People have always said that hockey is a beautiful sport. The combination of ice and skates gives hockey speed like no other sport. OK sure, speed skating is faster, and so is bobsledding, but they don’t have bodychecking, slap shots, diving saves, and a a big silver chalice to compete over, so in my opinion, hockey wins out. The pro leagues, and even most junior and minor leagues have dozens of players who can stickhandle a puck through an entire team and then deke a goalie out of his jock in just a few seconds. Back in the old days, before helmets became mandatory, you had guys like Guy Lafleur who could score at will while their hair was flowing behind them.

Take this week’s card, for instance. Here we have a picture that is supposed to represent the five-game semi-final series between the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks. Who would have ever thought that the Hawks’ 35-year-old Lou Angotti was as nimble as a gazelle? Hell, at 35, I was barely able to walk up the stairs without feeling winded, and here we have Lou Angotti leaping like his life depended on it. Just look at that dude! If the NHL had decided to start putting hurdles on the ice just to make things interesting, Angotti would have led the league in scoring for sure. What I find fascinating is the fact that Angotti is absolutely expressionless in this shot, like this is something he has practiced for years.

Apparently, the Black Hawks were not all that impressed by Angotti’s skills as they left him unprotected in the June 1973 intra-league draft. The St. Louis Blues claimed him and Angotti scored a solid 35 points in 51 games before finishing his career in 1974-75 with the WHA’s Chicago Cougars.