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NHL

Celebrating the Top 10 U.S.-Born Fighters

Posted Feb 16, 2008 1:55PM By Greg Wyshynski (RSS feed)

Filed Under: General NHL, Rangers, Canadiens, NHL Fights, NHL Videos

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As I'm sure all of you are aware, this is Hockey Weekend Across America. (Did you remember to wear your favorite jersey to school on Friday?) Here at FanHouse, we were going to commemorate the occasion by celebrating the 15 years the U.S. has successfully kept Lord Stanley's chalice out of the syrup-covered hands of our neighbours to the nord, but we figured some members of the team might object to such blatant jingoism. Much more agreeable: A celebration of blood, fists and fury.

One look at the indispensable HockeyFights.com list of U.S.-born pugilists leaves one feeling ... yeah, I think "underwhelmed" might be the word. All due respect to Chris Tamer and Jim Cummins, there aren't enough "punchers" and more than a few "speed bags." But here they are, in completely debatable order and with little regard for anything that occurred more than 30 years ago: The Top 10 U.S.-Born Fighters in NHL History...

10. Derian Hatcher (Born: Jun 4, 1972 - Sterling Heights, Michigan): He was able to use his size (6-5, 235) and strength in a fight, unleashing some real bombs in a brawl. Check out this tussle with Darren Langdon of the Rangers to see how he handled a fellow heavyweight. Is he a cheap-shot artist? Sure. Did he pick on undersized and weaker opponents? Absolutely ... but is there anything more American than that?

9. Jared Boll (May 13, 1986 - Crystal Lake, Illinois): Not exactly the longest paper trail for the Columbus pugilist yet, but there's no denying the potential. He's second in the NHL in penalty minutes this season. And judging from his birthplace, there's a chance he may have actually attended a Camp Crystal Lake at some point, which is about as hardcore as you can get.

8. Cam Janssen (Born: Apr 15, 1984 - St. Louis, Missouri): Same deal as Boll: Doesn't have the experience in the NHL, but has an impressive won/loss record. As you'll see going forward, part of the problem with today's fighters is that the NHL mimics professional boxing: The lack of true Probert-level heavyweights in the League today makes rating the newbies a little difficult. In other words, how good is Wladimir Klitschko if there's no Joe Frazier to match up against? Anyway, here are some of Janssen's greatest hits, to the tune of "Bulls on Parade":



7. Andre Roy (Born: Feb 8, 1975 - Port Chester, New York): One of those fighters with a cult of fan support behind him. He has well over 1,000 career penalty minutes. Infamous for earning a 13-game suspension for "leaving the penalty box to join an altercation and physical abuse of an official." Good times.

6. Mike Peluso (Born: Nov 08, 1965 - Hibbing, Minnesota): OK, so he cried when the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995. You try calling him a wuss, and let me know how that goes. Lost way more than he won, but was a tough customer in a brawl. Check out this fight with Langdon of the Rangers.

5. Shawn Cronin (Born: Aug 20, 1963 - Flushing, Michigan): In three seasons with Winnipeg, he had 703 penalty minutes and one goal. Cronin the Barbarian indeed.

4. George Parros (Born: Dec 29, 1979 - Washington, Pennsylvania): Coming into his own as one of the NHL's premiere pugilists. But he's so much more than that. I'll let Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated explain:
The most improbable heavyweight in the National Hockey League wears a Boogie Nights mustache, speaks passable Spanish and graduated from Princeton in 2003 with a 3.16 grade point average and a degree in economics. George Parros is not the most famous pugnacious Princetonian -- former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrestled there in the early 1950s -- but the university is not exactly a haven for the cap-and-goon set. If throwing punches during hockey games seems an odd way for an Ivy Leaguer to make a living, it is no more bizarre than the careers of classmates whom Parros says are now in "I-banking," investment bankers who put in 15-hour days and sleep in their offices.
3. Donald Brashear (Born: Jan 7, 1972 - Bedford, Indiana): I've read some fight fan criticism of Brash that claims he takes a bit of a buffet approach to hockey brawls -- picking and choosing who and when he'd like to battle rather than taking on all foes. I'll tell you this: He's one of the best players I've every spoken to in articulating why fighting belongs in hockey and the differences between someone like him and a talentless goon. More Brashear info from this Capitals "Pop-Up Video" segment:



2. Nick Fotiu (Born: May 25, 1952 - Staten Island, New York): Old school! David Singer of Hockeyfights.com, in an interview with Hockeybird, had this to say about the former Rangers enforcer:
One of the best Rangers fighters ever, easy. He had a pretty good reputation coming to the Rangers and the Rangers certainly needed a guy like him at the time, they just couldn't compete while being pushed around by the Flyers and the Bruins. When he beat Paul Holmgren and Behn Wilson, a NY legend was made. He lost some fights, sure, but he carried that rep, Fotiu brought intimidation and struck fear into many opponents when the Rangers really needed someone like that. He wasn't a volume fighter, but few were when he played.
I absolutely love this fight clip, so stick with it: Nick Fotiu and Jim Schoenfeld talk, dance, talk, start grabbing at each other and then unleash hell at about the 1:30 mark:



1. Chris Nilan (Born: Feb 9, 1958 - Boston, Massachusetts): He was nicknamed "Knuckles," and he earned it with 3,043 penalty minutes in a career spent mostly with Montreal, taking part in some very memorable brawls. Nilan was one of those guys who was steamed when you'd call him a goon; he was an enforcer, and this is how he "enforced" Greg Smith back in 1981:



Nilan was interviewed by the Montreal Gazette last month in a "where are they now" article, and said something that I'm sure would be echoed by many of the players on this list:
"All I know is when I was playing, the guys were worrying that the Russians and the other Europeans were going to take our jobs," he said. "They took our jobs, all right, and they took our game, too.

"The rules were changed to help the European guys," he said. "Now it's more of a European style game than the North American brand we used to have and used to enjoy watching."
Xenophobic? Sure. Because as much as the game has changed, there are guys like Parros and Boll that will hopefully keep the tradition alive. And, perhaps, some impressionable young fan will watch them in action and decide that night that, indeed, he'd like to grow up and beat the living crap out of someone for a living -- and then get five minutes of well-earned rest.

Tags: Blackhawks, Blue+Jackets, BlueJackets, Boll, Cam+Janssen, CamJanssen, Capitals, Devils, Donald+Brashear, DonaldBrashear, Ducks, George+Parros, GeorgeParros, Jared+Bol, JaredBol, Winnipeg+Jets, WinnipegJets

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