Steve Vickers

Stephen James Vickers (born April 21, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers from 1972 to 1982. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1973.

Playing career Steve "The Sarge" Vickers played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and was named a First Team league All-Star. He was drafted 10th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. He spent a season in the minor leagues with the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League before the Rangers called him up in 1972.

Vickers, centre Walt Tkaczuk and winger Bill Fairbairn formed a line that proved to be one of the 1970s' best two-way forward trios. Vickers scored 30 goals and 23 assists for a total of 53 points and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year. In February 1976, Vickers set the Rangers team record for most points in a game, with seven, against the Washington Capitals.

Legacy In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Vickers at No. 18 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1968–69 Markham Waxers MetJHL 36 43 40 83 — — — — — — 1969–70 Toronto Marlboros OHA 52 28 38 66 23 11 5 5 10 5 1970–71 Toronto Marlboros OHA 62 43 64 107 51 13 8 12 20 5 1971–72 Omaha Knights CHL 70 26 33 59 45 — — — — — 1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 61 30 23 53 37 10 5 4 9 4 1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 75 34 24 58 18 13 4 4 8 17 1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 80 41 48 89 64 3 2 4 6 6 1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 80 30 53 83 40 — — — — — 1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 75 22 31 53 26 — — — — — 1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 79 19 44 63 30 3 2 1 3 0 1978–79 New York Rangers NHL 66 13 34 47 24 18 5 3 8 13 1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 75 29 33 62 38 9 2 2 4 4 1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 73 19 39 58 40 12 4 7 11 14 1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 34 9 11 20 13 — — — — — 1981–82 Springfield Indians AHL 20 4 6 10 14 — — — — — NHL totals 698 246 340 586 330 68 24 25 49 58