1989-90 Khimik Voskresenek Dimitri Kvartalnov Jersey

Born on this date in 1966, Dimitri Kvartalnov looked for all the world to be on his way to NHL stardom.

Kvartalnov began his career with five full seasons with Khimik Voskresenek of the Soviet League, which included leading the league in scoring in 1989-90 and playing for the Soviet Union in the World Championships twice, winning gold in 1989 and bronze in 1991. 

Dimitri, incorrectly identified as his brother Andrei

Kvartalnov then moved to North America and joined the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League, where he destroyed the league, scoring 60 goals and 58 assists for 118 points in 77 games. Kvartalnov picked up a trio of awards that season as the Rookie of the Year, Scoring Champion and Most Valuable Player.

IHL scoring champion Kvartalnov

Following his stellar IHL season, the Boston Bruins selected Kvartalnov with the 16th pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.

Already with ten years of pro experience and entering the prime of his career at age 26, his NHL career got off to a record start in 1992 with 12 goals and ten assists to give him points in his first 14 games, a mark that would stand for fifteen years until surpassed by Evgeni Malkin in 2007.

Playing on "The Bonanza Line" of Adam Oates (Adam) and fellow NHL rookie Joe Juneau (Little Joe) and Kvartalnov (Hoss), the line would score nearly a third of the Bruins goals that season, with 107 of the club's 332 for the year. Oates would finish third in league scoring with 142 points and Juneau topped 100 with 102 while setting a record for left wingers with 70. Kvartalnov would amass 30 goals and 42 assists for 72 points in 73 games in his first season and had the look of a future NHL star - at least on the outside.

The Bonanza Line even had their own hockey card

The first sign of trouble was when the Bruins left him unprotected in the expansion draft, and despite his 30 goal season seemingly indicating enormous potential, he went unclaimed.

Once the season began, Kvartalnov found himself in coach Brian Sutter's doghouse. Sutter, who had little use for Kvartalnov's apparent one dimensional style of play, left him out of the lineup on many occasions during his second season. After 39 games, in which he scored just 19 points, half the pace of a year before, and with a -9 rating, Kvartalnov was placed on waivers and eventually demoted to Providence of the AHL. There he was back to a point a game, but his time with the Bruins and North America was over at the conclusion of the season.

His career was far from over however.

Kvartalnov would move to Switzerland and play three seasons with HC Ambri-Piotta, finishing third in league scoring in 1995-96 and leading the team in scoring in 1996-97.

Kvartalnov back in Europe with HC Ambri-Piotta

Klagenfurt AC in Austria was his next stop, where he would play for three seasons which included leading the team in scoring with 72 points in 45 games in 1997-98.

He would split the 1999-00 season between the Manheim Eagles in Germany and Jokerit Helsinki in Finland.

The following season he would return to Russia, joining Ak Bars Kazan where he would play for four seasons and lead them in scoring twice. 2004-05 saw a move to Cherepovets Severstal and then a return to Khimik for six games. He would play the 2005-06 season with Krylja Sovetov (Soviet Wings) in the lower division, helping them regain a place in the top league for 2006-07. Half way through the season Kryla would deal Kvartalnov back to Cherepovets, and he would retire at the conclusion of the season after a 24 year professional career in which he would score a total of 509 goals and 474 assists for 983 points.

Kvartalnov has subsequently gone into coaching in the KHL and guided Severstal Cherepovets for three seasons, spent two with Sibir Novosibirsk and is currently the head coach of CSKA Moscow, who have finished first overall in the KHL regular season all three of his seasons with the Red Army club.

Today's featured jersey is a 1989-90 Khimik Voskresenek Dimitri Kvartalnov jersey as worn by Kvartalnov when he was the leading scorer in the Soviet League. It's typical of the Soviet jerseys of the era in that it is a relatively lightweight mesh and all the elements are either dye sublimated or screened on. Of note are the wild numbers on the back, reminding us of the 1982 movie "TRON". This jersey also has Dimitri's first initial "D" on the back in Cyrillic, as his brother Andrei was also a member of the team. The shape of the Cyrillic "D" likely led to the confusion and his being identified on his O-Pee-Chee hockey card as Andrei.

We obtained this jersey from a member of the Khimik traveling party during a game at Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota when Khimik was playing a game in the Super Series against the Minnesota North Stars. Having no real idea who the players on the club were at the time, and being given our choice of a few different jerseys, we opted for the one with the longest name simply because it looked the most "Soviet". Only later when we decoded the Cyrillic lettering did we realize we had unknowingly obtained the jersey from the Soviet League's leading scorer from the prior season!

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1991-92 San Diego Gulls Dimitri Kvartalnov jersey. version of the Gulls played in the IHL from 1990-91 to 1994-95 before moving north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs for one season prior to becoming the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

The Gulls wore the same striking black and red jerseys for their entire run in San Diego and are easily our favorites of any of the four teams to have used the San Diego Gulls name.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Boston Bruins Dimitri Kvartalnov jersey.  As well as obtaining Kvartalnov's game worn Khimik jersey, we later acquired his Bruins road jersey from his second season in the NHL. When paired with our Khimik jersey from the Soviet League, we like to call it our "Ultimate Home and Away Jerseys".

In today's video section, you cannot defend passing this good. You just can't.

Next, Kvartalnov picks up a rolling puck and shows his soft hands as he stickhandles his way to a nifty goal against the Hartford Whalers.

Next, Kvartalnov receives a laser pass from the playmaker Oates and, showing the good skills with his skates many European hockey players have from growing up playing soccer, gets the puck up to his stick and scores against the Washington Capitals Olaf Kolzig.

Finally, we present you with the theme song to the TV series Bonanza, from where the Bruins Bonanza Line of Oates, Juneau and Kvartalnov got their name.

1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins Kevin Stevens Jersey

Left winger Kevin Stevens began his road to the NHL when he was drafted out of high school during the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. After being drafted, Stevens would hone his skills with the Boston College Eagles beginning with the 1983-84 season. He would play four seasons for the Eagles, highlighted by a 35 goal, 70 point season in 39 games during his senior season of 1986-87 while serving as team captain.

Following his graduation from BC, Stevens would suit up for the United States at the 1987 World Championships, scoring a goal and an assist in 8 games.

He then played a full schedule of games for the United States National Team in preparation for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. In the 44 games he played prior to the Olympics, Stevens scored at a point per game clip, scoring 22 goals and 45 points. During the six games of the Olympics, Stevens scored once and had four assists.

The 1988 United States Olympic hockey team

Once the Olympics concluded, Stevens made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had acquired his rights from the Kings a mere three months after they had drafted him back in 1983. He would play in 16 games that season, scoring 5 times.

Kevin Stevens made his NHL debut following the 1988 Olympics

He would begin the 1988-89 season developing his game with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League, scoring 24 goals and 65 points with 113 penalty minutes in 45 games in the minors. Stevens was called up by Pittsburgh and saw action in 24 games with the parent club that season, scoring a dozen goals. He also got his first playoff experience that year, scoring 3 goals and 10 points in 11 games.

Now a full-time NHLer, he would play in 76 games in 1989-90, just missing out on the 30 goal plateau with 29. His 41 assists gave him 70 total points and was a physical presence on the ice, amassing 171 penalty minutes as well. With the Penguins missing out on the playoffs in 1990, Stevens played in his second World Championships for the United States, scoring 5 goals and 7 points in 10 games to lead the Americans in scoring.

His offensive numbers continued to rise, as he scored an even 40 goals in 1990-91 while adding 46 assists for 86 points while benefitting from playing with superstar center Mario Lemieux. The Penguins went on a long playoff run, defeating the New Jersey Devils in 7, the Washington Capitals in 5, the Boston Bruins in 6 and then finally capturing the franchise's first Stanley Cup in a six game series with the Minnesota North Stars. Stevens played in all 24 playoff games, scoring 17 goals and 33 points, which was third on the team behind Lemieux and Mark Recchi.

Stevens and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1990-91

Full of confidence after his 40 goal season and Stanley Cup championship the previous season while playing with arguably the best player in the game during the 1991-92 season, as Lemieux would lead the NHL in scoring, Stevens raised his game to another level. He was named as an assistant captain for the Penguins and proceeded to score 54 goals and 69 assists for 123 points, which included becoming the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season on this date in 1992 when he scored his 50th goal of the season on the road against the Detroit Red Wings. He would finish with 254 penalty minutes and second in goals in the league and second overall in points to Lemieux - and notably ahead of Wayne Gretzky, something only two others had accomplished to that point.

His 123 points also set the record for the most points in a single season by an American-born player as well as the single season record for a left wing.

The Penguins would defend their Stanley Cup championship by outlasting the Washington Capitals in 7 games, defeating the New York Rangers in 6 and then marching through the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks with a pair of four game sweeps. In 21 games that postseason, Stevens scored 13 goals and 28 points.

Stevens won his second Stanley Cup in 1992

Stevens offensive output continued in 1992-93 as he set a career high with 55 goals, matching that with 56 assists for 111 points.

Stevens set a career high with 55 goals in 1992-93

In 1993-94, Stevens was hurt by the limited play of Lemieux, who only saw action in 22 games. Stevens still scored 41 goals, his fourth straight season of 40 or more, but his 88 points in 83 games were a decline from the lofty heights of the previous two seasons. Lemieux sat out the entire 1994-95 season while Stevens only played in 27 in a lockout shortened 48 game season, but it was at a point per game average when he was healthy.

That summer Stevens was traded to Boston with Shawn McEachern for Glenn Murray, Bryan Smolinski and a 3rd round draft pick. Stevens would score 10 goals and 23 points in 41 games for the Bruins only to be traded to the Kings just after the New Year for Rick Tocchet. He was limited to just 20 games for Los Angeles, scoring just 3 goals in 10 assists in 1995-96.

Stevens in the Kings short-lived "Burger King" alternate jersey

The highlight of his season was returning to the World Championships for the US, leading the team in scoring with 4 goals and 7 points in 10 games on his way to earning a bronze medal, the first medal for the Americans in 34 years.

He was back with the Kings for the 1996-97 season, but was unable to capture his previous scoring touch, with 14 goals and 34 points.

The Kings traded Stevens during the off season to the Rangers for Luc Robitaille. He had two 40 point seasons while playing in 80  in 1997-98 and 81 games in 1998-99, which included scoring 23 goals.

His career was derailed by personal problems in 1999-00 which cut his season off at 38 games and led to him entering the NHL Substance Abuse Program.

Stevens spent three years with the Rangers

Stevens was given a second chance by the Philadelphia Flyers, who signed him as a free agent for the 2000-01 season. He disappointed with just 2 goals and 7 assists in 23 games and was traded by the Flyers in January to his original club, the Penguins, the location of this greatest successes.

Over the remainder of the season, he played in 32 games, scoring 23 points and added another 6 in 17 playoff games. He returned to Pittsburgh for the 2001-02 season, but did not entirely into the Penguins game plan and was limited to 32 games, but scored just one goal and 5 points before he retired.

Stevens finished his career where it started in Pittsburgh

His final NHL totals are 874 games played with 329 goals and 397 assists for 726 points, NHL All-Star games in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and two Stanley Cups.

Unfortunately, Stevens off ice problems were not over, and in May of 2016 he was charged with possession with intent to distribute the drug oxycodone. In a statement by his lawyer, Stevens pleaded guilty in December of 2016 to put the charges behind him and move on with his life, adding Stevens has been battling addiction to painkillers for many years, dating back to his playing days which was made worse a serious concussion he sustained near the end of his career as well as injuries to his neck from a car accident following his career. He added that Stevens has been clean and sober for many months now and is committed to beating his addiction. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28th, four days from now.

Today's featured jersey is a 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins Kevin Stevens jersey as worn during the season he set a career high with 123 as he finished second overall in league scoring. Additionally, that season he became the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals while serving 200 penalty minutes. His 123 points that season also made him the highest scoring American-born player ever and as well as setting the single season record for left wingers.

The Penguins adopted their gold and black color scheme in the middle of the 1979-80 season, matching not only the colors of the flag of Pittsburgh, but also the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL and Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB, both of which had recently won championships.

After starting out with a traditional pairing of white at home and black on the road, the Penguins added a yellow third jersey for 1981-82 and 1982-83. For the 1983-84 season, the white jersey was shelved for a season before being brought back for the 1984-85 season when the yellow jersey was dropped entirely.

This jersey style continued through their back-to-back championships in 1990-91 and 1991-92 until being replaced despite having been worn for two consecutive championships.

The Penguins 1991-92 jerseys are among a select group of NHL jerseys with three patches. The team began the season with the NHL 75th Anniversary patch on the upper right chest and the similarly styled Penguins 25th Anniversary patch on the upper right arm. During the season the team added a memorial patch for their former head coach "Badger" Bob Johnson to the upper left arm.

The jersey evolved when the Penguins made the Stanley Cup Finals, as the finals patch was added to the right chest, which was sewn to an oddly shaped piece of jersey fabric, which was then sewn over the NHL 75th Anniversary patch, which some would argue makes it a four patch jersey.

Finally, a jersey with either Lemieux's captain's "C" or Stevens or John Tonelli with an assistant captain's "A" on the left chest makes this the pinnacle of NHL jerseys. One look at it let's you know that this is a jersey with a story to tell, not unlike the heraldry of a medieval coat of arms.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins Kevin Stevens jersey as worn during the season he set a career high with 55 goals.

After winning two Stanley Cups in their skating penguin logo jerseys, the Penguins inexplicably changed jerseys for the 1992-93 season. While the jerseys were striking, the timing was certainly questionable.

A new, modern penguin logo was created for the home white jersey and repeated again on the road black jersey as the secondary shoulder logos. The front cresting was the classic hockey diagonal lettering, previously worn on the Penguins original 1967-68 jerseys, a wonderful mix of retro and modern.

The white jersey lasted through the the 2001-02 season, outlasting the black jersey which gave way to the team's third jersey in 1997-98, which had been Pittsburgh's alternate since 1995-96.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a  1993 NHL All-Star Kevin Stevens jersey. The NHL first wore this attractive style in 1989 and continued to use it through the 1993 edition, save for 1992 when throwback jerseys were worn for the NHL's 75th Anniversary season.

There were some changes in customizing of these jerseys, as both the home white and road blacks were worn with orange numbers, trimmed in either white or black opposite the jersey color, for the first three years. When it was brought back in 1993, the colors of the numbers were changed to black on the white jerseys and white on the black jerseys with the numbers now trimmed in orange on both styles.

In today's video section, Stevens scores in overtime against Washington during the 1991 playoffs.

Next, Stevens lights up the Bruins for 4 goals during the 1992 playoffs.

2017 KHL Gagarin Cup Playoff Update

While the NHL season still has over two weeks left to play, the Kontinental Hockey League is already reached the Semifinals of the Gagarin Cup Playoffs.

The Gagarin Cup

In the Western Conference, CSKA Moscow, winners of the Tarasov Division as well as the Kontinental Cup as regular season champions (for the third consecutive time) with 137 points, was the #1 seed and drew the Finnish club Jokert Helsinki, the #8 seed with 93 points. CSKA advanced to the conference semifinals winning in 4 straight.

#2 seed SKA Saint Petersburg (Bobrov Division champions with an equal 137 points but two less wins than CSKA), led by a scoring brigade of Ilya Kovalchuk (78 points in 60 games), Vadim Shipachyov (76), Nikita Gusev (71) and Evgeny Dadonov (66), who finished 2-3-4-5 in KHL scoring, swept HC Vityaz (93 points) from the Moscow region in four straight games. Dynamo Moscow (112 points) and #3 seed, needed 5 games to eliminate Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. All the favorites advanced in the opening round when #4 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (110) defeated the Belarus club Dinamo Minsk (105) in five games as well.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Over in the Eastern Conference, #1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Kharlamov Division winners with 124 points) and led by the KHL's leading scorer Sergei Mozyakin (85 points in 60 games) faced #8 Kulun Red Star from China (83 points), who did well to reach the playoffs in their first season, and Metallurg advanced easily with a 4-1 margin. #2 Avangard Omsk (Chernyshev Division winners with 109 points) was the first team to require even as much as six games to advance over #7 Admiral Vladivostok, one of two teams from the far east of Russia seven time zones difference from Moscow.

Goaltender Artyom Zagidulin and Sergei Mozyakin

of Metallurg Magnitogorsk

#3 Ak Bars Kazan (109) eliminated #6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa (88) in another five game series while #5 Barys Astana (90) of Kazakhstan became the sole lower seeded team ,and the only non-Russian side, to advance out of the first round when they defeated #4 Traktor Chelyabinsk (97) in the only other 6 game series in the first round.

The teams were reseeded after the first round, which saw #1 CSKA paired with #4 Lokomotiv. The teams split the first two games before Lokomotiv reeled off three straight wins to upset the three-time KHL regular season winners and deny them their first championship since 1989.

In the other Western Conference matchup, #3 Dynamo Moscow's league leading goaltender Alexander Yeryomenko was not enough to hold off #2 SKA, who survived an opening game overtime loss to win the next four by allowing Dynamo only 4 goals in the last four games.

Dynamo Moscow goaltender Alexander Yeryomenko

stopping Ilya Kovalchuk of SKA

In the East, #1 Magnitogorsk opened with a opening game shutout over #5 Barys on their way to a four game sweep, which was harder than it sounds, with two of the games requiring overtime for Metallurg to prevail.

The last semifinalist was decided between #2 Avangard and #3 Ak Bars, with Ak Bars upsetting the higher seed in a six game series to advance.

The Western Conference Finals get underway today with #2 SKA Saint Petersburg hosting #4 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for a spot in the Gagarin Cup Finals. Mikko Koskinen of Finland is the goaltender for SKA and currently has a measly 1.41 GAA and a gaudy 94.2% save percentage to go with his 8-1 playoff record to date.

SKA goaltender Mikko Koskinen wearing the unusual #19

The game begins at 7:30 PM Moscow time, which translates to 12:30 PM in the Eastern time zone in North America for those looking to watch the games online.

The Eastern Conference Finals start tomorrow, as the defending champion and #1 seed Metallurg Magnitogorsk host #3 Ak Bars Kazan in a game that starts at 5:00 PM Moscow time, which is 10:00 AM in North America. Magnitogorsk will be hard to stop, as they have four of the top five playoff scorers in Danis Zaripov (17 points in 9 games), Jan Kovar (17), regular season leading scorer Mozyakin (14) and Canadian defenseman Chris Lee (14). The job of stopping them falls to Emil Garipov for Kazan, who is second in the postseason with a 1.59 GAA and a 93.8% save percentage.

For those wishing to keep closer tabs on the KHL playoffs, here is a link to the current game schedule.

Today's featured jersey is a 2016-17 Metallurg Magnitogorsk Sergei Mozyakin jersey as worn by this season's KHL scoring champion.

Metallurg was founded in 1955 and in the 1980s played in the third level of Soviet hockey, winning championships in 1989 and 1990. They moved up to the top level of Russian hockey in 1992 when the joined the new International Hockey League, the first post-Soviet major league. As the leagues came and went during that era, the joined the Russian Superleague in 1996 and played in the finals six times, winning three championships in 1999, 2001 and 2007. During this era, the club iced its most well known alumni, Evgeni Malkin, won the Spengler Cup in 2005 and made headlines when they hired the first North American head coach for a Russian club when they hired Canadian Dave King for the 2005-06 season.

They were a founding member of the KHL in 2008-09 and have won championships in 2014 and 2016.

Mozyakin, a veteran, began his pro career with CSKA Moscow in the Russian Superleague in the 2000-01 season. He played for Red Army for five seasons, scoring 20 goals twice. He then played two seasons for Khimik Moscow Oblast, with whom he set a career high with 37 goals in 2007-08. When Khimik relocated for the 2008-09 season, Mozyakin joined Atlant, who took the place of Khimik in the Moscow Oblast region. He immediately set a career high with 76 points in 56 games during the inaugural KHL season.

After three seasons with Atlant, Mozyakin joined Metallurg for the 2011-12 season and is now in his fifth season with the club. Since 2005-06, Mozyakin has now scored 20 goals or more in 11 consecutive seasons, with five of those being over 30 in the shorter KHL season.

Mozyakin led the RSL in scoring in 2006 and again in 2008. While in the KHL, he has gone on to win the scoring race in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and again in 2017. It should come as little surprize that Mozyakin is the KHL's all time leading scorer. He has won the Gagarin Cup in 2014 and 2016 while captain of Metallurg.

At the World Championships, he has played for Russia on seven occasions, winning gold medals in 2008 and 2009, along with silver in 2010 and 2015 and a bronze in 2016.

If you would like to purchase your own 2016-17 KHL jersey from Metallurg or many other teams, please visit our friends at Lutch USA.

In today's video section, first Ak Bars moves on to the Conference Finals by eliminating Omsk followed by Lokomotiv eliminating regular season champions CSKA. Then, after Lokomotiv?CSKA highlights, Dynamo Moscow is eliminated by SKA and Barys season comes to an end in overtime at the hands of Magnitogorsk.

Finally, Mozyakin scores his 1,000th career point, all the more impressive when you factor in that a KHL season is 25% shorter than an NHL schedule.

1958-59 New York Rangers Andy Hebenton Jersey

Andy "Spuds" Hebenton made his professional hockey debut with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the American Hockey League in 1949 and moved to his native Canada the following season to play for the Victoria Cougars in the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which was renamed the Western Hockey League for the third of Hebenton's five seasons with the Cougars.

While with the Cougars he won a President's Cup as league champion in 1951 and established himself as a reliable player known for not missing any games.

The 1950-51 WHL champion Victoria Cougars

He would play in every game of his final three seasons in Victoria. His personal best season with the Cougars was his last in 1954-55, when he was named to the league's First All-Star Team following his 46 goal, 80 point season.

Based on that success, his rights were purchased by the New York Rangers of the NHL for the 1955-56 season.

He continued his streak of consecutive games with the Rangers, playing in all 70 games for eight straight seasons while in Manhattan. His best season as a Ranger was 1958-59, when he scored 33 goals and 62 points. At the conclusion of the season Hebenton was named the recipient of the 1959 Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play. While with the Rangers, he averaged less than 10 minutes in penalties per season. He was rewarded for his fine season with a spot in the 1960 NHL All-Star Game.

Hebenton was claimed by the Boston Bruins in the waiver draft for the 1963-64 season and once more played in every one of Boston's 70 games, with his final NHL game coming on this date in 1964, giving him a streak of 630 straight NHL games which broke all records for NHL games played up until that time.

Following his one season with Boston, his rights were sold to the Portland Buckaroos of the WHL for the 1964-65 campaign. His offensive game returned while in the WHL, reflected by his 34 goals and 74 points in a season where he yet again played in every game possible. He also competed in 10 playoff games and scored 13 points as the Buckaroos captured the Lester Patrick Cup as 1965 WHL champions. Following the season Hebenton was awarded the Fred Hume Cup for being the Most Gentlemanly Player in the WHL.

The 1964-65 WHL champion Portland Buckaroos

He returned to Victoria for the next two seasons, this time with the Victoria Maple Leafs, where he would capture his second consecutive championship in 1966 while extending his consecutive games streak to 1,062 consecutive professional games which began back in 1951.

Hebenton's streak, which remains the record for the longest streak in professional hockey history, would come to an end on October 18, 1967 owing to the passing of his father when he went home to Winnipeg for the funeral. After missing two games, Hebenton was back in the lineup to begin a new streak, as he played in all 70 of the Buckaroos remaining games.

His point totals would begin to climb following that season, as he went from 45 to 77 then 78 and finally 81 in 1970-71 for his personal best of his career. Additionally, he began a run of five consecutive Fred Hume Cup awards from 1970 to 1974, giving him six in all. During this run of success, the Buckaroos would capture another league championship, this time in 1971.

The 1970-71 WHL champion Portland Buckaroos

Eventually he would play ten seasons in the WHL after the conclusion of his NHL career and his second games played streak would reach 510 games giving him a combined total of having played in 1,572 out of a possible 1,574 games! Unfortunately, the WHL would cease operations after the 1973-74 season due to increased competition from the battle between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, which depleted the WHL's talent pool and placed teams in many of the WHL's traditional markets, like San Francisco, Oakland, Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and Vancouver.

Hebenton's career would wind down with four games with the Seattle Totems of the Central Hockey League in 1974 after 26 seasons of professional hockey, a mark of longevity exceeded by only the legendary Gordie Howe. He would continue to play in semi-pro hockey with the Portland Buckaroos, who had moved to the Western International Hockey League for one season and then the Pacific Northwest Hockey League, which folded before the end of it's season, which brought Hebenton's playing days to a close at the age of 46

His final NHL totals were 630 (consecutive) games, 189 goals and 202 assists for 391 points.

Today's featured jersey is a 1958-59 New York Rangers Andy Hebenton jersey. The Rangers jerseys began play in their first season in 1926, wearing essentially the same jersey style, which underwent some evolutionary changes until 1951 when this particular style with the lace up collar was adopted for use through the 1962-63 season.

Today's first video features five minutes of Rangers footage from 1961 (if you even survive the first 40 second intro) that includes Hebenton with the most unique commentary of any video we've posted. It's up to you to decide if it's sheer genius or five minutes of your life you will never get back...

Actually, the longer it went on, the more we enjoyed it. It's rather like if Howard Cosell and Rick Jeanneret had an illegitimate offspring who drank to excess.

Here is a feature on the Portland Buckaroos, with some classic footage that is really a joy to see.

1981-82 Washington Capitals Bobby Carpenter Jersey

After playing three seasons at St. John's Preparatory School in Massachusetts from 1978 to 1981, Bobby Carpenter was drafted right out of high school by the Washington Capitals third overall in the first round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft after becoming the first American hockey player to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated earlier that year when he was labeled the "Can't Miss Kid". With his selection third overall, Carpenter became the highest US-born player ever taken and the first American chosen in the first round and the top five of an NHL Draft.

Carpenter appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated while still in high school

Before being drafted, Carpenter had also played for the United States at the 1981 World Junior Championships, scoring an impressive 5 goals and 9 points in 5 games.

Carpenter defied the odds and never played a single game of college or minor league hockey, making the Capitals straight out of his first training camp, becoming the first player to go directly from a US High School directly to the NHL when he made his debut on October 7, 1981, which included a goal and an assist that night, with his assist coming just 12 seconds into the start of his career! His acclimation time to the hard hitting world of the NHL was virtually non-existent, as the 18-year-old rookie scored 32 goals and added 35 assists for 67 points in 80 games straight out of the box in 1981-82. His 32 goals included scoring 4 in a game vs. the St. Louis Blues on February 25, 1982.

Carpenter had a remarkable rookie season with 32 goals while still a teenager

He essentially repeated those numbers during his second season of 1982-83, avoiding any anticipated sophomore slump with another 32 goals and 37 assists for 69 points. Carpenter showed remarkable consistency in his third season with 68 points from 28 goals and 40 assists in 1983-84.

Before the 1984-85  season began, Carpenter again suited up for the United States, this time at the 1984 Canada Cup tournament, scoring a goal and 5 points in 6 games.

His 1984-85 season was one for the record books, as Carpenter, playing on a line with Mike Gartner, first broke Joey Mullen's record of 41 goals by an American on February 13th before setting his sights on another milestone, which he achieved on this date in 1985 when he became the first American to ever score 50 goals in an NHL season in a 3-2 loss against the Montreal Canadiens. He would finish the season with a career highs with 53 goals, 42 assists and 95 points.

Carpenter was the first American to score 50 goals

After singing a four year contract with the Capitals prior to the 1985-86 season, Carpenter saw his statistics regress to 27 goals and 56 points, while his penalty minutes rose to 105 from a previous high of 87. His 1986-87 season got off to a quite poor start with just 5 goals and 12 points in 22 games as he clashed with his head coach Bryan Murray, which led to a trade to the New York Rangers. While in Manhattan, Carpenter fought to find his way, with just 2 goals and 8 assists in 28 games with the Rangers before yet another trade before the season was over, this time to the Los Angeles Kings in the deal that brought Marcel Dionne to the Rangers.

Carpenter's time in New York was brief

With the Kings, his struggles continued, with only 2 goals and 5 points in 10 games. His 27 total points that season were equal to his lowest previous goal total in what was surely a lost season for Carpenter.

Following the NHL season, Carpenter pulled double duty for the United States, first playing in the only World Championships of his career, scoring a pair of goals and 4 points in 10 games. Later that fall, he again joined the American squad for the 1987 Canada Cup tournament, contributing a goal and 3 points in 5 games.

Looking for a fresh start, Carpenter scored 19 goals for the Kings in 71 games on his way to 52 points in 1987-88 after missing time due to a torn rotator cuff.

Carpenter in the Kings gold and purple

He was on pace for a similar season with Los Angeles in 1988-89, having scored 11 goals and 26 points after 39 games, having been limited by a broken right thumb and wrist in a New Year's Even exhibition game against the Soviet club Dynamo Riga, but Carpenter was again traded back across the country once more, this time to the Boston Bruins in his home state of Massachusetts. With Boston, Carpenter played in just 18 games due to breaking his other thumb, scoring 5 goals and 14 points.

The Kings changed their look during Carpenters time with the team

Carpenter had a nice rebound in 1989-90, scoring 25 goals and 56 points in 80 games, his highest point total in four years. He missed the start of the 1990-91 season due to a knee injury in training camp. Once back on the ice, he played in 29 games, scoring 8 goals and 16 points before a shattered kneecap in early December ended his season.

His 1991-92 season was also limited, this time to 60 games, derailing a fine season during which he had scored 25 goals and 48 points while on a pace to score 65 points that season.

Carpenter in the Bruins 1991-92 Turn Back the Clock jersey

Due to concerns about his knee, the Bruins did not offer Carpenter a new contract, and he then signed as a free agent with his original club, the Capitals. He played 68 games with Washington in 1992-93, scoring 11 goals and 28 points.

 
Carpenter's return to Washington lasted only one season

When the Capitals did not pick up their option on his contract, Carpenter signed with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent for the 1993-94 season after earning a roster spot during a training camp tryout.

After playing 76 games for the Devils with 33 points that first season, Carpenter would play in 41 of the Devils 48 games in the lockout shortened 1994-95 season. By now his role as a featured offensive player had changed, and in his new role as a defensive checking forward under the guidance of Devil's head coach Jacques Lemaire, he managed 5 goals and 16 points and was a +19. In the playoffs, Carpenter played in 17 of the Devils 20 playoff games as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings to capture the only Stanley Cup of his career.

The Devils celebrate winning the Stanley Cup in 1995

He would go on to play four more seasons with New Jersey, although he was often battling injuries which limited him to between 52 and 66 games, which included playing in his 1,000th NHL game on October 19, 1996. He would retire in 1999, never again scoring more than 27 goals after his record setting 53 goal season.

Carpenter would play six seasons in New Jersey

He would finish his career with 1,178 games played with 320 goals and 408 assists for 728 points and a Stanley Cup championship. In 2007 Carpenter was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Today's featured jersey is a 1981-82 Washington Capitals Bobby Carpenter jersey as worn during his rookie season following his being drafted third overall, making him not only the highest American ever drafted at the time, but also the first American taken in the first round of the NHL Draft.

The Capitals wore their star-spangled jerseys from their inception in 1974-75 through the 1994-95 season. They brought back their original white jersey for the 2011 Winter Classic, the annual NHL outdoor game held on New Year's Day. They would wear the throwback white version as their third jersey for four seasons until changing to the red version as their alternate for the 2015-16 season.

Today's featured jersey is a 1994-95 New Jersey Devils Bobby Carpenter jersey as worn during the season the Devils won the only Stanley Cup of Carpenter's career.

The Devils originally wore red and green jerseys for a decade after their move to New Jersey from Colorado, where they were known as the Rockies in 1982-83. In 1992-93 the club changed to new red and black jerseys and they have remained unchanged ever since while steadfastly refusing to add a third jersey as well.

Today's video section looks back at Carpenter's time with the Capitals, recounting his best offensive seasons.