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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:37 pm
by elliott70
And how many championships, runner-ups, appearances?
Scoring prowess, yes. But aer we looking at the big picture or just scoring prowess?
I am a big fan of Spehar, but if we are just grading on scoring, fine, top five (top two) for sure.
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:51 pm
by Shinbone_News
Question: Why didn't Mayasich play pro? He was clearly a standout in college as well (Gophers all-time points leader), and though not many Americans played in the NHL back then, there were occasional exceptions. Anyone know why?
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:07 pm
by karl(east)
elliott70 wrote:And how many championships, runner-ups, appearances?
Scoring prowess, yes. But aer we looking at the big picture or just scoring prowess?
I am a big fan of Spehar, but if we are just grading on scoring, fine, top five (top two) for sure.
3 appearances, 1 title and two 3rd-place finishes.
Spehar played varsity as a freshman (on the top line), when East lost to Virginia in the Section 7 Tier I Quarterfinals.
In 94, his sophomore year, East lost 2-1 to Jefferson (en rute to their 3rd straight title). If my math is right, he figured in 7 of East's 8 goals in that tournament.
In 95, East won it all with the 5-0 stunner over Jefferson in the first round and Spehar's game-winning penalty shot in the final.
In 96, East lost to Apple Valley in 5 OTs. Spehar assisted Locker on a game-tying goal with 30-some seconds to go in regulation. That game was the only one in the 95 and 96 tourneys in which he didn't have a hat trick.
Still, I agree that scoring shouldn't be everything. He had some help from Locker and a very strong and deep group of defensemen who fed him the puck and played strong enough defense that he didn't have to backcheck the way he might have had to on a thinner team. Top 5 IMO, but not #1, and probably not #2 either.
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:25 pm
by BSUBeaver
Shinbone_News wrote:Question: Why didn't Mayasich play pro? He was clearly a standout in college as well (Gophers all-time points leader), and though not many Americans played in the NHL back then, there were occasional exceptions. Anyone know why?
There were only six teams back then, and if you weren't Canadian, you didn't get much of a look. If you played college, well, that pretty much was the nail in the coffin, so to speak.
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:09 pm
by Shinbone_News
I guess he played on two Olympic teams so maybe that's where his heart was back when Olympians were true amateurs -- silver and gold to show for it too!
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:42 pm
by MNHockeyFan
BSUBeaver wrote:There were only six teams back then, and if you weren't Canadian, you didn't get much of a look. If you played college, well, that pretty much was the nail in the coffin, so to speak.
And if you go back that far the pay in the NHL wouldn't have been an attraction either.
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:41 am
by karl(east)
The Hub is having a live chat on the process starting at 11:30; I'll be on a plane at the time and won't be able to join in, but I figured I'd plug it here.
My biggest question is one of what exactly went into players' high school ratings. They had a list of things that they considered, but those 185 high school points were pretty nebulous. Did they break that down into sub-categories, or was it all pretty subjective? Did they have a bunch of people rate the players, or was this all Loren Nelson?
All in all it's been great to follow; I just wish there had been a little more clarity. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with saying it's subjective--how we perceive and remember players does matter, and these people (plus the people they interviewed) know MN HS hockey well enough to have some authority.