Stan Mikita
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| Stan Mikita | |
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| Born | ) May 20, 1940 Sokolče, Slovak Republic |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Chicago Blackhawks |
| National team |  Canada |
| Playing career | 1958–1980 |
| Hall of Fame, 1983 | |
Stanislav "Stan" Mikita (born Stanislav Guoth; May 20, 1940), is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s.
Contents |
Biography []
Early life []
Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic as Stanislav Guoth, but moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, as a young boy to escape Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle who gave him their surname, Mikita.[1]
Playing career []
After three starring junior seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association, Mikita was promoted to the parent Chicago Black Hawks in 1959. In his second full year, in 1961, the Hawks won their third Stanley Cup. The young centre led the entire league in goals during the playoffs, scoring a total of six.
The following season was his breakout year. Stan Mikita became a star as centre of the famed "Scooter Line", (with right wing Ken Wharram and left wingers Ab McDonald and Doug Mohns).[1] He became the most-feared centre of the Sixties. With superstar teammate Bobby Hull, the Black Hawks had the most powerful offense of the decade, generally leading the league in goals scored. Combining skilled defense and a reputation as one of the game's best faceoff men using his innovative curved stick, Mikita led the league in scoring four times in the decade, tying Bobby Hull's single-season scoring mark in 1966–67 with 97 points (a mark broken two years later by former teammate Phil Esposito and currently held by Wayne Gretzky).
In his early years, Mikita was among the most penalized players in the league, but he then decided to play a cleaner game and went on to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanlike conduct twice. Mikita's drastic change in behavior came after he returned home from a road trip. His wife told him that while their daughter, Meg, was watching the Black Hawks' last road game on television, she turned and said, "Mommy, why does Daddy spend so much time sitting down?" The camera had just shown Mikita in the penalty box again (from Mikita's autobiography "I Play to Win.")
During his playing career, in 1973, Mikita teamed up with Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik to form the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA), to bring together deaf and hard-of hearing hockey players from all over the country.
Use of curved stick []
Mikita and teammate Bobby Hull were the most formidable forward duo of the Sixties, notorious for using sticks with curved blades. Such sticks gave a comparative advantage to shooters versus goalies. As a result, the NHL limited blade curvature to 1/2" in 1970.[2]
Retirement []
Mikita's latter years marred by chronic back injuries, leading to retirement during the 1979–80 season.[1] Only Gordie Howe and Phil Esposito had scored more points in the history of the NHL, and just six players had appeared in more games. Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. He currently serves as a good will ambassador for the Blackhawks' organization.[3] On May 24, 2011, Mikita was diagnosed with oral cancer and would be undergoing external beam radiation therapy.[4]
Mikita appeared as himself in the film Wayne's World, which featured a "Stan Mikita" doughnut shop, spoofing a Canadian doughnut chain named after a retired hockey player, Tim Hortons. A restaurant named "Stan Mikita's" and closely resembling the movie's version opened in 1994 at the Virginia amusement park Kings Dominion and at Paramount Carowinds in Charlotte. The Virginia restaurant was later converted to a Happy Days theme.
Mikita provided the foreword to the children's book "My Man Stan" by Tim Wendel.[5] Mikita is featured as a main character in the book.
Career statistics []
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PP | SH | GW | ||
| 1956–57 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA-Jr. | 52 | 16 | 31 | 47 | — | 129 | — | — | — | 14 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 44 | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA-Jr. | 52 | 31 | 47 | 78 | — | 146 | — | — | — | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 46 | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA-Jr. | 45 | 38 | 59 | 97 | — | 197 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 67 | 8 | 18 | 26 | — | 119 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Chicago Black Hawks* | NHL | 66 | 19 | 34 | 53 | — | 100 | — | — | — | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 25 | 52 | 77 | — | 97 | — | — | — | 12 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 19 | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 31 | 45 | 76 | — | 69 | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 39 | 50 | 89 | — | 146 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 28 | 59 | 87 | — | 154 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 53 | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 68 | 30 | 48 | 78 | — | 58 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 35 | 62 | 97 | — | 12 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 72 | 40 | 47 | 87 | -3 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 74 | 30 | 67 | 97 | +17 | 52 | 7 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 76 | 39 | 47 | 86 | +29 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1970–71 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 74 | 24 | 48 | 72 | +21 | 85 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1971–72 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 74 | 26 | 39 | 65 | +16 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 57 | 27 | 56 | 83 | +31 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1973–74 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 76 | 30 | 50 | 80 | +24 | 46 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1974–75 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 79 | 36 | 50 | 86 | +14 | 48 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1975–76 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 48 | 16 | 41 | 57 | -4 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 57 | 19 | 30 | 49 | -9 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 76 | 18 | 41 | 59 | +18 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 19 | 36 | 55 | +3 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| OHA-Jr. totals | 149 | 85 | 137 | 222 | — | 472 | — | — | — | 22 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 90 | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 1394 | 541 | 926 | 1467 | +159 | 1270 | 127 | 12 | 67 | 155 | 59 | 91 | 150 | 169 | 12 | 0 | 6 | ||||
- Stanley Cup Champion
Awards and accomplishments []
- Ranked 14th all-time in points, 16th in assists, 29th in goals, and 32nd in games played (at end of 2009–10 NHL season).
- Won the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in 1967 and 1968.[6]
- Won the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer in 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968.[6]
- Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1967 and 1968.[6]
- Named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968.[6]
- Named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 1965 and 1970.[6]
- Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
- Won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1976.[6]
- The only player in NHL history to win the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng trophies in the same season, doing so in consecutive seasons, in 1966–67 and 1967–68.
- Only Nicklas Lidström, Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman had a longer career playing for only a single team.
- Was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series, but only played two games due to injuries.[1]
- Inducted into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
- In 1998, he was ranked number 17 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, making him the highest-ranked player born outside of Canada, although he was trained in Canada.
- Most NHL games played by a European-born ice hockey forward (1,394).
- The Blackhawks retired #21 retired on October 19, 1980.
- The ice rink in Ruzomberok, Slovakia is named after him.
- In 2011, statues of Mikita and Bobby Hull were installed outside the United Center, where the Blackhawks currently play.[7]
Cultural references []
The Wayne's World movies include scenes in the fictional "Stan Mikita's Donuts" which is a thinly disguised homage to Tim Hortons, a Canadian donut shop named after former Toronto Maple Leaf Tim Hortons. Wayne's World star and creator Mike Myers is originally from the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, however, as Wayne's World is set in Chicago various Toronto-area references and landmarks have been transposed to Chicagoland and thinly disguised.
See also []
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References []
- ^ a b c d "Legends of Hockey - Stan Mikita". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
- ^ The 10 best player-inspired NHL rules changes
- ^ "Hall of Famer Named Ambassador". Nov 13, 2008. Retrieved Mar 12, 2010.
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times. 2012-06-16 http://www.suntimes.com/sports/hockey/5573525-419/hawks-legend-stan-mikita-has-oral-cancer.html
|url=missing title (help). - ^ "My Man Stan". Sun Bear Press. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ a b c d e f "Stan Mikita career stats". eurohockey.net. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
- ^ Moving moment for Hull and Mikita, Chicago Tribune
External links []
- Stan Mikita's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Stan Mikita's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Stan Mikita – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
| Preceded by Pit Martin |
Chicago Blackhawks captain 1976–77 with Pit Martin |
Succeeded by Keith Magnuson |
| Preceded by Bobby Hull |
Winner of the Hart Trophy | Succeeded by Phil Esposito |
| Preceded by Gordie Howe Bobby Hull |
Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 1964, 1965 1967, 1968 |
Succeeded by Bobby Hull Phil Esposito |
| Preceded by Alex Delvecchio |
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1967, 1968 |
Succeeded by Alex Delvecchio |
