3 - Gordie Howe - When the term power forward is mentioned people who follow the sport of hockey immediately think of guys like Cam Neely and Wendel Clark. However, long before these guys ever picked up a hockey stick the man they call Mr. Hockey was defining the term "power forward". Howe was as mean and nasty as he was talented as anyone who felt the brunt of his elbow will tell you. He could fight with the best of them, but rarely had to as few were stupid enough to challenge him. However, ultimately it was on the score sheet that Howe carved his legend. Until Gretzky came along Howe was the all time leader in goals (801), assists (1,049) and points (1,850). To this day he remains the leader in games played with (1,767), and these are just his NHL numbers. Howe also spent several seasons in the rival WHA. He won 6 Art Ross Trophies and 6 Hart Trophies during his career, and hoisted the Stanley Cup on 4 separate occasions. Despite all this possibly his most unbelievable feat came in the 1979-80 season when he suited up for the Hartford Whalers to play with sons Mark and Marty. He was 52 years old at the time and still scored 18 goals that season! |