Stan Mikita: The Legend and the Hockey Stick

When Stan Mikita broke into the NHL in 1959, there were only six teams and the competition was intense. Listed at 5′-9″, 169 pounds, small players had to learn to be pushed around or be banished from the league. Mikita never backed down from confrontation and even instigated many. Consequently, from 1960-65 he was not only one of the NHL’s highest scorers but also one of the most penalized. During that period he amassed 560 penalty minutes, placing him fourth in the league.

Mikita is still ranked 15th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. He was able to tally 1,467 points over his 22-year career. He also had 1,264 minutes in the penalty box. Mikita noticed he was spending too much time in the penalty box when his two-year daughter asked, “Why does Daddy always sit by himself? Why doesn’t he sit with his friends like Uncle Kenny (Wharram) and Uncle Bobby (Hull).” It affected Mikita so much that he cut down his penalty minutes from an average of 114 minutes a season to 58 during the 1965-66 campaign. Then, in the next season, he cut it down to just 12 minutes. He realized he wasn’t helping his team while sitting in the penalty box, so his child’s innocent question changed his playing style. It worked, since that same 1966-67 season, he set a career-high with 97 points.

Stan Mikita had a Terrific Season

In that 1966-67 season, Mikita won three prestigious awards. He captured the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, the Hart Trophy, and the Art Ross trophy. He was the only player to take home those three trophies in one season. winning the Lady Byng given every year to the most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly player surprised Mikita the most. “I guarantee you, if you had placed a wager during my first few seasons in the NHL that I would someday be hailed for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, you would have gotten some really long odds.”

Bobby Hull, his close teammate called Mikita, “the greatest pound-for-pound hockey player who ever lived.” He also added that Mikita was “tougher than a night in jail.”

The Curved Stick… by Pure Accident

Makita discovered by pure accident that a curved stick gave him a distinct advantage when shooting the puck. During a scrimmage early in his career, he was checked into the door to the bench and his stick got caught in the crack of the doorway. Since he was skating, he retrieved his stick by yanking it out. What he discovered was the blade was slightly bent. It developed a curve similar to a banana. He didn’t care to go down 22 stairs to retrieve a new stick, so he used the damaged one.

He noticed when he took a shot with the stick the puck sounded different and came off at different angles and with more speed. Well, that hooked Mikita into attempting how to replicate the curved stick. He tried running the stick blade under hot water and actually wedging it under a door. In the end, what worked best was a blowtorch. Once the curved blade was invented, players like Mikita had to take into consideration that their backhand shot would suffer. The unpredictable path of shots from a curved stick seemed to baffle goalies.

And one goalie, in particular, New York Rangers Ed Giacomin made an official complaint to the NHL about the sticks. Consequently, in 1970 the league made a rule that limited sticks to no more than a half-inch curve from the heel to the tow. That same rule is still in place today.

On a Personal Note

This writer actually grew up in Chicago and attended some Blackhawk games. The excitement to the likes of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita never grew old. The legendary smoke-filled Chicago Stadium is still planted in my memory. Watching Hawks’ games on TV was a must for my brother and me.

Those were the good ‘ole days…