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Steve Vickers (ice hockey)

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Steve Vickers
Born (1951-04-21) 21 April 1951 (age 73)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
NHL draft 10th overall, 1971
New York Rangers
Playing career 1971–1982

Stephen James Vickers (born 21 April 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers from 1972 to 1982. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1973.

Playing career

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Steve "The Sarge" Vickers played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and was named a First Team league All-Star. He was drafted 10th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft.[1] He spent a season in the minor leagues with the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League before the Rangers called him up in 1972.[citation needed]

Vickers, centre Walt Tkaczuk and winger Bill Fairbairn formed a line that proved to be one of the 1970s' best two-way forward trios. Vickers scored 30 goals and 23 assists for a total of 53 points and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.[1] He played all of his NHL career with the Rangers, scoring thirty or more goals in each of four seasons. He was later moved to the Rangers' first line with Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle. Vickers' best season was 1974-75, when he scored 41 goals and was named to the NHL's Second all-star team.[1] He remained effective until his final season, in which his production dropped sharply; he finished the year in the minor leagues with the Springfield Indians, after which he retired.[citation needed]

Vickers played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1975 and 1976.[1] He made NHL history in 1972 when he became the first rookie, as well as the first New York Ranger, to score hat tricks in two consecutive games (12 November versus the Los Angeles Kings and 15 November versus the Philadelphia Flyers).[2] In February 1976, Vickers set the Rangers team record for most points in a game, with seven, against the Washington Capitals.[3]

Legacy

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In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Vickers at No. 18 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[4]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1968–69 Markham Waxers MetJHL 36 43 40 83
1969–70 Toronto Marlboros OHA 52 28 38 66 23 11 5 5 10 5
1970–71 Toronto Marlboros OHA 62 43 64 107 51 13 8 12 20 5
1971–72 Omaha Knights CHL 70 26 33 59 45
1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 61 30 23 53 37 10 5 4 9 4
1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 75 34 24 58 18 13 4 4 8 17
1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 80 41 48 89 64 3 2 4 6 6
1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 80 30 53 83 40
1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 75 22 31 53 26
1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 79 19 44 63 30 3 2 1 3 0
1978–79 New York Rangers NHL 66 13 34 47 24 18 5 3 8 13
1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 75 29 33 62 38 9 2 2 4 4
1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 73 19 39 58 40 12 4 7 11 14
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 34 9 11 20 13
1981–82 Springfield Indians AHL 20 4 6 10 14
NHL totals 698 246 340 586 330 68 24 25 49 58

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Steve Vickers - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Steve Vickers". All Time Roster. New York Rangers.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  3. ^ Gaffer, Wes; The New York Daily News (2001). New York Rangers: Millennium Memories. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 74. ISBN 978-1582613710. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  4. ^ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 176. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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Preceded by New York Rangers first round draft pick
1971
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy
1973
Succeeded by