Bernie Federko

Bernie Federko
Position	Center
Shot	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (89 kg)
Teams	St. Louis Blues Detroit Red Wings
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1956-05-12)May 12, 1956, Foam Lake, SASK, CA
NHL Draft	7th overall, 1976 St. Louis Blues
WHA Draft	6th overall, 1976 Edmonton Oilers
Pro Career	1976 – 1990
Hall of Fame, 2002

Bernard Allan Federko (born May 12, 1956 in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a retired professional centre who played 14 seasons in the NHL from 1976 to 1990.

Playing career

Bernie began playing hockey at a young age in his home town of Foam Lake. He was captain of the 1971 Bantam provincial champions. He also played Senior hockey with the local Foam Lake Flyers of the Fishing Lake Hockey League, winning the league scoring title as a bantam-aged player. Federko continued his career with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL where he set and still holds the team record for assists. He played three seasons with the Blades, and in his final year with the club he led the league in assists and points in both the regular season and playoffs. As a reward, Federko was drafted 7th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. He started the next season with the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League and was leading the league in points when he was called up mid-season to play 31 games with St. Louis. He scored three hat tricks in those 31 games. In the 1978–79 NHL season, Federko developed into a bonafide star, as he scored 95 points.

Federko would score 100 points in a season four times, and was a consistent and underrated superstar for the Blues. Federko scored at least 90 points in seven of the eight seasons between 1978 and 1986, and became the first player in NHL history to record at least 50 assists in 10 consecutive seasons. However, in an era when Wayne Gretzky was scoring 200 points a season, Federko never really got the attention many felt he deserved. In 1986, in a poll conducted by GOAL magazine, he was named the most overlooked talent in hockey. His General Manager Ron Caron said he was "A great playmaker. He makes the average or above average player look like a star at times. He's such an unselfish player."

On March 19, 1988, Federko became the 22nd NHL player to record 1000 career points. After a poor season for Federko in 1988–89, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings with Tony McKegney for future Blues star Adam Oates, and Paul MacLean. In Detroit, Federko re-united with former Blues head coach Jacques Demers, but he had to play behind Steve Yzerman and did not get his desired ice time. After his lowest point output since his rookie season, Federko decided to retire after the 1989–90 season.

Federko was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002, and is currently a television color commentator for the Blues. He also had his number '24' retired by the Blues on March 16, 1991.

Awards

• Named to the WCHL All-Star Team (1976)
• Named WCHL MVP (1976)
• Named to the CHL Second All-Star Team (1977)
• Won Ken McKenzie Trophy as CHL Rookie of the Year (1977)
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game (1980, 1981)
• Named NHL Player of the Week (For week ending December 3, 1984)

Records

• St. Louis Blues team record for career games played (927)
• St. Louis Blues team record for career assists (721)
• St. Louis Blues team record for career points (1073)
• Shares St. Louis Blues team record for assists in one game (5 on February 27, 1988)
• St. Louis Blues team record for career playoff assists (66)
• St. Louis Blues team record for points in one playoff year (21 in 1986)
• St. Louis Blues team record for assists in one playoff year (15 in 1982)

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1973–74	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL		68	22	28	50	19		6	0	0	0	2
1974–75	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL		66	39	68	107	30		17	15	7	22	8
1975–76	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL		72	72	115	187	108		20	18	27	45	8
1976–77	Kansas City Blues	CHL		42	30	39	69	41		--	--	--	--	--
1976–77	St. Louis Blues	NHL		31	14	9	23	15		4	1	1	2	2
1977–78	St. Louis Blues	NHL		72	17	24	41	27		--	--	--	--	--
1978–79	St. Louis Blues	NHL		74	31	64	95	14		--	--	--	--	--
1979–80	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	38	56	94	24		3	1	0	1	2
1980–81	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78	31	73	104	47		11	8	10	18	2
1981–82	St. Louis Blues	NHL		74	30	62	92	70		10	3	15	18	10
1982–83	St. Louis Blues	NHL		75	24	60	84	24		4	2	3	5	0
1983–84	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	41	66	107	43		11	4	4	8	10
1984–85	St. Louis Blues	NHL		76	30	73	103	27		3	0	2	2	4
1985–86	St. Louis Blues	NHL		80	34	68	102	34		19	7	14	21	17
1986–87	St. Louis Blues	NHL		64	20	52	72	32		6	3	3	6	18
1987–88	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	20	69	89	52		10	2	6	8	18
1988–89	St. Louis Blues	NHL		66	22	45	67	54		10	4	8	12	0
1989–90	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		73	17	40	57	24		--	--	--	--	--
WCHL totals				206	133	211	344	157		43	33	34	67	18
NHL totals				1000	369	761	1130	487		91	35	66	101	83

External links

• Bernie Federko's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Hockey Draft Central
• St. Louis Blues Website

Preceded by John Davidson	St. Louis Blues first round draft pick 1976	Succeeded by Scott Campbell
Preceded by Blair Chapman	Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick 1976	Succeeded by Mike Crombeen
Preceded by Brian Sutter	St. Louis Blues captains 1988–89	Succeeded by Rick Meagher