Where did all my heroes go?

NHL heroes, that is to say. I read about Martin Brodeur winning his 552nd game on Tuesday (which makes him the all-time leader in Wins), which is really cool. Plus, he's only four shutouts away from taking the lead in that category as well. Way to go, Marty!

I first played ice hockey back in 1975 in the Eastside Hockey Association. My Squirt House team was sponsored by John L. Scott. I used a CCM stick and Cooper gloves. If I ever get a new scanner, I'll post my team and individual photos. I had the face of a cherub, and the heart of a killer. You can laugh if you want, but I will cling to my fantasies regardless.

My favorite book at the time was a big yellow tome titled Pro Hockey Heroes of Today by Bill Libby. All the greats of the late 60s and early 70s are in this: Orr, Cheevers, Hull, Esposito, Mahovlich...if it wasn't buried in the closet with my stash of "must keep forever" books, I'd list them all right now.

Hockey didn't last long, though. Too expensive and too time-consuming for our family. Gave T-Ball a whirl, and then ended up playing soccer...but that's another entry for another day.

Fast-forward to the early 90s. I was working at Nintendo, and my friend Blaine suckered me into his Fantasy Hockey league. My long-dormant romance with the NHL was back on the front burner! I rediscovered the game, and have not stopped the affair since. Thank goodness for CBC and Hockey Night in Canada, because I miss NHL2Night on ESPN2 with John Buccigross. JB alone is worth an individual entry (note to self...).

So many players were in their prime, or just coming of age back then: The Legion of Doom (Lindros/Leclair/Renberg), Fedorov, Bure, Jagr, Hasek, Potvin (Felix the Cat)...way too many to list at the moment. But even the grinders and role-players were important - Dave Gagner, hell yeah! Heady days, indeed.

Then a funny thing happened...we had kids, and suddenly I didn't watch a lot of hockey any more. I still had games on, but never watched them start to finish. The sports section in the Seattle Times kept me up on standings, and those crazy guys at ESPN/ESPN2 and ESPN.com kept me up on the players and everything else.

Back to present day: Now, all I see and hear about are guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, Kane & Toews (there is hope once again for the Blackhawks), the brothers Staal, and a new breed of young netminders. But where are MY guys, MY heroes, MY grinders and unsung PP killers? Here's a rundown on a few random names:

Paul Kariya (Cha-cha-cha): now an old man at 34 and with St. Louis, his 4th team. When he's healthy, he's good for just under a point per game and still an asset on the PP.

Sergei Fedorov: even older than Kariya at 39, plays for Washington, and is also on his 4th team. His offensive output is greatly diminished, but he's in his 17th year, so he's unlikely to score 120 points again (93-94, with Detroit).

Pavel Bure: The Russian Rocket had back-to-back 60 goal/100+ point seasons in 92-93 and 93-94. The man could skate and score. His career ended in 2003, cut short by injuries I think.

Eric Lindros: The Big E played hard, and got hit hard. Too many times to the head, as he retired in 2007 after 13 years and 4 teams (I sense a pattern here). #88 was one of the new breed of big, strong players who could score often AND hit like a train.

Dominik Hasek: He's Gumby, dammit! The Dominator is retired (4 teams - I'm not making this stuff up!) and was as talented as he was quirky.

Chris Chelios: Are you freaking kidding me? 24 years and counting. This man is the T-101 of the NHL - relentless and seemingly unstoppable.

Dave Gagner: One of my favorite grinders. 719 points in 946 games. And now his son plays!

Hopefully I'll be able to do this again one day, and wax nostalgic about Sid the Kid and Sam Gagner. It's been fun.