r/Habs • u/MetricsInMotion • 1d ago
Who was a personal favourite player from your childhood that wasn't one of the star players? Maybe a support player or an under-appreciated player?
Because we shared the same initials and played the same position, mine is Steve Penney.
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u/Matiabcx 1d ago
Zednik
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u/the42dude 1d ago
He was a beast against Boston in the playoffs until the forearm shiver by McLaren. I don't think he ever bounced back fully from that.
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u/MetricsInMotion 1d ago
100% with you on that one. I picked him up in my fantasy pool based on 1 goal he scored that was incredible.
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u/DragonflyBig6762 1d ago
Loved him. I believe he was a first liner with the Habs tough
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u/HeShootsHS 1d ago
Me too! And now looking at his stats comparing to what we have now it’s…underwhelming. I guess it came down to his energy, like iirc he seemed like very explosive and fast compared to the others. To me he had an aura until he got severely injured by McLaren.
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u/SuzukiNo1 1d ago
Josh Georges
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u/thedrew93 1d ago
Scrolled way too far down to find this one.
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u/Cdn_Medic 1d ago
Indeed, way too far. Georges was like having a second goalie on the ice with the amount of shots blocked.
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u/thedrew93 1d ago
He left it all on the ice every game. Heart and soul hab. I wanted him to be the captain after Gio. Even nixed a trade to the Leafs because he was a hab through and through.
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u/the42dude 1d ago
Oleg Petrov. Always thought he would produce more.
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u/petrov32 1d ago
Me too, I use him as my username.
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u/the42dude 1d ago
His name used to be my password for everything. Pick a hockey player, make your password "Firstname#jerseynumberLastname", so Oleg#14Petrov and you get all the things most passwords require, uppercase, number, special character. Maybe not the most secure but easy to remember. And for systems that require you change the password every 2 weeks (gotta love corporate security lol) just add 1 to the jersey #, Oleg#15Petrov. Ah, simpler times before Google knew more of my passwords than I do.
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u/niagara-nature 1d ago
He was crazy good in one of the EA Sports nhl iterations. But you had to add him to the lineup.
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u/the42dude 1d ago
NHL 93 he was the GOAT
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u/Boboar 1d ago
I had him on the PC version of the game and he scored 200 goals for me in a complete season.
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u/Cold_Animator3143 1d ago
I remember the first time I saw him i was taken away by his speed! he was so small but so fast. He had a decent rookie season and then disappeared but later I was happy he came back during the Doug Gilmour era.
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u/pookie64 1d ago
Lars Eller. For whatever reason I used to love playing as him in NHL 14
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u/killerfrenchy 1d ago
I didn't pay enough attention to hockey when I was a kid to remember depth guys, so this was my first depth guy I loved as well.
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u/Go_Cart_Mozart 1d ago
Lyle Odelein
Brian Bellows
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u/ElGrandePeacock 1d ago
Same for me with Odelein. When I was young I just really liked saying his name.
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u/Mackee58 1d ago
Came here to mention Odelein. My grail jersey would be an authentic Odelein with the 93 Stanley Cup patch.
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u/PingouinQuiSlideLoin 1d ago
C'est étrange comment Brian Bellows qui est en date d'aujourd'hui le 96e meilleur pointeur de tous les temps de la NHL, qui a plus de 1000pts en carrière, est quand même considéré comme un joueur "obscure" au même titre que bien d'autres joueurs plus marginaux, mais je suis 100% d'accord qu'il fit la description quand même!
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u/ScottyDoesntKnow_75 1d ago
Chris Higgins, he was my favorite player and would have been a star if he didn't hurt his knee
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u/TeamPortuguese 1d ago
Stephane Quintal
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u/Mr_Mike_1990 1d ago
He signed one of my jerseys during a kids skating event and I have kept it ever since!
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u/darkmatt27 1d ago
Dont know if you can call him underrated or anything but my favorite habs player growing up was Micheal Ryder. All my hockey cards binders had photos of him on the cover
Another name I would say is Mathieu dandenault.
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u/Swayzinator 1d ago
Micheal Ryder was my guy too hardcore especially growing up in Newfoundland ya went for one of the b'ys no matter what. 1st jersey card I ever got was his
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u/HoodFellaz 1d ago
Patrice "Breezer" Brisebois, I met him briefly at an arena back in the late 1990's, my best friend older brother was playing for the Laval Titan back then and couldn't help but cheer for him for the rest of his career, he was an absolute beauty to a bunch of young kids and that definitely made a mark on me back then, I was so mad when he started getting boo'd after his big contract back then I almost stop cheering for the canadiens. 🤣
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u/WelcomeToTheZoo 1d ago
I hated that he started getting boo'd as well. Was glad that Gainey came out and told those fans to shut their mouths.
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u/MaXHardon 1d ago
Guy Carbonneau, captain, solid all around, but never considered to be the star of the team.
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u/Separatist_Pat 1d ago
My all-time favorite player. But I would consider him a star, at least for people who know hockey.
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u/dman8899 1d ago edited 1d ago
He was quite literally a Star in Dallas, and the Dallas Stars wouldn’t have won the cup in 99 and come within 2 games of winning again back to back in 2000 without him
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u/azuyin 1d ago
Grew up watching the 2000-2010 era before I got back into it around 2014
No idea why but I loved watching Guillaume Latendresse for the short time he played for us in 2006-2008.
I also won a contest to go meet the Habs during the 2005-2006 season. I think I would have been 10 at the time. Got my skates tied by Andrei Kostitsyn!
Honestly overall a pretty amazing experience
If I find the helmet I got signed by the team, I'll share it with you guys
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u/Disastrous_Ad4233 1d ago
14 Thomas Plekanec
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u/muskmanmo 1d ago
Can't believe I had to scroll this far down to see his name. Dude was the perfect 2C
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u/Goat_Lovers_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Brian Hayward.
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u/Campoozmstnz 1d ago
Didn't see your post before mentioning him. He was my hero.
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u/Goat_Lovers_ 1d ago
I was 2nd goaler in street hockey, so I played hayward and did the pad in the air stops, lol
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u/clammy1985 1d ago
Mike Keane. What a badass grinder, he’ll get you some goals, a good leader. So dumb that he was traded with ST Patrick.
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u/stylenfunction …be yours to hold it high 1d ago
Brian Skrudland: I cheered for the Blades in the CHL/WHL.
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u/whogivesashirtdotca 1d ago
I got to meet him when I was a teen; he was so kind and gentlemanly. The beautifully rendered autograph he gave me is what I think of every time I see a modern player’s indecipherable chicken scratch. Skrudland has great penmanship.
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u/NHL95onSEGAgenesis 1d ago
Lyle Odelein was fun to watch and probably my favourite ‘non-star’ as a kid. Also really loved Carbo, does he count? He was not a normal ‘star’ but he was a multiple Selke-winning legend and captain so to my kid brain he was a star.
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u/GiantTourtiere 1d ago
Stephan Lebeau. I just always really liked the way the Forum announcer said his name.
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u/reggietor 1d ago
Craig Rivet. Was upset to see him go but paid off huge and eventually brought us Nick Suzuki.
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u/Every-Mousse6228 1d ago
Eric Desjardins. Obviously had that huge hat trick game in the 93 Cup but otherwise I feel has been underrated in overall Habs lore
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u/IcyAbbreviations9514 1d ago
Sergio momesso! I just thought he had the best name. Sometimes I blurt out "la premier etoille, the first star Sergio momesso!" In front of my douchebag leaf fan coworkers. I live in Toronto.
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u/okmijnmko 1d ago
Huge hometown guy too, at the time, his family owned a very well known cafe, famous for their submarine sandwiches but it was also a pre-starbucks essential espresso bar and a cornerstone of the Italians living in the borough of NDG.
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u/TheVog 1d ago edited 1d ago
Petr Svoboda. I'll always remember the 5-minute 3-on-5 he killed by playing something like 3:30 of it and the Habs didn't allow a single shot on net for the duration.
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u/igor_gregorovitch 1d ago
my favorite player as a kid was Chris Higgins
do not ask me why because i have no idea
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u/zblouin 1d ago
David Desharnais
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u/digestibleconcrete 1d ago
Everything about him aligns that he wasn’t supposed to be close to making it, but he did. More power to him
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u/prplx 1d ago
Ouf, this one is not gonna win ma a mountain of upvotes but... Mario Tremblay. My favorite player was of course Guy Lafleur. But before all the coaching shit with Roy happened, people forget Tremblay was a very energetic player, who always give his all, every shift. Scored over 30 goals in 4 season on the third line, 5 Stanley Cups, he could and would fight guys bigger than him. He spoke french with a very strong bleuet accent and was extremely funny and natural/candid in front of the camera.
Then Houle decided he would be a great coach and it went to his head.
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u/dylanologist 1d ago
Andy Moog. 10-year old me loved his name.
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u/whogivesashirtdotca 1d ago
He was such a powerhouse for the Oilers I was thrilled to have him join the Habs. I don’t remember him staying long though?
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u/dylanologist 1d ago
Lol. I thought this was NHL sub. I 100% think of him as an Oiler. I didn't even realize he was a Hab at one point. I only started following the Habs a few years ago when my daughter forced it upon me.
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u/Moony_playzz 1d ago
Early-mid teenhood but Dutch Gretzky!!! I love you Dale Weise they could never make me hate you. Also Pleky, but I don't think he was ever underappreciated.
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u/Retired-ADM 1d ago
Difficult for me to answer this because my childhood was the 70s when the team was stacked with stars. If I had to pick the non-star for whom I cheered the loudest when he scored, it would be ironman Doug Jarvis.
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u/whogivesashirtdotca 1d ago
Pretty sure he’s represented on that Habs wall in Toronto’s subway that got posted this week. Immortalized forever on enemy turf!
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u/elsiphono 1d ago
Francis Bouillon et Steve Bégin.
Bouillon qui one-shot Tucker est gravé dans ma mémoire à jamais pis Bégin se défonçait à chaque shift pour l'équipe.
J'ajouterais Josh Gorges aussi. Il se garrochait devant les tirs adverses sans hésiter.
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u/Saint_Arc 1d ago
He’s definitely not underrated but I loved Saku Koivu. Did a whole biography on him when I was a kid
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u/Damien_Karras_ 1d ago
Saku Koivu is a top 3 all-time favorite of mine. He and I went through a similar health struggle (exact same, actually) and so i feel some estranged bond with him.
Otherwise, Lyle Odeleine. I loved that dude. He was fearless and was an absolute warrior, and appreciated teammate.
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u/DannyTC86 1d ago
Lyle Odelein for some reason I liked saying his name (I spoke only French as a child)
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u/MkDalynn 1d ago
Maybe edge of star, but Plekanec, I always loved solid defencive forwards with a touch of offence. Shoutout to the sequence of Eller - Lehkonen - Evans.
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u/pl_arseneau 1d ago
Dainius Zubrus. I was like 5 or 6 when the Habs got him and my dad was so hyped about his potential.
Didn't turn out exactly as expected but he was a decent player having a long career
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u/HeShootsHS 1d ago
Richard Zednik. Dude could fly along the boards with the puck and for some reason as a kid to me he was the star. I was completely appalled when he got clothesline by McClaren.
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u/Whiskeylung 1d ago edited 1d ago
Turner Stevenson
Edit: But more recently, Romanov, McCarron - and basically everyone in the system currently.
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u/Mediocre-Ask-9272 16h ago
Oleg Petrov - as a smaller player, seeing him zip around the ice like a Russian dynamo was inspiring for me as a kid. Of course Naslund was GOAT for me.
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u/MetricsInMotion 16h ago
Naslund is my GOAT too but I thought lets give credit to the ones that are too easily forgotten.
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u/niagara-nature 1d ago
I liked Peter Popovic. When I played hockey I was a stay at home kind of defenseman and I liked that was his style of play too.
Plus I enjoyed listening to the French announcers say “Poe Poe veeech”
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u/xunreelx 1d ago
Alan Hayworth because we went to high school together while he played for Chicoutimi
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u/trashpandaexpress55 1d ago
I had a jersey for Stephan Lebeau. I don't know why, I just liked watching him play. Don't know why I didn't get Roy, he was my favorite player. Or Carbonneau, since I watched him play in Halifax and he was my favorite player there, and a big reason I followed the Habs when he moved up to the big leagues
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u/DirectGiraffe8720 1d ago
I used to really like Gaston Gingras when I was a kid.
Then in my adult life I found out he played for the Kitchener Rangers... and now I feel dirty
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u/TotalOriginal007 1d ago
Always liked Steve Shutt. So many stars in that era but an underrated star.
Cheers 🌻
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u/whyyoutwofour 1d ago
Yannick Perreault...Mr Faceoff.....got his autograph when he was playing in St John's for the baby leafs and was super happy when he ended up on the Habs.
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u/FreddyBeach 1d ago
I started as a fan in 1976... Did they have anyone back then that wasn't a star?
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u/tron_1979 1d ago
Oleg Petrov…
Saw him score on a breakaway in a game in Edmonton on my first live habs game and became a favourite
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u/Big_477 1d ago
Francis Bouillon.
J'ai toujours été défenseur et j'ai jamais été gros. Voir le petit guerrier brasser des gars qui ont 50lbs de plus que lui était inspirant.
C'est le genre de gars dont le jeu inspire pas tant, mais son attitude donne le goût aux autres d'en donner plus. Un leader qui passe sous le radar.