Name one player (retired) You wish you had seen play

Is there one player that you always wanted to see but never did? Was it because there was no NHL in your part of the world? Or was it because you were to young to have ever seen him play? Or did you just plain miss out.

The one player I would love to have seen has got to be Jean Beliveau. The guy was great. My dad always tells me about him. He was a big boy who could do it all and made it look easy. All the things I have heared and read about him leave me in complete awe. I would love to just shakee his hand. He reprsented Hockey, The Montreal Canadiens organization with such dignity that no one since has managed to attain.

There are others that I would love to see, many of them from the 60's but Le Gros Bill tops my list.

Over to you...

There are others that I would love to see, many of them from the 60's but Le Gros Bill tops my list.

This makes me feel old. I can remember seeing an old, fat Rocket Richard on TV. I'd have to find someone from a generation before - Howie Morenz, I guess.

I actually saw Jean Beliveau live in Vancouver in an exhibition game. I also attended a lecture by him with my Dad. He came out and gave a little speech, showed some film and took questions.

(The ones I remember most were about Jacques Plante. "Why does Toe Blake let him leave the net like that? He's going to get burned for sure." and "Do the players think he is a wuss for wearing the mask?" Beliveau was very diplomatic.)

What has really changed over time is his image. He was always seen as a class guy - and he was - but the years have turned him into a perfect gentleman, which he definitely was not. He was big and very strong and very mean. He played a lot like Mark Messier.

Tom

I would have loved to see Bobby Orr, and more of Ray Bourque's career. I would have also loved to have seen Mike Bossy in the early 80's. And for sure, Beliveau's up there, with Rocket Richard, Tim Horton, etc. There were so many I missed. :cry:

I wish I could have seen Pelle Lindberg.

Wayne Gretzky (live)

Mike Bossy and Bobby Orr.

Guy Lafleur, Dave Keon, Billy Smith, Mike Bossy. I like exciting players.

Bobby Orr is the one I'd like to see most, as well as guys like Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, and Rocket Richard.

jean beliveau
guy lafleur
mike bossy
bobby orr
gordie howe
valeri kharlamov
vladislav tretiak

main guys i wish i had a chance to see.

I wish I could have seen Pelle Lindberg.

Pelle Lindbergh would have been one of the greatest goalies if it wasn't for his unfortunate death.

vladislav tretiak



Beat me to him. Excellent choice.

Beat me to him. Excellent choice.

There are so many excellent choices here. BTW I really like your avatar.

So far alot of superstars have been mentioned but I wonder if anyone will post a player of a lesser role. Like a tough guy or a grinder, or just some guy that's caught your eye today for no particular reason.

Jari Kurri.... I was born 1990 and started watching the NHL the year after he retired.... bummer

Orr (saw him a tiny bit, but barely remember him)
Beliveau
M. Richard
Sawchuk
Plante

Red Kelly. My Uncle always talked how much talent this player had.

Gordie and Tretiak

Being a little older, I have seen some greats, but I never saw Jean Beliveau, Rocket Richard or Henri Richard play live that I can remember.

I also wish I could have seen Bobby Hull as a Blackhawk.

I can't name one

Richard, Hull, Mikita, Howe, Orr, Mahovlich....damn, just transport me back to the 50s and 60s

Howe, Park, Orr, Dionne, Sawchuk and much much more

Maurice Richard.

I also would have liked to have seen the Montreal riots first hand :)

I don't think these guys are necessarily All-Time best players, but I would have like to see them because they are legends.

Goal: Georges Vezina..he never missed a game for something like 15 years, played on five championship teams, fathered over twenty children, and died at the age of 38 (1888-1926)

Defense: Bill Barilko...started a pro career with the Hollywood Wolves, won four Stanley Cups by the time he was 24...well..you know the rest...
Eddie Shore...must have been one mean player (almost killed Ace Bailey),was definitely the meanest guy ever to run a hockey team when he ran the Springfield Indians...just another typical Edmonton boy...

Center: Herb Carnagie... he deserved a chance back in the early 1950's, but never got one... with his hockey schools and more, he has given hockey a lot more than it ever gave him.

Right Wing...Howie Meeker circa 1946-47 ...the NHL Rookie of the Year when Gordie Howe broke into the NHL, he was 55 27 18 45 76 in the regular season, 11 3 3 6 6 in the playoffs....never scored more than 20 goals in a season again...golly gee whiz, Howie, what happened???

Left Wing....Frank Fredrickson...(or maybe Fred "Cyclone" Taylor, but I think he was the "Rover"...anyways, whichever one was the left winger on the last Vancouver team to win the Stanley Cup...the 1915 Millionaires (even though they only got $ 300 each for winning the Stanley Cup)....they destroyed Ottawa 6-2, 8-3, and 12-3 that year in the final...

"Terrible" Ted Lindsay and Bobby Hull

Bossy, Orr, Kurri, Howe, Hull, Lafleur.

Pretty much any of the old Montreal Canadiens great, even though I'm not a Habs fan anymore.

I would have loved to see Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Guy LaFleur, Wayne Gretzky and Mario in his prime.

The Rocket in his prime.

gordie

I was so young when he played and can't remember much but growing up he was one of my favorites. Don't even remember if he was a great player or not.

Gary Unger STL-#7

Bobby Orr is right up there as well.

Bobby Clarke

I love those pictures of him with no teeth holding the Cup. I'd love to see him in his hayday!! :)

Bill Durnan. The man modified his gloves so that he could hold a stick AND catch with either one and he was ambidextrous. It's something no goalie before or since has ever done. I think it would be flat-out unbelieveable to be able to see him play in person.

Bobby Orr or Guy Lafleur

Uh, Kurri went to Europe for 1990-91 but he returned the next year to play for the Kings and he stayed with them until 1995 then he was on the Blues for a short time, then the Rangers, then the Mighty Ducks, then the Avs when he retired in 1998.

I got to see Gretzky (live) with the Kings, Blues, and Rangers, but would have liked to have seen him with the Oilers. Other than that, Orr, Howe, Bossey, and a Brian Trottier in his prime.

Eddie Shore...

I've seen them all since the mid 60's...My dad and I always argue over the top 3 Bruins D men..

Orr is a given..

I go with Bourque second.. I never saw Shore. My dad saw all 3....

He says it's

Orr
Shore
Bourque


And as a diehard Bruins fan..he says Rocket Richard was a sight to behold .
That's saying something from my Dad.
:D

Bobby Orr

Always heard how great this guy was, but he was before my time. never saw him play.

Bobby Orr

Wayne Gretzky (live)

Yep. Bobby Orr too.

Bobby Orr for sure as well as Lafleur. But one guy that people forget mainly because of lack of exposure is Glibert Perreault. He played on some good Sabres teams and was such a fluid smooth skater. The French Connection Line would have been fun to see then.

Bobby Orr
Dave Schultz

Got to see Lafleur play an exhibition game for the Nordiques in 1990 ('91?), but its not the same.

Bobby Orr, I just missed him, I started watching in the late 70's/early 80's.

Tretiak is a great pick too, I wouldn't have thought of him but I would have liked to see what the hype was all about.

Bobby Orr and the Rocket are obviously on everyones lists, but I wish I could have seen Ken Dryden play. He was just so dominating and yet just made it look so easy. A lot has been said about those Habs teams of the 70's, with their fire power, and great defence. I think that as good as Dryden was, maybe people don't give him enough credit. Maybe being on the Canadiens made him better, but the Canadiens having him back there, no doubt made them better.

Bobby Orr and the Rocket are obviously on everyones lists, but I wish I could have seen Ken Dryden play. He was just so dominating and yet just made it look so easy. A lot has been said about those Habs teams of the 70's, with their fire power, and great defence. I think that as good as Dryden was, maybe people don't give him enough credit. Maybe being on the Canadiens made him better, but the Canadiens having him back there, no doubt made them better.

The thing I remember most about Dryden was his stance when there was a break in the action. He looked like a medieval soldier in plated armour guarding the fortress. from the cover of The Game (http://images.google.ca/images?q=tbn:zEaxqviFEYUJ:www.hockeyworldjapan.com/img/2001_thegame.jpg).

He's one of my all time favorites, 8 years in the league, 6 cups. There was a quiet confidence about him that I believe inspired his teammates.

Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Tim Horton.

Bobby Orr
Eddie Shore
Tretiak
Dryden
Mahovolich Frank not Pete

jari kurri
sawchuk
bobby hull
john davidson

Shore. My old man used to blow his wad over him.

LIVE, I'd love to have been able to see "The Rocket", Maurice Richard. The most electrifying player of his time, if the stories are true.

I've seen Gretzky and Orr and Lafleur dozens of times on TV, but never in person for some reason. All of them would be included in a list like that.

Glenn Hall-to see the man who invented the "butterfly" style re-introduced by Patty Roy in the 90's.

Terry Sawchuk-to see the greatest goalie ever in person, not on newsreel footage.

Saw Bobby Hull with the Jets, and he was still amazing. To have seen him in the early 1960's would be incredible.

And the "hated" Soviets of the 1970's. For more than 5 or 6 games. They played the game the right way: speed, skating, passing, stickhandling. Too bad they didn't have much passion.

Glenn Hall-to see the man who invented the "butterfly" style re-introduced by Patty Roy in the 90's.
Tony Esposito played the butterfly as well. Roy started his career just one full season after Espo retired in 1984.

Tony Esposito played the butterfly as well. Roy started his career just one full season after Espo retired in 1984.

Tony didn't play ANY style! He just kept the puck out of the net (for the most part!) pretty well, considering. :joker:

For me, I think it would be Richard. I would of also liked to have watched Ted Lindsay.

Terry Sawchuk, Joe Malone, Howie Morenz, guys who dominated at what they did

I had the pleasure of seeing Bobby Orr play and even though I am a Bruins fan to the core I would have loved to see Maurice Richard play - to see first hand the fire in his eyes -

Also saw Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur - WOW - hated them because they are Canadiens but loved their talent -

Jean Beliveau
Rocket Richard
Gordie Howe
Terry Sawchuk
Doug Harvey
Howie Morenz
The Conachers

Beliveau!!! I've got some VHS tapes and video of him but I wish that I could watch him for a full season live. Please go to this link and click around, its awsome. http://www.legendsofhockey.net/index.html

Bobby Orr, of course.

Valery Kharlamov - The Canadians were scared of him in 1972. Sinden said that he'd never really seen a guy be able to beat 2 NHL defenceman the way Valery could
Mike Bossy - Only got to see his last year in the NHL.
Bobby Hull
Guy Lafleur
Terry Sawchuk

Red Kelly and Bobby Orr

rocket richard...in a playoff game

Frank "King" Clancy. Especially game(s) where he replaced the goalie, and played forward, in addition to his regular defense position. And then went on to both coach, referee and be an assistant GM (well, wasn't titled that back then but would be his title nowadays).

Plus, he offered one night he was refereeing to take on and fight a fan who was heckling him. The fan? Havyweight boxing champ Jack Sharkey! That's guts.

I wish I HADN'T gone to watch my second favourite hockey player Paul Coffey.

I lost all reverence for his ability. The guy couldn't play defense. He was dumb away from the puck, wandering worse than Bure ever did, a one-dimensional player. Those who only watched him on television (where cameras follow the play with the puck) they saw the best of him. I even went to see him years later when he played for Scotty in Detroit: same lame Coffey, only, he'd lost the skating which made him exceptional.

and i could have seen them both back in the days of the Seals, but i was a little too young and no one to take me.

before the Sharks came to the NHL we would drive to LA every year for a pair of games. in 1988 we went to see a double shot against Edmonton and Calgary.

it was my first chance to see The Great One and the high flying Oilers. we were totally excited, then he went out and stunk the Forum out. it was arguably his worst game ever. no points, 2 penalties, and a Kings rout 7-2.

I have in my possession pucks auto'd by Gretzky, Orr, and Howe.

I wish I'd been able to see Gretzky. Only started liking hockey about 2 years ago. :eek: