Joe Kroll played his junior hockey in the MJHL before starting a seven year pro career, mostly in the minors, that saw him make one game stops with the Rangers in 1936-37 and 1938-39. The last appearance came during his career year with the Philadelphia Ramblers in the IAHL when he had 24 goals and 54 points in 54 games. In 1941-42 he joined the NHL Brooklyn Americans for 24 games scoring 9 times. He retired after splitting that season with AHL Springfield Indians.
Joe Bell had two stints with the New York Rangers sandwiched around three seasons of fighting the Nazis instead of NHL rivals, Bell showed a terrific scoring touch in the minor professional leagues leading two leagues in points and four leagues in goal scoring. The left winger played junior hockey with the Portage (Man.) Terriers for three seasons, leading the league in goal scoring in 1941-42 with 38 goals in 18 games. The Terriers rode a 22-game winning streak into the Memorial Cup final series and won the best-of-five series 4-0. In 12 playoff games in 1942, Bell scored an astounding 31 goals. The New York Rangers signed the 18-year-old as a free agent on Oct. 30, 1942 and he managed to play 15 games with the Blueshirts before receiving his call-up notice from the Canadian army. He had scored two goals and added five assists before going off to fight the enemy. After the war, he played in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears and in New Haven with the Eagles and Ramblers before rejoining the NHL Rangers midway through the 1946-47 season. He scored six goals and recorded four assists in 47 games.
Norman "Odie" Lowe was a junior scoring star in Lethbridge and Winnipeg in the late 1940s. The Rangers brought him to New York directly out of junior, but he would play primarily with the minor league New York Rovers for two seasons. He was emerging as a particularly dominant scorer by year two, with 36 assists and 53 points in just 44 games. He would go on to lead all scorers in playoff scoring. Lowe did get into four NHL games over two season, 1948-49 and 1949-50 and would score one goal and one assist, both coming in his second game. It was also his second game that day. Lowe had played a matinee game across town with the Rovers and wowed with 5 points. From there Lowe was dispatched to St. Paul, Minnesota, scoring an unthinkable 33 goals and 78 points in just 39 games, before returning to the amateur ranks. In 1956 Lowe led Vernon, B.C. to the top of the heap, winning the Allan Cup as Canada's national amateur champions!
Rene Trudell came out of Mariapolis, Manitoba with a reputation as a fine skater and stickhandler but his NHL career was grounded before it even started, thanks to World War II. He served his country for four years before finally getting a chance at the NHL. Not a lot hockey playing World War II veterans cracked NHL lineups after their service was done. The NHL had found a new wave of younger talent, and welcomed back many of the old familiar names, making it tough for a player like Trudell to crack a line up. But crack a line up he did, playing with the New York Rangers for two and a half seasons.
John Fairchild was a satin-smooth shooter who could score with either hand and when he left BYU he held four offensive records. Finished his two-year career with 1109 points and 678 rebounds and his 13.2 average from the 63-64 season is still best all-time at BYU. Was a 2nd round draft pick, 16th overall, for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1965 and spent the '65-66 season with them. Fairchild later played in the ABA as a 6'8" forward for the Anaheim Amigos (1967–68), the Denver Rockets (1968–69 season), Indiana Pacers (1968–69 and 1969–1970 seasons) and Kentucky Colonels (1969–1970 season). He was a member of the Pacers team that was the ABA runner-up in 1969 and the subsequent team that won the 1970 ABA Championship.
Sam McDowell was a four-sport star (baseball, basketball, football, track) at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. By his junior year, big-league scouts were flocking to the Steel City to see him pitch. He gained more attention pitching at the Colt World Series that summer in Los Angeles, when he tossed a pair of no-hitters and a one-hitter. His senior year at Central Catholic, McDowell dominated the opposition, going 8-0 and not giving up a single earned run. He struck out 152 batters in 63 innings, and could boast that he had thrown 40 no-hitters so far in his young career. The Cleveland Indians, with a $75,000 bonus offer, outbid 14 other teams for McDowell after his high-school graduation. Played 11 seasons with the Indians followed by 2 in San Francisco and another with Yankees. In 1975, Sam returned home to Pittsburgh, as the Pirates signed him as a spring training invitee, and he made the team as a reliever. However he was released on June 26th without getting a chance to pitch, here's a custom to honor his last stand.
David Fales played college football at San Jose State and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Had stops with Baltimore Ravens, the Bears for a second time, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions before he was signed by the Jets.