We are going so far back on this one that when Ebbie Goodfellow signed with Detroit, the team was called the Cougars.
Sergei Fedorov made the CSKA Moscow team at age 16, and as Soviet players started to defect, NHL teams began drafting players from the Iron Curtain. The Red Wings were one such squad, selecting Fedorov in the Fourth Round in 1989. A year later, Fedorov defected and was in the premier league of Hockey.
Sid Abel began his NHL career way back in 1938 with the Detroit Red Wings, a team that “Old Bootnose” would become synonymous with.
In sports, you often talk about the "glue guy," which is the character player who holds the team together. That player is not necessarily a star, but in hockey forward, Alex Delvecchio is what we have.