Stephen Kraftcheck (March 3, 1929 – August 10, 1997) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

and coach, born in Tinturn,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He played parts of four seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

between 1950 and 1959 with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1948 to 1964, was mainly spent in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL)., and he was inducted into the AHL's Hall of Fame in 2008,

Playing career

His first

(NHL) season was 1950–51, where he played 27 games for the

; 5 of these were in the playoffs versus the

, who went on to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

that year.AHL Hall of Fame biography
retrieved 24 July 2010. The next two seasons Kraftcheck played with the

(1951-1953), netting 10 goals and 18 assists. After this stint, Kraftcheck remained a perennial all-star, but in the

(AHL). The only other ice-time he saw in the NHL was for 8 games during the 1958–59 season for the

. Kraftcheck played 13 productive seasons in the AHL, where he scored 73 goals and added 417 assists. In two separate seasons, Kraftcheck scored 41 assists, and during three other seasons he scored 37. Kraftcheck also held the head coach/player role during 3 seasons for the AHL's

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

(1958-1961). His team made the playoffs two of these years, with Kraftcheck remaining an integral presence on the ice. In 1959–60, his Rochester Americans were defeated in the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

finals by the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

. Of his 3 coaching years, this was the only season Kraftcheck was the head coach for the entire year. He also played in 5 AHL All-Star games throughout the 1950s. He was posthumously inducted to the

AHL Hall of Fame The AHL Hall of Fame is an online ice hockey museum dedicated to honoring members of the American Hockey League. Each year, a new class of inductees is enshrined during the AHL's All-Star Classic. On January 5, 2006, the league announced that Joh ...

in 2008. Kraftcheck was the first recipient of the

Eddie Shore Award The Eddie Shore Award is presented annually to the AHL's best defenceman. The award winner is chosen by AHL media and players. The award is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shore. Winners NHL-level Eddie Shore Award One of the Bos ...

, awarded to the player chosen as the AHL's best defenceman. During his AHL career, Kraftcheck also played for the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

Indianapolis Capitals The Indianapolis Capitals were an American Hockey League professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1939 to 1952. The Capitals were a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. Indianapolis won the Calder Cup in 1942 and 1950. ...

, and the

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
AHL Hall of Fame Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraftcheck, Steve 1929 births 1997 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Ontario Indianapolis Capitals players New York Rangers players Providence Reds players Rochester Americans coaches Rochester Americans players San Francisco Shamrocks (PCHL) players Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian ice hockey coaches