This Week in Chicago Blackhawks History: Debuts, first goals, milestones & more

It is time for our weekly Chicago Blackhawks history lesson with our resident historian, Greg Boysen. Let’s strap into the CHGO time machine and enjoy this look back at some big moments from years past.  

Oct. 6

1927 – Phil Maloney was born in Ottawa, ON. The center was acquired from the New York Rangers on Dec. 21, 1958, for Ray Cyr and cash. Over two seasons, he played the final 46 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks and scored eight goals and 14 points.

1955 – Glenn Hall was in net for the Detroit Red Wings’ 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks. This was the first of 502 consecutive starts for Hall, by far the longest such streak by a goalie in NHL history and one that will never be broken. He started every game from this date until Nov. 10, 1962, when a back injury forced him out of the lineup. The first 140 games of this historic streak came with Detroit before he was traded to Chicago, where he played 362 straight games.

1970 – Steve Bancroft was born in Toronto, ON. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected the defenseman in the first round (21^st overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Eventually, he was traded to the Blackhawks by the Boston Bruins on Jan. 8, 1992, for an 11^th-round pick. He played just one game during the 1992-93 season. On Feb. 21, 1993, Bancroft was traded to the Winnipeg Jets to reacquire Troy Murray.

1982 – Steve Larmer scored the first goal of his NHL career in the Blackhawks’ 3-3 tie with the Maple Leafs. He also assisted on the other two goals, all coming in the first period. This was the first of 884 straight games for Larmer, the sixth-longest “iron man” streak in NHL history.

1988 – Another all-time great in Blackhawks’ history, Jeremy Roenick, made his NHL debut. He was held off the score sheet in a 2-2 tie versus the Rangers.

1990 – Eight years after scoring his first goal, Larmer became just the fourth player in team history to score 300. Career goals 299 and 300 and an assist came in a 5-2 victory over the rival St. Louis Blues.

1993 – The Florida Panthers took to the ice for the first time at skated to a 4-4 tie with the Blackhawks at the Chicago Stadium. Scott Mellanby scored the first goal in franchise history. Roger Neilson made NHL history by becoming the first head coach of six different teams. Chris Chelios led the way with two goals and an assist. Roenick scored the other two goals, while Joe Murphy picked up three helpers.

2001 – Michigan State hosted Michigan in an outdoor game at Spartan Stadium. A total of 74,544 fans packed the football stadium for the tilt between bitter rivals. The massive crowd set the world record, at the time, for the largest ever at a hockey game. The game ended in a 3-3 tie, with future Blackhawks great Duncan Keith lighting the lamp for Michigan State.

Oct. 7

1959 – Stan Mikita scored his first NHL goal in a 5-2 win over the Rangers. Bobby Hull had the lone assist on the memorable marker after Mikita picked up an apple on Hull’s goal earlier in the game.

1976 – Seventeen years to the day when he scored his first goal, Mikita becomes the third player in NHL history to reach 1,300 points in his career. The milestone came in the form of a goal in the Blackhawks’ 6-4 victory at the Blues.

1992 – The Tampa Bay Lightning made their NHL debut by beating the Blackhawks 703 at Expo Hall. Chris Kontos was the star of the night with four goals, while defenseman Joe Reekie picked up four assists. Cam Russell, Brian Noonan, and Michel Goulet scored for the Blackhawks.

2000 – Alexei Zhamnov scored a power-play goal for his career 500th point during a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Oct. 8

1935 – Art Stratton was born in Winnipeg, MB. The Rangers traded him for cash before the 1961-62 season. He spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues before he was claimed off waivers by the Red Wings on June 4, 1964. One year later, he was traded back to the Blackhawks as part of a four-team deal that included the Maple Leafs and Rangers. Stratton played two pointless games during the 1964-65 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed the forward in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

1957 – Glenn Hall earned his 18th career shutout, and first with the Blackhawks, in a 1-0 blanking of the Maple Leafs. Ted Lindsay scored the game’s only goal.

1990 – David Runblad was born in Lycksele, Sweden. The defenseman was a first-round pick (17^th overall) of the Blues in 2009. They traded him to the Ottawa Senators a year later for a first-round pick that turned out to be Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blackhawks acquired Rundblad on March 4, 2014, from the Phoenix Coyotes for a second-round pick. He had three goals and 16 points in 63 games over the next three seasons. The Coyotes used their pick to take Christian Dvorak.

1999 – The Blackhawks acquired defenseman Sylvain Cote from the Maple Leafs for a second-round draft pick. He played 45 games for the team, scoring six goals and 24 points. Toronto used the pick to draft defenseman Karel Pilar, who played 90 NHL games.

2002 – Zhamnov replaced Tony Amonte as team captain. He was the fourth Russian-born player in NHL history to have a “C” sewn onto his seater.

2003 – The Blackhawks opened their home schedule with a 1-0 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild. This marked the third consecutive home opener in which goaltender Jocelyn Thibault recorded a shutout. Tyler Aranson had the game’s lone goal.

Oct. 9

1905 – Art Townsend was born in Souris, MN. The defenseman played five games for the Blackhawks during the 1926-27 season and did not record a point.

1926 – Al Rollins was born in Vanguard, SK. The Blackhawks acquired the Stanley Cup-winning netminder from the Maple Leafs on Sept. 11, 1952, with Cal Gardner, Ray Hannigan, and Gus Mortson for Harry Lumley. He played 308 games in Chicago and went 81-171-56 with a .908 save percentage (SV%), 3.03 goals-against average, and 17 shutouts. On Feb. 20, 1960, Rollins was traded to the Rangers for Ray Mikulan and cash.

1955 – Greg Vaydik was born in Yellowknife, NT. The Blackhawks drafted the center with the seventh overall pick of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He had no points in his five career NHL games during the 1976-77 season.

1963 – Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante made his debut for the Rangers against the Blackhawks and suffered a 3-1 loss at the old Chicago Stadium. Bill Hay, John McKenzie, and Rob Murphy proved the offense while Hall made 32 saves for the victory.

1976 – Jason Morgan was born in St. John’s, NL. The Blackhawks acquired him and a sixth-round pick on Feb. 24, 2004, from the Calgary Flames for Ville Nieminen. He had a goal and an assist in seven games. The Flames drafted Joseph Fallon, who never played in the NHL.   

1983 – Trevor Daley was born in Toronto, ON. The Blackhawks acquired the veteran defenseman with Ryan Garbutt on July 12, 2015, from the Dallas Stars for Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns. He had six assists in 29 games before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 14, 2015, for Rob Scuderi. Daley spent the next two seasons in Pittsburgh, both of which ended with a Stanley Cup championship.

1999 – Nicolas Beaudin was born in Chateauguay, QC. The Blackhawks took him in the first round (27^th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He has two goals and six points in 24 games of NHL experience. The 23-year-old blueliner will start the season with the Rockford IceHogs.

1999 – Eddie Olczyk became the 139th player in NHL history to play 1,000 games. He hit this milestone in a 3-3 tie with the Coyotes.

Oct. 10

1973 – Jeff Shantz was born in Duchess, AB. He was a second-round pick (36^th overall) of the Blackhawks in 1992. He played the first 312 games of his NHL career in Chicago and scored 36 goals and 116 points. On Oct. 27, 1998, he was traded with Steve Dubinsky to the Flames for Jamie Allison, Erik Andersson, and Marty McInnis.

1979 – The Edmonton Oilers made their NHL debut in Chicago with a 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks. Wayne Gretzky picked up the first of his 2,857 career points with an assist on Kevin Lowe’s goal, the first NHL goal in team history. John Marks had two goals for the Blackhawks, including the game-winner, while Bob Murray had a goal and an assist. Mikita, starting his 22^nd and final season, had the primary assist on Marks’ first goal.

Oct. 10 1979 – Wayne Gretzky made his @NHL debut for the @EdmontonOilers. He notched career assist #1 of 1,963 pic.twitter.com/cgBozDYgmj

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) October 10, 2014

1985 – Rostislav Olesz was born in Bilovec, Czechoslovakia. The left wing was originally taken seventh overall by the Panthers in 2004. He was traded to the Blackhawks for Brian Campbell on June 25, 2011. He played in just six games during the 2011-12 season and did not register a point.

1992 – Jimmy Waite recorded his first NHL shutout as the Blackhawks beat the Blues 3-0. Jocelyn Lemieux, Chelios, and Goulet were the goal scorers. Waite is currently serving as the team’s goaltender coach.

Oct. 11

1980 – Blackhawks legend Denis Savard scored his first NHL goal in a 5-4 win at Montreal Canadiens. This was the first of 473 goals of his Hall of Fame career.

1984 – Olczyk made his NHL debut and scored his first career goal in front of his hometown fans in a 7-3 win over the visiting Red Wings.

1990 – Roenick scored the first hat trick of the 1990-91 season as the Blackhawks beat the Penguins 4-1. This was the second hat trick of his career. He scored 10 in total before he retired; six with the Blackhawks and four with the Coyotes.

Oct. 12

1975 – Tony Esposito recorded his 53rd career shutout to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-0 win over the Canucks at the Chicago Stadium. It was the first of four shutouts during the 1975-76 season. Darcy Rota, Phil Russell, and Marks provided the scoring.

1985 – Carl Soderberg was born in Malmo, Sweden. He had seven goals and 15 points in 34 games during the 2020-21 season before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Josh Dickinson and Ryder Rolston.

1991 – Goulet played in his 900th career NHL game in a 7-2 victory at the Washington Capitals 7-2. He was one of seven different Blackhawks to score that night, with Steve Smith, Mike Hudson, Steve Thomas, Roenick, Noonan, and Adam Creighton.

1993 – Jacob Nilsson was born in Morrum, Sweden. The center appeared in two games for the Blackhawks during the 2018-19 season. After 123 games in the AHL, Nilsson returned to Sweden in 2020 and currently plays with Frolunda HC.

1993 – Jake McCabe was born in Eau Claire, WI. The blueliner is entering his second season with the Blackhawks. He had four goals and 22 points in 75 games last year.

1999 – Philipp Kurashev was born in Munsingen, Switzerland. The forward was drafted in the fourth round (120^th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft with the pick acquired from the Nashville Predators for Ryan Hartman. He has 14 goals and 37 points in 121 NHL games.