You are Here: The Players / Coulson to Fortier / Bo Elik to Rico Fata

Tuesday, 09. February 2010

Bo Elik

Left Wing L. 5`11" 190 lbs.
10/17/1929 Geraldton, Ontario

Geralton, Ontarios Boris "Bo" Elik was born on October 17, 1929 and played two seasons with the North Bay Blackhawks and then four more with the North Bay Trappers, and a single game with Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League before making a full-time leap to the AHL in 1956-57.

Elik made an immediate impression with the Barons as a rookie, scoring 40 goals and 40 assists and capturing the Dudley "Red" Garret award for the leagues top rookie and being named to the First All Star Team. All the personal success was capped off when the Barons captured the Calder Cup; the AHLs championship trophy. Though not as proficient in his second year, he was named to Second All Star Team. The left winger played four more seasons in the AHL before he got his shot in the NHL, playing three games for the Detroit Red Wings.

In his three games with the Wings in 1962-63, Elik didnt register a point and after playing out the year with the Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League, Elik left professional hockey.

Player Notes
AHL First All-Star Team (1957) ; Won Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (Top Rookie-AHL) (1957). AHL Second All-Star Team (1958). Traded to Rochester (AHL) by Cleveland (AHL) for Eddie Mazur, September 23rd, 1958. Traded to Providence (AHL) byRochester (AHL) for Gord Redahl, November 21st, 1958.

Phil Esposito

Centre L. 6`1" 205 lbs.
2/20/1942 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

He was the centerman who held the greatest scoring record of them all before Wayne Gretzky came along and broke it - 76 goals in a single season in 1970-71. Espo won the Art Ross Trophy five times, the Hart Trophy twice, the Lester B. Pearson Award twice and the Lester Patrick Trophy for service to hockey in the United States. Whats more, he was a ten-time All-Star and represented Canada in the 1972 Summit Series, the 1976 Canada Cup and the 1977 World Championship. While a member of the Boston Bruins, he scored 40 or more goals in seven straight seasons and 50 or more in five straight seasons. In his 76-goal season, he also recorded an amazing 76 assists for a league record at the time of 152 points.

Phil Esposito grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and must have had plenty of target practice against his younger brother Tony, who went on to become one of the games great goalies. Unbelievably, Phil had a hard time at first even breaking into the NHL. He played for the St. Louis Braves in the Central Hockey League from 1962 until 1964. In his first year with the Braves, he scored 90 points in just 71 games and waited expectantly to be called up by the Chicago Black Hawks, the team that owned his rights. But the Hawks kept him waiting and he responded by recording another 80 points in just 43 games in his second year with the Braves before finally getting the call to the Hawks.

He scored 23, 27 and 21 goals in his first three seasons in the Windy City, and fans of the team noted he was often in on key scoring situations with linemate Bobby Hull. But Esposito never felt that Hawks coach Billy Reay had very much confidence in him. Sure enough, he was shipped to the Boston Bruins for the 1967-68 season.

The Black Hawks thought they were unloading an unproven talent to the Boston club, but in fact the trade only went in favor of the Bruins. Over his career in Beantown, he joined up with greats Bobby Orr, Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge and Gerry Cheevers on a powerhouse team that won two Stanley Cups in three years.

While Espo was gaining a reputation among NHL coaches and fans as a goal scorer, his fellow players were also beginning to recognize that they were dealing with a real character and a practical joker in the dressing room and on road trips. He liked to smoke cigars, and one reporter, noting his constantly furrowed brow and droopy expression, started calling him "the Happy Worrier."

Besides these traits, teammates noticed that he was a player who stuck steadfastly to ritual. One night when a sore throat caused him to put on a black turtleneck, he played especially well. From then on, the turtleneck became a regular part of his game-time garb. This was just one example of the quirky Espositos adherence to game-day habits.

On the international front, Phil starred for Team Canada in the classic Summit Series as the leading individual scorer - with seven goals and six assists - and inspirational leader of the team that defeated the Soviets in the best eight-game series ever played. He joined brother Tony, who was teaming with Ken Dryden as the Canadian netminder on the legendary team. After the glory years in Boston, Esposito was traded to the New York Rangers early in the 1975-76 season and found life a lot different in the worlds media capital. He had slowed down a step, and the critics were descending on him, perhaps because he had been such a brash character in his prime.

In 1981 Espo decided to hang up his skates after five seasons in New York. In an emotional night at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers retired his sweater and brought in a host of great players from the past and present to honour him. After retiring from the Rangers, Esposito became one of the teams assistant coaches and then moved on to a position as a TV analyst for the Madison Square Garden network. In 1986 he was named vice-president and general manager of the Rangers, a position he later accepted with the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning when that team entered the league.

Player Notes
Brother of Tony; OHA-Jr. Second All-Star Team (1962) ; NHL Second All-Star Team (1968, 1975) ; NHL First All-Star Team (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974) ; Won Lester Patrick Trophy (1978). Played in NHL All-Star Game (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980). Traded to Boston by Chicago with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield for Pit Martin, Jack Norris, and Gilles Marotte, May 15th, 1967. Traded to NY Rangers by Boston with Carol Vadnais for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi, November 7th, 1975.

Awards and Trophies
Art Ross Trophy 1968-69;1970-74
Hart Memorial Trophy 1973-74;1968-69
Lester B. Pearson Award 1973-74;1970-71
Prince of Wales Trophy 1973-74;1971-72;1966-67
Stanley Cup 1971-72;1969-70

Tony Esposito

Goaltender R. 5`11" 185 lbs.
4/23/1943 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

As one half of perhaps the most colorful brother act in NHL history, Tony "0" revolutionized goaltending in the NHL with his legs-open "butterfly" style and his spectacular flop-on-the-ice saves during the 16 years he spent in the league, all except one with the Chicago Black Hawks.

As the younger brother of scoring star Phil, Tony had something to prove when he entered the league in 1968. After a collegiate career with the Michigan Tech Huskies and the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League, he spent time with Houston of the Central Hockey League. His first partial year with Montreal was unspectacular - the Canadiens had Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon ahead of him - but after being traded to Chicago, he was impressive in his first full season, recording a Calder and Vezina Trophy-winning year in 1969-70 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a modern-era record of 15 shutouts.

Fans of the game were quick to point out that the Hawks under coach Billy Reay were a defensive-minded squad and that at 511" and 190 pounds, Esposito was a stocky, very mature 26-year-old rookie. But more important, he was fast gaining a reputation as having the quickest glove hand in the game and an unorthodox style that was confounding but nevertheless extremely effective. The Vezina win in his first year made him the first rookie to win the trophy since Frank Brimsek in 1939.

Even so, Tony was good enough between the pipes to win a scholarship to Michigan Tech, graduating in three years with a business degree and attaining all-American status each year. As a pro, he quickly gained a reputation as an emotional, vocal goalie who would yell regularly at his defensemen and stay well back in his crease except when he came out to poke-check skaters. He added to his rookie Vezina win by sharing the trophy with Gary Smith in 1972 and tying Bernie Parent in 1974. In his career, he totaled 76 regular-season shutouts. Incredibly, the Black Hawks never failed to make the playoffs while Esposito was on the team. Internationally, he was a standout as well. In 1972 he shared the goaltending role with Ken Dryden on Team Canada in the Summit Series. And in 1981 he tended goal during the Canada Cup, but this time for Team USA, his country of residence. Later in his career, Esposito began to gain a reputation as one of the grand old men of the NHL. But it wasnt always easy. By the early 1980s, hed become dissatisfied with the way his teammates were performing in Chicago. But by 1982, with Tonys help, the Hawks turned their game around again. As the oldest player in the league, Tony started to play like he was a decade younger in the 1982 playoffs, with a goals-against average under 2.00.

By 1983-84, Tony was the oldest player in the league and the only one over 40 years of age. Observers started to notice that while he was once the type of player who insisted on playing every minute of every game, he wisely realized that, at his age, he had to pick his spots and he happily shared the goalies duties with backup Murray Bannerman.

But it was eventually time for Tony "0" to hang up the big pads and he was released by the Hawks in 1984. He wasnt long out of the pro game, though, before the Pittsburgh Penguins made him director of hockey operations. After his time in Pittsburgh, Tony joined brother Phil in the front office of the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. But he will be best remembered as one of the true pioneers among netminders in the NHL.

Awards and Trophies
Calder Memorial Trophy 1969-70
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl 1972-73;1971-72;1970-71
Prince of Wales Trophy 1969-70;1968-69
Stanley Cup 1968-69
Vezina Trophy 1971-72;1969-70

Lou Farelli

North Bay, Ontario

Lou Farelli was born in Italy in 1924 and came to North Bay at the age of ten. He received the most recognition for his work as a hockey linesman and referee starting in 1948 in the NOHA at the age of 24. The following year he had progressed so rapidly that he handled Junior, Juvenile and Senior NOHA playdowns. He became the top ranked NOHA official and was named the Referee in Chief of the NOHA Junior league. In 1953 he left the north to become an official in the Western Hockey League through 1956. In 1957 he was called up to handle games in the National Hockey League which he did very competently until he retired in the early sixties.

Back in North Bay he became one of a group of North Bay businessmen and Sportsmen who purchased the North Bay Trapper Junior Hockey Team from owner Pete Palangio. Eventually he became the sole owner of the franchise and he carried the team through several tough seasons in the NOHA. Farelli deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team alive when hockey interest in the city dwindled.

Lou Farelli is known as a strong, forthright individual who stood up for what he believed in; he was an excellent hockey official at the highest level.

Drew Fata

Defense, 6’ 1”, 215 lbs.
7/28/1983 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Drew Fata was born July 28, 1983 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins third round, 86th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Fata is a graduate of OHL's St. Michael's Majors and the Kingston Frontenacs. Player Notes
Selected by Pittsburgh Penguins round 3 #86 overall 2001 NHL Entry Draft

A defensive defenceman, over 194 games in the OHL with Toronto and Kingston Fata scored 89 points. After being drafted by the Penguins, Fata made his professional hockey debut splitting his time in the ECHL and AHL with Wheeling and Wilkes-Baree Scranton respectively. Over the next two seasons Fata would continue to compete with both clubs, in both leagues, before he was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders in February, 2007.

As an Islander he would make his NHL debut in a February 4, 2007 game against the Washington Capitals, however Fata would spend the majority of his next two seasons in Bridgeport with the Islanders' AHL affiliate.

In the summer of 2008, Fata was signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Coyotes. He failed to record a point in seven games with the Coyotes AHL affiliate and was shortly after dealt by the club to the Ottawa Senators.

Rico Fata

Centre
L. 5`11", 180lbs
2/12/1980 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Calgarys 1st, 6th overall, in 1998.

By the time he was sixteen years old, some where heralding Rico Fata, born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, as the next star in the NHL. Fata, who played one year as an under-age with his hometown Greyhounds, then spent his next three years of junior hockey with the OHL's London Knights.

In the end, Fata was the sixth overall draft selection of the Calgary Flames in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Fata went to camp with the Flames, and that brought him to Japan where the Flames were opening the 1998-99 season. Still without a contract, and a survivor of the final cut at camp, Fata holds the unique distinction of being the only NHLer to sign his first pro contract in Japan. Hours after signing his contract, he made his NHL debut, but by the 20-game mark that season, he'd registered only one assist and spent the remainder of the year in the AHL.

The next year, Fata played just two games with Calgary, and yet again failed to make an impression on the Flames coaching staff. His third season in the organization he again spent in the AHL helping the Saint John Flames capture their first Calder Cup, while playing five games with the big club throughout the year. When he failed to crack the Calgary roster during the 2001-02 training camp, Rico Fata was placed on waivers.

The New York Rangers, impressed with Fata's skating and puck skills claimed the speedy winger but after just five games, all of which Fata was held scoreless, he was assigned to their AHL affiliate in Hartford. In 2002-03 Fata impressed the Rangers coaching staff enough to have him play in 36 games with the club before he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins just prior to the trading deadline. Upon his arrival in Pittsburgh, Fata was placed on a line with Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and went on to register 13 points (5-8-13) in 27 games with the club.

The 2003-04 season marked Fata's first full season in the NHL, and with the opportunity to play on a regular basis, the former junior star went on to register 34 points (16-18-34). Following a lock-out year in 2004-05 that forced Fata to take his game to Italy, the former junior star split the early part of the 2005-06 season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL before being claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers in January, 2006.

Fata would compete in only 6 games with the Thrashers before he was claimed on waivers by the Washington Capitals.

Player Notes
AHL Second All-Star Team (2002). Returned to London (OHL) by Calgary following WJC-A tournament, January 10th, 1999. Claimed on waivers by NY Rangers from Calgary, October 3rd, 2001. Traded to Pittsburgh by NY Rangers with Joel Bouchard, Richard Litner, Mikael Samuelsson and future considerations for Mike Wilson, Alex Kovalev, Janne Laukkanen and Dan LaCouture, February 10, 2003.

info commands

If you wish to print the players biography, just select the player on the top menu, and then click the 'Print' icon above.