St. Louis Blues’ One-Hit Wonders

The biggest piece of criteria I feel needs to be established is position, mainly with the forwards, who can sometimes play either on the wing or at center. When it comes to determining position, I am simply going to use the position listed on the player’s Hockey Reference page. For example, Keith Tkachuk could play center and wing, but his Hockey Reference page lists him as a left winger. If Big Walt were to make this list (and he definitely is not), I would consider him only as a left winger.

Speaking of left wing, let’s start there.

Left Wing: Vitali Prokhorov

After injuries limited Vitali Prokhorov to just 26 games in 1992-93, he broke out the following season with 15 goals in 55 games. He then led the Blues in scoring during the 1994-95 preseason. The Russian forward was seemingly on his way to another strong season. What could go wrong?

Two words. Mike Keenan. He became the Blues’ head coach starting in 1994. Despite leading the team in scoring in the preseason, Prokhorov was a healthy scratch in eight of the team’s first ten games. Furthermore, he was sent to the minor leagues. Prokhorov only played in two NHL games that season and never played in one again after that.

Why It Is Interesting

Not only is Prokhorov a one-hit wonder, but he is a classic case of “what if?” Instead of seeing what his career could have been, he is instead another chapter in the bizarre coaching career of Keenan.

Center: Eric Boguniecki

Eric Boguniecki was drafted in 1993 and showed scoring potential in the minor leagues. After 13 games and a single goal between 1999 and 2002, the New Haven native got a full-time role during the 2002-03 season. Playing in 80 games, he scored 22 goals and recorded 49 points.

Boguniecki was never the same player after that season. He only played in another 85 NHL games, recording just 26 points. He did showcase his offensive skills in the minor leagues, but never replicated his 2002-03 season. Boguniecki ended up with just 34 goals in his NHL career. 22 of them came in his one-hit season.

Why It Is Interesting

Boguniecki’s one-hit season was followed by a shoulder injury limiting him to 27 games in 2003-04. Furthermore, the entire 2004-05 season was lost to the lockout. Could the time away from hockey contribute to why a player with offensive potential suddenly stopped scoring?

Right Wing: Jim Campbell

Jim Campbell signed with the Blues before the 1996-97 season with just 16 games and two goals on his resume. The Massachusetts native proceeded to have a breakout season, scoring 23 goals in 68 games, finishing third in Calder Trophy voting. Furthermore, he followed that up with 22 goals the next season and recorded 10 points in 10 playoff games.

After that, Campbell only scored 14 goals the rest of his career. He played for four other teams, but could never find his one-hit magic.

Why It Is Interesting

Campbell is a one-hit wonder who shares a similar story with Prokhorov: the Keenan factor. Unlike Prokhorov, however, Campbell saw increased playing time under Keenan. The head coach used Campbell to replace Brett Hull on the power-play unit whenever the two butted heads. When Keenan left, so did his bizarre strategy with Campbell and Hull. Campbell did have his second strong season after Keenan left, so while his story may not have been all about how Keenan used him, it is an interesting story all the same.

Left Defense: Larry Sacharuk

At the time of being acquired by the Blues from the New York Rangers, Larry Sacharuk had only scored three goals in 31 games. In his first season wearing the Blue Note, the Saskatoon native scored 20 goals. At the time, he was only the third defenseman in NHL history to score 20 goals. His 14 road goals remain a Blues’ record today.

Due to a surplus of defensemen on the roster, Sacharuk was traded back to the Rangers that summer. He only played in 44 games the rest of his career, scoring six goals.

Why It Is Interesting

Sacharuk sustained a retina injury in February of his first season back in the Big Apple. While the defenseman has stated that the injury impacted the rest of his career, he was struggling to score before that point. What went wrong?

What also makes this interesting is that this is yet another example of a Blue going to the Rangers and failing to find previous success. Sammy Blais had shown some offensive potential before being traded to the Rangers, but did not score a single goal with the team (he was traded back to the Blues and immediately scored in his first game back). Furthermore, Vladimir Tarasenko, a consistent 30-plus goal scorer, only scored eight goals after being traded to the Rangers, but once he left, posted 23 goals the next season.

Perhaps going from the Blue Note to the “Broadway Blueshirts” is not a good career path for a player.

Right Defense: Erik Johnson

The Blues have only picked first overall once, and they picked Erik Johnson in 2006. In his rookie season, the Minnesota native recorded 33 points in 69 games. Not too shabby for a rookie season on a rebuilding team. He was even invited to participate in the “Young Stars” game during All-Star Weekend.

However, a golf cart accident in the offseason resulted in a torn ACL and MCL (from ‘Hockey News: Erik Johnson’s Bad Knee, Buzz Hargrove’s New Job, NHL.com’s Savvy Look,’ The Province, 9/24/08). He missed the entire 2008-09 season. The following season, in an effort to shake up a struggling roster, then-general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong traded Johnson and Jay McClement to the Colorado Avalanche for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk.

Why It Is Interesting

Multiple things make this interesting. For starters, both parties ended up doing just fine in the long run. Johnson became the player he was profiled as with the Avalanche, being named an All-Star in 2015 and winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. The Blues, on the other hand, became regular contenders, with Shattenkirk becoming one of the top offensive defensemen in the league.

The more interesting aspect of this is who was drafted after Johnson in 2006. Jordan Staal went next to the Pittsburgh Penguins, followed by Johnathan Toews to the Chicago Blackhawks. Even though the Blues managed to flip Johnson in a franchise-altering trade, it is impossible not to think of an alternate universe where the organization drafts Toews. What makes this even more intriguing is the fact that Toews went to the rival Blackhawks, winning the Stanley Cup three times.

Goaltender: Brent Johnson

Brent Johnson only played in 30 or more games four times in his 12-year career. Three of them came in St. Louis. After a strong rookie season, the goaltender posted a 34-20-4 record alongside a .902 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.18 goals-against average (GAA) during the 2001-02 season. Johnson’s biggest moment came in the first round of the playoffs, when he shut out the Blackhawks in three straight games, helping the Blues win the series.

After another strong season in 2002-03, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes. He continued to be a reliable goaltender for the rest of his career, but he never got close to his 2001-02 dominance.

Why It Is Interesting

The Blues have had multiple great goalies in their history. Glenn Hall, Curtis Joseph, and Jordan Binnington are just a few of them. Yet, the team has sometimes gotten amazing performances from unlikely sources. Johnson is just one of many goalies to emerge for the team. Chris Mason, Ville Husso, and even Binnington’s arrival have come out of nowhere to help the team.

Final Thoughts

There are many Blues’ one-hit wonders we did not get into today. Lefley and Babych are probably the most famous ones, and very few can forget Brad Boyes’ 43-goal season. However, I want to highlight some of the more interesting cases in team history — the players who truly came out of nowhere to be a one-hit wonder.