A Piece of Minor League History: The Troy Uncle Sam's Trojans

BOULDER, Colorado -- My friend Andrew hails from Lake George, NY, and he likes to make fun of some of the more run-down cities upstate, like Troy, which he and his brother like to refer to it as "Troylet." So I took notice of this little item in the back of this week's Hockey News:

Hometown Hockey: Troy, NY

This small town in upstate New York may not be on everyone's radar, but the hockey lineage there is as fascinating as anywhere else. The seminal local team was the Troy Uncle Sam's Trojans, an Eastern League squad that lasted just one season (1952-53), but has a great story behind it. The Uncle Sam character has roots in Troy, where the stars-and-stripes icon was apparently based on local meatpacker Samuel Wilson. When Troy got a team, it was only natural Uncle Sam be a part of it. Locals currently cheer the NCAA's RPI Engineers, whose alumni include Adam Oates.

Other than for its name, the club was not very notable. Center Art Stone, who would later star for the Ft. Wayne Komets of the IHL, was the lone standout for the Trojans that season, scoring 52 goals and 55 assists for a club that finished in last place. Right winger Vic Howe managed a cup of coffee in the NHL, playing in 33 games for the New York Rangers scattered over three seasons, but defenseman Bill Moe became a Rangers regular for five seasons, playing in 231 NHL games.

The Eastern League was also the home of the Johnstown Jets, the team that was the inspiration for the film "Slap Shot" (the name was changed to the also alliterative Charlestown Chiefs of the Federal League in the movie). My hometown New Haven Blades played in the rough-and-tumble EHL, though they did not join the league until it was reformed in 1954, after the Trojans had folded. New Haven's longest continuously-operating hockey franchise was the Eagles (1926-51), who played in the Canadian American Hockey League and then the American Hockey League. They were succeeded briefly by the New Haven Tomahawks (1951-52) and the Nutmegs (1952-53) before the Blades came town and stayed until the EHL folded in 1974.

If you would like to buy some Trojans merchandise, check out this website, which sells t-shirts with all manner of logos from defunct minor league franchises. You should also check out the Hockey Database's great collection of team logos.

The Hockey News Scoops The New York Times

BOULDER, Colorado -- In their infinite wisdom, The New York Times chose to not print my letter in the previous post. Last week in The Hockey News, however, Ken Campbell wrote a column titled "War for Russians Will Stay Cold" (March 25, 2008 issue) in which he basically makes all the same arguments that I did - small rinks, small revenues, and a lack of organization make the Russian league unable to compete for talent in the NHL.

I guess great minds think alike. I guess I should have sent that letter to a reputable sports publication.

Maybe Kevin Lowe Isn't So Dumb?

BOULDER, Colorado -- I was pretty harsh on Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe for signing winger Dustin Penner to a US$21.25 million, five-year offer sheet this summer (you can read the post here). But in their most recent issue (October 23), The Hockey News offers some compelling evidence that Lowe's move maybe wasn't so dumb after all.

For years, the NHL's salary structure foolishly rewarded players for past, rather than future, performance; as a result, the highest paid players in the league were aging stars well past their prime (for an example of this, see the 1997-2004 New York Rangers). Only time will tell if Lowe's gamble on Penner will pay off - he currently has two points through eight games for the Oilers - but historically, you're better off spending your money on younger players than on the likes of unrestricted free agent Peter Forsberg.

Here's the evidence from The Hockey News:

"Consider the fate of the NHL's top 100 all-time scorers:

- 86 percent of their 40-goal seasons occurred when the players were under 30.
- Only 24 percent of the time did these players reach 80 points in a season after the age of 30.
- 61 percent of the point leaders and 52 percent of the goal leaders set their career high in points or goals by the age of 25.

Meantime, the majority of players at the top of the NHL scoring lists are in their 20s. Over the past 20 years, 85 percent of players in the top 10 were 30 or under - and only six times has a player over 34 finished in the top 10."

And those six seasons belong to Wayne Gretzky, Joe Sakic (each with two), Ron Francis and Mario Lemieux. So unless someone like that is up for grabs, save your money and spend it on some youngsters (like Tampa's Brad Richards). And this will only get easier to do with the age of free agency set to fall to 27.

Although Lowe was excoriated for inflating salaries with the Penner deal, maybe he has set the NHL is the right direction towards the true (young) stars getting the biggest rewards, rather than wasting millions on aging underachievers. A look down the salary listings for this season shows the trend is in that direction in the salary cap era.

Bandy Gets Mention in Hockey News Special

BOULDER, Colorado -- Our beloved bandy got a brief mention in a special publication from The Hockey News, "Sixty Moments That Changed the Game." The issue counts down the most important moments and developments in hockey in the sixty years since The Hockey News hit newsstands for the first time in 1947.

The reference comes in Moment #6 - the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union that opened the eyes of the world the dominance of the Soviets. Despite losing the series 4-3-1, the Russians proved themselves capable of icing a team that could compete with the brightest stars of the NHL.

As author Denis Gibbons notes, "The Soviets adopted many of their tactics from the game of bandy, which is played with a stick, ball and skates on an ice-covered soccer field." As I always say, there is no better training for "box hockey" (a term Russians use for traditional ice hockey referring to the confinement of the boards and glass) than skating for 90-minutes straight, 100 yards end to end, when it's -25F outside. After that, a four-minute penalty kill is a cakewalk. And the likes of Esposito, Orr, Henderson and Clarke don't seem so intimidating, especially since most of those guys were on hot dog and beer diets back in those days.