NHL HHOF Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Should Tony Hand be the only BHL player to ever be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, just so the BHL has representation? Tony Hand is their all-time leading scorer, although the league was made up mostly of players who couldn't make it into any better leagues. Slightly ahead of a common beer league. Tony Hand played 14 seasons in the BHL and scored 921 goals in 484 games. He was the first British player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. He was picked in the 12th round, 252 and last overall. He played three games for the Victoria Cougars of the WHL. He returned to the UK, citing homesickness, and made a name for himself over there. He later became a head coach as well. Most of the leagues Tony Hand played in no longer exist, except for the WHL. Years in existence WHL: The Western Hockey League (1966-Present) BHL: The British Hockey League (1980-1996) ISL: The Ice Hockey Superleague (1995-2003) GBR/BNL: The British National League (1996-2005) EPIHL: The English Premier Ice Hockey League (1998-2017) EIHL: The Elite Ice Hockey League (2003-Present) Britain’s Ice Hockey Icon Wonders, What If? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/sports/hockey/tony-hand-britain.html “The goalies were bad; that’s what it was,” Hand said modestly when asked about his British hockey exploits. He scored 105 goals in 35 games in the 1986-1987 BHL season. https://www.nhl.com/player/tony-hand-8456494?stats=career-r-all&season=null https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=19065 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hand Honours and awards[edit] Scottish National League 1985–86 (Murrayfield Racers) British National League 1986–87, 1987–88 (Murrayfield Racers) Best Forward (World Championships D) 1990 Best Forward (World Championships C) 1992 ISL Second Team All-Star 1997–98 Awarded the Ice Hockey Annual Trophy as leading British scorer in 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 Sekonda Face to Watch December 1999 and November 2000 ISL First Team All-Star 2000–01 British National league Coach of the Year 2001–02 British National League top points scorer 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 British Ice Hockey Writers' Association Player of the Year 1988–89, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11 Best British Forward 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 EIHL First Team All-Star 2004–05 EIHL Second Team All-Star 2005–06 British Ice Hockey Writers' Association All Star Teams 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 British Ice Hockey Writers' Association Coach of the Year 2010–11 Torriani Award, 2017[5] Career statistics[edit] Regular season and playoffs[edit] Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Murrayfield Racers BHL 22 18 21 39 23 2 2 1 3 0 1983–84 Murrayfield Racers BHL 30 52 43 95 28 6 10 5 15 6 1984–85 Murrayfield Racers BHL 36 72 92 164 36 6 13 11 24 4 1985–86 Murrayfield Racers BHL 32 79 85 164 49 6 13 13 26 4 1986–87 Victoria Cougars WHL 3 4 4 8 0 — — — — — 1986–87 Murrayfield Racers BHL 35 105 111 216 86 6 9 19 28 4 1987–88 Murrayfield Racers BHL 36 81 111 192 54 5 17 6 23 16 1988–89 Murrayfield Racers BHL 35 86 126 212 57 4 8 10 18 12 1989–90 Murrayfield Racers BHL 32 53 91 144 26 6 9 10 19 10 1990–91 Murrayfield Racers BHL 34 60 96 156 46 7 8 17 25 8 1991–92 Murrayfield Racers BHL 36 60 80 140 46 5 8 12 20 2 1992–93 Murrayfield Racers BHL 35 66 119 185 100 7 14 19 33 8 1993–94 Murrayfield Racers BHL 44 73 149 222 44 6 9 15 24 10 1994–95 Edinburgh Racers BHL 42 71 136 207 28 8 13 21 34 20 1995–96 Sheffield Steelers BHL 35 46 77 123 65 8 6 10 16 4 1996–97 Sheffield Steelers ISL 41 13 32 45 26 8 3 6 9 4 1997–98 Sheffield Steelers ISL 28 9 30 39 16 9 2 9 11 4 1998–99 Sheffield Steelers ISL 36 11 27 38 6 5 1 4 5 0 1999–2000 Ayr Scottish Eagles ISL 40 8 35 43 52 7 0 4 4 0 2000–01 Ayr Scottish Eagles ISL 46 19 36 55 42 7 2 5 7 0 2001–02 Dundee Stars GBR II 44 25 79 104 18 10 7 17 24 4 2002–03 Dundee Stars GBR II 35 22 56 78 99 — — — — — 2003–04 Edinburgh Capitals GBR II 36 21 63 84 38 11 2 14 16 2 2004–05 Belfast Giants EIHL 30 10 27 37 48 8 0 6 6 34 2005–06 Edinburgh Capitals EIHL 45 15 38 53 4 4 2 2 4 0 2006–07 Manchester Phoenix EIHL 51 17 55 72 60 2 0 0 0 20 2007–08 Manchester Phoenix EIHL 61 24 63 87 60 2 0 0 0 0 2008–09 Manchester Phoenix EIHL 52 17 50 67 74 — — — — — 2009–10 Manchester Phoenix EPL 54 25 95 120 52 3 1 3 4 4 2010–11 Manchester Phoenix EPL 54 25 108 133 65 3 2 3 5 0 2011–12 Manchester Phoenix EPL 21 6 26 32 12 3 0 3 3 4 2012–13 Manchester Phoenix EPL 47 10 67 77 52 4 3 6 9 8 2013–14 Manchester Phoenix EPL 53 18 64 82 104 4 1 7 8 2 2014–15 Manchester Phoenix EPL 44 11 46 57 36 4 0 4 4 0 BHL totals 484 921 1338 2259 688 82 139 169 308 108 ISL totals 207 65 174 239 144 36 8 28 36 8 EPL totals 273 95 406 501 321 21 7 26 33 18 International[edit] Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1982 Great Britain EJC C 4 6 4 10 0 1983 Great Britain EJC C 3 3 2 5 2 1984 Great Britain EJC C 6 9 7 16 4 1984 Great Britain WJC C 4 6 3 9 16 1985 Great Britain EJC C 3 4 0 4 0 1986 Great Britain WJC C 5 10 1 11 6 1987 Great Britain WJC C 5 8 5 13 16 1989 Great Britain WC D 4 6 12 18 2 1991 Great Britain WC C 8 9 12 21 12 1992 Great Britain WC C 5 6 12 18 4 1993 Great Britain WC B 7 6 8 14 2 1994 Great Britain WC 6 0 0 0 0 1998 Great Britain WC Q 4 1 0 1 6 1999 Great Britain WC Q 3 1 0 1 4 2000 Great Britain WC B 7 2 8 10 2 2001 Great Britain WC D1 5 3 13 16 0 2002 Great Britain WC D1 5 2 4 6 2 2007 Great Britain WC D1 5 0 3 3 0 Senior Tier I totals 6 0 0 0 0 Senior Tier II totals 36 15 36 51 16 Senior Tier III totals 13 15 24 39 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 The “Scottish Gretzky”: How Tony Hand kept hockey in the minds of the UK https://marchhockey.com/2014/08/16/the-scottish-gretzky-how-tony-hand-kept-hockey-in-the-minds-of-the-uk/ Tony Hand: A Life in British Ice Hockey Hardcover – October 1, 2006 https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Hand-Life-British-Hockey/dp/0752437976/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1L96ZA1V29MFD&keywords=Tony+Hand&qid=1663760078&sprefix=tony+hand%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHL HHOF Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 Tony Hand - The Scottish Wayne Gretzky https://www.cougarshockeyproject.ca/post/tony-hand-the-scottish-wayne-gretzky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 (edited) Interesting Edited February 9, 2023 by ruxpin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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