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April 1, 1983
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
MATS NASLUND
It’s really too bad about Mats Naslund, isn’t it? Here he is in his first National Hockey League season, wearing a number (26) that much larger people such as Pierre Bouchard, Bill Baker and Dan Newman have all worn before with varying degrees of success with the Montreal Canadiens. Naslund has little in common with the aforementioned gentlemen. They all were big, husky types. Naslund is definitely not a big, husky type. He is also the first European to play for the Canadiens. “When people saw him at training camp, they were saying he was too small,” said Pierre Mondou, Naslund’s center in the Swede’s initial plunge into the NHL wars. “He has proved to everybody that he has heart. He reminds me of Yvan Cournoyer at his best.” That is quite a compliment…
Blues Get Surprise Effort From Reserve Goaltender
ST. LOUIS—The sacrificial lamb turned out to be a roaring lion—a lion that blew kisses to the crowd, no less. When St. Louis Blues’ coach Barclay Plager looked at his team’s schedule and saw back-to-back games against the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, he decided to start rookie Rick Heinz in goal against the Stanley Cup champion Islanders. The Blues had not defeated the Islanders in their last 12 meetings. If ever a sacrificial lamb were being offered up to the champions, this was it. The strategy seemed sound enough: No. 1 goalie Mike Liut, who had been in goal for 10 of those 12 games against the Islanders, was to be rested so he’d be fresh for the key game in Toronto, which the Blues were battling for a…
Lafontaine’s Play Draws An Attendance Record
QUEBEC—Although the final numbers won’t be known until after the regular season ends, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) has established an attendance record. As of March 1, the 11 QMJHL clubs showed an increase of 123,885 over the same period last year with a total of 613,611 fans flocking through the turnstiles from Chicoutimi to Hull. Not surprisingly, the biggest increase was reported in Verdun, where more than 33,000 fans have attended this season’s games, largely due to the impact of rookie scoring sensation Pat Lafontaine. The U.S. born superstar headed into the final regular-season game at St. Jean having already clinched the league’s scoring title with 98 goals and 129 assists. The other significant increase was in Laval. Close to 21,000 more fans came to the Sports Palace this season…
Beaupre Won’t Praise Sojourn In Minors
BLOOMINGTON—Don Beaupre has been through it so many times that he doesn’t even flinch at the cliche questions anymore. Whenever he plays well, which is just about every time he steps in between the pipes for the North Stars these days, he knows that his success will be attributed to his trip to the Central League with the Birmingham South Stars. It’s the perfect sports cliche story: young player with talent goes sour, gets demoted to the minors while the team is struggling, gets his act back together and returns to the parent club, then goes on a record hot streak to lead the team to glory. Indeed, when Beaupre came back from Birmingham, he posted a 9-0-2 re-cord to tie the club record set by Gary Edwards. The club record for most…
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