Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
February 7, 1992
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.
Scouting the top stoppers
Evaluating teenagers and projecting their futures is a tricky science. With goaltenders it’s even more of a crapshoot. With that ir mind, here are the top draft-eligible goalies in order in the Canadian Hockey League as ranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau. Mike Fountain, 20, Oshawa (OHL), 14-83. 3.65. He made the Canadian national junior team and won the battle in Oshawa, forcing the trade of Fred Brathwaite. Sandy Allan, 18, North Bay (OHL), 16-40, 3.80. The impressive rookie is a standup goalie with an excellent glove hand. He’s splitting time with Cents’ veteran Ron Bertrand. Scott Bailey, 19, Spokane (WHL), 21-143, 3.29. Played second fiddle to Trevor Kidd in Spokane’s Memorial Cup win last season, but has led the Chiefs to the best defensive record. Emmanuel Fernandez, 17, Laval (QMJHL), 9-6-1, 2.71.…
Turning the Corner
Neal Broten is beginning to show signs, small though they may be, of coming out of the worst case of jet lag in modem aviation history. Broten, who took his contract negotiations to Germany and back last fall, hadn’t scored a goal in 35 consecutive games through Jan. 25-a streak that dates back to Oct. 19. It would have been more games but coach Bob Gainey benched him for three leading up to the all-star break. Broten insists the trip to Germany for a wallet-enriching personal training camp-he was paid about $50,000 by the Berlin team-has nothing to do with his killer slump. Neither does his four-year, $3.4-million contract, he says. However, for much of the Stars’ first half of the season, their career scoring leader—745 points in 758 games disappeared on the…
Commitment towards youth
The San Jose Sharks have the worst record in the NHL, but they believe they also have one of the brightest futures. Their top minor-league affiliate—Kansas City Blades of the International League-have been the league’s best team since the start of the season. That provides the Sharks with a strong foundation, and they feel the building blocks are in place to construct a solid base for success. General manager Jack Ferreira resisted temptation from other NHL teams and retained his high draft picks in 1991. As a result, the organization boasts some excellent young prospects. And not all of those blocks are in Kansas City. The Sharks have a list of prospects that includes a candidate for this season’s Hobey Baker award as the best U.S. college player and a European standout. Here are…
What About Bob?
The natural tendency is to overanalyze Bobby Holik. And because the Hartford Whalers have wallowed in mediocrity for so long and so dearly need a savior, it is partly understandable. When general manager Ed Johnston walked to the podium at the Met Center in 1989 with a Whaler jersey, he knew the body he would draft was not in Minnesota to fit into it. Johnston brought up the jersey to play out the intrigue and emphasize his coup. In drafting Holik, Johnston and the Whalers felt they were selecting one of the premier young players in the world. The Iron Curtain has since fallen in Holik’s native Czechoslovakia. But it almost seems as if an Iron Curtain has gone up around him. Midway through his second year, scouts and other employees of NHL…
Made possible with the support of
