Dave Schultz (ice hockey)

Dave "The Hammer" Schultz (born 14 October 1949 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach, who in his active years from 1969 to 1980 among others for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres was active in the National Hockey League.

He is not regarded as one of the legends of the North American hockey, but because of its playful ability, but because of his hard play and fights on the ice. His name stands for the " Enforcer " in ice hockey, so the " strongman " of the enemy instills respect and his teammates, if necessary, violent, defended. Schultz has therefore even today many admirers, while others see in it, however, the epitome of the " Goon " and the brutalization of hockey in the 1970s, for example, in the satirical film Slap Shot ( German: Slap Shot ) is being satirized with Paul Newman in 1977.

Career

Schultz, who has been described outside the Hockey field as quiet and reserved, his pro career with the Salem Rebels and the Quebec Aces began in the lower leagues Eastern Hockey League and American Hockey League, where he quickly became known for its hardness. In the NHL Amateur Draft 1969, the Philadelphia Flyers secured in round five at number 52 the rights to Schultz. He was by Keith Allen, the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, committed in 1972. The Flyers were until then a rather unsuccessful team in the NHL. Allen wanted to change this by introducing a tougher style of play and therefore committed players like Schultz or Don Saleški. This plan worked and the Flyers were the most feared - and most hated - team in the league, the 1974 and 1975 won the Stanley Cup. During this period, the Flyers got the nickname Broad Street Bullies - the stadium of the Flyers was in the Broad Street Bully and means tyrant.

Schultz stood out in terms of hardness from the team out and so was nicknamed "The Hammer". Schultz, who was also considered a good defensive forward who has already become in his rookie 1972/73 season to the penalty bench king of the NHL, a " title " in his eight-year NHL career he could notch up a total of four times. He broke the first player to the limits of 300 and 400 penalty minutes in a season. To date, he holds in this category with 472 penalty minutes the NHL record, achieved in season 1974/75, the year of his second Stanley Cup success.

After four years with the Flyers, he was transferred to the Los Angeles Kings in 1976, after which he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. In 1980, he finished with 30 years of his playing career. Late in his career, a decline in the number of penalty minutes was observed, which was probably due to the fact that the other teams had set to the hard stance of the Flyers. So it was at this time also Enforcer in the other teams that were often physically stronger than the 1.85 meters and 85 kilograms not physically overpowering Schultz.

Following his playing career he was temporarily coach at various clubs in lower leagues. In the 1985/86 season he was in charge in his first coaching position, the New York Slapshots from the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. In the 1996/97 season he reached the Madison Monsters of the Colonial Hockey League, the first playoff round. In the following two years he coached the Baton Rouge Kingfish of the East Coast Hockey League and the Mohawk Valley Prowlers of the United Hockey League, but was released early for both clubs. He was most recently in the 2004/05 season coach of the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL, where he whose head coach Todd Brost replaced towards the end of the season.

Career Stats

( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )

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