No one knew that on this mild Autumn day on October 16, 1946, history was being made. It was in the form of Detroit Red Wings rookie forward, Gordie Howe.
Howe made his NHL debut when the Red Wings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at Olympia Staduim. Though he donned the #17 on his jersey in his rookie year, not yet his legendary #9, Detroit knew they had something special in Howe right away. Skating on a line with Sid Abel and Adam Brown, Howe scored his first career goal that very same night. He’d do that 800 more times throughout his career with Detroit.
On this day in 1946: Gordie Howe makes his NHL debut with the @DetroitRedWings.
He had yet to be called 'Mr. Hockey', he had yet to don the now-iconic number 9, but the hockey world would be changed forever. pic.twitter.com/By57XM0Y2p
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) October 16, 2018
After an illustrious career, “Mr. Hockey” passed away on June 10, 2016. Gone, but absolutely never forgotten, Howe is heralded by many as the best player to ever play the game of hockey. He ended his career with the Red Wings with 1767 games played, 801 goals scored among 1850 points. Howe also racked up 1685 penalty minutes.
His nose for scoring, his toughness at the game, and his perseverance embodied all that is “hockey”. We miss you, Gordie!
BONUS CONTENT
ON THIS DAY: Abdelkader scores Red Wings’ first penalty shot goal in 10 years [VIDEO]
It’s a little fact that you don’t think about in the midst of it. It’s such a small thing that it barely affects the team. But as of last season, the Detroit Red Wings hadn’t scored on a penalty shot in 10 years. The last time was Valtteri Filppula in December of 2007. But on October 16, 2017, Justin Abdelkader was going to change that.
In a game against their frequent postseason rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, there was a flurry of game-halting activity, and it started with a coach’s challenge.
Abdelkader broke away against goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. As he did, he was hooked from behind by Victor Hedman, got a weak shot off, and ended up colliding with Vasilevskiy. The late-man in, Darren Helm, pocketed the rebound in the net.
To view the rest of this content, follow the link below!
https://detroitsportsnation.com/videos/nwebb/abdelkader-scores-red-wings-first-penalty-shot-10-years/10-2018/197156/
