Ron Anderson's greatest accomplishments come in junior hockey. During his four years with the Edmonton Oil Kings he won two Memorial Cups. He turned pro in '67-68 with the CPHL Memphis Wings and made his NHL debut the next season playing 18 games with Detroit. After starting the next year in Detroit the Wings traded him to Los Angeles but they left him exposed in the Inter-League Draft and he was claimed by St. Louis. One season later, he was traded to Buffalo, and in 1970-71 he had his best NHL year, scoring 14 goals. His 1969-70 OPC rookie card had him in a St. Louis uniform, here's his Red Wings rookie.
Kent Douglas played his final NHL games with the Wings in '68-69. His first 80 NHL games, as a Maple Leaf, were as good as his hockey experience would ever get. He corralled 22 points, 107 penalty minutes and finished the 1962-63 season with a Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in one hand and the Stanley Cup in the other. He would spend another 13 years in pro hockey seeing time in the CPHL, AHL, WHA, EHL and IHL before retiring after the 1975-76 season.
Gerry Hart played for the Flin Flon Bombers and in his final season potted 51 points on defense while serving 290 minutes in penalties. In 1968, he joined the Red Wings but by '71-72 had only played 71 NHL games with 64 of those in '71-72. In 1972, Hart was claimed by the New York Islanders where he stayed for 7 seasons. Unfortunately he was claimed by the expansion Quebec Nordiques in 1979, just before the Islanders secured their first of four straight Stanley Cup victories. Hart played one season in Quebec before rounding out his hockey career with the St. Louis Blues in 1982. His '72-73 OPC and Topps rookie cards show him as an Islander, here is his Red Wing rookie creation.
Danny Lawson showed glimpses of his potential during five NHL seasons but itl was more evident in junior and during a five-year stay in the WHA. In his final junior season, 1967-68, he scored 52 goals and made his 1 game NHL debut. He played 44 games for the Wings in 1968-69 but struggled and was traded to the North Stars. Lawson was claimed by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 Intra-League Draft but only managed 10 goals in his final 78 NHL games. With a jump to the WHA's Philadelphia Blazers for '72-73 he finally regained his scoring touch notching 61 goals and another 50 the next season when the team moved to Vancouver. He spent another 4 seasons in the WHA retiring after the '76-77 season as a Winnipeg Jet. All his hockey cards were issued in WHA sets.
Pete Mahovlich is probably best known as a Montreal Canadien and for his play in the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series.
He ended his NHL career in '80-81 as a Red Wing but, probably not as well known, also started his career with 82 games in a Red Wing uniform. Over those four years with Detroit, he scored only nine goals but his play and his size impressed the Canadiens enough to trade for him in 1969. His first 2 hockey cards were issued as a Red Wing but he failed to make the '69-70 sets.
Hank Monteith would also spent his entire NHL career as a Red Wing, playing 77 games between '68-69 and '70-71. His offensive record would show 5 goals and 12 assists, not enough to earn him a hockey card. He would finish his career with 5 seasons in the OHA Senior League retiring after the '74-75 season.
Fred Speck played 28 NHL games for the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks between '68-69 and '71-72 before jumping to the WHA. He would play 123 games over 3 seasons there before an AHL appearance in 1975-76. The veteran pivot retired in 1977 after a solid year with the senior Brantford Alexanders. He would not get a hockey card issued.
Thanks to Darryl Babineau for this batch of Red Wing requests.
You can purchase these cards, or any of my Missing Link creations, for $10 each postpaid, or $7.95 each for 3 or more. Email me at: [email protected], volume discounts available on larger orders.