Fred Hucul

Frederick Albert Hucul (December 4, 1931 – June 5, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who appeared in 164 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues between 1951 and 1968. The rest of his career, which stretched from 1951 to 1969, was spent in the minor leagues. Hucul shares the NHL record for the longest gap between NHL appearances, 13 years, along with Larry Zeidel, his former Chicago teammate.

Career A star in junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Canucks and Regina Capitals, Hucul debuted with the Black Hawks during 1950–51 season the and bounced between Chicago and minor league clubs for the next four seasons. Following 27 games in the NHL in 1953–54, Hucul then spent the bulk of his professional career in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Stampeders and Victoria Maple Leafs. For six years in Calgary and in Victoria, he was teamed with his brother Sandy Hucul. In the 1955–56 season, Hucul scored 21 goals and 38 assists. Upon the NHL's expansion beyond six teams for the 1967–68 season, Hucul signed with the St. Louis Blues and began their inaugural season on the Blues' blue line. However, before the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hucul was sent to the Blues' minor league team, the Kansas City Blues in the Central Hockey League, where he replaced Doug Harvey as the coach and general manager after Harvey was called up to the parent Blues for the postseason. Amid conflict and interference with Scotty Bowman and Cliff Fletcher, manager and assistant manager of the parent St. Louis Blues, over how to run the team, Hucul guided the Kansas City Blues through two losing seasons before being replaced. He gave coaching one more try in 1971–72, leading the Victoria Cougars of the WCHL to an 18-48-2 record before being fired and retiring to his cattle ranch in Alberta.

Later life and death Hucul later resided in Tucson, Arizona. His death at the age of 93 was announced by the NHL Alumni Association on June 27, 2025.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1948–49 Wetaskiwin Canadians EJrHL — — — — — — — — — — 1948–49 Wetaskiwin Canadians M-Cup — — — — — 3 1 2 3 14 1949–50 Moose Jaw Canucks WCJHL 27 8 11 19 59 4 1 2 3 8 1950–51 Moose Jaw Canucks WCJHL 37 19 27 46 165 — — — — — 1950–51 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 1950–51 Regina Capitals WCSHL 5 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 1951–52 St. Louis Flyers AHL 9 2 3 5 8 — — — — — 1951–52 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 34 3 7 10 37 — — — — — 1952–53 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 55 5 7 12 25 6 1 0 1 10 1953–54 Calgary Stampeders WHL 15 7 4 11 12 — — — — — 1953–54 Quebec Aces QSHL 13 4 6 10 26 12 1 3 4 10 1953–54 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 27 0 3 3 19 — — — — — 1954–55 Calgary Stampeders WHL 51 12 23 35 59 — — — — — 1955–56 Calgary Stampeders WHL 70 21 38 59 85 8 1 4 5 19 1956–57 Buffalo Bisons AHL 9 0 6 6 11 — — — — — 1957–58 Calgary Stampeders WHL 61 18 40 58 51 14 1 4 5 27 1958–59 Calgary Stampeders WHL 64 7 36 43 61 8 1 0 1 9 1959–60 Calgary Stampeders WHL 66 7 46 53 32 — — — — — 1960–61 Calgary Stampeders WHL 67 9 42 51 55 5 0 0 0 9 1961–62 Calgary Stampeders WHL 53 19 37 56 42 7 0 4 4 2 1963–63 Calgary Stampeders WHL 70 16 41 57 56 — — — — — 1963–64 Denver Invaders WHL 69 8 49 57 58 6 3 4 7 6 1964–65 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 51 8 20 28 67 12 1 4 5 28 1965–66 Tulsa Oilers CHL 7 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 1965–66 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 61 16 43 59 56 14 8 7 15 14 1966–67 Victoria Maple Leafs WHL 13 3 6 9 12 — — — — — 1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 43 2 13 15 30 14 8 7 15 14 1968–69 Kansas City Blues CHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — WHL totals 711 151 425 576 646 74 15 27 42 114 NHL totals 162 11 30 41 113 6 1 0 1 10