Ken Block (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Richard Block is a retired professional ice hockey
player who played 455 games in the World Hockey Association
and one game in the National Hockey League
.
, Block turned pro in 1964 and spent three seasons in the New York Rangers
farm system without seeing any NHL action before being selected by the Los Angeles Kings
in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft
. He would be a King for just two days before becoming the answer to a trivia question when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs
for the rights to Hall of Famer
Red Kelly
, who had retired as a player but accepted a job coaching the Kings. Opportunities to break onto a deep Toronto squad were slim, and Block spent the next five seasons toiling for the Rochester Americans
of the American Hockey League
, where he played on the same blueline with and was later coached by Don Cherry.
Block would catch a break in 1970 when the owners of the WHL
Vancouver Canucks
were granted an NHL expansion franchise of the same name. Since the Canucks still owned his WHL rights from a stint there several years prior, his NHL rights were transferred to Vancouver. In 1970–71, Vancouver's inaugural season, Block would play his first and only NHL game.
Well-established as one of the better offensive defenders in the AHL, Block jumped at the chance to play at a higher level and move to the upstart World Hockey Association
in 1972, joining the New York Raiders. His first season in the WHA would be the best of his career, as he recorded 5 goals and 53 assists for 58 points, good for 3rd amongst WHA defenders in assists and 6th in points. He would have another strong season in 1973–74, recording 3 goals and 43 assists for 46 points. However, the franchise proved unstable moving first to New Jersey and then to San Diego
for the 1974–75 season.
Mid-way through the 1974–75 campaign, Block was dealt to the Indianapolis Racers
, where he would play his final 5 seasons before retiring in 1979. In his last season, he played briefly with a young Wayne Gretzky
before Gretzky was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers
. With the dissolution of the WHA in 1979 and merger with the NHL, Block would be one of the few players to stay in the WHA from the beginning to end of its existence.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who played 455 games in the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
and one game in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
Playing career
After a solid junior career with the Flin Flon BombersFlin Flon Bombers
The Flin Flon Bombers are a junior ice hockey team and current member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League , and are based in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. The team moved and became the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1978, but the Flin Flon Bomber name was retained...
, Block turned pro in 1964 and spent three seasons in the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
farm system without seeing any NHL action before being selected by the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft
1967 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars,...
. He would be a King for just two days before becoming the answer to a trivia question when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
for the rights to Hall of Famer
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
Red Kelly
Red Kelly
Leonard Patrick "Red" Kelly, CM is a retired Canadian ice hockey player in the NHL. He played on more Stanley Cup winning teams than any player who never played for the Montreal Canadiens, and is the only player to be part of two of the nine dynasties recognized by the NHL in its history...
, who had retired as a player but accepted a job coaching the Kings. Opportunities to break onto a deep Toronto squad were slim, and Block spent the next five seasons toiling for the Rochester Americans
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, where he played on the same blueline with and was later coached by Don Cherry.
Block would catch a break in 1970 when the owners of the WHL
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
were granted an NHL expansion franchise of the same name. Since the Canucks still owned his WHL rights from a stint there several years prior, his NHL rights were transferred to Vancouver. In 1970–71, Vancouver's inaugural season, Block would play his first and only NHL game.
Well-established as one of the better offensive defenders in the AHL, Block jumped at the chance to play at a higher level and move to the upstart World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
in 1972, joining the New York Raiders. His first season in the WHA would be the best of his career, as he recorded 5 goals and 53 assists for 58 points, good for 3rd amongst WHA defenders in assists and 6th in points. He would have another strong season in 1973–74, recording 3 goals and 43 assists for 46 points. However, the franchise proved unstable moving first to New Jersey and then to San Diego
San Diego Mariners
The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association. They played from 1974 to 1977. Their home ice was San Diego Sports Arena...
for the 1974–75 season.
Mid-way through the 1974–75 campaign, Block was dealt to the Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...
, where he would play his final 5 seasons before retiring in 1979. In his last season, he played briefly with a young Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
before Gretzky was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
. With the dissolution of the WHA in 1979 and merger with the NHL, Block would be one of the few players to stay in the WHA from the beginning to end of its existence.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1962–63 | Flin Flon Bombers Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a junior ice hockey team and current member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League , and are based in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. The team moved and became the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1978, but the Flin Flon Bomber name was retained... |
SJHL | 54 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1963–64 | Flin Flon Bombers | MJHL | 62 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 59 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1964–65 | New York Rovers New York Rovers The New York Rovers were a senior ice hockey team that was established in 1935. They played in the Eastern Hockey League as a farm team of the New York Rangers. The Rovers played alongside the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. They played in the Eastern League through 1947-48... |
EHL Eastern Hockey League -Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... |
70 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 1964–65 AHL season The 1964–65 AHL season was the 29th season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurates the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the AHL.Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule... |
Baltimore Clippers Baltimore Clippers The Baltimore Clippers were an American ice hockey team. They were the first of three Baltimore entries into the American Hockey League, who played from 1962–76... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1965–66 1965–66 AHL season The 1965–66 AHL season was the 30th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The league played a limited interlocking schedule with the Western Hockey League which was repeated two seasons later. The Quebec Aces finished first overall in the regular... |
Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 37 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Minnesota Rangers | CPHL | 30 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Omaha Knights Omaha Knights The Omaha Knights were a minor league professional ice hockey team from 1959 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska at the Ak-Sar-Ben arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the International Hockey League... |
CPHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks (WHL) The Vancouver Canucks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. Inaugurated in 1945 with the PCHL, they became a WHL team with the merger of the PCHL with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League in 1952... |
WHL Western Hockey League (minor pro) The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League... |
62 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Memphis South Stars Memphis South Stars The Memphis South Stars were a minor professional ice hockey team in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the Central Hockey League for two seasons and were a farm team of the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League.... |
CPHL | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 1967–68 AHL season The 1967–68 AHL season was the 32nd season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The league played a limited interlocking schedule with the Western Hockey League which was a repeat of the experiment two seasons earlier. The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial... |
Rochester Americans Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial... |
AHL | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 1968–69 AHL season The 1968–69 AHL season was the 33rd season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 74 games each in the schedule. The Buffalo Bisons finished first overall in the regular season... |
Rochester Americans | AHL | 45 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 1969–70 AHL season The 1969–70 AHL season was the 34th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Montreal Voyageurs became the second Canadian-based team in the league, and finished first overall in the regular season... |
Rochester Americans | AHL | 69 | 9 | 35 | 44 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,... |
NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 1970–71 AHL season The 1970–71 AHL season was the 35th season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Baltimore Clippers finished first overall in the regular season... |
Rochester Americans | AHL | 71 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 1971–72 AHL season The 1971–72 AHL season was the 36th season of the American Hockey League. Major changes occurred in the off-season. The league welcomed four expansion teams, and lost both Quebec-based teams. Eleven teams played 76 games each in the schedule. The Boston Braves finished first overall in the regular... |
Rochester Americans | AHL | 71 | 4 | 29 | 33 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Raiders | WHA World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926... |
78 | 5 | 53 | 58 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights | WHA | 74 | 3 | 43 | 46 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | San Diego Mariners San Diego Mariners The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association. They played from 1974 to 1977. Their home ice was San Diego Sports Arena... |
WHA | 36 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Indianapolis Racers Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena... |
WHA | 37 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 79 | 1 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 52 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1977–78 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 77 | 1 | 25 | 26 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| WHA totals | 455 | 16 | 187 | 203 | 192 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | ||||
| AHL totals | 322 | 25 | 123 | 148 | 178 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| WHL totals | 101 | 11 | 30 | 41 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| CPHL totals | 48 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||