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Toronto Maple Leafs Greatest Players
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Monday
Sunday
Albert Pudas
Al Pudas was born in Siikajoki, Finland. When he played 4 games with the Toronto St. Patricks (later renamed the Maple Leafs) he became the first NHL player who was born in Finland.
He may have been born in Finland, but he moved to Ontario with his parents when he was a little kid. He learned to play hockey on small frozen ponds and became a pretty good player as a youngster, eventually graduating to the Port Arthur Ports in 1922-23.
Pudas did very well there, scoring more than a goal per game (17 in 16 games). He continued to play for Port Arthur until 1926 (they were named the Bearcats later on). In the 1924-25 playoffs Al exploded for 21 points (11 goals and 10 assists) in only 10 games, and the following playoffs in 1925-26 he led all playoff scorers with 13 points (including 7 goals) in 9 games.
His fine performance during the playoffs gave him his shot at the NHL. The Toronto St. Pats signed Pudas as a free agent on November 10, 1926. He started out with a farm team, playing for the Windsor Hornets in the Canadian Professional Hockey League. Al played so well there that the St. Pats called him up on December 28, 1926.
Two nights later, on December 30, Al made his NHL debut, playing left wing against Boston, making him the first Finnish born player to skate in the National Hockey League. Boston's legendary coach and GM Art Ross protested Toronto's use of Pudas, believing that he was ineligible to play. The NHL ruled Pudas was indeed eligible to play, and Toronto won the game 4-1.
Pudas played the next three games for the St.Pats - a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Maroons on January 1, 1927, a 2-1 win against the Detroit Cougars on January 4 and a 3-1 win against the NY Americans on January 8th. He was held pointless in all four games.
Pudas was sent back to Windsor on January 10th, and never made it back to the NHL. Instead he bounced between Hamilton, Stratford, London and Detroit in the Can-Pro league for the next couple of seasons.
He eventually retired in the late 1920's and went on to be a successful coach. Al coached the Port Arthur Bearcats where he once had played. The Bearcats lost the 1935 Allan Cup finals to the Halifax Wolves. This meant that Halixax were designated as the 1936 Olympic colour-bearers, but before the 35-36 season began, several members from the Halifax team had jumped to other teams. So the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) decided to send the Port Arthur Bearcats to the Olympics
By doing so Pudas made another historic first, as he became the only European born coach for a Canadian national team. His Bearcats were strengthened by five good Montreal players and one from Port Colborne, Ontario. Unfortunately for Pudas and Canada, Great Britain controversially won the Olympic gold, with Canada left in second place for the first time in Olympic history.
The controversial British team had a team full of native Canadians. Five players were originally from Ontario and another three players were from Winnipeg, including the sensational goalie Jimmy Foster who at that time was heralded by many as being the best goalie to come out of Winnipeg behind only Charlie Gardiner.
Canada lost to Great Britain in the preliminary round, but fully expected to get another crack at the British squad in the four-team final round as teams always had in the past. But the general secretary of the British Ice Hockey Federation and the future IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) president John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne, who was a known Canadian hater for many years insisted that a return match in the final round wasn't necessary. The uproar was so furious that Paul Loicq of Belgium, the president of the IIHF at that time, was obliged to call an emergency meeting to deal with Canada's protests. Ahearne managed to outmaneuver the Canadians and Al Pudas. When the vote came, five countries, including the USA, sided with Ahearne. Canada's only supporter was Germany.
The Silver medal was a great disappointment for both Al and Canada. But Pudas will go down to the history books as the first Finn in the NHL as well as the first and only European born person to coach a North American national hockey team. Read more...
Friday
Bill Derlago
However Derlago's luck would quickly run out in his first pro season. He suffered a severely broken leg which cost him most of the season. He appeared in only 9 NHL games, scoring a promising 4 goals and 8 points.
"Billy D" got off to a slow second season as well. He only had 11 goals and 26 points in 54 games when Vancouver gave up on him. Fearing he was a bit too small and that his broken leg had caused him to lose a step, the Canucks prematurely gave up on him and another fellow promising young player, Rick Vaive. The pair were dealt to Toronto in exchange for Jerry Butler and Tiger Williams, the key to the deal from a Vancouver perspective.
While Williams and Butler gave the Canucks lots of heart and determination, they didn't provide a whole lot of offense. Vaive of course would go on to be one of the most productive goal scorers in Maple Leaf history, including three consecutive 50 goal seasons. Derlago would often serve as Vaive's center, and while he never duplicated the same offensive flare he showed in junior, he enjoyed some success while in Toronto. Four times he scored more than 30 goals, including a career high 40 in 1983-84. His best offensive season came two years earlier when he scored 34 goals and 84 points.
Derlago would only play one game of the 1985-86 season with Toronto before he was traded to Boston in exchange for Tom Fergus. Bill had trouble adjusting in Beantown and halfway through the season he was dealt to Winnipeg for big Wade Campbell. Derlago couldn't get things untracked with the Jets that year or the next, which he split between Winnipeg, Quebec and the minor leagues. It proved to be Derlago's last season of pro hockey in North America. He did play one more year in Switzerland.
Billy Derlago, one of the greatest junior hockey players in the history of game, scored 189 goals in 555 NHL games. He scored 185 goals in his last two season of junior hockey (124 games)! Read more...
Wednesday
Luke Richardson
A lot of people are really impressed by Luke Schenn these days. And well they should be. He really impressed in his rookie season in 2008-09, logging big minutes with the weak Toronto Maple Leafs. Aside from Tomas Kaberle, he was arguably their best defenseman while still being a teenager.
This Luke reminds me of another Luke who entered into the NHL as a rough and tumble rookie with a sorry Leafs team - Luke Richardson back in the late 1980s.
His intimidating presence won him a lot of fans in the early days. He had never played a game in the minor leagues, jumping straight from junior hockey to the NHL, heightening expectations even more so. Fans had visions of another Larry Robinson or Borje Salming, Richardson's two boyhood idols, the latter of whom he actually had the chance to play with in his first two seasons. Coaches and fans definitely had early visions of a similar player in Richardson, but they had lots of work to do. In order to be a true impact player Richardson needed to improve much of his game, something that he was very slow in doing. This led him to travelling around the league a fair deal.
His defensive reads were poor at times. He could look spectacularly awful in overcommitting at the wrong time, especially when he strayed into corners when he should have remained clearing the slot. He also strayed out of position to make a big hit. He never had the speed or the hand skills to carry the puck or jump into the rush. He rarely put the puck on the net with his merely adequate shot.
His physical exuberance also drew a lot of enemies from around the league. Other teams' tough guys would target young Richardson, who was really not a fighter. He answered the bell and accepted the job, but he rarely won the fights.
Yet Richardson lasted 1417 games in the league, always remaining positive, winning the admiration of his teammates. He accepted his limitations and played within them with great determination. He became known a serviceable veteran depth defenseman providing quiet leadership, physical presence and eager shot blocking for several teams.
He was involved in one of the more high-profile trades of the 1990's, dealt to Edmonton from Toronto with Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing and Scott Thornton, for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube, on September 19, 1991. After six seasons with the Oilers, Richardson signed as an unrestricted free agent with Philadelphia for five seasons. he later signed in Columbus, Ottawa.
In some ways Luke Richardson never achieved his potential, but that potential was probably built up by the media and fans too high. He did play in over 1400 games, so he no disappointment either. Read more...
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