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Fred Hucul

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Fred Hucul
Born (1931-12-04) December 4, 1931 (age 92)
Tuberose, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Chicago Black Hawks
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1951–1969

Frederick Albert Hucul (born December 4, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 164 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues between 1951 and 1968. The rest of his career lasted from 1951 to 1969 and was spent in the minor leagues. He shares the NHL record for the longest gap between NHL appearances, 13 years, along with his former Chicago teammate, Larry Zeidel.

Career

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A star in junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Canucks and Regina Capitals, he immediately broke in with the Chicago Black Hawks and played for them for four seasons. He then was sent to the minors and spent the bulk of his professional career in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Stampeders and Victoria Maple Leafs. For six years in Calgary and in Victoria, he was teamed with his brother Sandy Hucul. In the 1955-56 season Hucul scored 21 goals and 38 assists. Upon the NHL's expansion, Hucul signed with the St. Louis Blues and began their inaugural season on the Blues blue line. However, before the playoffs, he was sent to the Blues' minor league team the Kansas City Blues in the Central Hockey League where he replaced Doug Harvey as the Kansas City Blues coach and general manager after Harvey was called up to the parent Blues for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Amid conflict and interference with Scotty Bowman and Cliff Fletcher, manager and assistant manager of the parent St. Louis Blues, over how to run the team, Hucul guided the Kansas City Blues through two losing seasons before being replaced.[1] He gave coaching one more try in 1971–72 and led the Victoria Cougars of the WCHL to an 18-48-2 record before being fired and retiring to his cattle ranch in Alberta. He currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.

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
1948–49 Wetaskiwin Canadians EJrHL
1948–49 Wetaskiwin Canadians M-Cup 3 1 2 3 14
1949–50 Moose Jaw Canucks WCJHL 27 8 11 19 59 4 1 2 3 8
1950–51 Moose Jaw Canucks WCJHL 37 19 27 46 165
1950–51 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 1 0 1 2
1950–51 Regina Capitals WCSHL 5 0 2 2 4
1951–52 St. Louis Flyers AHL 9 2 3 5 8
1951–52 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 34 3 7 10 37
1952–53 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 55 5 7 12 25 6 1 0 1 10
1953–54 Calgary Stampeders WHL 15 7 4 11 12
1953–54 Quebec Aces QSHL 13 4 6 10 26 12 1 3 4 10
1953–54 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 27 0 3 3 19
1954–55 Calgary Stampeders WHL 51 12 23 35 59
1955–56 Calgary Stampeders WHL 70 21 38 59 85 8 1 4 5 19
1956–57 Buffalo Bisons AHL 9 0 6 6 11
1957–58 Calgary Stampeders WHL 61 18 40 58 51 14 1 4 5 27
1958–59 Calgary Stampeders WHL 64 7 36 43 61 8 1 0 1 9
1959–60 Calgary Stampeders WHL 66 7 46 53 32
1960–61 Calgary Stampeders WHL 67 9 42 51 55 5 0 0 0 9
1961–62 Calgary Stampeders WHL 53 19 37 56 42 7 0 4 4 2
1963–63 Calgary Stampeders WHL 70 16 41 57 56
1963–64 Denver Invaders WHL 69 8 49 57 58 6 3 4 7 6
1964–65 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 51 8 20 28 67 12 1 4 5 28
1965–66 Tulsa Oilers CHL 7 1 0 1 4
1965–66 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 61 16 43 59 56 14 8 7 15 14
1966–67 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 13 3 6 9 12
1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 43 2 13 15 30 14 8 7 15 14
1968–69 Kansas City Blues CHL 2 0 1 1 0
WHL totals 711 151 425 576 646 74 15 27 42 114
NHL totals 162 11 30 41 113 6 1 0 1 10

References

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  1. ^ "Parent Club Had its Hand in Blues Failure". The Kansas City Star. Monday, March 23, 1970. Retrieved Saturday, April 8, 2023.
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