#153 - Reijo Ruotsalainen

He's the possessor of one of the most melodious names in hockey history. I'm bad with languages, but Finnish is more befuddling to me than anything short of Mandarin -- but every once in a while it produces a name that's just really aesthetically pleasing and rolls off the tongue - Reijo Ruotsalainen. Say it a few times when you're stressed out -- it helps. Pekka Rautakallio is another.



"Rexi" was a small, quick defenseman who put up some decent point totals in the NHL and had really good timing. The Rangers dealt him to the Oilers (part of a seven-player trade) in October 1986, putting him in place to win the 1987 Stanley Cup. The next year, the Devils picked him up on waivers, but he was on his way to Sweden anyway -- he spent the next two years in Sweden and Switzerland. He came back with the Devils in 1989, but midway through the season the Oilers took him back on waivers, and bingo -- Cup #2. He scored 13 points in 22 playoff games for Edmonton that year, then went back to Europe to play out the string.

During the early to mid-1990s, he kept showing up on the Oilers' waiver availability list each year in the Hockey News -- I think he may have remained even after his European career ended. In the late '90s, he'd show up in a coaching or administrative position with random ECHL teams -- he was an assistant coach with the Miami Matadors, and did something with the New Orleans Brass as well, I think. Now he's an assistant coach (to former Quebec Nordiques coach Pierre Page) at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.


Reijo Ruotsalainen's stats at HockeyDB
Reijo Ruotsalainen's profile at Legends of Hockey
Reijo Ruotsalainen's profile at Hockey Draft Central
Lowetide post with pic of Reijo

#252 - Dave Lumley

Wha hey, I start this up and get another card for the set in the mail:



Dave Lumley was on the downside of a relatively short career by the time this card came out. His point totals in the early '80s are the definition of up-and-down -- 58-16-74-37-21-32. He was buried in the Canadiens' system for a couple years, at a time when that lineup was about the hardest possible to crack, got picked up by Edmonton in the expansion draft, and played an agitator role on the first Oilers' Stanley Cup team. The Whalers picked him up off waivers, hence the "now with" note on this card; but he was back with the Oilers (on waivers, again) by the end of 1985, in time to pick up a second Cup. He had some knee problems, which I'm guessing (but don't know for sure) played a part in ending his career prematurely -- he retired in 1986, at age 32.

He now lives in Arkansas, which for some reason I find intriguing. That seems like one of the least predictable places for an ex-hockey player to end up. He did work for the CHL's Border City Bandits, based out of Texarkana, but they only lasted for part of a season and I don't know if he was already in the area.

One of life's little mysteries, I guess.

Dave Lumley's stats at Hockey DB
Dave Lumley's profile at Hockey Draft Central
Dave Lumley's profile at Legends of Hockey
Lowetide post with a bit more on Lumley