The Dmitri Kvartalnov Files
It was a cold September Day in Labrador City in the year 1992. I was getting ready to head back to University and decided to have one last bar- b-que before I left for the semester. I stopped into my local grocery store and headed for the meat department where Johnny Rubber (actual last name is Byrne but he was a pitcher) was working that day. John and myself were talking hockey (as usual) and I told him that I had a draft that evening. John, knowing that I was a big Bruins fan, mentioned some Russian kid named Dmitri Kvartalnov who I had never heard of and told me this kid was going to be great. I had my doubts at first because I never even heard of this guy who played with The San Diego Gulls of the IHL the season before but when Johnny Rubber tells me something about hockey I listen because besides Liam Maguire he is the only person on this planet who I consider knowing more about hockey than myself. Anyway I went to my draft that nite and with my last selection I took K-Vart; needless to say I got a lot of laughs and strange looks. Well I ended up with the last laugh as I won the draft and the $1000.00 purse by 12 points - my edge was K-Vart and his 72 points in 73 games for the Bruins that season (not bad for a last pick).
The next year Kvartalnov spent between Boston and Providence and never really got his form from the previous season back and his NHL career was over. However the Bruins continued to protect his rights from waivers up until 2000 (I never knew why but they did).
Dmitri's 72 points in his rookie year with Boston along with Joe Juneau's 102 points that same season (poor Joey was the 1st ever rookie to get 100+ points in a season and not win the rookie of the year) set a record for points by rookies on the same line with 174. I still think this is a record today. However one stat I have never been able to find (then and now) is the record for points by 2 rookies on the same team - they might have set this record also and still may have it but I can not confirm this so I do not know.
Anyway that is my story and memory of Dmitri Kvartalnov - if anybody can find out what the record is for points by two rookies in a season on the same team please let me know.
The next year Kvartalnov spent between Boston and Providence and never really got his form from the previous season back and his NHL career was over. However the Bruins continued to protect his rights from waivers up until 2000 (I never knew why but they did).
Dmitri's 72 points in his rookie year with Boston along with Joe Juneau's 102 points that same season (poor Joey was the 1st ever rookie to get 100+ points in a season and not win the rookie of the year) set a record for points by rookies on the same line with 174. I still think this is a record today. However one stat I have never been able to find (then and now) is the record for points by 2 rookies on the same team - they might have set this record also and still may have it but I can not confirm this so I do not know.
Anyway that is my story and memory of Dmitri Kvartalnov - if anybody can find out what the record is for points by two rookies in a season on the same team please let me know.
Labels: Dmitri Kvartalnov, Joe Juneau
posted by jimbuff at Monday, June 04, 2007
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8 Comments:
I'm pretty sure I actually saw this guy play for the Gulls. In those days they were a powerhouse in their league, winning almost every game. It was the goaltender though who was getting all the attention, but I don't recall who he was. Somebody years later claimed that it was Kelly Rhudy but I don't think so.
#4
Kelly Hrudey was already in the NHL 7 years before K-Vart played with the Gulls - it wouldn't have been him.
#4
I just did some research and the Gulls had 5 different goalies on their roster when Kvartalnov was there they are:
1. Bruce Hoffort
2. Rick Knickle
3. Rod Houk
4. Greg Millen
5. Sean Burke
Nice research there jimbuff. Did you catch who their coach was in 1990-1991?
The season I remember best must have been 1992-1993 (although I saw some games the previous year). They went 62-12-0 but lost in the final. The goaltender must have been Rick Knickle. He went 33-4-4 that year. Those games were really fun and I remember being very impressed with him (considering it was minor league hockey in Southern California). I see he was a bust in the NHL.
Now here's something really freaky (at least for me). I was looking at the '92-'93 Gulls roster and the name Ken Hodge jumped out at me (one of my boyhood Bruins heroes). Out of curiosity I clicked on his name. It said he played the next season with the Bruins! Now, those were dark-age years for me as a Bruins fan--I was not able to follow the team at all from San Diego so that surprised me. I had no idea that two guys named Ken Hodge had played for our B's!
Ken Hodge "Jr" played for the Bruins from 1990-91 and 1991-92. He played the Gulls after his NHL career tanked.
treebob: was Ken Hodge Jr. the son of the Ken Hodge of the70's? Please excuse my ignorance--unfortunately there are other periods of B's history when I wasn't able to keep up with the team (most notably in the early and mid-80's).
No takers on who the coach of the Gulls was in '90-'91 eh? It was none other than Mike O'Connell. You remember him, right? :-)
Yes Ken Hodge of the 70's is his father. I just looked up the coach on hockeydb before I read your post. Waddell and Dudley succeeded O'Connell.
Clint Malarchuk is the goalie most associated with the Gulls and he joined them in 1992-93, their last year. He then spent several years with the similar Las Vegas Thunder. He is of course known for almost bleeding to death on the ice and I thought he was very good for the Sabres in 1990-91 in the playoffs and in 1991-92. I guess someone had to make way for Dominik Hasek who was acquired in the off-season in 1992...
Knickle's notoriety came that year 1992-93 when he joined the NHL as a rookie at age 33...
Kvartalnov in 2006-07 played in the the Russian league at age 40...
He started the year with the Soviet Wings and scored 9 goals and added 13 assists in 25 games, and was traded to the Cherepovets Severstal, where in 20 games he scored 3 goals and added 6 assists for 9 points.
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