Elmer Vasko
{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = MooseVasko Chex.jpg
| caption = Vasko, c. 1963
| played_for = AHL
Buffalo Bisons
NHL
Chicago Black Hawks
Minnesota North Stars
| position = Defence
| shoots = Left
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 200
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|12|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Duparquet, Quebec, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|10|30|1935|12|11}}
| death_place = Dorval, Quebec, Canada
| career_start = 1955
| career_end = 1970
}}
Elmer "Moose" Vasko (December 11, 1935 – October 30, 1998) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and Minnesota North Stars. He was on the Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup in 1961.
Personal
Vasko was born in Duparquet, Quebec. He was one of the few players of Slovak descent in the NHL's younger years. Vasko also never lost any of his teeth during his NHL career,{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Patrick |date=June 23, 2013 |title=Vasko fondly remembers Uncle Moose |url=https://www.thewhig.com/2013/06/23/vasko-fondly-remembers-uncle-moose |access-date=September 12, 2024 |website=The Kingston Whig Standard}} despite the lack of mouthguards or helmets in his playing days. He was a second team all star in 1962-63 and 1963-64.
Vasko's great niece, Alexa Vasko, is a professional ice hockey player for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).{{cite web |url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/sports/hockey/pressure-a-privilege-for-alexa-vasko-niagara-native-playing-for-toronto-entry-in-pro-womens/article_3036a166-0125-5456-aeb1-33bffac53ebe.html |title=Pressure a privilege for Alexa Vasko, Niagara native playing for Toronto entry in pro women’s hockey league |newspaper=St. Catharines Standard |first=Bernd |last=Franke |date=January 16, 2024 |access-date=December 4, 2024}}
Career statistics
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||||||
| 1953–54
| OHA | 59 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 25
| 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1953–54 | St. Catharines Teepees | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | —
| 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 1954–55
| St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 49 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 75
| 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 17 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1955–56 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 47 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 90
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 1955–56
| AHL | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1956–57 | NHL | 64 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 31
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1957–58
| Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 59 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 51
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1958–59 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 63 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 52
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1959–60
| Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 69 | 3 | 27 | 30 | 110
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1960–61 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 63 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 40
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 1961–62
| Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 64 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1962–63 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 64 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 70
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1963–64
| Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 65
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1964–65 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 69 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 56
| 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| 1965–66
| Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 56 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 44
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1967–68 | NHL | 70 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 45
| 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 1968–69
| Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 72 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 68
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70
| WHL | 54 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 34
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 786 !! 34 !! 166 !! 200 !! 719 ! 78 !! 2 !! 7 !! 9 !! 73 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{icehockeystats}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = Bob Woytowich | title = Minnesota North Stars captain | years = 1968–69 | after = Claude Larose}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasko, Elmer}}
Category:Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players
Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Canadian people of Slovak descent
Category:Chicago Blackhawks players
Category:Ice hockey people from Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Category:Minnesota North Stars players
Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen
Category:Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL) players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:St. Catharines Teepees players
{{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1930s-stub}}