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Bernie Federko
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1956) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bernard Allan Federko (born May 12, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1976 through 1990.
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Early life
Federko was born on May 12, 1956, in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan[1] to parents Nick and Natalie.[2] He grew up alongside his twin older brothers Don and Ron,[3] and his younger brother Ken.[4] As he is of Ukrainian descent, his family attended the local Ukrainian Catholic Church and Federko served as an altar boy.[2]
Playing career
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Amateur
Growing up in Saskatchewan, Federko played midget and minor hockey for Foam Lake and nearby town teams. He competed with the Foam Lake Flyers of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association in 1972–73 before joining the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL).[5] Despite being too young to join the Blades, Federko's local priest convinced Blades head coach Jack McLeod to let Federko try out for the team.[6][7] While McLeod planneed on cutting him numerous times, Federko impressed him enough to be named to their 1973–74 roster.[7][8] As his family wished to save money, Federko was also playing with skates two sizes too big for him.[6]
As a rookie with the Blades, Federko was placed on the third line with fellow Ukrainian Canadians Ron Valade and Neil Hawryliw. He scored 16 goals and 20 assists through his first 36 games of the 1973–74 season.[8] However, he soon experienced a scoring slump and went 17 games without a goal through February and March.[9] Despite this, Federko finished his rookie season with 22 goals and 50 points.[10] Before his sophomore season with the Blades, Federko completed his high school education at E. D. Feehan Catholic High School. He then enrolled in three first-year courses at the University of Saskatchewan during the 1974–75.[7]
Federko significantly improved upon his rookie season, finishing with 39 goals and 68 assists.[1] He recorded his first WCHL hat-trick on November 12, 1974, against the Regina Pats.[11] However, he subsequently missed two weeks of game play due to a broken hand, slightly dislocated shoulder, and a strained knee.[12] Despite this, he led the team with 44 points through their first 28 games.[7] By February, he ranked sixth in the WCHL with 29 goals and 52 assists.[13] Federko recorded his third WCHL hat-trick on March 9 to help the Blades clinch the Eastern Division Championship title.[14] He finished the season with 39 goals and 68 assists as he helped the Blades qualify for the WHL Championship against the New Westminster Bruins.[5]
Federko set numerous league and franchise records in his final season with the Blades, including breaking Bobby Clarke's WCHL record.[15] On March 9, 1976, Federko recorded five points against the Edmonton Oil Kings to tie Bobby Clarke WCHL single-season scoring record.[16] He also broke the Blades' single-season assist record set by Orest Kindrachuk.[17] By the end of March, Federko broke Clarke's record for most points in a season with 72 goals and 115 assists for 187 points.[18] He subsequently ended the season with numerous single-season records for the Blades, including their all-time single-season goals, assists, and points. In the playoffs, he set new franchise and league records for assists, points, power-play goals, and short-handed goals.[15][19] He also tied Ralph Klassen's single-game points record after recording five assists against the Kamloops Chiefs.[20] As a result of his accomplishments, Federko was named the WCHL's most valuable player.[21]
Professional
Following his career-best season, Federko was drafted 7th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft.[22] He was also drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1976 WHA amateur draft.[23] Federko chose to forgo the WHL and signed a four-year NHL contract with the Blues in early July.[24] During the offseason, Federko broke a small bone in his foot but recovered in time for the Blues' training camp.[25] However, Blues head coach Emile Francis still used him sparingly during their exhibition games.[26] Federko was subsequently assigned to the Blues' Central Hockey League (CHL) affiliate, the Kansas City Blues, for the 1976–77 season.[27] Part of the reason for this assignment was due to Francis' unwillingness to play rookies.[28]
Upon joining the Kansas City Blues, Federko was placed on a line with Brian Sutter and right winger Rick Bourbonnais.[29] He recorded his first professional hat-trick on October 27 while with the Kansas City Blues.[30] By November 11, he ranked second in league scoring with eight goals and 12 assists.[31] He was called up to the NHL level on December 20 and made his NHL debut on December 22 against the Colorado Rockies.[5][32] Federko played five games at the NHL level before being returned to the CHL.[28] Despite missing a few games, Federko continued to lead the CHL in scoring upon his return and recorded 60 points through his first 25 CHL games.[33]
Due to the St. Louis Blues' losing record, Federko, Sutter, and Bourbonnais were called up to the NHL level in February and remained on a line together.[34][29] Federko scored his first NHL goal and assist on February 3, 1977, against the Boston Bruins.[5] He recorded his first NHL hat-trick two days later against the Buffalo Sabres on February 5.[35] Later that month, Federko recorded his second career NHL hat-trick in a 4–1 win over the Washington Capitals.[36][37] He recorded eight goals through his first eight games and began to be used on the team's power-play.[34] Despite finishing the regular season in the NHL, Federko was named the CHL's Rookie of the Year.[38]
On March 19, 1988, Federko became the 22nd NHL player to record 1000 career points. After he had a poor season as a captain in 1988–89, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings with Tony McKegney for Adam Oates and Paul MacLean.[39] In Detroit, Federko re-united with former Blues head coach Jacques Demers, but he had to play behind Steve Yzerman and did not get his desired ice time. After his lowest point output since his rookie season, Federko decided to retire after the 1989–90 season, having played exactly 1,000 NHL games with his final game on April 1, 1990.[40]
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Post-NHL career
Less than a year after retiring as a player, the Blues retired number 24 in his honour on March 16, 1991.[41][42] Federko was eventually inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002, the first Hall of Famer to earn his credentials primarily as a Blue.[43][44]
Following his retirement, Federko became a television colour commentator and studio analyst for Bally Sports Midwest during Blues broadcasts.[45][46] He was the head coach/general manager of the St. Louis Vipers roller hockey team of the Roller Hockey International for the 1993 and 1994 seasons.[47]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
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Awards
- Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy (WCHL leading scorer) - 1976
- Named to the WCHL First All-Star Team (1976)
- Named WCHL MVP (1976)
- Named to the CHL Second All-Star Team (1977)
- Won Ken McKenzie Trophy as CHL Rookie of the Year (1977)
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game (1980, 1981)
- Named NHL Player of the Week (For week ending December 3, 1984)
Records
- St. Louis Blues team record for career games played (927)
- St. Louis Blues team record for career assists (721)
- St. Louis Blues team record for career points (1073)
- Shares St. Louis Blues team record for assists in one game (5 on February 27, 1988)
- St. Louis Blues team record for career playoff assists (66)
- First NHL player to get 50 assists in 10 consecutive seasons.
See also
References
External links
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