The organization has found immediate success - promoting nearly 20 players to college hockey and higher levels of junior hockey. Schultz holds the all-time record for penalty minutes in a season with 472, which he earned during the 1974-75 season, when he won the Stanley Cup with the Philadelphia Flyers. Ewen, who went by " The Animal " during his playing days, was involved in well over 100 fights during his career, according to HockeyFights.com. During the 1977-1978 season, he led the Bruins in points (90) and penalty minutes (211). Sadly, the fearsome winger dropped dead on a boat on Lake St. Clair of a heart attack in 2010. Who else? He also played a prominent role during the L.A Kings run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. When TieDomi won their first fight, he did the symbol of the championship belt around his waist. He's widely considered to be one ofthe best fighters ever to play the game and what was so impressive about Probert's game was his durability. Outside the arena, away from the roaring bloodlust of the crowd, fighting can be lonely work. We definitely have to walk a fine line when writingthis list, in terms of what exactly constitutes as an enforcer. Dave Semenko was entrusted with protecting Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and, most importantly, Wayne Gretzky during his time with the Edmonton Oilers. Later tests indicated brain damage and CTE from his years of fighting. Dave Tiger Williams is the career penalty minute leader with 3,966 and that is a number that will likely remain for the rest of time. Stu Grimson: While he does not have the penalty minute totals or as long of a career as some of the others on this list, the Grim Reaper was one of the most feared hockey fighters throughout his career. After their first bout ended in an OReilly victory, Gillies recovered to wreck OReilly in the second bout, which sparked the Islanders to victory. In the 1987-88 season, he spent 398 minutes in the sin-bin yet still managed to score 29 goals! The sport of hockey may now be at odds with the ongoing role of the enforcer in the modern game, but throughout the games history fighting has played an integral role. Nilan only suited up 688 times in his career. Ron Fogarty. McSorley was also a participant in an epic 100 second duel with Bob Probert that is one of the greatest fights in hockey history. Twist was known to battle with the leagues biggest and baddest fighters, taking on fellow enforcers like Rob Ray, Bob Probert, and five fights against Bob McKenzie. MAYDAY! Jr. Islanders (NCDC) P.A.L. Karlie O'Reilly. I helped out in whichever way I could, he said in a 2001 interview. This list features the best fighters in the history of the sport, many of whom had an impact and provoked changes to the rules of the game. Hockey has become faster, more skilled, and dictated by analytics. Gordie Howe: Wait what? Major penalties for fighting declined by 25% annually in the first half of the 20112012 season.[10]. Enforcers are different from pests, players who seek to agitate opponents and distract them from the game, without necessarily fighting them. By Alex Capstick. On-ice enforcers struggle to rise through the professional ranks of the world's most prestigious hockey league, only to be confronted with a new found fight for the existence of the role itself. McSorley finished his career with 3,381 penalty minutes in 961 games played, good for fourth all-time in NHL history. However, he wasn'tjust a bystander on those terrific teams. Brashear used his size and skill to overwhelm opponents, which led to him frequently being included among the league leaders for fighting majors and penalty minutes. Men's Ice Hockey Coaching Staff. In 729 career games, Grimson had 2,113 penalty minutes, and 39 career points. OReilly was fiercely protective of his teammates, but also had a scoring touch that he used to net 204 goals and 402 assists during his career. At 5'8 and 175 lbs, Stan Jonathan was very unassuming, but it was certainly a different story when the gloves came off. Matthew Barnaby Matthew Barnaby was one of the most infuriating enforcers of all-time. The league further curtailed fighting before the 1992 season by implementing an instigator penalty for players that deliberately provoke opponents into a fight. All three Sunday games are in the South Division and none of them will change the standings Throughout the years there have been many great players, but also many great enforcers. Even after his namesake technique was banned, Ray continued his dominance as one of the games best enforcers. Stu Grimson, who earned the nickname "The Grim Reaper" in his 14 seasons in the NHL, was the quintessential goon. April 25, 2019. The following are currently active NHL ice hockey enforcers and current minor league enforcers with NHL experience, listed alphabetically by their last name. He had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain-wasting disease believed to impact behaviour, emotion and cognitive ability. did you know that Simon scored29 goals in the 1999-2000 season? Brashear has also participated in boxing and MMA matches, utilizing his considerable hand skills off of the ice. Not until the middle of the 2000s would the league start seeing a slow shift from that old style of playing and roster management. Tales of Horner wrecking people are legendary. [9] This has led to a decrease in the number of players whose predominant role is enforcer. Dave Brown During the heyday of enforcers during the 1980s, Dave Brown entered the scene as an immediate heavyweight contender. Since entering the league in 2001, hes logged nearly 2,300 penalty minutes against just over 233 points. What some casual hockey fans may not understand is that hockey fights do indeed serve a purpose in the game and are not just a contest in machismo between two goons. Domi earned his stripes with the Winnipeg Jets, but it was with his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1995 that he became the most popular enforcer in the league and a beloved figure among Leafs fans. At 69 and 250 lbs, he is one of the largest players ever to hit the ice, and you can imagine how dominant he would be in a fight. The enforcer is an unofficial role in hockey in which a player acts as a team's fighter. The New Jersey Patriots are a youth ice hockey travel program based in Northern New Jersey. To order You'd think May was a 50 goal scorer with the way he deked Ray Bourque out of his jock-strap. With a fabulous nickname bestowed upon him, Terry OReilly of the Boston Bruins is a legend of the enforcer role. Referees are limited in their p. The sport of hockey may now be at odds with the ongoing role of the enforcer in the modern game, but throughout the games history fighting has played an integral role. Rob Ray: Ray dominated NHL fighters throughout the 90s and into the 2000s and was well-known as an all-time popular Buffalo Sabre. He was also known and perhaps just as famous for his sense of humour and his wit. Shanahan won three Stanley Cups in his career and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He famously battered legendary Boston Bruins enforcer Terry OReillyand wonseveral times. What about John Scott? After going undrafted, Berube broke into the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers and quickly established himself as an enforcer by fighting Bob Probert three times. Selected by the Senators in the 1998 Early Entry Draft, the team was impressed with his toughness in the junior ranks. Dial up a Probert fight video on YouTube and watch the way he grips onto and tees of on opponents. Nilan dreamed of playing for the Boston Bruins growing up, but was drafted as the enforcer for their rival Montreal Canadiens. However, on top of that, Barnaby also had a knack for scoring big goals. At present in the National Hockey League (NHL), teams generally do not carry more than one player whose primary role is that of an enforcer. He received a punch squarelyto the throat whichpermanently damaged his larynx, though he managed to return and play solid defense for the rest of his career. Schultz is renowned as one of hockey's greatest enforcers and holds the NHL record for most penalty minutes in a single season, at 472. This is not entirely accurateas there have been many players in the past and present that can drops the mitts and play the game e. The word "goon" is often tied in with the word "enforcer" in the NHL. Berube is seventh all-time in career penalty minutes with 3,149 in 1,054 games played. . Athletic Trainer. Gillies served as captain of the Islanders from 1977 to 1979, and won the Stanley Cup four years in a row with them, from 1980 to 1983. Bob Probert: One of the most imposing enforcers of all-time, Probert weighed in at 63 and 225 lbs of pure muscle. It was hockey all the checking and hits, things like that.. Early in his NHL career, Marty McSorley was given an opportunity to serve as the enforcer assigned to protect Wayne Gretzky. While a successful player by some measures, including being voted to the 198788 Campbell Conference all-star team, Probert was best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then-Red Wing teammate Joey Kocur, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Detroit Red Wing even battled his former tag-team partner Joey Kocur. MAYDAY! A couple of decades ago enforcers had one role on the team: fights. While no hockey player is officially listed as enforcer on the depth chart, these guys might as well have been. "[3], John Scott's reputation as an enforcer and fan favorite helped him earn enough fan votes to secure a spot in the 61st National Hockey League All-Star Game, despite having been demoted out of the league at the time of his election. BILL COOK: Renowned for his scoring skills as a member of a legendary Rangers forward line that included his brother Fred (Bun) Cook and center Frank Boucher, Bill Cook played the game as hard as any NHL enforcer from any big-league era. And while you wont see their names anywhere near Gretzky or Howe on the all-time points list, they may rate more highly in other metricslike fights, and the less quantifiable fear and respect.. Some clubs still employ an enforcer but they are slowing being phased out of the game. Most people know Howe as one of the greatest offensive players of all time as he is currently fourth all-time in NHL career points scored. If you want to see what a classic NHL enforcer was like, look at Domis career stat line: 1,020 games played, 245 career points, and 3,515 penalty minutes, good for third all-time in NHL History. The role of the enforcer has diminished since rule enforcement changed following the 200405 NHL lockout to increase game speed and scoring. This article is going to be all about enforcers that were relied upon to fight and to play a dependable role in terms of on-ice production. Its one of the unique elements of the most popular sport played on ice that teams carry goons on their rosters whose primary duty is to maintain order, protect his teammates, and kick ass when necessary. However, he had to tone down his act after a fight with Montreal Canadiens forward Sergio Momesso. [10], Instead, more well-rounded players are expected to contribute aspects of the enforcer role. Talk about consistency! Larry Goodenough Don Grosso Dale Hawerchuk Shane Hnidy Craig Coxe Kris King Keith Tkachuk Jim Morrison Bob Sauve Jonathan Cheechoo Darius Kasparaitis Bill Kitchen Uwe Krupp Dickie Moore Rory Fitzpatrick Dino Ciccarelli Joe Reekie Roman Hamrlik Colby Armstrong Brandon Yip And now, the 50 greatest Hockey Enforcer names: 50. The additional team adds to a solid foundation . He finished his career with 300 points and a staggering 2,562 penalty minutes. Chief among those that dish out the pain are the enforcers, the men drafted to make their living protecting the superstar scorers. How tough was he? Fans of todays NHL may not recognize a lot of the names on this list but that is just because the game has evolved so much. Nilans 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 campaigns are the stuff of penalty minute-accumulating legend: His tallies for those two years: 338 and 358 minutes, respectively. Without further ado, here at the top 15 enforcers that were good hockey players! Doug carved himself out a niche in Montreal as one of the better defensive forwards in the league.. Shane Talarico. Brashear ended his career with over 2,600 penalty minutes, and one of. Vincent Caligiuri. Fighting has been a part of the NHL for as long as the league has existed. Considering this, there's likely a great deal of fans out there who watch hockey just to see the best fighters in the NHL really go at it. They must be dosing the water supply with testosterone in the province. In his 891-game careerall of which was spent in BostonOReilly accumulated more than 2,000 penalty minutes. The enforcer took off into the stands after the offending party, which earned him an eight-game suspension. In the 1970s, the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers were known respectively as the "Big Bad Bruins" and "Broad Street Bullies", for stocking up on grinders and enforcers. Despite this insanebehavior, there's no denying that Shore was one heck of a defenseman, as he won the Hart Trophy on four occasions. Hockey is often considered one of the toughest sports to play, but these five players were a cut above in the toughness department. Jr. Enforcers alumni are in NCAA D-1, NCAA D-3, NAHL, USHL, NCDC, and the ACHA! The club has expanded, adding a USPHL Elite level team for the upcoming 2022-23 season. You can also add any that didn't make the list. He was also asturdydefenseman that could movethe puck and had a cannon of a shot from the point. While the NHLs restrictions have certainly curtailed fighting significantly, the role of the enforcer remains a valuable asset for teams to have. 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