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Tiger Fan · 12-22-2023, 11:11 AM

MONTREAL STAR July 11, 1949

While the July weather has us focusing on the Saints and their annual battle to finish above the breakeven point in Continental Association play - and that is something they finally did a year ago for the first time since 1932- I would like to turn your attention to the sport that Montrealer's most cherish - hockey and the Valiants. Well, not just the Valiants but rather the entire NAHC as I thought I would relieve some of the summer heat with an ice bath, diving deep into the history of the NAHC and naming an all-decade team for the league.

That is not as easy as it might sound as there are clearly some very difficult choices and many worthy candidates. Let's look at them position by position before I reveal my selections for the NAHC's best of the past decade.

GOALTENDER

With all due respect to Millard Touhey, who certainly wore out his welcome with the Vals but before that nearly led the team to its first Challenge Cup win in two decades, but there are really just two candidates for the role of netminder on our all-decade team. They would be Gordie Broadway and Tom Brockers. Let's compare the two:

Broadway has spent his entire career with Toronto, helping the Dukes win 5 Challenge Cups. His 225-138-56 record makes the 34-year-old Timmins native this decades winningest goalie and his 2.26 goals against average is only surpassed by former Detroit and Brooklyn netminder George Dinsmore for the lowest this decade among goalies who appeared in at least 100 games. Broadway also won the Juneau Trophy as the NAHC's top goaltender twice: in 1941 and again five years later.

Brockers leads Broadway in Juneau wins as the 33-year-old has 4 of them including 3 this decade, but he trails Broadway in all other categories. Brockers did win three Challenge Cups with Boston before being dealt to the Brooklyn Eagles in 1944. The Calgary born goaltender returned to the Bees after the Eagles franchise folded but was dealt to Montreal last winter. His 175-140-46 record with a 2.39 GAA this decade are impressive but the nod has to go to the Toronto netminder as the decade's top goaltender.

DEFENCE

The candidates include bruising Bert McCalley, who was recently dealt from the New York Shamrocks to the Chicago Packers. Others worthy of consideration are Willis Beane and Len Bentley of Boston, New York's Jerry Finch -who went the other way in the McCalley trade- Shel Herron of Montreal and his former teammate with both Detroit and the Valiants in Bryant Williams. Some might make a case for Toronto defenseman JC Martel despite the fact the 27 year old did not make his NAHC debut until 1944-45.

It is hard to wrong with any of those choices but for my money, I will lean towards McCalley and Herron. No defenseman this decade threw more hits than the 31-year-old McCalley, who plays much bigger than his 5'9", 185 lbs stature might suggest. A defensive specialist he was dominant early in the decade and while his performance has suffered slightly in recent years, the Winnipeg native was named to the first All-Star team two years ago and a second team selection this past season. He played 410 games this decade, all with New York, tallying 43 goals and 192 points. McCalley will make his Chicago debut in October after being dealt to the Packers shortly after the Challenge Cup was awarded this spring.

There must be something in the water in Manitoba as joining McCalley on my All-Decade team is fellow Winnipeg native and current Montreal Valiants stalwart Shel Herron. No defenseman scored more than the 253 points Herron accumulated for Detroit and Montreal this decade. Graham Ferrar is listed as a rearguard now but spent most of his career as a forward. The 6'2" Herron is an intimidating force on the blueline but has some offensive skills as well. He spent a decade in Detroit before the Valiants acquired him, along with fellow defender Bryant Williams, from Detroit just before Christmas 1947.

CENTER

So many great choices for the man in the middle including local legend Clarence Skinner. You also have Wilbur Chandler, Orval Cabbell, Tommy Burns and Bobbie Sauer. The choice comes down to Burns and Sauer but I am going to have to give the age to the Chicago Packers legend. Tommy Burns won three straight McDaniels Trophy's and led the NAHC in scoring twice this decade. His 223 goals over the past 10 years are tops in the loop but Sauer actually has accumulated more points than Burns. Surprisingly Sauer has never led the NAHC in scoring in a season but did win a pair of McDaniels Trophy's as league MVP and was a key contributor to 5 Toronto Challenge Cup victories. He did benefit from a much better supporting cast that Burns over the years. Veteran Boston star Wilbur Chandler, with 2 scoring titles and 3 McDaniels wins, is also in the mix but Tommy Burns is my pick.

RIGHT WING

There are more options to consider on the port side for some reason but that does not mean there are not some viable candidates for the right wing slot. They include Marty Mahoney, the long-time wingman of Tommy Burns in Chicago, as well as Waldemar Rupp of Boston and veteran Valiants winger Doug Lynch.

It might be a bit of hometown bias but the pick here is veteran Valiants captain Doug Lynch. He is now 36 years old and St Catharines, Ontario area native is just a spare part with the Vals but in his prime Lynch had 3 straight twenty-goal seasons and amassed 122 goals and 293 points over the decade. His numbers are a little lower than Marty Mahoney's (126-194-320) but Lynch made his mark without a center like Tommy Burns helping to pad his stats.

LEFT WING

The left side has a lot of depth but one clear standout. Tommy Hart of Boston. Others maybe drawing attention for the second team could be Joe Morey, Miles Barfield, Wes Burns and Glen Whitely but the top left winger over the past decade is without a doubt Boston standout Hart.

Tommy Hart scored more points in the 1940's (212-266-478) than any other player and only Tommy Burns had more goals. It is hard to imagine a more feared line in its prime than the Boston trio of Hart, Wilbur Chandler and Waldemar Rupp. Hart, a 32-year-old native of Kitchener, led the NAHC in scoring in 1942-43 and won a McDaniels Trophy in 1941. He helped led Boston to 5 Challenge Cup wins and his 67 playoff points are more than any other player accumulated in the 1940s.

Here is my All-Decade Team and the NAHC scoring and goaltending leaders for the past decade.

Brett Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire also created a list of his All-Decade club and he went one step further, naming both a first and second team. Here is his list:

Code:


TORONTO MAIL & EMPIRE ALL-DECADE NAHC ALL-STAR TEAM
First Team              Second Team
G- Gordie Broadway      G- Tom Brockers
LD- Bert McCalley       LD- Harry Neighbor
RD- Len Bentley         RD- Lou Bernard
LW- Tommy Hart          LW- Miles Barfield
C- Tommy Burns          C- Bobby Sauer
RW- Lou Carlson         RW- Bernie Ferrar

12-22-2023, 11:11 AM	#847
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,863	Monday July 11, 1949- From the pages of The Montreal Star MONTREAL STAR July 11, 1949 While the July weather has us focusing on the Saints and their annual battle to finish above the breakeven point in Continental Association play - and that is something they finally did a year ago for the first time since 1932- I would like to turn your attention to the sport that Montrealer's most cherish - hockey and the Valiants. Well, not just the Valiants but rather the entire NAHC as I thought I would relieve some of the summer heat with an ice bath, diving deep into the history of the NAHC and naming an all-decade team for the league. That is not as easy as it might sound as there are clearly some very difficult choices and many worthy candidates. Let's look at them position by position before I reveal my selections for the NAHC's best of the past decade. GOALTENDER With all due respect to Millard Touhey, who certainly wore out his welcome with the Vals but before that nearly led the team to its first Challenge Cup win in two decades, but there are really just two candidates for the role of netminder on our all-decade team. They would be Gordie Broadway and Tom Brockers. Let's compare the two: Broadway has spent his entire career with Toronto, helping the Dukes win 5 Challenge Cups. His 225-138-56 record makes the 34-year-old Timmins native this decades winningest goalie and his 2.26 goals against average is only surpassed by former Detroit and Brooklyn netminder George Dinsmore for the lowest this decade among goalies who appeared in at least 100 games. Broadway also won the Juneau Trophy as the NAHC's top goaltender twice: in 1941 and again five years later. Brockers leads Broadway in Juneau wins as the 33-year-old has 4 of them including 3 this decade, but he trails Broadway in all other categories. Brockers did win three Challenge Cups with Boston before being dealt to the Brooklyn Eagles in 1944. The Calgary born goaltender returned to the Bees after the Eagles franchise folded but was dealt to Montreal last winter. His 175-140-46 record with a 2.39 GAA this decade are impressive but the nod has to go to the Toronto netminder as the decade's top goaltender. DEFENCE The candidates include bruising Bert McCalley, who was recently dealt from the New York Shamrocks to the Chicago Packers. Others worthy of consideration are Willis Beane and Len Bentley of Boston, New York's Jerry Finch -who went the other way in the McCalley trade- Shel Herron of Montreal and his former teammate with both Detroit and the Valiants in Bryant Williams. Some might make a case for Toronto defenseman JC Martel despite the fact the 27 year old did not make his NAHC debut until 1944-45. It is hard to wrong with any of those choices but for my money, I will lean towards McCalley and Herron. No defenseman this decade threw more hits than the 31-year-old McCalley, who plays much bigger than his 5'9", 185 lbs stature might suggest. A defensive specialist he was dominant early in the decade and while his performance has suffered slightly in recent years, the Winnipeg native was named to the first All-Star team two years ago and a second team selection this past season. He played 410 games this decade, all with New York, tallying 43 goals and 192 points. McCalley will make his Chicago debut in October after being dealt to the Packers shortly after the Challenge Cup was awarded this spring. There must be something in the water in Manitoba as joining McCalley on my All-Decade team is fellow Winnipeg native and current Montreal Valiants stalwart Shel Herron. No defenseman scored more than the 253 points Herron accumulated for Detroit and Montreal this decade. Graham Ferrar is listed as a rearguard now but spent most of his career as a forward. The 6'2" Herron is an intimidating force on the blueline but has some offensive skills as well. He spent a decade in Detroit before the Valiants acquired him, along with fellow defender Bryant Williams, from Detroit just before Christmas 1947. CENTER So many great choices for the man in the middle including local legend Clarence Skinner. You also have Wilbur Chandler, Orval Cabbell, Tommy Burns and Bobbie Sauer. The choice comes down to Burns and Sauer but I am going to have to give the age to the Chicago Packers legend. Tommy Burns won three straight McDaniels Trophy's and led the NAHC in scoring twice this decade. His 223 goals over the past 10 years are tops in the loop but Sauer actually has accumulated more points than Burns. Surprisingly Sauer has never led the NAHC in scoring in a season but did win a pair of McDaniels Trophy's as league MVP and was a key contributor to 5 Toronto Challenge Cup victories. He did benefit from a much better supporting cast that Burns over the years. Veteran Boston star Wilbur Chandler, with 2 scoring titles and 3 McDaniels wins, is also in the mix but Tommy Burns is my pick. RIGHT WING There are more options to consider on the port side for some reason but that does not mean there are not some viable candidates for the right wing slot. They include Marty Mahoney, the long-time wingman of Tommy Burns in Chicago, as well as Waldemar Rupp of Boston and veteran Valiants winger Doug Lynch. It might be a bit of hometown bias but the pick here is veteran Valiants captain Doug Lynch. He is now 36 years old and St Catharines, Ontario area native is just a spare part with the Vals but in his prime Lynch had 3 straight twenty-goal seasons and amassed 122 goals and 293 points over the decade. His numbers are a little lower than Marty Mahoney's (126-194-320) but Lynch made his mark without a center like Tommy Burns helping to pad his stats. LEFT WING The left side has a lot of depth but one clear standout. Tommy Hart of Boston. Others maybe drawing attention for the second team could be Joe Morey, Miles Barfield, Wes Burns and Glen Whitely but the top left winger over the past decade is without a doubt Boston standout Hart. Tommy Hart scored more points in the 1940's (212-266-478) than any other player and only Tommy Burns had more goals. It is hard to imagine a more feared line in its prime than the Boston trio of Hart, Wilbur Chandler and Waldemar Rupp. Hart, a 32-year-old native of Kitchener, led the NAHC in scoring in 1942-43 and won a McDaniels Trophy in 1941. He helped led Boston to 5 Challenge Cup wins and his 67 playoff points are more than any other player accumulated in the 1940s. Here is my All-Decade Team and the NAHC scoring and goaltending leaders for the past decade. Brett Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire also created a list of his All-Decade club and he went one step further, naming both a first and second team. Here is his list: Code: TORONTO MAIL & EMPIRE ALL-DECADE NAHC ALL-STAR TEAM First Team Second Team G- Gordie Broadway G- Tom Brockers LD- Bert McCalley LD- Harry Neighbor RD- Len Bentley RD- Lou Bernard LW- Tommy Hart LW- Miles Barfield C- Tommy Burns C- Bobby Sauer RW- Lou Carlson RW- Bernie Ferrar __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 12-22-2023 at 11:13 AM.