Steve Vickers (ice hockey)
{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| name = Steve Vickers
| played_for = New York Rangers
| position = Left wing
| shoots = Left
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 185
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1951|4|21}}
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| draft = 10th overall
| draft_year = 1971
| draft_team = New York Rangers
| career_start = 1971
| career_end = 1982
}}
Stephen James Vickers (born 21 April 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers from 1972 to 1982. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1973.
Playing career
Steve "The Sarge" Vickers played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and was named a First Team league All-Star. He was drafted 10th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft.{{cite web|title=Steve Vickers – Notes|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8452232&view=notes|publisher=NHL.com|accessdate=11 February 2013}} He spent a season in the minor leagues with the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League before the Rangers called him up in 1972.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}
Vickers, centre Walt Tkaczuk and winger Bill Fairbairn formed a line that proved to be one of the 1970s' best two-way forward trios. Vickers scored 30 goals and 23 assists for a total of 53 points and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year. He played all of his NHL career with the Rangers, scoring thirty or more goals in each of four seasons. He was later moved to the Rangers' first line with Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle. Vickers' best season was 1974–75, when he scored 41 goals and was named to the NHL's Second all-star team. He remained effective until his final season, in which his production dropped sharply; he finished the year in the minor leagues with the Springfield Indians, after which he retired.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}
Vickers played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1975 and 1976. He made NHL history in 1972 when he became the first rookie, as well as the first New York Ranger, to score hat tricks in two consecutive games (12 November versus the Los Angeles Kings and 15 November versus the Philadelphia Flyers).{{cite web|title=Steve Vickers|url=http://rangers.nhl.com/club/atrplayer.htm?id=8452232|work=All Time Roster|publisher=New York Rangers.com|accessdate=11 February 2013}} In February 1976, Vickers set the Rangers team record for most points in a game, with seven, against the Washington Capitals.{{cite book |last1=Gaffer |first1=Wes |title=New York Rangers: Millennium Memories|year=2001 |publisher=Sports Publishing LLC |isbn=978-1582613710|pages=74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8q7TF_hQQgC&q=steve+vickers+rangers&pg=PA74|author2=New York Daily News|authorlink=Vickers Scorching, Ignites Rangers 11- 4 |access-date=7 November 2013}}
Legacy
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Vickers at No. 18 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.{{cite book|url= https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6860998-100-ranger-greats#bookDetails |title=100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters |first1=Russ |last1=Cohen |first2=John |last2=Halligan |first3=Adam |last3=Raider |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn= 978-0470736197 |date=2009 |access-date=3 February 2020|page=176}}
Career statistics
=Regular season and playoffs=
| 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 | ||||||||
| 1968–69
| MetJHL | 36 | 43 | 40 | 83 | —
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1969–70 | OHA | 52 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 23
| 11 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 1970–71
| Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 62 | 43 | 64 | 107 | 51
| 13 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 5 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1971–72 | CHL | 70 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 45
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73
| NHL | 61 | 30 | 23 | 53 | 37
| 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1973–74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 34 | 24 | 58 | 18
| 13 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 17 |
| 1974–75
| New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 41 | 48 | 89 | 64
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1975–76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 30 | 53 | 83 | 40
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1976–77
| New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 26
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 19 | 44 | 63 | 30
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978–79
| New York Rangers | NHL | 66 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 24
| 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1979–80 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 38
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 1980–81
| New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 40
| 12 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1981–82 | New York Rangers | NHL | 34 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 13
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981–82
| AHL | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 14
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 698 !! 246 !! 340 !! 586 !! 330 ! 68 !! 24 !! 25 !! 49 !! 58 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{icehockeystats|legends=14612}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = Norm Gratton | title = New York Rangers first round draft pick | years = 1971 | after = Steve Durbano}}
{{succession box | before = Ken Dryden | title = Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy | years = 1973 | after = Denis Potvin }}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Steve}}
Category:Calder Trophy winners
Category:Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Category:NHL first-round draft picks
Category:New York Rangers draft picks
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Category:Omaha Knights (CHL) players
Category:Springfield Indians players
Category:Ice hockey people from Toronto