The Greatest of All

I am about to spend a little time on rookies, and wanted to lay the groundwork this morning. The best rookie crop in Oilers history was 1979-80. We don’t talk about it much because the NHL didn’t recognize players like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier because they played in the WHA in 1978-79. Ironic, since the league treated the WHA like a pickup hockey league in every other way. Let’s get to the point. The 1979-80 Oilers rookie crop was the greatest of all time. Here’s a look.

1979-80

Total Rookies of Interest: 14

1979 Draft Notes: No. 21 overall Kevin Lowe was ranked No. 12 among 1959-born draft eligible players. The Oilers had him rated ‘anywhere from No. 10 to No. 13 overall’ on draft day.

Best Player as a Rookie: Wayne Gretzky. He was the best player in the league. Although not technically a rookie, because the NHL decided it one day, the young man from Brantford, Ontario was beyond ridiculous from the start. Bruce McCurdy knew he was the best player who ever lived early on, and the rest of us caught up by the first NHL spring in Edmonton.

Second Best Player as a Rookie: Blair MacDonald. A WHA veteran, this was his first NHL season at 25. He scored 46 goals and 94 points riding shotgun with 99. Not a fast skater, he had a great shot and fell ass over tea kettle into the grandest luck this side of Rob Brown. Like Brown, it would be a mistake to discount the natural talent of MacDonald.

Oldest Rookie: RD Bryon Baltimore was 27, and played his only two NHL games in this season. Another WHA vet, Baltimore hung around the minors for a little while afterward. He was well regarded by his teammates as a tough-as-nails defender and had a wicked sense of humor. Must have been smart, too.

Oldest Rookie Who Played a Lot: MacDonald.

Most Unusual Story: Mark Messier. Not Messier per se, but Punch Imlach about Mark Messier. In his book about his career with Toronto and Buffalo in the 1970s, Imlach wrote about the 1979 draft. He blamed his scouts (Imlach always blamed someone) for taking Laurie Boschman and not Brian Propp (both Brandon Wheat Kings) in the first round, and then threw his scouts under the bus again for sins not even committed in the third round. He wrote that he asked about Messier being available, and was told by scouts that 11 would not be taken in 1979. Only two picks before the Toronto turn, Edmonton called the Moose. That meant Imlach didn’t have a story, but the bugger used it in his book anyway. Lordy.

Another Unusual Story: When the Indianapolis Racers sold Gretzky to Edmonton, part of the money procured was used to sign Mark Messier just three days after the 99 sale.

Yet Another Unusual Story: Kevin Lowe was told the 1979 draft (via telephone) was to start at 10am. He expected a call from Alan Eagleson around 10:15 to tell him which team had selected him in the first round. Lowe waited, and waited, and waited. By 10:45am the phone hadn’t rung and Lowe’s mom said “My God, they’re not drafting him.” A mixup in the phone lines caused a one hour delay, but the Lowe household was not aware of it. At 11:10, Eagleson’s secretary called with the news Edmonton had chosen Lowe—21st overall.

Here’s One: Glen Sather was impressed by Mark Messier as he played AGAINST the Oilers in the 78-79 season (WHA). Edmonton’s Dennis Sobchuk was a pretty good player and legend has it he thought he could take the kid in the Cincinnati Stinger uniform. Messier apparently had a slight edge in punches. 12-0. Sather noticed and picked him 48th overall in the deepest draft in history.

Confusing but true: Many of the kids I count as rookies had some WHA experience. Dave Hunter was acquired by the WHA Oilers and spent some time in their minor league system. When he finally saw Edmonton, Hunter showed he belonged. Here is a passage from a December 1978 edition of The Hockey News: The rookie left winger, an accomplished checker despite his inexperience, moved into a position beside Gretzky and Flett and made sound contributions on almost every shift. It was clear that Hunter’s two weeks in Dallas (CHL) had restored his confidence. In that regard, his first pro goal helped too. “I was beginning to think I’d never score,” he said after beating Mike Liut with a high shot. “The longer you go, the harder it seems to get.”

Longest NHL careers. There were a load of lengthy careers in here. Mark Messier (1756), Wayne Gretzky (1487), Kevin Lowe (1254), Dave Hunter (746), Dave Semenko (575) and Risto Siltanen (562) represent the best one-year congregation of rookie NHL players in the game’s history.

Anything Else? Ron Chipperfield isn’t included, but he was a rookie that year too. He was sent to Quebec for Ron Low at the deadline, during trying circumstances detailed in the Gzowski book.

Hall of Fame Careers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe.

In front of the first blush look at rookies, I count Josh Samanski, Viljami Marjala, Connor Clattenburg, Owen Michaels, Quinn Hutson, Eduards Tralmaks, William Nicholl, Damien Carfagna, Tomas Cibulka, Atro Leppanen, Connor Ungar, Samuel Jonsson, Aku Raty and Eemil Vinni as the pool. I’m contemplating one or two more, we’ll see in the days to come.

On the Lowdown today, our guest will be former Oilers defenseman Shawn Belle. We’ll talk about training camps and what young players can gain even if they’re heading to the AHL or back to junior. We’ll also chat Elks, Oilers, NFL, Jays and more. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.