Posts
All Comments
It's official! In October GreatestHockeyLegends.com, now entering it's 4th season, had the third busiest month in site history!
When you combine sister site HockeyBookReviews.com I blew away my previous best for readership.
A big thank you goes out to my loyal readers.
In an era when the NHL was being dominated by hockey's version of globalization, Adam Graves was the traditional Canadian hockey player.
"He's very physical, he will do anything to get his team geared up," said one NHL coach "He plays the game every inch of that ice. He wants to command, and he commands a lot of respect out there. He's a total player. He's a spark. He's an inspiration. There's an m.v.p. guy, let me tell you. He's just an outstanding player and an outstanding person."
"Adam was always the type of kid you wanted to make it," Colin Campbell, his former coach said. "He is conscientious, nice, hard-working, respectful. And usually those guys don't make it. Adam is the milk-drinker who goes through hell for you."
He plays a rugged, aggressive game of hockey, with a mean streak that enhances his talent and inspires his teammates. He parks his often bruised body in front of the net, especially playing on the power play. Graves is a willing fighter, often known as Mark Messier's bodyguard, both in Edmonton and later New York. Kevin Lowe, team-mate of both in both cities, calls Graves "the sheriff" for his willingness to defend fellow Rangers.
Graves was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings out of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. He finished the 1988 season with the Wings after leading the Spitfires to the OHL championship. He split the 1988-89 season with the Wings and their AHL affiliate. He was quickly traded in the beginning of the 1989-90 season in a huge trade. Graves, Petr Klima, Joe Murphy and Jeff Sharples were all moved to Edmonton in exchange for Michigan-born Jimmy Carson and long time Oiler tough guy Kevin McClelland.
Graves filled a similar role to McClelland while in Edmonton, but possessed much promise which never really was tapped in the City of Champions. He played 2 seasons with the Oil, scoring 15 goals in 139 games. He teamed with Martin Gelinas and Joe Murphy to form the Oilers version of the "Kid Line." The trio combined speed and youthful enthusiasm in a supporting role in the Oilers 1990 Stanley Cup Championship.
The New York Rangers plucked Graves away from Edmonton in 1991 via the free agency market. It was in New York that Graves blossomed into a star. He blossomed in 1991-92 to score 26 goals, more than doubling his career total. The next year he improved to 36 goals and by 1993-94 he joined Vic Hadfield as only the second New York Ranger in history to score 50 goals. In fact Graves' 52 goals better Hadfield's then-team record by 2. Graves of course would add 10 goals and 17 points in 23 playoff games to help bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Broadway for the first time since 1940.
Graves would have trouble reaching the same plateau again. Playing in pain but rarely missing a game, he became a consistent 20 goal scorer in the years following.
Though not known for using a stick in flagrant ways, one of Graves' most infamous moments involved a stick foul against the Pittsburgh Penguins' star Mario Lemieux in the 1992 playoffs.While killing a Pittsburgh power play, Graves swung his stick and broke a bone in Lemieux's right hand, putting him out of the series. Graves received a suspension that kept him off the ice for the rest of that series, and the Rangers, regular-season champions then, as they are now, were eliminated by the Penguins.
Gravy is also one of the NHL's nicest guys. The 1994 King Clancy Memorial winner, Graves participated in many activities involving under privileged kids in New York.
Cold Lake, Alberta's Doug Hicks was a hot commodity in 1974. After three years with the WCJHL Flin Flon Bombers, two of which were standout seasons, Doug was drafted in the 1st round, 6th overall by the Minnesota North Stars. He was selected ahead of the likes of Doug Risebrough, Pierre Larouche, Mario Tremblay and Bryan Trottier.
Hicks did not have a memorable career like many other fellows drafted that year, but he had a good career. He was able to step directly out of junior hockey into the NHL without looking too out of place. He would go on to a lengthy NHL career spanning 561 games.
While it was not un common in the 1970s to see a forward step out of junior and find relatively early success at the NHL level, it was almost unheard of a defenseman being able to make the big jump back then, let alone in any era. But Hicks gave the North Stars great hopes after playing solidly for the promising though still struggling team.
"Usually you figure on one or two seasons in the minors at least for the kind of defenseman Hicks is," said North Stars general manager Jackie Gordon. "And here we've got a kid, just turned 20, with a full NHL season under his belt. What an asset he's going to be."
Unfortunately for Gordon, Hicks leveled off rather than continued to increase to other levels over the rest of his career. He became a dependable depth defenseman, and a key contributor to team morale and chemistry.
Doug's off ice contributions are best documented with young Edmonton Oilers of the early 1980s. After 4 seasons with Minnesota and two with Chicago, Doug was picked up by the Oilers in the 1979 expansion draft when the Oilers merged with the league from the World Hockey Association. Hicks was brought in for his experience and leadership, and although he was gone long before the Oilers dynasty reign, he left a lasting impression on the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and, perhaps especially, a young defenseman named Kevin Lowe.
"Although Hicks has long been forgotten by most fans," wrote Kevin in his great autobiography Champions, "those of use who had the good fortune to play alongside him remember him well. Doug was a season pro by the time he reached Edmonton and knew the meaning of teammanship."
One of the reasons behind the Oilers dynasty was how close the team was, and how they grew from young boys to world champions all together - be it on the ice or off.
"One of the first bits of business he initiated was 'The Original Team Beer,' " explained Lowe. "Dougie decided that every couple of weeks it was mandatory for everyone to go to a certain place, have a steak sandwich, and a couple of beers. It was like a fraternity bash where we could unwind, hash out any problems and, most of all, cultivate the team spirit that would very soon be evident on the Edmonton Oilers."
It may seem like a simple thing, but it was these intangibles that Hicks was valuable for .He had an infectious attitude that the youngsters looked up to. He helped to guide the young Oilers in their infancy.
Hicks was dealt away at the trading deadline in his third season in Edmonton. He went to Washington where he only played 20 games over two years. he spent most of the 1982-83 season in the minor leagues. He quit playing after that, and turned to Alberta where he took up coaching with the AJHL' St. Albert Saints for a season.
Hicks loved to play hockey though, and he jumped at an opportunity to return to the game in 1984-85. He headed over to Europe, where he play until 1988 in Germany and Austria.
Doug, who is the brother of fellow NHL alumni Glenn Hicks, is still playing the game these days - often appearing in old timer charity games such as the Legends of Hockey tour.
© Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
