In a 15-year NHL career, Jyrki Lumme enjoyed considerable success on the blueline. Lumme, who played nine of his seasons with the Vancouver Canucks was often regarded as the team’s top defenceman and he would have four 40 Point seasons with the team. Lumme was never an All-Star, though he certainly could have been considered for one or two.
Vyacheslav Kozlov, one of the last players to be manufactured from the U.S.S.R., played for the Soviet Union as a Junior and was a two-time Silver Medalist in the World Junior Hockey Championship. Entering the NHL two months before his 20th birthday, Kozlov would provide a solid scoring touch for the Detroit Red Wings, a team he was comfortable with, as they had four other Russians on the team. With Detroit, he would have two 70 Point seasons, but more importantly, was a cog in the machine that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 & 1998.