An inaugural member of the New York Rangers, Ivan “Ching” Johnson may not have been the best athlete in hockey (in fact he was far from it), but he mastered the art of defensive hockey with punishing body checks and slowing down offensive skaters with subtle clutching. Johnson was not paid to score (which is good, as he didn’t often) but his defensive acumen had few peers in his time and he was a four time post season All Star and two time cup winner for New York.

Nicknamed the “Ottawa Fireman” (Again, where are these cool nicknames today?) Alec Connell was a star Goaltender whose legacy might be higher had any of the teams he played on remained in the NHL with their original names (we are not counting the Senators who was resurrected scores later with the same name). Connell would backstop two squads (Ottawa in 1927, and the Montreal Maroons in 1935) to the Stanley Cup and remains the goalie with the lowest career Goals Against Average in NHL history. That alone makes him a legit Hall of Fame inductee.

The man nicknamed “Old Poison” (and isn’t that one of the coolest nicknames you ever heard), retired as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 1940 and held that status for twelve years. Nels Stewart was not just a great scorer, but an overall talented tough guy who was a physical presence everywhere on the ice. Stewart won the Hart Trophy twice as the league’s Most Valuable Player and led his Montreal Maroons to the Stanley Cup in his first year playing with the big boys. Although this would be Stewart’s lone Cup, he would remain a prolific goal scorer for his duration in professional hockey. Curiously, Stewart was never selected to a post season All Star roster perhaps due to playing for only one Cup winner and his less than sunny disposition. Regardless, Nels Stewart is a rightful inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame and did not have to wait too long for the accolade. Furthermore, he was the cornerstone of the 1952 class, and honor he rightfully deserved.

A gifted scorer for the Montreal Wanderers dynasty that won four Stanley Cups in the late 1900’s, Thomas “Moose” Johnson essentially had two distinct careers in organized hockey. Johnson moved west to the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and shifted from Left Wing to Defense yet remained a perennial All Star. His other claim to fame was the use of what is believed to be the longest stick in history (there were no regulations at the time) which gave him a reported 99 inch reach.