Nitzy's Hockey Den

Here's some great images found in the City of Vancouver Archives online database. First is a cool team composite image of the inaugural Pacific Coast Hockey Association champions, New Westminster Royals. The squad included four future Hockey Hall of Famers and apparently a dog as a mascot. The PCHA was a three team circuit of New Westminster, Vancouver Millionaires and Victoria Aristocrats with New West finishing on top with a record of 9-6. Also in the archives is a nice pic of Hall of Fame goaltender Hugh Lehman. His goals against average of 5.07 and 9 wins were tops in the league. He would go on to lead the Millionaires to the 1915 Stanley Cup and star in Vancouver until 1926. At age 41 Lehman joined the Chicago Blackhawks for the 1926/27 season before retiring the following season. Hugh Lehman The other three Hall of Famers on the Royals in 1912 were Jimmy Gardner, Harry Hyland and defender Ernie "Moose" Johnson. The third photo from the archives is of train...

I recently picked up a 1966/67 Victoria Maple Leafs program from the Western Hockey League. This one completed the trifecta as I now have a program from each of the three season's the team was in existence. Being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan in Vancouver and learning that one of our top farm teams was just across the water has always been interesting to me. Closeup of the logos other Western League squads The program is from opening night 1966 against the Portland Buckaroos, a game Victoria would win 5-0. The Leafs were Western League defending champions having finished 40-28-4 and defeating San Francisco and Portland in a pair of seven game series. Despite their terrific game one victory, the 1966/67 campaign would not be as fruitful for Victoria as they finished out of the playoffs, six points behind the fourth place Seals.  The season did however finish on an up note for two Victoria skaters. Leading scorer Milan Marcetta and top scoring defenceman, Aut Erickson were...

Last weekend I picked up a 1962/63 Esso NHL Pocket Schedule at the flea market. After getting it home to the Den, I realized I now had four different years of Esso Schedules from this era. Time to start going out of my way and looking for some more. The first one I picked up a few years ago was the the 1958/59 one (pictured above and below). The artwork of the kids playing pond hockey is really nice on this one. The great thing about the schedules from this time is that since they were only issued by Esso Canada, they always featured the only two Canadian NHL teams, Montreal and Toronto. Just another piece of Maple Leafs memorabilia for me to collect. The 62/63 schedule featured photos of two vintage Cup winning teams, you guessed it, Montreal and Toronto. Pictured were the first Stanley Cup winning teams from each city, Montreal A.A.A. and Toronto Blueshirts. 1963/64 features more terrific artwork of the Habs and Leafs. This schedule was courtesy of Sullivan's ...

All-Star game Most Valuable Player John Scott may never play another game in the NHL. Sure his appearance in the mid-season spectacle was entertaining, but facts are facts. He is 33 years old, playing in the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens want no part of him on the big club. Also, the role for his kind of player has dwindled to pretty much non-existant. So, how strange would it be if John Scott's last ever NHL game was the All-Star game? Very strange indeed, but it has almost happened a few times in the past. In the past, the All-Star game would pit the Stanley Cup champions from the previous season against a team of the top players throughout the rest of the NHL. These exhibitions usually took place just prior to the regular season. Often times, a fringe player on the Cup-winning squad would soon be sent down to the minors, never to return  to the NHL. The following guys are the ones who came closest to having an All-Star game being their last NHL game. 1939 was the third o...