Bun, Bowman, Backstrom, Budaj, and more!
1903 – Frederick “Bun” Cook was born in Kingston, Ont. Cook was an original member of the New York Rangers and played on its famed “Bread Line” with older brother Bill Cook and Frank Boucher. A member of two Stanley Cup championship teams in 1928 and 1933, he scored 158 goals and 302 points in 10 NHL seasons. He later embarked on a very successful coaching career, leading teams to seven Calder Cups as American Hockey League playoff champions. Bun Cook was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.
1933 – William Scott “Scotty” Bowman was born in Verdun, Que. Between 1967 and 2002, Bowman coached in and won more NHL games than anyone in history. His teams in St. Louis, Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit made 28 playoff appearances, reached the Stanley Cup final 13 times, and won the Cup nine times. Now 91 years old, he remains active in the game.
1937 – Ralph Backstrom was born in Kirkland Lake, Ont. The Calder Trophy winner as the NHL’s top rookie in 1958-59, Backstrom enjoyed a long professional career that lasted until 1977, mostly with the Montreal Canadiens. He was a member of six Stanley Cup championship teams, all in Montreal, but also played with the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Black Hawks in the NHL, along with the Chicago Cougars, Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics, and the New England Whalers in the WHA.
1950 – Darryl Sittler was born in Kitchener, Ont. The longtime captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sittler still holds the NHL record for points in a game with 10, which he scored on February 7, 1976 against the Boston Bruins. He also shares the record of five goals in a playoff game, which he also accomplished in 1976 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Sittler, who later played for the Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.
1956 – Peter Stastny was born in Bratislava in what was then Czechoslovakia. Famous for having defected from Czechoslovakia along with his younger brother Anton Stastny to play for the Quebec Nordiques, he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie in 1980-81, a season during which Peter and Anton both registered eight points in a game against the Washington Capitals, which is still a league record for rookies. Peter Stastny was the NHL’s second-leading scorer in the 1980s, behind only Wayne Gretzky, and he is the only player to have represented three different countries in international hockey play (Czechoslovakia, Canada, and Slovakia). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.
1959 – Kelly Kisio was born in Peace River, Alta. Kisio played 800 regular season and playoff games in the NHL, suiting up with Detroit, the Rangers, the San Jose Sharks, and the Calgary Flames. He served as the Rangers’ captain from 1987 to 1991.
1966 – Tom Chorske was born in Minneapolis, Minn. Chorske was the first winner of Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey Award as the best high school player in the state in 1985. He played more than 600 games with seven different NHL clubs between 1989 and 2000.
1982 – Peter Budaj was born in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia. A goalie, Budaj tended net for four NHL teams between 2005 and 2018, retiring with 18 career shutouts and a lifetime goals-against average of 2.70.