Who Was The First American Player To Score 50 Goals In A Season?

The 1984-85 NHL season marked a notable event in the history hockey for the United States. With his 53 goals and 95 points, 21 year old Bobby Carpenter became the first US born player to eclipse the 50-goal benchmark.

Carpenter’s 53 goals surpassed the previous record of 41 set by St. Louis Blues standout, Joe Mullen, during the previous NHL season.

However, this is not the only record that Carpenter holds. In fact, Carpenter’s early career, from as far back as high school, was full of accomplishment.

High School To The NHL

In addition to being the first to score 50 goals in a season, Carpenter is also noted as the first US citizen to jump to the NHL directly from high school. What’s more, in 1981, Carpenter became the first player born in the USA to be selected in the first round of the NHL entry draft. It is not surprising that he was named the “Can’t-Miss Kid” by Sports Illustrated that very same year.

Carpenter played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons from 1981 to 1999. His numbers were fantastic in his early days, but Carpenter had mixed success later in his career. During his 18 seasons he took part in 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and adding 408 assists.

Winning The Stanley Cup

One of the highlights of  Bobby Carpenter’s career was his election to the NHL All-Star game in 1985. The only moment to trump that All Star Game was when he finally won the Stanley Cup during the lockout shortened 1994-95 NHL season with the New Jersey Devils. Carpenter stuck around New Jersey following his playing days, adding more Stanley Cup rings in 2000 and 2003 as an Assistant Coach with the Devils.

Though he never scored more than 27 goals in a season following his record setting year, Bobby Carpenter was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 along with former NHLers Aaron Broten and John Vanbiesbrouck.

The Worst Team In NHL History

I think it’s safe to say that there are some records nobody sets out to own. There is little doubt that the NHL record for worst team in a season is one such mark.

We mentioned how terrible the New York Rangers of the 1943-44 season were, losing a single game to the Detroit Red Wings in what would be the largest margin of victory in an NHL game. That horrendous team won 6 games over the course of their 50 game season, for a winning percentage of 12%. That sounds terrible doesn’t it?

Well, not so fast!

In the inaugural season for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, 1974-75, the team managed just 8 wins over an 80 game schedule, for a dismal winning percentage of just 10%! Their 8-67-5 record  is currently the worst of any team in the history of the National Hockey League.

Ron Low was the starting goaltender for the Capitals that season and the franchise had high hopes for the netminder as he racked up an impressive 1.82 GAA during the pre-season.  Low was the goalie between the pipes for all 8 wins, while amassing a 5.45 GAA in 48 appearances.

The Capitals’ other goalie, Michel Belhumeur, came over from the Philadelphia Flyers via the expansion draft.  Belhumeur played in 35 games that season but could not manage to pull off a victory.  This distinction lands him in the NHL record books for the most games played in one season by a goaltender without a win.  Interestingly, Belhumeur played the next season with the Capitals as well. He didn’t manage a win in that year either and never played in the National Hockey League again.

Alex Semin Burns Coburn, Emery For Highlight Reel Goal

On Tuesday night Alexander Semin absolutely scorched Philadelphia defenceman Braydon Coburn and beat Ray Emery through the five hole on what may be the best highlight reel goal of the season thus far.

Semin brought the puck in over the Philadelphia blueline, pulled the puck through Coburn’s legs while beating him to the outside.  Semin then grabbed the puck on his backhand, brought it quickly to his forehand and snapped it between the legs of Ray Emery.

Video of the Semin Goal below…Enjoy.

Update:

As noted in the comments, Mike Richards scored a hat trick with all three goals coming in the second period.  This is apparently the first time any Philadelphia Flyer has ever scored three goals in a home opener.

Washington Capitals Strength Coach Mark Nemish

Recently I had the opportunity and privilege to interview the strength and conditioning coach for the Washington Capitals, Mark Nemish.

Mark is renowned by the Capitals players as being one of the reasons that they have had so much success and personal accomplishment over the past few seasons.  Most often, Capitals players cite post-exercise recovery as one particular area where Mark excels above all others.

Now that we are in the off-season, Mark has generously agreed to share a few of his theories on strength and conditioning for hockey players.  If you’re a parent, player, or coach – be prepared to take notes!

Enjoy.

Thank you very much for the interview. Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, your training business and position with the Capitals?

I am originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.  I left Winnipeg in ’93 to complete my Masters Degree work at the University of North Dakota while working as a strength coach for the Athletic department.

After completing my degree, I left North Dakota and had stints as a strength coach at the University of Richmond, Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt.

In 1998 I was hired by the Nashville Predators as their first strength coach and held that position for 6 years before moving to Northern Virginia to open my own training business known as Dynamic Sports Performance.  A couple years ago I became the Washington Capitals strength & conditioning coach and hold that position today along with still owning and running my training business.

When players come to you for training, what’s the first thing you do with them?

The first thing we do is test them whether with my business or with the Caps.  We hold testing with the Caps at our summer conditioning camp in July held for draft picks and prospects and then again at the main training camp in September where we test all of our players, including veterans.

Could you list the 3 top tips you could give to a hockey player that is just beginning an off-ice conditioning program?

1.      Make sure that you are being coached in performing the exercises in the program correctly…

2.      Make the clear distinction between activity and accomplishment…too many athletes perform the activity of training but don’t progress at the rate they should because they don’t train hard or smart enough.

3.      Nutrition plays a huge role in training gains or adaptations…your composition and timing of nutrition is very important.

What are the most common mistakes that you see hockey players make with regard to strength and conditioning?

Players don’t train hard enough at times and also don’t know when to listen to their bodies and back off at the right times.  Also, many players do not pay enough attention to some very important, but overlooked, training variables such as length of rest periods, speed of the repetition, and restoration techniques.

What tips and tricks can you share that will improve a hockey player’s off-season conditioning program?

I don’t know if there are any tricks, but one very important variable for improving power is to intend to move loads as quickly as possible especially with regards to training the legs.  Speed kills in this sport and taking advantage of sound training principles to enhance leg power is important.  In addition to intending to move loads quickly, regardless of whether they are light or very heavy loads, improving one’s off-ice sprint speed is important as well.  Sprinting for 10-30 yards while pulling loads on a sled will help accomplish that.  Finally, don’t do too much on-ice training or conditioning too soon in the summer.  I don’t like to see players get on the ice much sooner than the beginning of August.

What are the most glaring weaknesses you find when training hockey players?

Abdominal strength and balance about the core and hips (ie flexibility and strength).  This leads to trouble down the road in the form of lower abdominal tears and frequent groin tears.

Are there any exercises that you feel every athlete, regardless of sport, should do?

All athletes need to be doing sound abdominal training that is functional in nature.  Too many athletes of all sports seem to think that performing crunches and sit ups at nauseum will help build their core strength & endurance.  What they need to do is learn to recruit or fire their abs and glutes together and then perform many different exercises that groove the motor patterns of abdominal recruitment.  This will help stabilize their spine and keep their pelvis correct position so other larger muscles can work together to perform the gross motors skills such as running, skating, etc. efficiently.

How do you explain your system/program to your athletes so that they understand why they are following your program?

My system is not too complex.  Everything is written down on workout cards along with the speed to perform each repetition and rest periods.  It’s all in how you coach the program.  For the summer conditioning manual, I accompany the training book with a couple DVD’s that shows every exercise so the players can see what they are supposed to do.

Can you give us some insight on nutrition advice for the typical hockey player (pre-game/post game meals etc.)?

Pre game meal should not be too large…some lean protein like chicken, fish or steak (fillet or very lean strip) that is grilled or broiled, some carbohydrates (brown rice, pasta, baked potatoes) and vegetables (greens or other colorful veggies).  If you eat too much at pre-game, your legs may feel heavy in the first period because you are still digesting a big meal.  Eat enough to satisfy but not feel full.  For post game you want to get in about 0.7 – 1.0 grams of carbs/kg bodyweight along with some protein within 30 minutes of your last shift.  This will help build up the glycogen (muscle fuel) that you burned during the game.  About 1-1.5 hours later have a good sit down meal with a lean protein and more carbohydrates.  Drink plenty of water as well.

What post game recovery techniques are most important for hockey players?

See above for post-game shake or meal.  In addition, players need to sit in a cold tub for 10-15 minutes after a game, especially if they played a lot of minutes.  This does several things with the main goal of starting the recovery process going by slowing down the player’s metabolism and reducing the heat that was built up in the body during the game.

How do you monitor training intensity – specifically with regard to in-season vs. off-season training?

Training intensity is correctly defined as the % of 1 rep max lifted for a particular exercise.  Since I test bench press, I express their training loads as percentages of their 1RM be it in season or off…of course they are lifting much bigger %’s of their 1RM’s in the off-season.  I also have devices which measure the power produced with any given load so I can see what sort of power they are producing on a particular exercise.

What is the biggest obstacle you have to face as a strength coach or trainer?

At the professional level it is the control I don’t have during the off season when the players are on their own to lift, especially those who are overseas.  The other one would be striking the balance between the right amount of training and rest during the in-season.

How do you deal with hesitant and/or stubborn players/coaches that don’t agree with your program?

At the NHL level, you must approach each player as if you are working with him, not against him.  You first need to listen to what the player is complaining about and properly explain your rationale for doing things.  Allowing the player direct feedback and perceived control can do wonders in reaching compromises regarding training obstacles.  Trust is a big thing…they need to feel as though they can trust you…results is the biggest motivator…if others on the team are getting great results, then you hope some of the other stubborn players will jump on the band wagon.

News was released at the end of the season making accusations that some Capitals players have used performance enhancing substances – what’s your take on that?

Since we were tested 3 times this year and 4 times the previous year (random), I can say with 100% confidence that the Washington Capitals are 100% drug free.  Also, with the type of weights our guys lift, the zero signs of side effects that accompany illegal performance drugs, no one on our team is on anything.

Is there somewhere that readers can learn more about your theories and programs?

On my business website www.dspashburn.com, I have numerous articles posted that they can read in addition to my training philosophies.

NHL Digest Twitter Hockey Links

*This is a new feature of NHL Digest, so please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

I am very active on twitter, sharing thoughts and links at www.twitter.com/nhldigest. That said, I thought it would be great for everyone to log all of my Twitter posts for the day into one place!

If you like it, let me know and I’ll update it daily in the “Hockey Links” Category!

On This Day in Hockey History

On July 5, 1995 the New York Islanders hired Mike Milbury as their head coach, taking over for Lorne Henning.

On July 5, 1979 the Boston Bruins named Fred Creighton as their new head coach, replacing Don Cherry.

NHL Links

Do The Blackhawks Believe Hossa Is Jinxed? http://ff.im/-4Q385

NHL finalizes investigation into Blackhawks qualifying offers – Looks like the issue could be dead. http://ff.im/-4PRKv

The Penguins’ five-year plan, executed in four! – by @Mirtle http://ff.im/-4PMJs

Did Tampa Bay tamper with Mattias Ohlund? – by @Sean_Leahy http://ff.im/-4PLfk

Plenty of stuff about McSorley that you likely don’t know. http://ff.im/-4PGhW

Ottawa journalist wears Heatley jersey in public as an experiment…Good for some laughs! http://ff.im/-4PFYg

Hossa says he chose Chicago because “They have a chance to win the Cup”. Sound familiar? http://ff.im/-4PFDu

Touted Swedish goaltender, Jonas Gustavsson, expects to sign in the next couple of days http://ff.im/-4Pw9V

Los Angeles Kings Q&A with their newest player Ryan Smyth http://ff.im/-4Pdhu

Leafs new signing, Exelby and Ron Hextall weigh in on Heatley debacle  http://ff.im/-4OzLR

Upcoming on NHL Digest

Monday morning I will be featuring an interview with Washington Capitals strength and conditioning coach,Mark Nemish, on NHL Digest.

Again, please feel free to leave comments and suggestions and be sure to follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/nhldigest.

Also a new feature for NHL Digest is the ability to comment on an article directly from twitter! All you have to do is respond with an “@” reply to the Tweet with the article link in it and your comment will be added to the comments section below the article.

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1st Round Impressions and 2nd Round Predictions

With the first round of the NHL playoffs in the books, it’s time to take a brief look back on who impressed, who disappointed, and what’s next.

Thoughts on Round 1

Boston certainly look like a deep, talented and disciplined team. Coach Julien took Coach/GM Gainey to school. Everything Julien did worked out beautifully. Nothing Gainey did worked at all. A long playoff run looks to figure in Boston’s future, while a long summer of upheaval on and off the ice beckons for Montreal.

Washington deserved to win at least the first 6 games of their series with the Rangers, thanks to the brilliance of Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist . In what can only be considered as a cruel twist of fate, the Rangers probably deserved to win game 7, but their anemic offense was not able to generate enough production. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Markus Naslund – hang your heads in shame. Alexander Ovechkin wasn’t at his best, yet the Rangers still couldn’t muster enough to pull the upset.

Who would have guessed that the Devils and Hurricanes would have produced a 7 game series of must-see hockey. Martin Brodeur and Cam Ward were altogether brilliant in their matchup, with each pitching shutouts and posting 40+ save performances. It was nothing short of epic. Everything looked promising for the Devils until there was 2 minutes left in the 3rd. Tim Gleason made a season-saving play at the blue line to keep the puck in. Jussi Jokinen scored shortly after to tie the game, and Eric Staal won it less than a minute later. Needless to say, the Devils (and probably the Canes too) were stunned. The Devils have now been bounced in the first round in 4 of their last 5 playoff appearances. After looking like world beaters when Brodeur came back from his arm injury, this has to be devastating.

The battle of Pensylvannia was also a good series, highlighted by some good goaltending performances from M.A. Fleury. Once again, Philadelphia’s goaltending was not good enough to carry them to the promised land. When will their management learn that guys like Biron, Esche, Cechmanek, Antero Niittymaki and other underacheivers are not the type of goalie needed to win the cup? It’s been their achilles heel for ages, and looks like it will continue to be so.

In what has to be the biggest disappointment of the year, the San Jose Sharks rolled over – yet again when it mattered most. Joe Thornton did his level best, but again it was not nearly enough. He shares an enormous set of goat horns with Patrick Marleau for their tank job. There’s got to be some fallout in San Jose because of this? I wonder what Ron Wilson is thinking right about now? To me, this series was predictable. I didn’t even give the Sharks a chance to make it a 7 game series against the Ducks. Hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, not to mention the heroic Jonas Hiller knocked out the President Trophy winners. Again.

What can be said of the defending champs? The Red Wings total dismantling of the upstart Blue Jackets was nothing short of impressive. Were the Blue Jackets just excited to have been there, or are the Wings yet again that good? Can it be both? Chris Osgood, as he promised, was better than he had been in the regular season, while Blue Jackets super rookie Steve Mason fell back to earth after a stunning regular season perfomance. They’ll be back, but for now they’ve got to deal with this piece of humble pie.

Vancouver may have swept the Blues, but they were life & death in doing so. The Blues fought hard in each of their 4 games and probably deserved to win at least 1. That being said, Roberto Luongo looks like a man poised to good deep, and also has his gaze on the #1 role for team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. With or without Mats Sundin, beating Luongo 4 times out of 7 is going to be tough for any team.

Personally, the biggest surprise of the first round was the Chicago Blackhawks. I did not expect them to show so much spirit and poise in their first playoff appearance. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Martin Havlat, and the rest of the team showed unusual poise for such a young bunch. As for the Flames…you’ve got to feel sorry for them. They were banged up on the blue line like no other team West of Montreal, but so much more was expected, especially after they acquired Mike Cammalleri, Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold.

Quick Predictions for Round 2

Boston Bruins (1) vs Carolina Hurricanes (6)
The top seeded Bruins draw another low seed – but this Hurricane team is not your garden variety low seed. They’ve got chemistry and experience. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve got Cam Ward who continues to fly under the radar. The Bruins are healthy, and remain the deepest team in the East. I expect them to topple the Hurricanes, but it won’t be easy. Early rust will affect them in game 1, but they’ll sail from there. Zdeno Chara will get the assignment of shutting down Staal, and he’ll get that job done. The rest of the Bruins depth, starting with Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron will be too much for the Hurricanes to handle.

Boston in 6.

Washington Capitals (2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
In what can only be described as Gary Bettman’s fantasy, we get a playoff matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. And the stars don’t stop there. The Penguins will be throwing MVP candidate and Art Ross winner Evgeni Malkin out there, Jordan Staal, Sergei Gonchar, and a plethora of competent supporting talent. Washington counters with Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and their own cast of veteran talent. The wild card in this series is Simeon Varlamov. It’s one thing to beat the Rangers’ paltry offense. It’s another thing entirely to ask a 20 year old to stop 2 of the best hockey players in the world.

Pittsburgh in 7.

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs Anaheim Ducks (8)
How long can the Ducks ride this wave? Did they run in to a collection of playoff chokers, or are they a battle-hardened group of veterans who don’t need the red carpet rolled out for them? We will have our answer after this round. Can round 1 hero Jonas Hiller continue to baffle opposition shooters? Or will the Red Wings collection of championship stars find a way to deflate this guy’s balloon? Playoff goaltending heroics are not rare throughout history, and they can take teams from improbable 8th seeds to the finals (see Dwayne Roloson with the Oilers in 2005), but in this case, my money is going on the champs to continue their roll and send the Ducks packing for the summer. Too much top end skill to be contained.

Detroit in 6.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs Chicago Blackhawks (4)
This ought to be a fun series to watch. These teams don’t like each other. Each team has what the other team doesn’t. The Canucks have top flight goaltending, while the Hawks have top notch talent. It will be a contest between the Hawks’ young guns vs the Canucks defense corps and Roberto Luongo. Can Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows support the Sedins enough offensively to put them over the top? Can Mats Sundin be the X factor for the Canucks? This is why they acquired him, so it’s time for him to get back in the lineup and show why he should be considered as one of the all-time greats. He’ll never have a better chance at Lord Stanley’s mug than he will this year.

Vancouver in 7.

If I’m right, and I’m usually not, we’ll have conference finals that look like this:

East
Boston (1) vs Pittsburgh (4)

West
Detroit (2) vs Vancouver (3)

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your predictions!

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