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The NHL’s greatest teen sensations include Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby

Wayne Gretzky

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 1988 photo, Wayne Gretzky, of the Los Angeles Kings, is shown during a break in action at the Forum in Inglewood, Ca. The infamous trade that dealt Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988, sent shock waves throughout Canada and the United States is the subject of the documentary “Kings Ransom” that will be broadcast Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009 on ESPN. (AP Photo/Mark Terrill)

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Since the NHL finally allowed speed and skill to usurp groping and grinding after the lockout, the league has seen wave after wave of instant sensations straight from the draft. From Sidney Crosby to Alex Ovechkin to Drew Doughty and beyond, it almost seems like hockey players are hitting their primes the second their skates hit the professional ice.

That doesn’t mean sensational teen seasons are totally unprecedented, though, even if the Dead Puck Era made those campaigns more or less impossible. John Kreiser spotlights some of the NHL’s “best teenage debuts” in this article and I’ll highlight some of the best bits.

Forwards

Wayne Gretzky

The WHA’s Indianapolis Racers are little more than a footnote in hockey history. But their memory will live on for one thing: signing a skinny 17-year-old from Brantford, Ont., named Wayne Gretzky. The NHL wouldn’t touch players that young -- but the WHA, then in its dying season, was more than willing to do so. Gretzky played just eight games with the Racers before being sold to Edmonton and helping the Oilers make it to the last WHA final (they lost). No NHL team owned Gretzky rights, so Edmonton was able to keep him when the League absorbed four WHA teams in the summer of 1979, and though skeptics were sure he’d be banged around in the bigger, tougher NHL, he kept right on scoring. By the time Gretzky turned 19, midway through the 1979-80 season, he was already terrorizing goaltenders. He finished his first season with 137 points, tying L.A.'s Marcel Dionne for the scoring lead (Dionne won the Art Ross Trophy by scoring two more goals) and leading the Oilers to the playoffs.

[snip]

Mario Lemieux

Despite missing seven games with injuries, Lemieux became the youngest 100-point scorer in NHL history and earned the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. The Penguins improved by 15 points -- though they were still next-to-last in the League with 53.

Of course, Lemieux isn’t even the highest scoring teen in
Penguins history, as Sidney Crosby narrowly edged him with a 101-point debut in the NHL. Other forwards who made the list include Dale Hawerchuk, Steve Yzerman and victim of the Wayne Gretzky Trade Jimmy Carson.

Defensemen

While better overall players Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr also made Kreiser’s list, one very good defenseman had an even better debut season than those two Bruins legends.

Larry Murphy

Since the expansion era began, no defenseman has had a bigger effect on his team in the first season after he was drafted than Larry Murphy did with Los Angeles in 1980-81.

The Kings, who historically had struggled defensively, took Murphy with the fourth choice in the 1980 draft and wasted no time putting him into the lineup. They were rewarded with a 16-goal, 76-point season -- still the most assists and points by a first-year defenseman in NHL history -- and a 25-point improvement in the standings.

BARRASSO

FILE - In this Jan.12, 1998 file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins goalkeeper Tom Barrasso (35) blocks a shot on goal during first period NHL hockey action against the Carolina Hurricanes in Greensboro, N.C. Former NHL stars Tony Amonte, Tom Barrasso, John LeClair and the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey team will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The 2009 Hall of Fame class announced Tuesday, July 28, 2009 by USA Hockey also includes the late Frank Zamboni, inventor of the storied ice resurfacing machine. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan, File)

AP

Goalie

Finally, the teenage goalie performance stands alone.

Tom Barrasso

Not only did Barrasso win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, he took home the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender and was named a First-Team All-Star. No teenage goaltender has come close to his accomplishments.

Barrasso went on to win two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in the early 1990s and retired with 369 victories, now the second-highest total by a U.S.-born goaltender.