Friday Five: Best player names

Friday five was a feature I started on my previous blog and I decided to bring it back.  It is simply a top five list on a certain topic.  This weeks topic is the best player names in Buffalo Sabres history.  There were so many names to choose from I had difficulty choosing only five.

1.  Morris Titanic (1974-1976):  Despite playing only 19 games in his NHL career Titanic had to be the number one choice in this competition.  If that isn't the coolest hockey name ever I'm not sure what is.  Titanic was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres by Punch Imlach with the number 12 pick overall in 1973 but never made it as a solid NHL player after a promising junior career.

More links on Titanic:

Best of WNY Morris Titanic
Buffalo Sabres Alumni Assocciation: Morris Titanic

2. Darcy Wakaluk (1988-1991):  Wakaluk was another player with a great name who didn't play much for the Sabres.  In fact He played only 22 games in a Sabres uniform amassing a 5-8-3 record.  He spent most of his time in the Sabres organization playing for the Rochester Americans.

More Links on Wakaluk:

Buffalo Sabres Alumni Assocciation: Darcy Wakaluk

3.  Jean-Luc Grand Pierre (1998-2000):  The list seems to be populated by players who did not play many games with the Sabres.  Grand Pierre is no exception having played only 27 games with Buffalo.  He spent most of his time with the organization with Rochester.  In 27 games Grand Pierre had only one assist and 32 penalty minutes.  He last played in the NHL during the 2003-2004 season with the Washington Capitals.  Grand Pierre was originally drafted by St. Louis and was traded to Buffalo on March 20, 1996 in trade involving Yuri Khymylev.

4.  Clint Malarchuk (1988-1992):  Malarchuk played over 300 games in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals, and Buffalo Sabres.  He will forever be etched in the minds of Sabres (hockey) fans for the horrific accident that took place on March 22, 1989.  Malarchuk had a solid career despite the accident and the fact that he never truly recovered from a hockey sense.

More Links on Clint Malarchuk:

Let's Go Sabres story on Clint Malarchuk
Legends of Hockey: Malarchuk spotlight

5.  John van Boxmeer (1979-1983):  van Boxmeer played four solid seasons in Buffalo after being acquired in a trade involving Rene Robert.  In his first season with the Sabres he scored 11 goals with 40 assists and a remarkable plus forty.  His best season with the Sabres and as a pro came in 1980-1981 when 18 goals and 51 assists for 69 points.  He eventually went on to coach the Rochester Americans and was an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres.

More links to John van Boxmeer:

Legends of hockey: John van Boxmeer spotlight
Buffalo Sabres Alumni Assocciation: John van Boxmeer

Notables left off the list:  Hannu Virta, Gilbert Perreault, Lou Franceschetti, Dainius Zubrus, Dave Snuggerud, Toni Tanti, Rumun Ndur, Mikko Makela, and Maxim Afinogenov

If you feel that anyone was left off the list or would have made different choices than feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me and I will add it to the site.  In addition if you have a top five list you would like me to share send me an e-mail and we'll add it to one of the lists.  This will be a feature done every Friday.