Thomas is one of the most underrated Swedish players in NHL history.

He grew up in the small town of Grums in the Värmland region where he learned to play hockey as a little kid. His childhood idol was his cousin and ex-NHL’er Dan Labraaten as well as his older brother Malte Steen who played in the Swedish elite league for many years. They inspired Thomas to become a hockey player.

Thomas played for Grums IK in the Swedish 2nd division until 1976. In his last season there he had 9 points (5+4) in 21 games. He then debuted in the Swedish Elite league as a 16-year old for Leksand. Thomas made such a good impression that he was selected to represent Sweden in the 1977 European Junior Championships. He did very well there as he collected 6 points (3+3) in 7 games and guided Sweden to a Gold medal. Thomas also played in the 1979 and 1980 World Junior Championship tournaments, making the All-Star team in 1979. All in all Thomas played 18 games and collected 18 points (10+8).

Winnipeg Jets liked what they saw and drafted Thomas 103rd overall in 1979. At that time nobody could imagine that this young kid would one day become the franchise All-time leader in seasons (14) , games (950) and assists (553). This quiet, humble and well liked Swede played in the shadow of many of his fellow countrymen but was one of the most useful players around. In 1990-91 the players in the NHL voted for him as the most underrated player in the league.

The season before he came to the NHL he won the “Player of the year” award (1980-81) in Sweden as he led his team Farjestad BK in scoring and to the league title. He also finished second overall in league scoring. That same season Thomas represented Sweden in the 1981 World Championships and Canada Cup.

Thomas played hard every game and never backed down from any confrontations. Former Jets GM John Ferguson only had positive things to say about Thomas.

“Thomas Steen is the toughest and bravest of all the Swedes in the NHL. I’ve seen Thomas involved in more physical confrontations than most of the Canadian players in the league. He looks like a choirboy, but he can play as tough as anyone in the league.”

Rick Bowness who coached Winnipeg said:

“You need players of Steen’s caliber to be successful in the NHL. He is our most useful player.”

Thomas strength was that he didn’t have a real weakness. He played with a great deal of determination, he had great leadership qualities which landed him the captaincy between 1989-91, he was a great passer, a fine two-way player, he had good anticipation and vision, was a fine face-off man, nice stickhandler… and the list goes on…

He wasn’t the flashy type of player but he was the heart and soul for the Jets for most of his 14 seasons with the team. No one wore the Jets uniform with more pride and dignity than Thomas Steen.

When it was announced at a press conference that Winnipeg was moving to Phoenix he cried openly.

“I was crushed by the news, he said later on.”

During his 14 year NHL career Thomas hit the 80 point plateau twice (84 and 88 points), 70 points once (72), 60 points four times (65, 64, 66 and 67) and 50 points four times (59, 50, 54 and 51). His best effort point wise came in 1988-89 when he collected 27 goals and 61 assists.

Even in Sweden Thomas wasn’t a household name. The primary reason was that he left for the NHL when he was only 21. But after his outstanding effort in the 1984 Canada Cup when he led his team to the finals, he got the recognition he deserved even from his folks back home. Thomas had prior to the 1984 Canada Cup only scored two goals in 21 games for the Swedish senior national team. He however exploded in the Canada Cup, as he went on to score a tournament high 7 goals in 8 games, scoring on 46.7 % of his shots.

“It was great to succeed in such a fine and prestigious tournament like the Canada Cup,” Thomas said. “It was something of a personal revenge for me since I never had much success previously on the national team.”

Thomas played on a line together with Hakan Loob and Kent Nilsson, both playing for Calgary Flames. They clicked together immediately and displayed some great hockey in the tournament.
Kent Nilsson had nothing but praise for his line mate.

“Thomas was incredible. As a center on our line he really worked hard. He was just a phenomenal guy to play with.”

Thomas heroics in the Swedish uniform wasn’t over. In the 1986 World Championships he was the tournaments leading scorer with 8 goals in 8 games as Sweden won the Silver. Thomas other appearances in the Swedish uniform came in the 1989 World Championships and 1991 Canada Cup.

The only thing Thomas regretted in his career was that his Winnipeg Jets never got past the second round while he was there.

“Personally I had a lot of success in Winnipeg. I only wish that the team could have done better in the playoffs.”

On May 6, 1995 Thomas Steen’s jersey # 25 was retired. He became only the second Jet after Bobby Hull to receive this honour and he became the first European trained player to have his number retired.

A great honour for the symphatic Swede. “It’s a great honour and I’m proud of it,” he said.

When Thomas announced that he had played his last game for Winnipeg he was given maybe the finest honour of them all. The children’s hospital in Winnipeg got the name “Thomas Steen children’s emergency” Thomas had donated large sums of money to the hospital for many years and also had a personal tragedy earlier on when his two month old son passed away.

The Steen family kept a house in Winnipeg as Thomas went on to play another three seasons in Germany for the Frankfurt Lions and Eisbären Berlin. He collected 55 points (23+32) in 117 games before finally hanging em’ up in 1998. During that time he also fulfilled a dream to skate along his talented son Alexander Steen during an exhibition game.

As the new millennium approached Thomas was still running his appreciated hockey school in Orsa, Sweden, together with his brother Malte every summer.

The words in the 1995-96 Winnipeg Jets Media Guide sums up Thomas perfectly.

“Steen was a consummate professional who embodied everything good about the Jets organization; loyalty, commitment to excellence, hard work, dedication and pride. He played with enthusiasm and a burning desire to win at all costs. He was an exceptional player who represented the club both on and off the ice with class and distinction.”

- Special thanks to Pat Houda

Paul MacLean and his big bushy moustache was the regular right winger for Dale Hawerchuk throughout most of his time with the Winnipeg Jets.

Big Mac was a very underrated player in his day, with much of his success immediately credited to his superstar center. The dirty work on that line (often with Brian Mullen on LW) often ended up on MacLean’s plate. He was a solid defensive player and, thanks to his size and balance, an above average grinder. It was often MacLean’s job to retrieve pucks from the heavy traffic areas in the corners and the slot. He was a handful for defensemen to handle, but because he was generally such a clean player he rarely garnered the notice other lesser players have received.

MacLean had good anticipation skills and surprising speed for such a big man. Offensively he relied on his terrific wrist shot, which feature a very quick release. He was far from one dimensional though, as he had good vision and, with soft passes, he utilized his linemates well.

MacLean was a rare NHL player born in France – Grostenquin, France to be specific. But he was a Canadian kid through and through – an Air Force brat who spent far more time in Cold Lake, Alberta and Chatham, New Brunswick where his father was regularly stationed.

The St. Louis Blues drafted MacLean 109th overall in the 1978 NHL draft after a solid junior career in Brockville, Ontario and Hull, Quebec. While with Hull he was almost traded to the Quebec Remparts in exchange for Kevin Lowe. Hull nixed the deal after MacLean scored 5 goals in a single game.

Despite the promise MacLean exhibited, he was not one to follow the usual route to the NHL. Instead of signing professionally and earning his stripes while riding the buses in the minor leagues, MacLean enrolled at Dalhousie University to pursue his education. A season later he joined the Canadian national team and made the 1980 Olympic squad. Canada, however, failed to medal at the 1980 Lake Placid games.

After the Olympics MacLean finally turned pro. He had a real solid freshman year with the Blues farm team in Salt Lake City, and even earned a 1 game call up to the NHL.

Despite the promise shown that season, little did MacLean know his future did not lie in St. Louis. He was part of a package of players including goalie Ed Staniowski and defenseman Bryan Maxwell shipped to Winnipeg for a big young defenseman named Scott Campbell.

Campbell never really found his way in the NHL, but MacLean sure did. Over the next 9 seasons he was a regular 35 goal scorer. In three seasons he topped the 40 goal mark. Only once in that time span did he fail to reach 30 goals. That injury plagued year he still registered 27 red lights.

All told, Paul MacLean scored 324 goals, 349 assists for 673 points in 719 career games. He became a long time coach following his playing days, finally landing a NHL head bench job in Ottawa in 2011.

If I were to compare Paul MacLean to any other player in NHL history it would have to be Dave Taylor, the long time LA Kings right winger. Both were really solid, physical wingers who played in the shadows of superstar centers (Hawerchuk in Winnipeg and Marcel Dionne in Los Angeles.)

Following an amazing final season of junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings (he scored 66 goals and 149 points as well as 215 penalty minutes playing along side Brian Propp and Ray Allison), center Laurie Boschman was drafted 9th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now Boschman never really emerged as the offensive leader the Leafs had hope he would. A sophomore jinx coupled with a bad bout of mononucleosis doomed him, at least in the eyes of cantankerous Leafs owner Harold Ballard. Ballard publicly question Boschman’s toughness due to his religious nature. He had recently became a born-again Christian, thanks in part to former Leaf Ron Ellis.

Boschman started a third season in Toronto but was hobbled by both Ballard and a bad stomach ulcer. He requested a trade, and by the trade deadline he was moved to the Edmonton Oilers for Walt Poddubny.

Boschman was a bit player with the increasingly mighty Oilers of the early 1980s. By the trade deadline in 1983 he was moved to Smythe Division rival Winnipeg.

Boschaman would be best remembered as a Winnipeg Jet. He thrived in a Winnipeg Jets jersey, playing behind Dale Hawerchuk. After scoring just 48 points in his first 4 NHL seasons he erupted for 74 points in his first season with the Jets. More amazingly, he accumulated 234 penalty minutes that season, too.

There must be something in the Manitoba air as Boschman enjoyed his best seasons, both in junior and as a pro in the Canadian province. A poor man’s Bobby Clarke, “Bosch” would be a dependable 70 point man for his first three seasons, while settling into an agitating third line checking role through the rest of the decade.

In 1990 Boschman joined the New Jersey Devils for 2 seasons. His final season came in 1992-93 where he served as the first captain in the reincarnated Ottawa Senators history. The Sens had a forgettable year (10-70-4, 24pts) but Boschman would be remembered for his great work ethic.

All told, Laurie Boschman played in 1009 career NHL games (and another 57 in the playoffs), scoring 229 goals and 348 assists for 557 points. He also spent 2257 minutes in the penalty box.

Boschman played one season in Britain after leaving the NHL. He soon returned to Ottawa as his adopted home. He has been very active with Hockey Ministries International in retirement.

My list of the most talented hockey players I have ever seen in the National Hockey League has to include Alexei Zhamnov.

Zhamnov graduated from Moscow Dynamo to join the Winnipeg Jets for four years. He was best known as Teemu Selanne’s centerman during the Finnish Flash’s highest scoring days. Zhamnov, nicknamed “Archie” due to his uncanny resemblance to the famous cartoon character, moved on to Chicago in 1996 for 8 seasons. He rounded up his career with brief appearances with Philadelphia and Boston.

When he was on top of his game, he was an absolute joy to watch. He was a magnificent skater, blessed with one-step acceleration but more important incredible agility. He was a masterful stickhandler with an underrated (and often under-used) shot. A classic center from the Russian school of hockey, he was a great playmaker first and foremost, and a dependable defensive forward. Although he may never have thrown a body check in his life, he had solid size and was strong on his skates, making him hard to knock off the puck. His physical game was definitely understated.

Yet, it seemed, he had trouble finding his top game with any sort of consistency. Ah yes, the classic Russian centerman – skilled beyond belief but frustrating as hell. Although I always though that Russian centermen – and especially Zhamnov – were somewhat misunderstood in the North American game. Perhaps he was so talented and so understanding of the game of hockey and it’s positioning that he gave the impression he was floating.

In some ways I think it is a case of buyer-beware by NHL teams and for fan expectations. The old Soviet school of hockey trained centermen differently than North Americans. The center is still arguably the most important player on the ice, but in Soviet hockey the wingers get the offensive chances more so than the center. I don’t know if there has been a Soviet-trained center – not even Igor Larionov or Sergei Fedorov – who did not frustrate North American fans with perceived indifferent play.

Maybe that is something to remember the next time your favorite team has a frustratingly talented Russian centerman. That may change over the coming years, although the immediate generation or 2 following the break up of the Soviet Union has continued to come from the same school of thought. Maybe Russian centermen need to be adopt more offensive urgency in the NHL.

Alexei Zhamnov’s final line sounds like this: 807 NHL games played with 249 goals and 470 assists for 719 points. In the lockout shortened 1995 season he was a second team NHL All Star. Internationally he represented his country at three Olympics, winning gold in 1992, silver in 1998 and silver in 2002. A career ending ankle injury prevented him from playing in 2006.

See the original at Greatest Hockey Legends: Alexei Zhamnov

The key to being a good hockey player is being able to skate. If you can skate really well you can last a long time. Few could skate better than Doug Smail.

Smail was phenomenally quick, probably the quickest skater during the 1980s. He was a very intelligent skater as well, as he often would skate at less than full board in order to throw off his check. This unpredictability led to a lengthy career as a penalty killer and defensive left winger.

Smail joined the Winnipeg Jets as a free agent in 1980 after playing three seasons with the University of North Dakota where he was quite the athlete. In his final season of college hockey he scored 43 goals in 40 games while leading his team to the NCAA Championship. Smail was named as the NCAA Championship tournament’s MVP.

The Moose Jaw native played in parts of 11 seasons with the Jets. He didn’t possess the puck skills to match his foot skills to be much of an offensive contributor, but he did set a career high 31 goals and 66 points in 1984-85. He reached the 20 goal plateau 3 other times while with the Jets, including the 1989-90 season when he represented the Jets as their player in the NHL All Star Game.

Smail was traded to Minnesota in exchange for a prospect named Don Barber early in the 1990-91 season. By the summer he was traded to Quebec and he spent one final NHL season with the expansion Ottawa Senators in 1992-93.

Smail finished his career by playing in Britain.

See the original at Greatest Hockey Legends.