The Icelandic Canadian - 01.02.2007, Síða 22

148 THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN Vol. 60 #4 Vol. 60 #4 THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN 149
Legends of Hoc feu
CHARLES “CHUCK” ARNASON
Chuck Arnason played his junior
hockey in Flin Flon in the WHL,
scoring a league leading 79 goals
in junior in 1970-71. From there his
career declined. He was drafted
7th overall by Montreal the same
year the Habs chose Guy Lafleur
number one (1970), but Arnason
played only bits and pieces with the
Habs between 1971 and 1973 and
he was traded to Atlanta for a 1 st-
round draft choice.
But Arnason played only half a
season with the Flames before
going to Pittsburgh, and the follow-
ing year, his first full season, he had
an excellent year. He skated on the
right side with Pierre Larouche and
Bob Kelly. That was good for 26
goals, but the coaches wanted him
to work on defence. The Rifleman
had the shot but not the commit-
ment in his own end, and this
spelled trade with the Pens.
Off to Kansas City, Colorado,
then Cleveland, Minnesota, and
finally Washington, all the lower-
placed teams in the league.
Incredibly, he scored 21 goals with
Cleveland in 1977-78 despite play-
ing just 40 games, but his reward
was a trade to the North Stars. In
1980 he went to Germany to play,
but he suffered a career-ending
knee injury at training camp.
Despite playing 401 NHL games,
he appeared in only nine playoff
games, the result of playing for so
many poor teams during his NHL
career.
TYLER AHNASON
Tyler Arnason Was born March
16, 1979 in Oklahoma City, OK.
Chuck Arnason’s son, he was the
7th choice, 183rd overall selection
of the Chicago Blackhawks in the
1998 NHL Entry D'aft, Arnason is a
graduate of FargoVloorhead of the
United States Hockey League
where he was the league's leading
scorer in 1997-98 prior to becom-
ing a member the St. Cloud
State Huskies in 1198-99.
Named to the VCHA All-Rookie
Team in 1998-99, the Oklahoma
City native led the Huskies in scor-
ing during his sophomore season
and finished eighth in WCHA scor-
ing, earning All-WCHA Second
Team honours in 1999-2000.
Arnason returned to St. Cloud
State in 2000-01 where he led his
team in scoring for the second con-
secutive season before joining the
Blackhawks AHL affiliate in Norfolk
for the 2001-02 season. In 60
games with the Admirals, Arnason
finished with 56 points leading the
team in scoring and leading them
to first place in the South Division
while earning AHL Rookie of the
Year honours.
Although he spent the majority of
the season in Norfolk with the
Admirals, Arnason strong play
earned him a call up to the parent
club where he spent the latter half
of the 2001-02 season. Arnason's
impressive camp earned him a reg-
ular roster spot for the 2002-03
season and he proved to be one of
the top rookies in the NHL.
Arnason was rated in the top five
for goals, assists and points by a
rookie.
In his sophomore season,
Arnason struggled out of the gate,
yet managed to register 55 points
(22-33-55) while playing in all 82
games. Following a lock-out year in
2004-05, Arnason returned to the
Blackhawk lineup in 2005-06, how-
ever, the team struggled and the
former St. Cloud State sniper was
dealt to the Ottawa Senators at the
NHL's trading deadline.
Arnason signed as a free agent
with Colorado on July 1,2006.
BOBBY JOHN BENSON
At only 5'6' and 135 pounds,
diminutive defenseman Bobby
Benson played only one season in
the NHL with the Boston Bruins, in
1924-25, recording one assist in
eight games. But for Benson the
NHL experience wasn't the high-
light of his successful hockey
career. He was in fact a part of
Canada's hockey history before he
ever turned pro.
Born in Winnipeg in 1894,
Benson played four seasons with
the Winnipeg Falcons of the
Manitoba Hockey League, from
1913 to 1917. He spent the next
two years in the military, during
which time he played, along with
the entire Falcons squad, for the
Winnipeg 223rd Scandinavian
Battalion team. In 1920 Benson