Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Height Weight	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 169 lb (77 kg)
Teams	Chicago Black Hawks
Nationality	CAN
Born	(1940-05-20)May 20, 1940, Sokolče, Czechoslovakia
Pro Career	1958 – 1980
Hall of Fame, 1983

Stanislav "Stan the Man" Mikita (born May 20 1940) is a Slovak born, Canadian retired professional player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961 he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.

Biography

Early life

Mikita was born in Sokolče, Czechoslovakia as Stanislav Guoth (Gvoth), but moved to Ontario, Canada, as a young boy to avoid the political troubles in the area due to Communist control. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle who gave him their surname, Mikita.

Playing career

After three starring junior seasons with the St. Catharines TeePees of the Ontario Hockey Association, Mikita was promoted for good to the parent Chicago Black Hawks in 1959. In his second full year 1961, the Hawks won their third and most recent Stanley Cup, and the young centre led the league in goals in the playoffs with six.

The following season was his breakout year as a star, and centring the famed "Scooter Line" (with right wing Ken Wharram and left wingers Ab McDonald and Doug Mohns), became the most-feared centre of the Sixties, and with superstar teammate Bobby Hull, the Black Hawks had the most powerful offense of the decade, generally leading the league in goals scored. Combining skilled defense and a reputation as one of the game's best faceoff men with his innovative curved stick, Mikita led the league in scoring four times in the decade, tying Bobby Hull's single-season scoring mark in 1966–67 with 97 points (a mark broken two years later by former teammate Phil Esposito and currently held by Wayne Gretzky).

In his early years, Mikita was among the most penalized players in the league, but he then decided to play a cleaner game and went on to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanlike conduct twice.

Retirement

His latter years marred by chronic back injuries, Mikita finally retired during the 1979-80 season. Upon his retirement he had the second-highest career scoring point total of any NHL player, after Gordie Howe, and had played in the seventh most games of any player at the time. Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. He currently serves as an ambassador for the Blackhawks' organization.

Career statistics

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PP	SH	GW		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1958–59	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		3	0	1	1	4	--	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--
1959–60	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		67	8	18	26	119	--	--	--	--		3	0	1	1	2
1960–61	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		66	19	34	53	100	--	--	--	--		12	6	5	11	21
1961–62	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	25	52	77	97	--	--	--	--		12	6	15	21	19
1962–63	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		65	31	45	76	69	--	--	--	--		6	3	2	5	2
1963–64	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	39	50	89	146	--	14	1	0		7	3	6	9	8
1964–65	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	28	59	87	154	--	8	0	6		14	3	7	10	53
1965–66	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		68	30	48	78	58	--	11	1	1		6	1	2	3	2
1966–67	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	35	62	97	12	--	8	1	5		6	2	2	4	2
1967–68	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		72	40	47	87	14	-3	13	2	8		11	5	7	12	6
1968–69	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	30	67	97	52	+17	7	3	2		--	--	--	--	--
1969–70	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	39	47	86	50	+29	7	0	8		8	4	6	10	2
1970–71	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	24	48	72	85	+21	7	0	4		18	5	13	18	16
1971–72	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	26	39	65	46	+16	5	0	6		8	3	1	4	4
1972–73	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		57	27	56	83	32	+31	7	1	5		15	7	13	20	8
1973–74	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	30	50	80	46	+24	6	2	1		11	5	6	11	8
1974–75	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		79	36	50	86	48	+14	12	0	6		8	3	4	7	12
1975–76	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		48	16	41	57	37	-4	6	0	1		4	0	0	0	4
1976–77	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		57	19	30	49	20	-9	6	1	4		2	0	1	1	0
1977–78	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	18	41	59	35	+18	6	0	2		4	3	0	3	0
1978–79	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		65	19	36	55	34	+3	4	0	1		--	--	--	--	--
1979–80	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		17	2	5	7	12	+2	0	0	0		--	--	--	--	--
22 years	Totals	NHL		1394	541	926	1467	1270	+159	127	12	60		155	59	91	150	169

Awards and accomplishments

• Currently 29th all-time in games played, 29th in goals, 16th in assists, and 13th in points (at end of 2008–09 NHL season).
• Won the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in 1967 and 1968.
• Won the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer in 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968.
• Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1967 and 1968.
• Named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968.
• Named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 1965 and 1970.
• Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
• Won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1976.
• The only player in NHL history to win the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng trophies in the same season, doing so in consecutive seasons, in 1966–67 and 1967–68.
• Only Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman had a longer career playing for only a single team.
• Was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series, but only played two games due to injuries.
• Inducted into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
• In 1998, he was ranked number 17 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, making him the highest-ranked player born outside of Canada, although he was trained in Canada.

Preceded by Pit Martin	Chicago Black Hawks captains 1976–77	Succeeded by Keith Magnuson
Preceded by Bobby Hull	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1967, 1968	Succeeded by Phil Esposito
Preceded by Bobby Hull	Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 1967, 1968	Succeeded by Phil Esposito
Preceded by Gordie Howe	Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 1964, 1965	Succeeded by Bobby Hull
Preceded by Alex Delvecchio	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1967, 1968	Succeeded by Alex Delvecchio