Even today, with a Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 2002, Bernie Federko remains an overlooked player.
Bernie Federko played in exactly 1,000 games and all of them were with the St. Louis Blues, except for his 14th and final season. He managed to score 1,130 points (369 goals, 761 assists) in those games and holds many St. Louis Blues team records but rarely achieved league-wide accolades during his career. It's hard to stand out when you're competing against Gretzky, Lemieux, Stastny, Messier, Turgeon, Yzerman, Lafontaine, and so many more.
Ranking 51st on the all-time scoring list, Federko has autographed cards in various sets. In my collection is an In The Game Captain-C signature but it's a sticker autograph so it doesn't fit my criteria. However, from 2006-07 Upper Deck Parkhurst, I have a nice hard-signed autograph of Bernie Federko playing in his familiar St. Louis Blues uniform.
3 comments:
No lie on that underrated statement. I bet if you asked people to list out 25 of the player with 1000 points or more, not a single list would have Federko on it, which would be a crime. He did what he did very well.
And a lot of people don't think he should be in the HHOF either.
Any player with over 1,000 NHL points who averages more than a point per game should be in the Hall without question.
Those on the fringe should have serious hardware (multiple Cups, some end-of-season awards, preferably more than 3) or at least some league record to compensate.
Post a Comment