2004 Belarus National Team Ruslan Salei Jersey

After beginning his career with his hometown Russian Superleague club Dynamo Minsk of Belarus in 1992-93, defenseman Ruslan Salei, born on this date in 1974, played two more seasons with the club, then renamed Tivali Minsk, until taking the opportunity of the recently changed political landscape to come to North America and try to gain the attention of NHL scouts.

He signed with the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League for the 1995-96 season. While never an offensive force, he did surpass any offensive output he managed in Russia, thanks in part to the longer North American professional season, when he scored 7 goals and 30 points, five times more than the high of 6 he managed the year before in 51 games. In addition, he also showed his rugged side by accumulating 123 penalty minutes. All of this led to his being drafted 9th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

His next season was divided between the Thunder (8 games), the Baltimore Bandits of the American Hockey League (12 games) and making his NHL debut with Anaheim (30 games), which included Salei scoring his first NHL point with an assist.

For 1997-98, Salei spent the vast majority of his season with the Mighty Ducks, which included his scoring 5 goals and 15 points in 66 games. He also skated for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL in six games that same season.

He would spend the entire 1998-99 season with Anaheim, playing in 74 games as well as seeing his first playoff action in three games during the postseason. While certainly not a flashy offensive defenseman, he became a fan favorite for his grit, nastiness and determination.

After four more seasons, the Mighty Ducks would go on their first extended playoff run, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, thanks to their solid defensive corps, consisting of Niclas Havelid, Keith Carney, Sandis Ozolinsh, Salei, Vitali Vishnevsky and Kurt Sauer playing in front of Conn Smythe Winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Mighty Ducks gave up just 6 goals in 4 games while sweeping Detroit in Round 1, eliminated Dallas in six, miraculously gave up just a single goal to Minnesota as they were swept in four and took the New Jersey Devils to seven games in the finals as Giguere finished the postseason with five shutouts.

The highlight of not only the playoffs, but perhaps his entire career, was Salei winning Game 3 of the finals for the Mighty Ducks with his overtime goal in Game 3 against Martin Brodeur.

After the 2003-04 season with Anaheim, Salei would travel to Russia to play with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague during the NHL lockout of 2004-05. He returned to Anaheim for one final season when the NHL resumed play in 2005-06, which included his setting a new NHL high with 19 points.

Salei left the Mighty Ducks after nine seasons to sign a free agent contract with the Florida Panthers. The change in scenery led to a change in Salei's game, as he immediately surpassed his previous offensive totals by a large margin, setting career highs with 6 goals and 26 assists for 32 points, the only time in his NHL career he would exceed 23 points.

After a second season in Florida, he was dealt at the trading deadline (for former teammate Ozolinsh) to the Colorado Avalanche for the final 17 games of the season.He would play another season for Colorado, surpassing 20 points for only the third time, the other being his second season in Florida.

He suffered a serious back injury early in 2009-10, which limited him to just 14 games for the season. The 2010-11 season saw him reunited with his former Mighty Ducks coach Mike Babcock, this time with the Detroit Red Wings. Showing his back issues were behind him, he competed in 75 regular season games as well as 11 playoff contests.

His final NHL totals after 14 seasons of play were 917 games played with 45 goals and 159 assist for 204 points and 1,065 penalty minutes.

Internationally, Salei was a stalwart on the Belarus blue line. The Belarusians first competed internationally at the 1994 World Championships at the Group C level, where they came second to fellow newcomers Slovakia. The won Group C in 1995 with a 4-0 record (while outscoring their opponents 19-8) and were promoted to Group B.

Salei returned to the national team in 1996 and 1997 to help them qualify for the 1998 Olympics in Japan, the first to feature NHL stars, which included a record 21-0 win over Lithuania. Once in Japan, Salei and Belarus won their preliminary round group to advance to the first round, only to be grouped with powerhouses Canada, Sweden and the United States. He also scored his first Olympic goal during

Later that same spring, Belarus, now having been promoted to the top level Group A, advanced to the second round, having finished second to the Czech Republic in Group 1 thanks to wins over Germany and Japan.

He made his next international appearance at the 2000 World Championships, which was highlighted with wins over Ukraine, a shocking 1-0 shutout of Russia and a 5-3 win over Switzerland. Salei and Belarus did not fare as well in 2001, as they finished 14th, usually enough to avoid relegation, but with Japan being protected as the Far Eastern qualifier despite finishing dead last, Belarus were relegated to Division I.

Salei made his second Olympic appearance in 2002 and scored 2 goals in 6 games as Belarus became the Cinderella story of the games. First, they needed to win Group B of the Preliminary Round to advance to the First Round, where they lost three straight games to the United States, Finland and Russia. Still, all eight remaining teams advanced to the Quarterfinals where Belarus shocked the world with their stunning 4-3 defeat of Sweden thanks to Vladimir Kopat's shot from center ice which careened off of Swedish goaltender Tommy Salo's head and into the net with less than 2 and a half minutes remaining.

In 2004, Salei helped Belarus steamroll the opposition in Division I Group A with 3 goals and 7 points for his highest scoring international tournament ever, as they went 5-0 while outscoring their competition 34-9 to return to the Top Level, where they remain to this day.

After two games in an unsuccessful Olympic qualification attempt in 2005, Salei returned to the World Championships in 2008 and again in 2009 where he scored 2 goals and 5 points while serving as team captain.

Salei participated in the third Olympics of his long international career in 2010 in Vancouver. Three months later, Salei made his final international appearance as he took part in his 9th World Championships in Germany, where he scored a goal, the 13th of his career for Belarus. In all, he would play in 69 games and score 31 points in 14 tournaments.

For the 2011-12 season, Salei signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League.

As the team were leaving to play their first game of the season, scheduled back in Salei's hometown of Minsk, Belarus, their plane crashed on takeoff, killing Salei and all but one of his 25 teammates, who then died five days later. Additionally, 11 team staff members and 7 of the 8 of the plane's crew also perished. The crash resulted in Lokomotiv bypassing their participation in the KHL season and a moving tribute to Lokomotiv on the ice in Minsk the following day.

This season, tributes to Salei include former Detroit teammate Pavel Datsyuk wearing Salei's #24 during the preseason, the Red Wings honoring Salei on their patch which also includes Brad McCrimmon and Stefan Liv and the Ducks wearing Salei's #24 all season long.

At his funeral, Salei's coffin was draped with his Mighty Ducks jersey.

Today's featured jersey is a 2004 Belarus National Team Ruslan Salei jersey as worn in Salei's participation at the World Championships B Pool tournament when Salei had his highest offensive output in an international tournament with a career high 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points.

Belarus' National Team first began play in 1994 in the C Pool. It took them two tries to elevate themselves to the B Pool and two more to rise to Group A in 1997. After being relegated in 2001, the earned immediate promotion back to the Top Level in 2002. They were again relegated in 2003 thanks to Japan being exempt from relegation. Once gain they earned an immediate promotion back to the top in 2004 and have remained there ever since, which included an all-time high finish of 6th in 2006, thanks to wins over Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Switzerland on their way to finishing with a 4-3 record.

The original version of today's featured jersey was crested with "Belarus" in English, which was later changed to Cyrillic in 2002.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2002-03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Ruslan Salei jersey in which he scored the game winning goal in overtime of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, as evidenced by the 2003 Finals patch on the upper right chest.

Today's video highlights begin with Salei winning Game 3 of the 2003 finals for Anaheim with his goal in overtime, just one of 5 playoff goals he would ever score with the Mighty Ducks.

Here are a pair of tributes to Salei, which include footage from his various NHL teams as well as playing for Belarus.

1924-25 Boston Bruins George Redding Jersey

On this date in 1924, the Boston Bruins officially received their NHL franchise, which made them the first club in the league located in the United States and, with the addition of the Montreal Maroons, brought the NHL up to six member clubs.

Charles Adams was taken by professional hockey after having attended the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals between the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL.

Charles Adams

His first order of business was to hire Art Ross as his new club's general manager, a post he would remain in for 30 years. It was Ross who coined the name "Bruins" after being challenged by Adams to come up with a name for the franchise of an animal that would represent speed, agility and cunning, while the club's original colors of brown and gold were taken from Adams grocery store chain, First National Stores.

Head coach Art Ross

The Bruins played their first game on December 1, 1924 against their fellow expansion brothers that season, the Maroons, with the Bruins prevailing 2-1. The opening night victory flattered to deceive, as the Bruins would win just five more games that season on their way to a last place finish and a 6-24-0 record.

The inaugural 1924-25 Boston Bruins

Jimmy Herberts led the team in scoring by a wide margin, with is 17 goals in 30 games accounting for 35% of the Bruins 49 goals that season. His 22 points far outdistanced the next player who managed a paltry 8!

The Bruins first leading scorer Jimmy Herberts

The Bruins began life in the Boston Arena for the first four years of their existence prior to moving into their long time home, the Boston Garden, while the Boston Arena would become the property of Northeastern University and, while renamed the Matthews Arena in 1982, it remains the oldest surviving indoor ice arena still in use in the world. While the Bruins moved out in 1928, professional hockey would return in 1972 with the arrival of the New England Whalers of the upstart World Hockey Association for games during their inaugural season prior to moving to Hartford, Connecticut.

The Bruins improved during their second season of 1925-26 in the now seven team NHL, but still finished outside the playoffs by but a single point despite their winning record of 17-15-4. Carson Cooper, with 28 goals, and Herberts, with 26, tied for the team scoring lead of 31 points.

1925-26 Boston Bruins

In 1926-27, the NHL divided itself into two divisions, with the Bruins in the new "American" division, with their success having opened the floodgates of the United States market with teams now in New York, with both the Rangers and Americans, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit. The Bruins came second in the division behind the Rangers with a 21-20-3 record, led by Harry Oliver's 18 goals and 24 points. A new arrival to the Bruins roster would come in the from of the legendary Eddie Shore, a rough and tough future Hall of Famer who would play for the club until 1940.

1926-27 Boston Bruins

In the playoffs for the first time, the Bruins would defeat the Chicago Black Hawks 6-1 and 4-4 to win their two-game, total-goal series 10-5. Playing the same format, they would eliminate the Rangers after a scoreless tie in Boston with a 3-1 win on the road in New York to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the first contested by two NHL clubs.

The finals were a best-of-five versus the Ottawa Senators, however the first game was played to a scoreless tie. Ottawa won 3-1 before another tie, this time 1-1. Ottawa wrapped up the championship with another 3-1 win, taking the best-of-five by the unusual margin of 2-0-2.

The Bruins captured their first division title in 1927-28 with 20 wins, 13 losses and 11 ties as Oliver again led the club in scoring with 18 points, one more than defenseman Shore's 17. Another legendary Bruin Dit Clapper would join the club that season and remain with the Bruins for 20 years. The Rangers got their revenge and knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs with a 1-1 draw and a 4-1 win in Boston.

Dit Clapper

The Bruins again won the American Division in 1928-29 with a 26-13-5 record which included going undefeated for all of January (11-0-2). Oliver remained in his familiar place atop the scoring table with 17 goals and 23 points in 43 games.

Their division title earned them a first round bye in the playoffs. Tiny Thompson in goal shut out the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 and again 1-0 in the first two games and the Bruins closed out the series with a 3-2 win.

Awaiting them in the finals were the Rangers, and the Bruins dispatched them with a 2-0 win at home followed by a 2-1 win in New York to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history as they became the last team until 1952 to sweep all their playoff games.

The Stanley Cup Champion 1928-29 Boston Bruins

The Bruins would return to the finals the following season but come up short. They would win Stanley Cups again in 1939 and 1941, but then suffer a drought which would last 29 years, including a dismal run where they would miss the playoffs eight consecutive seasons beginning in 1960 and finish last six out of seven seasons from 1961 to 1967, making their championship just three seasons later in 1970 all the more remarkable.

Today's featured jersey is a 1924-25 Boston Bruins George Redding jersey from the Bruins very first season. This jersey style was used for only one season and sold at auction for $27,000 in April, 2009. It is believed to be the only surviving jersey from the Bruins inaugural season, making it a truly unique item and an incredibly significant piece of memorabilia from such a historic franchise and one of the most exciting jerseys we have ever featured here at Third String Goalie.

Redding, a defenseman, would play 35 games for the Bruins over their first two seasons, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists, all in 1924-25, and would play six more seasons of hockey in lower leagues, making stops in Boston, London, Ontario, Minneapolis and Buffalo.

This jersey is the basis for the jersey that the Bruins will be wearing in the 2016 NHL Winter Classic, which they will host at Gillette Stadium, with the jersey updated to the Bruins current colors of black and gold rather than the Bruins original brown and gold.

Our video section today is a look back at the history of the Boston Bruins franchise.

Doug Favell's Halloween Pumpkin Mask - The First Painted Mask in NHL History

Jacques Plante ushered in a new era of goaltending back on November 1, 1959 when, after being struck in the face with a shot by the New York Rangers hard shooting Andy Bathgate, he was assisted off the ice, leaving behind a trail of blood.

"He had been struck in the face and it opened up a cut from the corner of his mouth all the way up through his nostril," related Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette.

With no backup goaltenders on the roster in those days, there was a 21 minute delay while Plante was stitched up. When he finally returned to the bench, he told head coach Toe Blake, "I'm ready to go back in but I have to wear my mask." He was allowed to wear the mask, which he had been wearing in practice, and Montreal went on to win the game 3-1.

A bloodied Jacques Plante wearing his mask after being badly cut in 1959

Before the next game Blake did not want Plante to wear the mask, to which Plante replied, "If I don't wear the mask, I'm not playing." Having been a four time All-Star, four time Vezina Trophy winner and five time Stanley Cup champion at that point in his career - the mask stayed.

Others quickly followed Plante's lead and goalies who did not wear a mask soon became the exception to the rule, with the last in the NHL being Andy Brown in 1974.

Andy Brown of the Penguins with his unprotected face down among the sticks

While Gerry Cheevers was the first to wear a decorated mask on November 8, 1967 in a game vs. the Rangers when he wore a mask with the first of his trademark stitches drawn on it with a marker, it is Doug Favell who is credited with having the first painted mask in the NHL, which debuted on this date, Halloween, in 1971.

Favell tells the story of how the first painted mask came to be, taken from the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast from October 31, 2014:

"It just came from bantering in the morning because it was Halloween. We were all kidding around in the room and somebody said "If you're going to the party tonight, you have to dress up" and somebody was kidding me, and someone said. "Favey, why don't you show up tonight as a goaltender?" I said, "Maybe I'll do that," so the kidding started. 

As I was getting ready to leave, I said to Frank Lewis, who was our trainer. "Frank, with tonight being Halloween, why don't we put orange on the mask? Can you paint orange on the mask? We'll paint it orange like The Great Pumpkin," because back then Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin were a big thing. "Why don't we paint it like a pumpkin tonight for Halloween?" 

"Yea, I can do that," Lewis replied. So he took it home that afternoon and painted it orange and I came back that night and wore it. And the funny thing is, we're all so superstitious that if we hadn't won that night, we beat L. A. 4-1, I'd have probably just painted it white again. If we'd have lost, I'd have said "That's it. It's not good," but we won and got going, got on a little streak, and I said, "This is a pretty good thing." It was that simple. 

 

Some players said it was a distraction because it was fairly bright. An ophthalmologist said, "Your eye will attract." I thought it was an advantage because your eye would naturally go to the brightest thing, so in that flash, they would look at my mask instead of looking at the net, so I thought it was an a distraction and I felt I needed whatever I could get to distract the shooters, so I went with it and next year we painted the starburst on it, which was a design and was even more of a distraction to the shooters.

While doing our research for this story we did uncover some contradictions and discrepancies in various versions of Favell's stories recounting the origins of his first painted mask. At times Favell has stated his mask debuted in 1970, and other times 1971. Favell's pumpkin mask would not have debuted against the Kings, as he recalled above, as Philadelphia played host the Montreal Canadiens in a game won 5-3 by Philadelphia on Halloween night in 1971. The Flyers did defeat the Kings 3-1 just before Halloween on October 29, 1970, so perhaps this is where some of the confusion comes from…

Additionally, the "little streak" story does not hold up well, as the Flyers lost their next three games and went  2-7-3 over November 1971. The club actually did not have a winning month until five months later in March. If the mask had debuted in 1970, the story is much the same, with Philadelphia going 4-6-1 in November of that year.

Favell's story on the end of the solid orange pumpkin mask, thanks to a late Buffalo Sabres goal on the final game of the season, took place on April 2, 1972 when Gerry Meehan won the game for the Sabres with just four seconds remaining, has been consistently told by Favell, and dates the orange mask to the 1971-72 season. reaffirming its debut as being on Halloween in 1971.

Favell debuted with the Flyers during the first year of league expansion of 1967-68. During his early days with Philadelphia, he wore a Terry Sawchuk style mask before changing to his Ernie Higgins produced mask for the 1971-72 season, the style which he would have famously painted orange on Halloween in 1971 after having the new, white mask for less than two months, which leaves photos of Favell in his plain white mask as a rarity.

Favell's mask in its original plain white color

Following its humorous orange paint job on October 31, 1971, the Favell's mask would remain solid orange for the remainder of the season through the fateful last second goal against Buffalo to close out the 1971-72 season.

Taking the concept of painting his mask as a distraction to shooters farther for the next season, Favell would wear his new "starburst" design beginning in 1971-72 through the 1972-73 season, his last with the Flyers.

Favell in his striking new design, which ushered in the era of bold graphics

A trade in the summer of 1973 sent Favell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but before leaving for Toronto, Philadelphia trainer Lewis painted Favell's mask with a blue maple leaf on the forehead and surprised him with it when he came to collect his equipment from the Flyers according to Favell.

Favell's mask with its fourth and final paint scheme, or so we thought...

Favell continued to wear the same mask, now sporting its fourth different paint scheme, counting its original plain white, until 1974 when he got a new, more protective mask by renowned mask maker Greg Harrison which featured a larger, more centered maple leaf design which covered his eyes, nose and mouth.

Favell's new Harrison mask, with its larger maple leaf paint scheme

Favell's original Higgins mask, the one first painted solid orange and now sporting a blue maple leaf, was then lent to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto due to its place in hockey history as the first painted mask. This is where the story takes a turn for the bizarre…

In 2011, game worn hockey equipment dealer Frank Servello noticed  the mask the hall had on display was not Favell's original mask, but a replica painted in the same manner. Favell was easily able to confirm the Maple Leaf mask on display was not his original due to details about the mask on display which did not match the one he had used, repaired and modified. 

It turns out, at some point, and no one knows when, Favell's original mask, painted with the maple leaf, was stolen from the hall, repainted twice, and then later anonymously returned to The Hall, looking very different from when it left.

Favell's original, but now repainted Higgins mask was then put on display by the hall with its red droplet shape on the forehead, red nose and red under the chin, which is generally referred to as the "clown mask", as a vintage mask, but in no way identified as being Favell's, as no one at the hall apparently knew.

It was then that a member of the Vintage Goalie Mask Discussion Page recognized the similarities between the clown mask and Favell's missing original in August of 2011 and posted his impression of the clown mask likely being Favell's missing mask.

Notified by Servello that his original mask, now repainted, was likely in the possession of The Hall of Fame, Favell met with the hall to first identify his original mask based on his modifications and repairs, and reclaim its possession 37 years after first loaning it to the hall for display.

The mask then underwent a restoration process, which revealed first flames over the right eye of the mask as well as a predominantly black paint scheme, which unfortunately adhered to the blue paint of the maple leaf design, rendering that design unsalvageable.

But once the black paint was removed, and the maple leaf design with it, the third version of the mask, the starburst pattern from 1972-73 was revealed, proving it was indeed Favell's original Higgins mask and the first painted mask in NHL history, complete with some of its previous orange paint from Halloween night in 1971 exposed to further document its place in NHL history.

Here are photos from GameUsedMasks.com showing the restoration of Favell's mask, the first painted mask in NHL history, taking it from its twice vandalized state down to its sunburst paint scheme of 1972-74.

And here is the final restoration down to the sunburst mask (with some of the earlier brighter orange paint revealed on the forehead, showing the mask's history), the first mask with a painted design. This is where they chose to stop the painstaking process of removing the layers of paint which were added to the mask while it was out of the possession of the Hall of Fame.

Here is a Toronto radio interview with Favell from 2011 on the day he got his original, now repainted mask back from the Hall of Fame.

Here is another feature on Favell and his mask from Hockey Night in Canada.

2002 NHL All-Star Game Mark Parrish Jersey

After winning two consecutive Minnesota State High School championships with the Bloomington Jaguars, Mark Parrish joined the St. Cloud State Huskies of the WCHA. As a freshman, he scored15 goals and 30 points in 1995-96. That performance caught the attention of NHL scouts and Parrish was drafted that spring in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. During his second season with the Huskies, Parrish scored 27 goals and 41 points in 35 games.

He left St. Cloud after two seasons to join the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League for 1997-98, where, serving as team captain, he scored a goal per game with 54 goals in 54 games on his way to a 92 point season to lead the team in scoring. He also played in a single game for the New Haven Beast of the American Hockey League, where he continued his season long goal-per-game pace by scoring a goal in his only game for New Haven!

Aside from two games for New Haven in 1998-99, Parrish spent the entire season with the Florida Panthers of the NHL who had acquired his rights in a trade in March of 1998. He made an immediate splash during his rookie season, scoring two goals within six minutes of each other during his first game on October 9, 1998 in a 4-1 Panthers win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Seven games later, the Panthers travelled to Chicago to face the Blackhawks. After Rob Niedermayer opened the scoring on a power play just 59 seconds into the game, Parrish scored against Chicago's Mark Fitzpatrick one a second power play at 11:03 from Ray Whitney and Gord Murphy. Parrish then scored his second of the game at the 14:28 mark, still in the first period, from Whitney once more.

The Blackhawks opened the second period with Jeff Hackett in goal and scored twice in the period to close the gap to 3-2, still in favor of Florida. In the third period, Niedermayer and Radek Dvorak restored the three goal margin for the Panthers before Doug Zmolek replied for Chicago to make it 5-3 for Florida.

Parrish then completed his hat trick at 17:45 with yet another first assist from Whitney and a second from Dave Gagner. Remarkably, with Florida on the power play to close out the game, Parrish scored again with seven seconds remaining from Gagner and Niedermayer for a four goal game in only his eighth NHL contest on this date in 1998.

Parrish while with the Panthers versus his future club the Islanders

Four more times during his rookie season Parrish would have two goal games and finished the season with a total of 24 goals and 37 points. He would play one more season for Florida, increasing his totals to 26 goals and 44 points in 1999-00 until being sent to the New York Islanders, along with Oleg Kvasha in exchange for Olli Jokinen and goaltender Roberto Luongo.

While he only scored 17 goals in his first season with New York, he rebounded in 2001-02 with 30 goals, 30 assists and 60 points - all career highs while improving from a -27 to a +10. Included in his 30 goals were a pair of hat tricks. His fine season was rewarded with an appearance in the 2002 NHL All-Star Game.

Parrish had his best career season while with the Islanders

Three more consistent seasons with the Islanders would follow, scoring 23, 24 and again 24 goals before a late season trade in 2005-06 would send Parrish to the Los Angeles Kings for the remaining 19 games of the season, where he would add 5 more to bring his season total to 29, just shy of tying his career best.

Parrish during his brief time with the Kings

With his contract now expired, the free agent Parrish signed to play with his hometown Minnesota Wild for the 2006-07 season. He would play two seasons for the Wild, which included being named the team captain on three occasions as a part of the club's monthly rotation.

Parrish spent two seasons with his hometown Wild

Unsigned for the 2008-09 season, he would sign with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, but after just three games, he was back in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, making his debut with the club similar to the way he began his career in Florida, recording a hat trick during his Dallas debut on November 7, 2008, the fourth of his career. After scoring 8 goals and 13 points for the Stars after his hot start, Parrish was not resigned by Dallas and once more became a free agent.

Parrish made a splash during his first game with Dallas, scoring a hat trick

Starting the season without an NHL contract, he signed by the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, where he played in 56 games with 17 goals and 51 points before the Admirals parent club, the Tampa Bay Lightning brought Parrish back to the NHL for 16 games at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Parrish while with the Norfolk Admirals

The 2010-11 season was a similar repeat, as he played nearly the entire season with the Portland Pirates of the AHL, where he had a fine season with 51 points in 56 games, which earned him a brief, late season call-up by the Buffalo Sabres, where he would conclude his NHL career with 2 games. His final NHL totals were 216 goals and 171 assists for 387 points.

A are shot of Parrish while with the Sabres

He was signed with the Ottawa Senators organization for the 2011-12 season and was assigned to their Binghamton Senators farm club, where he scored 15 goals and 30 points in 51 games before announcing his retirement.

The final season of Parrish's career was spent with Binghamton

Internationally, Parrish played for the United States on six occasions, beginning with the World Junior Championships in both 1996 and 1997, earning a silver medal in 1997 as he contributed 5 goals and 7 points in 6 games. His next tournament for the US came at the 1998 World Championships. He played in two more World Championships in 2001 and 2005, when he scored 5 goals in 6 games. His international career was capped off by appearing in his first Olympics in 2006 in Torino, Italy.

Zach Parise and Parrish celebrate a goal at the 2005 World Championships

Today's featured jersey is a 2002 NHL All-Star Game Mark Parrish jersey from his all-star appearance during his career season of 2001-02 when he set personal bests in goals, assists, points and hat tricks.

2002 saw a continuation of the World vs. North America format for the NHL All-Star Game which debuted in 1998 to promote the upcoming participation of the NHL stars in the 1998 Olympic Games. This was the first year of this jersey template, with the World wearing dark red and the North Americans in blue. This jersey template would return again in 2003, with the colors adjusted to the North Americans wearing white and the World now donning the blue jerseys.

This all-star jersey has a story to tell, with the patch on the front identifying it as being from the 2002 NHL All-Star Game held in Los Angeles, the patch on the left shoulder signifying Parrish's nationality as being American, while the right shoulder carries a New York Islanders logo indicative of Parrish's NHL club.

One unusual feature of this jersey is the lack of sleeve numbers, but the addition of the player number on the lower left side of the front of the jersey, a style which did not catch on among NHL clubs.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1996-97 St. Cloud State Huskies Mark Parrish jersey. At the time, the Huskies home white jersey was a virtual copy of the classic Montreal Canadiens jersey, only this time with a clever take on the Canadiens iconic "CH" logo by swapping out the "H" for an "ST". This gave the Huskies an instantly familiar appearing logo that says "hockey" at first glance, but rewards the viewer on closer inspection. Additionally, while the jersey pattern is the same, the Huskies employ red, black and white as team colors, allowing them to avoid the criticism of simply copying the NHL club's jersey stitch for stitch.

St. Cloud took a different approach to their road jersey, going in an entirely different direction than Montreal's iconic red jersey with it's blue chest stripe, and created a menacing all black jersey, but still in a simple, classic style.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 2005 United States National Team Mark Parrish jersey as worn during the 2005 World Championships. In 2005 Nike revised all the jerseys for the teams participating in the IIHF World Championships, and the United States were given an entirely new look, retiring the style which was worn at the 2002 Olympics and 2004 World Cup. This template was based on the 1997-98 St. Louis Blues alternate jersey, which was late promoted to their primary jersey and used through 2006-07.

An effective and attractive look for the USA, this jersey sadly was only used for the 2005 Worlds as the new Nike Swift template, fabric and construction was introduced for the 2006 Olympics the following year, giving this style an all too short lifespan.

Today's video section is Parrish completing one of his four career hat tricks, this one while with the Islanders in 2001-02, the best season of his career.

Next, a brief but exciting collection of Parrish highlights while with the Minnesota Wild.

Finally, Parrish's amazing debut hat trick for the Dallas Stars.

1983-84 Bemidji State Beavers Joel Otto Jersey

Born on this date in 1961, Joel Otto, attended Bemidji State University beginning with the 1981-82 season. He scored 52 points in 31 games as a freshman and followed that up with a 33 goal, 61 point season in 1982-83. After winning their, and Otto's third consecutive Northern Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championship in 1983-84 season, during which Otto increased his point totals yet again with a 75 point season, the Beavers advanced to the NCAA Division II championship series, where they swept Merrimack in a best-of-three series by scores of 6-3 and 8-1.

Otto (#24) as a member of the Beavers

Having gone undrafted by the NHL, Otto was signed by the Calgary Flames organization who assigned him to their minor league affiliate, the Moncton Golden Flames of the AHL for the 1984-85 season. There, Otto easily adapted to the next level of play, scoring 27 goals and 63 points in 56 games, which earned him a callup to the Calgary Flames for the final 17 games of the season as well as three playoff games. Following the elimination of Calgary from the playoffs, Otto was called upon to make his international debut for the United States at the 1985 World Championships, playing in 86 games that season, nearly three times as many as he had during his final year of college the year before.

In the NHL to stay, Otto played in 79 games with the Flames during 1985-86, racking up 59 points thanks in part to a career high 25 goals. The Flames once again qualified for the playoffs, where they went on a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, giving Otto and the Flames 22 games of valuable playoff experience.

Otto, at 6' 4", was a strong two-way player, able to score, win faceoffs as well as play in a checking role to contain the Flames strongest opponents, often drawing duty neutralizing the Edmonton Oilers' Mark Messier. Otto posted his second consecutive 50 point season in 1986-87, and later that summer Otto once more suited up for the United States in the 1987 Canada Cup.

Otto battling Steve Smith of the Oilers

He would extend his streak of 50 point seasons to four over the next two campaigns, which included his second 20 goal season with 23 in 1988-89. The Flames would earn the President's Trophy for having the league's best regular season record with 117 points from a 54-17-9 record.

The Flames would survive a seven game series against the Vancouver Canucks when Otto scored in overtime of Game 7. The Flames would then sweep the Los Angeles Kings and reach the finals by eliminating the Chicago Blackhawks in five. A rematch of the 1986 finals against the Montreal Canadiens awaited them. The teams split the first two games in Calgary and did the same in Montreal. Back in Calgary, the Flames won 3-2 and captured the only Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 4-2 win in Game 6 back in Montreal. During the playoffs, Otto scored 19 points in 22 games, fourth on the club.

The 1989 Stanley Cup Champion Calgary Flames

For 1989-90, an early playoff exit allowed Otto to once again participate in the World Championships for the United States for a second time. Prior to the 1991-92 season, he was invited to join the Americans for the 1991 Canada Cup, where he scored four goals in eight games.

After four more seasons in Calgary, which included his fifth 50 point season in 1992-93, the rebuilding Flames allowed Otto to leave as a free agent, and he subsequently signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after a dozen seasons with Calgary.

His first season with Philadelphia in 1995-96 was his best offensively, as he scored 41 points. Prior to the start of the following season, Otto was a member of Team USA at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where the Americans defeated Canada in a best-of-three final to achieve their finest result since the 1980 Olympics.

Otto (right) and Keith Tkachuk with the 1996 World Cup trophy

Back with the Flyers for the 1996-97 season, they rolled through the playoffs, reaching the finals with a 12-3 record, only to fall to the Detroit Red Wings.

The 1997-98 season would be the last for Otto in the NHL, but not without once again wearing the jersey of the United States, as the league took a break from it's regular season schedule to allow it's star players to compete in the 1998 Olympics in Japan.

Otto retired at the conclusion of the 1997-98 season with 943 games played, 195 goals and 313 assists for 508 points and 1,934 penalty minutes and a reputation as a talented two-way player and leader.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Bemidji State Beavers Joel Otto jersey. The Beavers hockey program dates back to 1946 and won seven NAIA national championships between 1968 and 1980. They then moved to the NCHA and won five NCAA Division II and one Division III national titles between 1984 and 1997.

Otto's #24 being retired by Bemidji State

In 1999, the Beavers moved into Division I and qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in 2005 and once again in 2006.

2009 would see Bemidji State return to the NCAA's, which began with an upset of #2 ranked Notre Dame. They then won their regional with a 4-1 win over Cornell to advance to their first ever Frozen Four, where their Cinderella story came to an end with a 4-1 loss to the Miami RedHawks.

The next chapter in BSU hockey came in 2010 when they were accepted as members of the WCHA, thanks in part to their new arena, the 4,700 seat Bemidji Regional Events Center.

To purchase your own retro Bemidji State Beavers jersey, please visit our friends at VintageMinnesotaHockey.com.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1988-89 Calgary Flames Joel Otto jersey as worn during the season Otto won the only Stanley Cup of his career. The Flames jersey style remained unchanged in 1980 when the team relocated from Atlanta, aside from the necessary logo change from a flaming "A" to a "C". It would remain in use through the 1993-94 season.