I was watching a video of Kevin Stevens’ US Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech yesterday. Hearing him reminisce about his career instantly brought back a ton of memories.
In his prime, “Artie” was a sight to behold, a 230-pound freight train on skates with silk-purse hands. During a four-season span at the outset of the 1990s, Stevens racked up a staggering total of 190 goals, including back-to-back seasons of 54 and 55 goals!
He was, in a word…awesome. Arguably the game’s premier power forward in an era dominated by them.
It ties into a thought that was banging around in my noggin a couple days ago.
To wit, where have all the power forwards gone?
I’m talking about guys like Stevens who could beat you on the ice and in the alley, to channel Conn Smythe’s infamous and immortal quote.
Back in the ‘70s, ’80s and ‘90s, it seemed like every team had at least a couple of ‘em. We had two of the best in Stevens and Rick Tocchet, who scored 48 goals for us in 1992-93 while piling up 252 minutes in the sin bin.
