'5", Kühnhackl was a giant on the ice, towering over his competition all the while bringing legitimacy to German interanioanl hockey.

The West German star

Erich Kühnhackl

Drafted Into Obscurity < 1990 Calgary Flames >

Many organizations get snake-bitten by their decision-makers lack of foresight on player potential and skill brake down. Failed successive draft years can handcuff organizations for years and even decades. Therefore, drafting underage juniors into the highest level of hockey in the world, the NHL, can be considered an advanced skill and even an art. To find those players who are diamonds in the rough no matter where they play their hockey in the world and develop them wisely is what sets great teams apart from the wanna-be’s.  Draft disasters separate the quality from obscurity.

The Calgary Flames team found themselves with this same problem, coming off their one and only Stanley Cup championship in the spring of 1989. The Flames veteran-laden lineup was changing over quickly with ownership creating an unsettling atmosphere for coaches and players alike. By the end of the 1990 season gone were the heady days of Flames legends and key contributors Lanny McDonald, Joe Mullen and Hakan Loob. Coach Terry Crisp and GM Cliff Fletcher were also on their way out as the Flames franchise made major wholesale changes.

Nicolas Perreault

Of course the Flames management looked to the draft to fill some of the gaping holes left by those legendary players. Rebuilding began in earnest at the 1990 draft as the Flames shored up their goaltending by taking the consensus number one ranked overall major junior net minder that year, Trevor Kidd. What transpired next for Calgary in the second round of the 1990 draft continues to baffle the minds of hockey experts and pundits alike. For their first of three picks in the second round, Flames management engineered a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins to trade one of their leaders and future HOF sniper, Joe Mullen, for an unknown, off-the-board, Ontario tier two defenseman and true prospect by the name of Nicolas Perreault at #26.

Mullen went on to be an instrumental player in Pittsburgh’s back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 and eventually became the second highest scoring American player in NHL history while being inducted into the HOF in 2000.Perreault was coming off an extremely successful season as the Central Ontario Junior "A" Hockey League's top defenseman and rookie-of-the-year, leading his Hawkesbury Hawks to become regular season and playoff champions, while signing a letter-of-intent with the CCHA’s Michigan State Spartans.

A true long-shot prospect, Perreault would never patrol an NHL blue line and became lost in the annals of hockey lore forever. After four unspectacular years in college at Michigan State, Perreault only played a paltry 84 minor league professional hockey games over two years with Saint John of the AHL and Toledo of the ECHL and in less than 10 years he was out of hockey for good.

Viitakoski with the
 1993 Calgary Flames

But this disastrous draft tale for the Calgary Flames does not end here.  Continuing on further into the second round of the 1990 draft, the Flames looked off-continent to Finland for their second pick at #32 as they selected huge left winger Vesa Viitakoski. The 6’3” 209 lb Viitakoski was a promising young scorer who put some flashy numbers in the Finnish junior league and World juniors from 1988 to 1990 -and 1991. Viitakoski appeared to have the physical presence NHL GM’s were always yearning for and the big Finnish winger decided to continue his seasoning back home in Finland until the end of the 1993 season.

Viitakoski with the

1994 Saint John Flames

The Flames roster was a revolving -door on the bottom two lines which gave Viitakoski a legitimate shot at making the Flames straight out of camp in fall of 1993. Left wing was pretty bare with only Gary Roberts cemented in at the first line spot. Viitakoski debuted in the NHL, scoring three points in eight games, while spending most of the 1993-1994 campaign with the Flames AHL farm team in Saint John. While with Saint John, Viitakoski was a point a game player, putting up 28 goals and 67 points in 67 games to finish third in team scoring.

It looked like 1994-1995 was going to be Viitakoski’s year to really crack the Calgary line-up but only saw action in only 10 NHL games, scoring 3 points and not impressing Flames management enough for more call-up time. Viitakoski’s production slipped a little in Saint John as he finished with 43 points but a lack-luster performance and little improvement had Flames management souring on him.

Viitakoski in 2010 with Ilves

By 1996, Viitatoski saw the last of his NHL action ever and was promptly traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Paxton Schulte. Now back in the AHL with Cornwall, Viitakoski never got a shot in Colorado and was back in Finland after a one year stint in Sweden by 1998. He continued playing top level pro hockey in his homeland of Finland with a brief second stop in Sweden up until recently in 2010, totaling a 20 year career of top level professional hockey.  

For their third pick in the second round of the 1990 NHL draft, the Calgary Flames went off the board again, mystifing scouts and experts, selecting Cornell d-man Etienne Belzile at #41. In his four years of college Belzile was an outstanding stay-at-home, shut-down defenceman for the Big Red, averaging four points a season. The Flames seemed to be adding depth to their backline with another hard-rock hitter but Belzile never played an NHL game. Fans and critics must have been questioning why the Flames scouting staff were so high on this player. At the time, Belzile was concentrating on a medical degree and preparing for a potential future in an area that had nothing to do with hockey - neurosurgery!!! But once again Calgary scouts and management had other ideas and went with a very risky selection. By the time Belize graduated from Cornell three years later, the defenceman was out of hockey and on his way to becoming a doctor of medicine, fading into hockey obscurity forever.    

Drafted Into Obscurity < Scott Scissons >

1989 Saskatoon Blades

Scott Scissons was living the Canadian dream.

After two stellar seasons with his hometown Saskatoon Blades, he was picked sixth overall in the 1990 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. Jaromir Jagr, a future Hart Trophy winner as the most valuable player in the NHL, was selected one spot earlier.

1990 NHL Draft

An NHL career was in the cards for Scissons, or so it seemed.

After five injury-plagued seasons as a journeyman pro, and three games in the NHL, he retired in 1995. "Without question it's disappointing," says Scissons.

"It was as good a chance as anybody at that age. I just spent more time in the hospital than I did on the ice." Scissons's medical record has no competitors.

1994 New York Islanders

Both his shoulders and his back refused to stay together.

Before the 1995 season Scissons was on the verge of signing with the Dallas Stars. He even passed the physical, but the team doctor had other ideas. "The doctor told me the next time I get hit improperly you may not walk again," says Scissons. "I decided there was more to life at 22."

Scissons, 34, is more than comfortable with his turn of events. "I wouldn't change much. There's certain things you can control and you can't control the injuries.

Drafted Into Obscurity < Rocky Trottier >

Not all hockey players can survive the rigors of the professional game on talent alone. A few players get more attention from big league scouts because they have the "right" last name. Having those familiar letters on the back of your jersey can almost guarantee you a shot at leap frogging over more capable teammates and competition.

In this addition to the long list of pro hockey players who eventually got Drafted Into Obscurity, we take a look at a player who toiled in shadow a vastly talented big brother and NHL legend, Rocky Trottier.

Rocky Trottier with Medicine Hat Tigers

Maybe Rocky Trottier was destined to become an NHL'er. It appeared that he certainly was blessed with fantastic lineage which should've paid off handsomely for the Saskatoon native. But cursed was more like the reality for Western Hockey League junior.

Being the little brother of an already established NHL star probably weighed a little heavy on the average major junior. Over his four years in the WHL, Trottier posted a not too spectacular over a point-a-game pace. In his final year, Trottier began to show some flashes of what might become after scoring 84 points in 65 games,adding a solid 15 more in Memorial Cup action. That late display of talent might have given him a small chance at a pro hockey career, if it wasn't for that promising last name and what it meant.

In 1982, times were changing in the NHL, the eight-year run of the Colorado Rockies had come to an end with new owners moving the franchise to the largest sports market in North America. The New Jersey Devils were born out of the swamps of eastern metropolitan New York. The new owners knew what they were up against in the powerhouse, storied Ranger fan-base and new dynasty rivals Islanders - major competition. They needed a quick foothold into the market and what better way to make a splash by drafting the little brother of NHL mega star Bryan Trottier. Tempted by the family lineage promise, the Devils selected Rocky Trottier with their first pick, eighth overall in the first round of the 1982 NHL draft.

1984 with the New Jersey Devils

He debuted in the NHL after a successful run in the Memorial Cup playoffs in 1984, scoring 2 points in 5 games. By September, Trottier had made the Devils and was ready to begin another NHL brother rivalry. After splitting the 1984-85 season between the farmclub and parent club, Trottier worked hard to stick as an NHL regular. By 1986, he never got another shot at the big leagues, playing a total of 35 NHL games over two seasons.  He continued to langish in the AHL with Maine, not impressing Devils brass and by the fall of 1987, Trottier was on his way to hockey obscurity and out of the North American pro scene.

Trottier would head to Europe to play two more seasons of unspectacular hockey in Div II clubs in Sweden and Germany. He played one last season, making an unsuccessful return to North America in 1989-90, suiting up for the AHL's Hersey Bears.

Trottier was the perfect example of potential on name but not on pure talent. Luckily for New Jersey, 1982 turned out to be one of the weakest NHL drafts for underage juniors and Rocky Trottier's legacy became more of a footnote and sports game show stump-er than a franchise fiasco.

Drafted Into Obscurity < Wayne Groulx >

Promising careers, bright futures and undeniable talent. Are they guarantees for success? You certainly can't have one without the other if you want longevity playing at the highest level of hockey leagues on the planet. There is no room for compromise, but there is uncontrollable circumstance. No matter what kind of player you are, you have to bring it every night and keep proving it over and over. Many of the players written about in these series of blogs are victims of the aftermentioned circumstance.

One of the greatest major junior hockey players ever to don a jersey is another skater with great expectations who eventually succumbed to being Drafted Into Obscurity - Wayne Groulx.  


Groulx with the
OHL's Greyhounds

Although his physical stature might have been questioned, only standing 5'9" 175 lbs., no one could ever wonder about his ability to score goals. Groulx was a scoring machine. Over his four wildly successful years in the Ontario Hockey League, Groulx was able to accumulated 187 goals, including three straight seasons scoring over 130 points plus. Considered by many as the second-best Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound player ever in the 49-year history of the franchise, (the first being none other than the Great Gretzky) Groulx currently sits third overall in OHL career points with 477.

Being a superstar in major junior doesn't always punch your card to be a regular in the National Hockey League. In Groulx case, the Quebec Nordiques were such a deep and talented team in the mid-1980's that the franchise waited until midway through the ninth round, #172, of the 1983 NHL draft to select him.

1985-86 Muskegon Lumberjacks

Two years later in 1985, after Groulx was named the OHL MVP while leading his squad to the Memorial Cup semi's in fine fashion, he made his debut in the NHL. Most critics say Groulx got caught in a numbers game in Quebec. There were too many established players on that Stanley Cup contending team and it was virtually impossible for him to crack such a veteran laden lineup. Whatever the reason, Groulx would never been seen again playing at the highest level hockey again. Groulx continued to play in the Quebec farm system for the next three years, splitting time between the IHL and AHL while spending brief time on the Canadian National squad. From top junior performer to out of North American hockey in less than three years, Groulx was on a fast track to hockey obscurity.

By 1988, Groulx went to Europe to continue with his pro hockey career with a quick stop with a team in Division II in Finland. He eventually found a home in the Austrian league and played out his career over the next six years.

1994 World Championships - Austria

One interesting side note to his career, Groulx represented Austria at the 1992 B Pool World Championships. Groulx' 14 points in seven games led the Austrians to the tournament title and promotion to A Pool for the next year. In 1992-93, he helped Austria finish ninth out of twelve teams at the World tourney. He retired in 1994 after playing one last year in Austria.

Drafted Into Obscurity < Art Rutland >

Thumb through the sportspages, flick by the never-ending highlights and you're bound to miss the not-so famous players exposed in this hockey oddity blog. Young men who had dreams of skating under the bright lights of big city National Hockey League arenas. Promising careers that never panned out. Can't miss prospects who, for some reason or another, couldn't put it all together and ended up in pro hockey obscurity...

In this first installment of Drafted Into Obscurity we take a look at a sure-fire, can't miss Vancouver Canuck prospect Arthur Rutland.

Moving into the 1980's the Canucks were below-average franchise, struggling to find it's identity. The team suffered through some very lean, sub-500 years in the late 70's and ownership decided start on a major renovation by changing the entire look and feel from the cool green and blue hockey stick motif to a radical black, orange and yellow Hallowe'en "inspired" redesign.

The Canucks also needed an overhaul in the scoring department. The team was in desperate need of top-line help and Rutland was tagged by Vancouver in the fourth round of the 1979 NHL draft, 68th overall.

This would be a draft selection the Canucks orgnization would lament for years to come. Rutland was drafted one spot ahead of future Hall Of Famer and local Burnaby, BC boy Glenn Anderson. Anderson enshrined his name on five Stanley Cups (four with Edmonton, one with New York) and also represented Canada at the 1980 Olympics. The University of Denver standout totaled 1099 points in 1129 NHL games played, including almost joining the elite 500 NHL goal club by falling short by two at 498 - Anderson became a NHL legend.  

Rutland was just coming off a stellar four-year Ontario Hockey League (formely known as the OMJHL) career from 1976-1980. In 1978-79, while playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Art caught the attention of NHL scouts. Rutland put up an impressive 139 points, finishing third overall in league scoring.  Overall, Rutland contributed 365 points over his four seasons in the OHL despite playing on dismal teams that placed in the depths of the league.

But what Rutland might be most well-known for was sharing the bench with the possibly the greatest player the game of hockey has ever produced. In his second season with the Greyhounds, Rutland was teammates with incomprable Wayne Gretzky.

What could have been for Art Rutland? By 1982, the Vancouver Canucks made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup finals against the dynasty, power-house New York Islanders. Unfortunately, Rutland was never part of that memorable season. Rutland had made the Canucks opening roster out of camp in October of 1981 but never was able to stick and would never play at the NHL level again.


Art Rutland on 1981-82 Vancouver Canucks

He played just three seasons from 1980-1983 on the North American pro hockey circuit for the Canucks farm clubs. Rutland did show some promise while suiting up for the Central Hockey League’s Dallas Black Hawks in 1980-81. Rutland was a true playmaker leading the league by posting 65 assists. Surprisingly after playing so well, Rutland never got the call-up he was hoping for.

1982-83 Fredericton Express

He went on to play his final season of pro hockey in North America in 1982-83 with the Fredericton Express of the American Hockey League.



In 1983-84, Rutland headed to Europe, continuing his journey into hockey obscurity, skating for division II teams in Italy and Germany. Rutland would be a scoring phenom over seven of his final eight seasons of pro hockey. In all, Rutland played 267 games in Europe and contributed 834 points. These numbers equate to more than a three points per game pace over eight years.