Eric Keppeler - The Greatest Hockey Players of All Time

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Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Keppeler, Eric.

Title: The greatest hockey players of all time / Eric Keppeler.

Description: New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2020. | Series: Greatest of all time: sports stars | Includes glossary and index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781538247839(pbk.) | ISBN 9781538247853(library bound) | ISBN 9781538247846(6 pack)

Subjects: LCSH: Hockey players--Rating of--Juvenile literature. | Hockey players--Statistics--Juvenile literature. | Hockey players--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Hockey--Records--Juvenile literature. | Hockey--History--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC GV847.25 K47 2020 | DDC 796.9620922 B--dc23

First Edition

Published in 2020 by

Gareth Stevens Publishing

111 East 14th Street, Suite 349

New York, NY 10003

Copyright 2020 Gareth Stevens Publishing

Designer: Katelyn E. Reynolds

Editor: Emily Mahoney

Photo credits: Cover, p. Will Newton/Getty Images.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Printed in the United States of America

CPSIA compliance information: Batch #CW20GS: For further information contact Gareth Stevens, New York, New York at 1-800-542-2595.

CONTENTS

WORDS IN THE GLOSSARY APPEAR IN BOLD TEXT THE FIRST TIME THEY ARE USED IN THE TEXT.

The Fastest GAME ON ICE

Most people agree that the first hockey game was played on March 3, 1875, in Montreal, Canada. Soon, there were many teams, with the National Hockey League officially starting in 1917.

On the surface, it doesnt seem that hard. Using a curved stick, you and your teammates try to shoot a little rubber puck into the other teams net, scoring a goal. Meanwhile, the other team tries to do the same to you. The team with the most goals at the end of the game is the winner. And all this happens while everyone is on ice skates.

Actually, maybe it does sound pretty hard! But hard work, practice, and skill is what makes some players the greatest of all time.

THE STANLEY CUP IS THE TROPHY AWARDED TO THE NHLS PLAYOFF CHAMPION TEAM EACH YEAR. THE NAME OF EVERYONE ON THE WINNING TEAM IS ON THE TROPHY. THE ST. LOUIS BLUES WON THE CUP IN 2019, THEIR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP IN TEAM HISTORY!

WHOS THE GREATEST?

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD HAVE PLAYED HOCKEY OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. SO, HOW DO YOU PICK THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME? IS IT THE ONE WHO PLAYED THE MOST GAMES? SCORED THE MOST GOALS? WON THE MOST GAMES OR CHAMPIONSHIPS? THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CHOOSE THE GREATEST.

THE GREAT ONE

By the numbers, theres one very clear choice for the greatest hockey player of all time. Wayne Gretzky was born January 26, 1961, in Ontario, Canada. He holds or shares 61 NHL records and won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.

Gretzky broke into the NHL as a 19-year-old on April 16, 1999. His number 99 was retired league-wide a year later.

WAYNE GRETZKY STARTED PLAYING FOR THE OILERS IN 1979.

ANYONE CAN BE TRADED

GRETZKY WAS TRADED TO THE LOS ANGELES KINGS AFTER THE 1987-88 SEASON. WHILE HE CONTINUED TO PUT UP GREAT NUMBERS, HE NEVER WON ANOTHER STANLEY CUP. HE WAS TRADED TO ST. LOUIS DURING THE 1995-96 SEASON AND THEN SPENT HIS LAST 3 YEARS WITH THE NEW YORK RANGERS.

MR. HOCKEY

With a nickname like Mr. Hockey, you know a player must be special! Gordie Howe had scored the most goals in NHL history (801) until Wayne Gretzky broke his record. Starting in 1946, he played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, leading them to four Stanley Cup championships and seven straight first-place regular season finishes. He retired from the NHL after the 1970-71 season and was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

That wasnt the end of this career though! In 1979, at age 51, Howe came back to play one more season with his sons, Mark and Marty Howe, with the Hartford Whalers. He died in 2016.

GORDIE HOWE WON THE NHLS MVP TROPHY SIX TIMES

GORDIE HOWE (CENTER) LED THE NHL IN SCORING SIX TIMES. HE TEAMED WITH SID ABEL (RIGHT) AND TED LINDSAY (LEFT) TO FORM ONE OF BEST FORWARD LINES EVER, NICKNAMED THE PRODUCTION LINE.

THE GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK

BESIDES BEING A GREAT SCORER, GORDIE HOWE WAS ALSO A VERY PHYSICAL PLAYER, WHICH MEANS HE OFTEN BANGED INTO OTHER PLAYERS AND SOMETIMES GOT INTO FIGHTS! A GORDIE HOWE IS WHEN A PLAYER HAS A GOAL, AN ASSIST, AND A FIGHT ALL IN THE SAME GAME.

ROCKET RICHARD

Maurice Rocket Richard (rih-SHARD) earned his nickname because of his great speed. Richard played 18 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, starting in 1942. A 14-time All-Star, he led the Canadiens to eight Stanley Cup titles.

Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in one season. He became the leagues all-time leading scorer when he scored his 325th career goal in 1952. He was also the first person to reach 500 career goals, finishing with 544. Today, the NHL trophy for most goals by a player in a season is called the Rocket Richard Trophy.

MAURICE RICHARD OFTEN PLAYED ON A LINE WITH TOE BLAKE AND ELMER LACH, AND THEY BECAME KNOWN AS THE PUNCH LINE. RICHARD WAS INDUCTED INTO THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME IN 1961.

TEMPER, TEMPER

THE ROCKET PLAYED ROUGH AND SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS LEADING THE LEAGUE IN SCORING!

SUPER MARIO

Mario Lemieux was first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984. He battled through many health problems to become one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history.

Lemieux had to retire in 1997 because of Hodgkins disease, a kind of for cancer research.

IN A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME, MARIO LEMIEUX SCORED ON HIS FIRST SHOT DURING HIS FIRST SHIFT IN HIS FIRST NHL GAME.

THE FIRST PLAYER-OWNER

AFTER HIS FIRST RETIREMENT, THE PENGUINS STILL OWED LEMIEUX A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THE TEAM WAS IN DEEP FINANCIAL TROUBLE. LEMIEUX AGREED TO CONVERT MUCH OF THE $32 MILLION HE WAS OWED INTO PARTIAL OWNERSHIP OF THE TEAM! WHEN HE CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT IN 2000, HE BECAME THE NHLS FIRST PLAYER-OWNER.