Jerome Mrazek. Ever heard of him?
If you are a hockey fan from the 1970s, I suppose you might have. I am a hockey fan from the 1970s, although I was very young then, and I never had to this day.
On Facebook today, I saw a post about him. It's from a Group there that posts about Vintage Goalies. Vintage is a very loose term in that group. If you were drafted, or played, no matter at what level, or how much, you make the group criteria and can be posted about. I know some of the very obscure ones, some of the forgotten ones, and of course, I know the legends like Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante. The Hall of Famers.
Ken Dryden I know of, of course, because he is one of the best ever. I know him also because he played for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s as well as Team Canada in 1972. I was a massive Montreal Canadiens fan back then, as I was born there, grew up in Montreal and lived there until 1978. During Drydens heyday, I was always a massive Montreal fan. A forgotten fact of his career is that he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, the same year as his highly heralded teammate Guy Lafleur debuted. Dryden was just that good, every year he played until he retired. He won 6 Stanley Cups in 8 seasons. For the same team. I don't know of any player at any position who has done that or ever will.
Jerome Mrazek? He was no legend. He never won a game in the NHL, let alone a Stanley Cup. Nope. Never heard of him. Not once until today. He played in one lifetime game for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975, and that's it. So, by anybodys standards, he did not have a professional career of any note. So why did I look him up on the internet after that post? I like to investigate the journey that people take and how that evolves and progresses. His journey interested me. For a couple of reasons.
First off, he has an obscure last name. I have only ever heard it twice in my life. The other time?
I know of Petr Mrazek, who is a current NHL goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks, and played one year for the Toronto Maple Leafs about 3 years ago. Before that, he played for a couple of other NHL teams and was an established veteran. I wondered if they were related. I found no evidence of that, but I trudged on about Jerome Mrazek anyway. I noticed he was drafted in 1971 in Round 8. Mostly that means that you have very little chance to ever make the NHL. There were 105 players in that draft that were picked before him.
Nevertheless, it was the expansion era, and thus lots of spots both in the NHL and WHA, and the minor leagues that feed those leagues. He got his chance.
Mrazek had what one would describe as a Moonlight Graham experience. That is from the movie Bull Durham if you have ever seen it. I will let the clip I post explain that to you. He got one small brief taste then disappeared.
Mrazek played 3 years of college hockey, which was common then when you weren't a highly touted NHL prospect. When that was done, he played one entire year, 50 games, in the minors. The second year he played in the minors again, looks to have been called up as a backup, and got in that one game and gave up a goal in 7 minutes of on ice action. And that was it. Back to the minors, and fade out of sight. Hardly a unique experience than many get, especially when you are drafted that far down the list. Hey, he got an education out of it, and he played an NHL game. Most of us would kill for that experience.
It's not like you can't make it to the big leagues if you are drafted that low. In that same draft, with pick 113, the Minnesota North Stars drafted Mike Antonovich. He was a local Minnesota boy, unlike Mrazek who was from Alberta, Canada, but like Mrazek, also played for the University of Minnesota for 3 years. He then moved on to the new WHA and played with their Minnesota team. From there, he alternated for several years playing both in the WHA and NHL as well as internationally.
Antonovich played 87 total games in the NHL and scored 10 goals. That over many part seasons and for various teams. He more prolifically played 486 games in the WHA and scored 182 goals and almost a point per game over his career. He was a marginal NHL player, and a borderline star in the WHA. He was small and likely that is why he did better in a league with slower and smaller players. The NHL generally has the fastest skaters and bigger, more rugged players. There are exceptions to that rule, but generally, that is how it works out.
Also in that same draft, Guy Lafleur was taken first overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Unlike Mrazek, who was likely an afterthought pick and Antonovich who was a longshot prospect type, Lafleur was considered a lead pipe cinch superstar. Both a future star and immediate impact player. I will put a link to the story of what Montreal GM Sam Pollack did to get Lafleur, when Montreal didn't actually have the first overall pick that year, but safe to say, they wanted him and had to have him. It's a very good example of how it's just as important to have sharp, forward looking and intelligent management to go along with the high end talent that executes the tasks they are chosen for. They both have an important role to play in any organization.
As it turns out, Lafleur was everything and more that the Montreal Canadiens wanted. Also clear was that he wasn't that immediately. It took him 3 years or so to blossom into what he became. You could argue this point, but for me, Guy Lafleur is easily one of the 10 greatest players ever in the NHL. I'd say top 5, but that is very debatable. Nobody would argue the impact he had though. Without him, Montreal doesn't win all the Stanley Cups they did while he was there. You could possibly say the same about Ken Dryden. And about one more player the Canadiens took in that draft.
Was that other player Chuck Arnason? Murray Wilson? No, it wasn't one of those, although the Canadiens also took both of them in the First round, Arnason 7th overall, Wilson 11th overall.
Arnason was a star in his last year of Junior hockey, scoring 79 goals and 84 assists the year before Montreal drafted him. As was the custom then, unless you were a Guy Lafleur level prospect or the team was so bad you had many open spots, you were to play your first season in the minors. That was the case with Arnason. He went down, and scored 30 goals in his first full season in the AHL. The next year, he was called up and scored 3 goals in 17 games. Okay I guess, but not superstar type numbers. The following year, while partly playing in the AHL again, he got another shot with Montreal, and scored 1 goal in 19 games. And that was the end of his Montreal experience. Not his NHL experience though. At the end of that 1973 season, Montreal traded Arnason to the Atlanta Flames, a second year team short on talent but in need of scoring. Arnason had scored well in the minors, and obviously was a scoring machine in Junior. He was still young, and Montreal was a tough team to crack, so maybe he just needed a chance. Montreal got a first round draft pick for him, and they drafted Rick Chartraw with that pick. Another highly touted player that never really worked out for them. Atlanta only had Arnason for a few months, then traded him mid season to Pittsburgh, and he scored 20 combined goals between the two teams in that year, and 26 for Pittsburgh the following season. He turned into a nice mid level player. Not the type you expect when you expend a high draft pick on, but a solid 2nd line player. In spite of that, he kept getting traded, mostly to very bad teams like Kansas City, Cleveland and Washington. In the end, he lasted 7 NHL seasons, scoring 109 goals in 401 games, or about 20 goals a year. A nice, honest, uninspiring but respectable career. I barely remember Arnason as a Montreal player. I remember his name as a player in the league and had all his hockey cards for all the years he played. I was a hockey card collector, like every other boy I knew back in my youth. If my mother hadn't thrown out my entire collection, I probably would have them to this day.
Murray Wilson I do remember. He was always thought of as a player with high talent who was valuable to the team as he was very fast and had a great shot. He frequently played on the top line or second line. He played 4 years of Junior with Ottawa before being drafted by Montreal. He was a consistent, solid scorer of 20 goals or so in all of those junior years, but he didn't have Guy Lafleur or Chuck Arnason numbers to his name. I suppose he was drafted on potential. Potential that he would get better with age. Like Arnason, he spent his first pro season in the AHL, with the same team as Arnason, and another player I will get to shortly. That was mostly the way Montreal did it. It didn't matter who you were, you had to pay your dues and show you belonged with the big club, which was stacked with very good veterans, and even some Hall of Famers. Murray Wilson was never going to be a HOFer, but he did okay in his one year in the AHL. He scored 11 goals in 65 games, and then produced 9 points in 15 playoff games. That showed when the competition toughened up, he could thrive. That got him his shot the next year with the big club. He only played 52 games that first season, so obviously he spent a good portion of that in the press box, but he did okay when he played, especially for a rookie. He scored 18 goals in 52 games, which is about a 30 goal season, and they used him in 16 games in the playoffs. He had a solid future with Montreal off that initial offering. He continued to be steady, yet unspectacular for 4 more years in Montreal, during which he got 4 Stanley Cup rings to keep. In his last year, they traded him to Los Angeles and he was steady again with them. My memory is that he was often injured, and that probably shortened his career and production level. He ended up being about what you would expect for a pick like him. As it turns out, his brother Doug, who was much younger than him, was the star player in the family. Doug was taken 6th overall in 1977 and ended up being one of the top defenseman in the league for many years, and also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Murray is mostly forgotten these days, Doug is remembered as one of the best of his generation.
While Arnason and Wilson arrived in the AHL in 1971, they didn't arrive alone. In that same group, was the other notable draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens from that crop. Along with Lafleur, and Dryden, he ended up being the cornerstone of a Montreal Canadiens dynasty in the 1970s. His name is Larry Robinson. Another of one of the greatest of all time. But back then, in 1971, he was just a 2nd round draft pick and assigned to the minors.
Robinson was unique among players back then. He was very big, strong, a speedy and agile skater, and as it turns out, had great vision and scoring ability. Eventually.
At first, he needed seasoning and spent two years in the AHL. Unlike Arnason and Wilson, he wasn't moved up to the pros after one year in the AHL. He needed more time. Time he was given. He had decent numbers in his two years in the AHL, and actually split the second season up with Montreal, and did okay. He again took time to find his best level. He was never a big goal scorer, as most defenseman not named Bobby Orr were not in that era, but he scored 10 to 20 goals almost every year and averaged about 65 points for 17 seasons for Montreal. Luckily for Montreal, he was available to them with the 20th overall pick. Otherwise, he would never have seen a uniform on their team. Here are some names in that draft drafted ahead of him.
Much like Robinson, Jocelyn Geuvremont was a big strong defenseman with NHL upside. He went 3rd overall after Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, the two standout top 2 potential picks. Unlike Robinson, and many others, he was drafted by a newly formed team, the Vancouver Canucks, and didn't get to play in the minors. He was big enough to handle that, had a huge point shot which garnered him many goals, and lasted a long time in the NHL, 8 seasons in fact, scoring a solid 84 goals. He was no superstar like Robinson, but he was certainly no bust either. Perhaps if he had more seasoning early, he might have been even better. That wasn't in the cards for him though. Sadly, he had chronic shoulder problems and that shortened his career.
Gene Carr, 4th overall, who ended up having an okay NHL career, as did Arnason, Wilson, Pierre Plante, and Terry O'reilly.
Guy Lafleur was 1st overall, and Marcel Dionne was 2nd overall. Two of the all time greats. Rick Martin at 5th overall was a superstar a notch below Lafleur and Dionne. Other than those players, here are some players few remember. Ron Jones at 6th overall scored 1 lifetime goal in 54 games and had a short career. Larry Wright at 8th overall scored 4 goals in 106 games spread over several seasons and stops. Steve Vickers was a notable and very good player at 10th overall, scoring 246 goals in 698 games in a long and consistent career. In his first 4 years he scored 30, 34, 41, and then 30 goals, and looked to be a first liner, but tailed off in the following years, averaging about 20 goals. Dan Spring was drafted 12 overall, and never made the NHL, being a 10 goal scorer or better 3 years in a WHA where it was easy to score goals. In today's world, they call him a complete bust. Steve Durbano went 13th overall, and he played to his junior identity. He rarely scored, but racked up 1127 penalty minutes in 6 seasons as a known goon and enforcer. It's safe to say that the teams that took Spring, and Durbano, in hindsight, would have rather ended up with Robinson. Then came O'reilly, a very long serving and steady scorer and tough guy in his storied career, followed by Ken Baird that played 10 games in his first year then faded away in the WHA, followed by Henry Boucha, who ended up okay but is long forgotten, Bobby Lalonde, who had a decent NHL career for a 2nd round pick, Brian McKenzie, who played one 6 game season as a rookie, and never made it back to the NHL, and finally, one pick before Robinson, Craig Ramsey, who had a long steady, two way playing career with Buffalo. He was a great pick for Buffalo, if you don't consider they could have taken Robinson with that pick. Again, hindsight is great.
Arnason had loads of promise, but didn't work out for Montreal. Wilson was steady, had upside, but never rose to that upside and remained consistent. Robinson was a bit of a late bloomer, had massive potential and physicality, but wasn't obvious to the many GMs who picked throwaway players ahead of him, including Montreal who had two picks not named Guy Lafleur that they could have secured him without risking missing out on him.
The year that Lafleur, Arnason, Wilson and Robinson were drafted was a very important year for Montreal. They had just won the Stanley Cup, and Jean Beliveau, a long time player and legend for the team, retired after the Stanley Cup win. They will still a very good team, but they needed a new star. Luckily, Sam Pollack had made that great trade to assure them they could take that star. Guy Lafleur was to be that star. The heir apparent to Beliveau before he ever played a pro game.
The other picks were important. Guy Lafleur, however, was the most interesting one of them all. Not because he is legendary, not because of his insane Junior career, not because of his obvious talent, but because of what could have ended up happening.
While Lafleur is partly remembered as the first player to score 50 goals in 6 consecutive seasons, those weren't his first 6 seasons. While Arnason, Wilson and Robinson started in the minors, Guy Lafleur never played a game in the minors. He was thought to be so NHL ready, ready to be a superstar right away, he just jumped right up to the NHL to start his first season. Was he a dud that season? No, he scored 29 goals that year and almost a point per game. Very impressive for a rookie, but not what the hype suggested he would. There were times he was on the bench, but didn't get to play. Still, just his first season. By season 2, more was expected, but more of the same is what they got. 28 goals, a few less points, a few less games, and still no superstar numbers or play. But, it was only season 2. By season 3, and this is hard to believe now, there was talk that maybe he wasn't going to be the player that everyone thought was a certainty, and even talk that they might trade him away. He dropped to 21 goals that year, but for whatever reason, they did not trade him. By contrast, Murray Wilson had 17 goals that year, Chuck Arnason had 20, Steve Vickers had 34, and Craig Ramsey who was not ever a big goal scorer, had 20. Clearly, Lafleur looked like an underachiever in the making.
At the same time, Robinson was coming into his own, but he had not broken out yet as a superstar. Also during that season, Ken Dryden took the entire year off and worked on his law degree. Montreal wasn't a very good team, one of the few down years they had in the 1970s.
Then, the next year, Dryden came back, Robinson became a monster superstar, and Lafleur became a scoring machine. If not the greatest scorer and passer of his day, close to it. And he did that for several more seasons.
It's an interesting draft year, with some interesting lessons, then, as well as for today.
Lafleur had all the talent in the world. But it took him time to go from pretty nice player to best player in the league. Although that seemed to happen in one season. Robinson was not a top prospect, but had all the potential tools. Lots of GMs didn't think highly enough of him to take that chance, and Montreal just waited on him to gradually become one of the greats. Dryden was one of the greats from the moment he appeared as a rookie and other than one year when he didn't play at all and he maintained that level until he retired. Arnason looked like a high end prospect, but he just didn't have that level at the NHL level. Wilson looked okay, had some nice skills, but he was just average over time. Many of the others in that draft looked as good as the others but never panned out.
A lot of that relies on the talent-experience dynamic. You have to have talent. Sometimes that is raw. Sometimes, in Lafleur's case, it's obvious. You have to have skills. Sometimes in the Robinson case, it's there, but you don't know if they will develop into better skills at the highest level. In the Robinson case, and Lafleur case, both gained enough experience that what they had eventually caught up to what they learned. Talent and skill met experience at the pass and they charged forward from there. For Vickers, Arnason and a few others, they peaked and settled into a nice zone where they maintained, but did not go forward with experience. Perhaps they got it early, and experience came before talent. They weren't meant to be greats, but like many of us, they still had contributions to make.
In Jerome Mrazek's case, he was not much of a prospect, he got little chance, did not make any impact, and faded away. I'm sure he realized that when he was drafted, and decided to get an education first. And when he got his one shot and it didn't work out, I'm sure he was not surprised or heartbroken. Doesn't mean it felt great, but when you know your level, you know your level. When you give a shot to others, you pretty much know what to expect. Sometimes they exceed that, sometimes they grossly underachieve that, and sometimes it takes time to achieve what everyone expected you should or could achieve. When you are Guy Lafleur, I'm sure you expected your Junior dominance to come right away. When you are Chuck Arnason, you hope it translates. But the truth is, nobody really knows until you get enough experience and chance to let the water find its proper level.
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