Joe Kocur

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CanadaCanada  Joe Kocur Ice hockey player
Date of birth December 21, 1964
place of birth Calgary , Alberta , Canada
size 183 cm
Weight 101 kg
position Right wing
Shot hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1983 , 5th lap, 88th position
Detroit Red Wings
Career stations
1980-1982 Yorkton Terriers
1982-1984 Saskatoon Blades
1984-1991 Detroit Red Wings
1991-1996 New York Rangers
1996 Vancouver Canucks
1996-1999 Detroit Red Wings

Joseph George "Joey" Kocur (born December 21, 1964 in Calgary , Alberta ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player and coach who played 938 games for the Detroit Red Wings , New York Rangers and, among others, between 1982 and 1999 Vancouver Canucks played in the National Hockey League on the position of right winger . During his 15 seasons in the NHL, Kocur won the Stanley Cup three times  - in 1994 with the New York Rangers and in 1997 and 1998 with the Detroit Red Wings. Kocur, who embodied the player type of the Enforcer , is considered one of the toughest and best pugilists in NHL history and is best known for the punching power of his right hand.

Career

Kocur began his career with the Yorkton Terriers in a junior league in Saskatchewan , before he moved to the Saskatoon Blades in the junior Western Hockey League in 1982 . There he showed his strengths as a physically tough player in his first season. At just over 100 kilos by 1.83 m, Kocur was also made for the role of the enforcer . He was then selected in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft in the fifth round by the Detroit Red Wings at position 88. He stayed in the WHL for another year, collecting 81 points and 258 penalty minutes.

Shortly after the end of the WHL season, he was brought to the playoffs of the American Hockey League in the squad of the Adirondack Red Wings , the farm team of Detroit. In the following season 1984/85 he came to 17 missions in the National Hockey League , before he could prevail in 1985/86 with the Detroit Red Wings. He spent 377 minutes in the penalty box in 59 games. Kocur established himself as a strong defensive striker in the Red Wings team and played his best season of his career by far with 36 points in 1989/90 .

In March 1991 he was transferred to the New York Rangers , where he helped the team win the first Stanley Cup in 54 years in 1994 . In the spring of 1996, Kocur was transferred to the Vancouver Canucks , where he only played for a short time, because the Canucks did not extend his contract at the end of the season.

No NHL team wanted to sign him until the start of the season in October 1996, which is why he joined the San Antonio Dragons in the lower class International Hockey League . In December 1996 he got a contract with his former employer, the Detroit Red Wings. Kocur continued his style of playing particularly hard, but he didn't collect as many penalty minutes as in his early years in Detroit. In 1997 and 1998 he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings. During the 1998/99 season, Kocur injured his groin and was out for the remainder of the season. In May 1998, he finally underwent an operation. However, this meant that he also had to pause the entire 1999/2000 season . In October 2000 he finally announced the end of his career.

In the 1980s, Joe Kocur was known as one of the "Bruise Brothers" . Together with Bob Probert he formed one of the toughest duos in the history of the NHL. Not only did Kocur play hard, but he never avoided a fight on the ice. He was also part of the “ Grind Line ” of the Red Wings together with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby .

In 2001 he was accepted by the Red Wings as a video coach in the coaching staff and remained so until the resignation of head coach Scotty Bowman after winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 . Bowman's successor was Dave Lewis and Kocur became one of his assistant coaches. The team split from Lewis and Kocur in 2004.

Achievements and Awards

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1980/81 Yorkton Terriers SJHL 48 6th 9 15th 307 - - - - -
1981/82 Yorkton Terriers SJHL 47 20th 21st 41 199 - - - - -
1982/83 Saskatoon Blades WHL 62 23 17th 40 289 6th 2 3 5 25th
1983/84 Saskatoon Blades WHL 69 40 41 81 258 - - - - -
1983/84 Adirondack Red Wings AHL - - - - - 5 0 0 0 20th
1984/85 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 47 12 7th 19th 171 - - - - -
1984/85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 17th 1 0 1 64 3 1 0 1 5
1985/86 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 9 6th 2 8th 34 - - - - -
1985/86 Detroit Red Wings NHL 59 9 6th 15th 377 - - - - -
1986/87 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 9 9 18th 276 16 2 3 5 71
1987/88 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 7th 7th 14th 263 10 0 1 1 13
1988/89 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 9 9 18th 213 3 0 1 1 6th
1989/90 Detroit Red Wings NHL 71 16 20th 36 268 - - - - -
1990/91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52 5 4th 9 253 - - - - -
1990/91 New York Rangers NHL 5 0 0 0 36 6th 0 2 2 21st
1991/92 New York Rangers NHL 51 7th 4th 11 121 12 1 1 2 38
1992/93 New York Rangers NHL 65 3 6th 9 131 - - - - -
1993/94 New York Rangers NHL 71 2 1 3 129 20th 1 1 2 17th
1994/95 New York Rangers NHL 48 1 2 3 71 10 0 0 0 8th
1995/96 New York Rangers NHL 38 1 2 3 49 - - - - -
1995/96 Vancouver Canucks NHL 7th 0 1 1 19th 1 0 0 0 0
1996/97 San Antonio Dragons IHL 5 1 1 2 24 - - - - -
1996/97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 34 2 1 3 70 19th 1 3 4th 22nd
1997/98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 6th 5 11 92 18th 4th 0 4th 30th
1998/99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 39 2 5 7th 87 - - - - -
SJHL overall 95 26th 30th 56 506 - - - - -
WHL overall 131 63 58 121 547 6th 2 3 5 25th
AHL total 56 18th 9 27 205 5 0 0 0 20th
NHL overall 820 80 82 162 2519 118 10 12 22nd 231

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

family

Numerous Kocurs cousins ​​also played or trained in the National Hockey League . These include Wendel Clark , Barry Melrose and Chandler Stephenson . Also played Kerry Clark and Kory Kocur at a professional level.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kocur, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kocur, Joseph George (full name); Kocur, Joey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Calgary , Alberta