Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita
Born	May 20, 1940 (1940-05-20) Sokolče, Slovak Republic
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Chicago Blackhawks
National team	Canada
Playing career	1958–1980
Hall of Fame, 1983

Stanislav "Stan" Mikita (born Stanislav Guoth; May 20, 1940), is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s.^{[citation needed]} 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, Slovak Republic as Stanislav Guoth, but moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, as a young boy to escape Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia. 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 to the parent Chicago Blackhawks in 1959. In his second full year, in 1961, the Hawks won their third Stanley Cup. The young centre led the entire league in goals during the playoffs, scoring a total of six.

The following season was his breakout year. Stan Mikita became a star as centre of the famed "Scooter Line", (with right wing Ken Wharram and left wingers Ab McDonald and Doug Mohns). He became the most-feared centre of the Sixties. 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 using 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. Mikita's drastic change in behavior came after he returned home from a road trip. His wife told him that while their daughter, Meg, was watching the Black Hawks' last road game on television, she turned and said, "Mommy, why does Daddy spend so much time sitting down?" The camera had just shown Mikita in the penalty box again (from Mikita's autobiography "I Play to Win.")

During his playing career, in 1973, Mikita teamed up with Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik to form the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA), to bring together deaf and hard-of hearing hockey players from all over the country.

Retirement

His latter years marred by chronic back injuries, Mikita finally retired during the 1979–80 season. Upon his retirement, he had the third-highest career scoring point total of any NHL player, after Gordie Howe and Phil Esposito. Mikita 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 of good will for the Blackhawks' organization. On May 24, 2011, Mikita was diagnosed with oral cancer and would be undergoing external beam radiation therapy.^{[citation needed]}

Mikita made an appearance as himself in the film Wayne's World, which featured an eponymous doughnut shop. This was a spoof reference to the Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons, also named after a retired hockey player. A restaurant named "Stan Mikita's" and closely resembling the movie's version opened in 1994 at the Virginia amusement park Kings Dominion and at Paramount Carowinds in Charlotte. The Virginia restaurant was later converted to a Happy Days theme.

Mikita provided the foreword to the children's book "My Man Stan" by Tim Wendel. Mikita is featured as a main character in the book.

Career statistics

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	GW		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PP	SH	GW
1956–57	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA-Jr.		52	16	31	47	—	129	—	—	—		14	8	9	17	44	—	—	—
1957–58	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA-Jr.		52	31	47	78	—	146	—	—	—		8	4	5	9	46	—	—	—
1958–59	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA-Jr.		45	38	59	97	—	197	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		3	0	1	1	—	4	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		67	8	18	26	—	119	—	—	—		3	0	1	1	2	—	—	—
1960–61	Chicago Blackhawks*	NHL		66	19	34	53	—	100	—	—	—		12	6	5	11	21	—	—	—
1961–62	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		70	25	52	77	—	97	—	—	—		12	6	15	21	19	—	—	—
1962–63	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		65	31	45	76	—	69	—	—	—		6	3	2	5	2	—	—	—
1963–64	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		70	39	50	89	—	146	14	1	7		7	3	6	9	8	—	—	—
1964–65	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		70	28	59	87	—	154	8	0	6		14	3	7	10	53	—	—	—
1965–66	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		68	30	48	78	—	58	11	1	1		6	1	2	3	2	—	—	—
1966–67	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		70	35	62	97	—	12	8	1	5		6	2	2	4	2	—	—	—
1967–68	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		72	40	47	87	-3	14	13	2	8		11	5	7	12	6	3	0	0
1968–69	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		74	30	67	97	+17	52	7	3	2		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		76	39	47	86	+29	50	7	0	8		8	4	6	10	2	3	0	1
1970–71	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		74	24	48	72	+21	85	7	0	4		18	5	13	18	16	1	0	1
1971–72	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		74	26	39	65	+16	46	5	0	6		8	3	1	4	4	0	0	0
1972–73	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		57	27	56	83	+31	32	7	1	5		15	7	13	20	8	1	0	2
1973–74	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		76	30	50	80	+24	46	6	2	1		11	5	6	11	8	1	0	1
1974–75	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		79	36	50	86	+14	48	12	0	6		8	3	4	7	12	1	0	1
1975–76	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		48	16	41	57	-4	37	6	0	1		4	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
1976–77	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		57	19	30	49	-9	20	6	1	4		2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
1977–78	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		76	18	41	59	+18	35	6	0	2		4	3	0	3	0	2	0	0
1978–79	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		65	19	36	55	+3	34	4	0	1		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		17	2	5	7	+2	12	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
OHA-Jr. totals				149	85	137	222	—	472	—	—	—		22	12	14	26	90	—	—	—
NHL totals				1394	541	926	1467	+159	1270	127	12	67		155	59	91	150	169	12	0	6

• Stanley Cup Champion

Awards and accomplishments

• Ranked 14th all-time in points, 16th in assists, 29th in goals, and 32nd in games played (at end of 2009–10 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.
• Most NHL games played by a European-born ice hockey forward (1,394).
• The Blackhawks retired #21 retired on October 19, 1980.
• The ice rink in Ruzomberok, Slovakia is named after him.

See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Stan Mikita's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Stan Mikita's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Stan Mikita – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net

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