Hall-Of-Fame Hockey Ratings Quiz

 

By Glenn Guzzo

 

            Time to get our hockey brains working again after a year off. Strat-O-Matic’s new Hall of Fame card set and computer disk will fill the National Hockey League void this summer and the ratings offer food for debate about which players of one era were better than those of another.

 

            So here’s a quiz to test your knowledge of hockey history as it relates to SOM card ratings. Keep in mind that the player performances are normalized.

 

            Because the Hall of Fame set covers so many eras and so many HOF players are obscure to even knowledgeable fans today, this is a tough test. Get half right and consider yourself sharp as a skate blade.

 

Consolation prize: The answers at the bottom are full of bonus information.

 

 

1. Only two players in the HOF set are rated to score 50+ goals. Which of these players is rated to score the fewest goals (among the five below) in an 80-game season?

a. Mike Bossy

b. Wayne Gretzky

c. Bobby Hull

d. Mario Lemieux

e. Maurice “Rocket” Richard

 

2. Incredibly, a Hall of Fame skater is rated to score zero goals. Adding insult, he’s the only skater with no “Inside Shot” outcomes in his passing column. (Hint: He’s a 5-rated defender and a defenseman.)

a. Ching Johnson

b. Rod Langway

c. Jacques Lapperiere

d. Harvey Pulford

e. Art Ross

 

3. This goalie has the best card in the set. No one has a better save percentage than his .926.

a. Chuck Gardiner

b. Patrick Roy

c. Terry Sawchuk

d. Vladislav Tretiak

e. Georges Vezina

 

4. This goalie is rated as having the lowest goals-against average (1.93).

a. Alex Connell

b. Ken Dryden

c. Tony Esposito

d. George Hainsworth

e. Jacques Plante

 

5. Players rated both “4” offensively and “5” defensively are so elite that even in this set of Hall of Famers, only seven players qualify. Which one below has the coveted 4-5 combination?

a. Bobby Clarke

b. Ted “Teeder” Kennedy

c. Mark Messier

d. Bobby Orr

e. Steve Yzerman

 

6. Which two skaters are rated to play all five positions?

a. Hobey Baker and Henry Watson

b. Art Farrell and Fred Whitcroft

c. Syd Howe and Cyclone Taylor

d. Red Kelly and Scott Stevens

e. Jack Marshall and Reg Noble

 

7. Three players have the highest Intimidation rating (1-14). Which two players below DO NOT have Intimidation ratings that high?

a. “Punch” Broadbent

b. Gordie Howe

c. Ted Lindsay

d. Eddie Shore

e. Scott Stevens

 

8. Hall of Famer-caliber players are too valuable to spend much time in the penalty box. None in this set has a AA penalty rating. Which one of the seven players rated A is the only man in the set to have a misconduct rating?

a. Jack Adams

b. Red Horner

c. Ted Lindsay

d. Maurice “Rocket” Richard

e. “Black Jack” Stewart

 

9. Ten centers are rated +3 on faceoffs. Pick the one on this list who is NOT rated that high. (Hint: He’s only +1)

a. Syl Apps

b. Alex Delvecchio

c. Phil Esposito

d. Dave Keon

e. Nels Stewart

 

10. Which of the Hall of Fame players below does NOT have a major National Hockey League award named for him?

a. Jack Adams

b. Hobey Baker

c. King Clancy

d. Art Ross

e. Georges Vezina

 

11. Shooting percentage contributes to goal chances on cards. Which right-winger is rated for the highest shooting percentage?

a. Mike Bossy

b. Rod Gilbert

c. Gordie Howe

d. Jari Kurri

e. Joey Mullen

 

12. This player is rated to score the most short-handed goals.

a. Bobby Clarke

b. Wayne Gretzky

c. Mario Lemieux

d. Mark Messier

e. Bob Pulford

 

 

 

ANSWERS

1. … e., Maurice “Rocket” Richard retired as the leading goal scorer in NHL history, but is rated to score 32 in 58 games – a rate of 44 in 80. Mario Lemieux is rated tops – 57 goals in 73 games. Mike Bossy is rated to score 56 in 75 games.

 

2. … d., Harvey Pulford is so obscure that no statistical record for him is published either in Total Hockey nor in the much older Hockey Encylopedia.

 

3. … a., Chuck Gardiner, the Chicago goalie from 1927-28 through 1933-34, had a lifetime won-loss record of 112-152 while leading the league in shutouts twice and goals-against average once. His rated .926 save-percentage is tied for the best with George Hainsworth, the nearly unbeatable Canadiens goalie who in 1928-29 had 22 shutouts in 44 games and a 0.92 goals-against average.

 

4. … a., Alex Connell, the great Ottawa Senators goalie of the 1920s and 1930s, led the league in shutouts four times, but in goals-against average just once, with a sensational 1.12 mark in 1925-26, the first of five consecutive seasons with GAA’s below 1.50. Hainsworth is second-best in this set with a 1.96 GAA.

 

5. … e., Steve Yzerman, one of three certain Hall of Famers in this set who is still active (Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens are the others). Yzerman is outstanding in all the “top-of-the-card” ratings with a +3 faceoff rating and a 1-14 skating rating. Kennedy, Messier and Orr are all 4-4 offensively and defensively. Clarke is 3-5.

 

6. … e., Jack Marshall and Reg Noble, a couple of old-timers. All the other players on this list are rated to play both at forward and defense, except for Scott Stevens, a defenseman exclusively.

 

7. … a., Harry “Punch” Broadbent, the right winger who led the league in goals and scoring in 1921-22, and c., Ted Lindsay, the left winger who led the NHL in scoring in 1950, were a couple of high-penalty bad boys, but it’s Lindsay’s linemate Howe and defensemen Shore and Stevens who are rated 1-14 intimidators.

 

8. … b., Red Horner, the Toronto defenseman from the 1930’s, led the NHL in penalty minutes each of his final eight seasons. Adams (B), Richard (B) and Stewart (C) are not even among the seven players with “A” penalty ratings.

 

9. … b., Alex Delvecchio, the former Red Wings captain who succeeded Sid Abel as the center on the Production Line between LW Ted Lindsay and RW Gordie Howe. The other +3 centers are Jean Beliveau, Bobby Clarke, Ted “Teeder” Kennedy, Stan Mikita, Frank Nighbor and Steve Yzerman.

 

10. … b., the Hobey Baker Award goes to the top collegiate hockey player. Ironically, the NHL’s award for its annual scoring leader is named for Art Ross, a stay-at-home defenseman who is rated in this set to score 2 goals and 5 points in 27 games.

 

11.  … a., Mike Bossy, whose lightning-quick release and sharpshooter accuracy made him the leading goal scorer on the Islanders dynasty teams of the early 1980’s. He’s the only player in this set with a shooting percentage above 20 percent.

 

12. … c., Mario Lemieux also is rated to score the most power-play goals and the most goals overall.