Radoslav Hecl: The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade

By Jon

The people have spoken; It's finally time to name The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade.


Garnering 47 percent of the votes, former Sabres defenseman Radoslav Hecl is our winner. It was never a contest, with Hecl leading the voting right from the get-go.

Really, was there any question? He couldn't have been more insignificant. Less than a calendar year with the organization, no points, and a crazy last name to boot (For the record, it's pronounced "HEHSH-uhl," according to the 19th Annual Edition of the NHL Pronunciation Guide, which is edited by Mike Emrick. Really. I'm not making it up.)

Final results of the poll:

• Radoslav Hecl 47 percent
  
• Domenic Pittis 13 percent (tie)
• Jason Holland 13 percent (tie)
• Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre 10 percent
• Paul Kruse 8 percent
• Chris Taylor 4 percent

The Goose's Roost would like to thank everyone who participated in the series, especially those who voted.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Do you want to see similar series run at The Goose's Roost in the future? Maybe something with the Bills? Let us know, because it's a loooooonng summer.

UPDATE: Ryan has come up with a proper way to immortalize Hecl, but only because he has far too much time on his hands.

Who is The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade?

By Jon

For those keeping up with The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade series we've been running, the day has finally come for you to cast your vote! Make your voice heard by voting in the poll posted at the top of the right sidebar, just underneath the header. Or, you can click here, if that's easier for you.

Voting will be open until Monday, July 21st at 5:00 PM Eastern. After voting closes, we will crown our winner and make sure we pay our respects with a fitting tribute. If you vote, feel free to back up your choice in the comment section of this post.

For those who need to review our six finalists, here are the links:

• Jason Holland
• Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
• Paul Kruse
• Radoslav Hecl
• Chris Taylor
• Domenic Pittis

Also, here is the link to the original post.

Remember, your vote needs to be cast by Monday July 21st at 5:00 PM.

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Domenic Pittis

By Jon


In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Our final candidate is Domenic Pittis, courtesy of Keller.

Domenic Pittis
#83, 12, 28, 38 (... Seriously)
Center
1998-2000, 2003-04

Drafted: 1993 (Round 2) by Pittsburgh

Acquired by the Sabres: Signed as a Free Agent on July 30th, 1998

Regular season stats as a Sabre: 14 games (according to hockeydb; the Sabres media guide says 15 games), 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, 12 PIM

Playoff stats as a Sabre: None

After Buffalo: After his first stint as a Sabre, Pittis played 69 games with Edmonton and 2 with Nashville, before returning to the Sabres for his final two games. He has played the last four seasons in the Swiss-A league.

Ebay swag: You can find a handful of Pittis cards on ebay, but some may find this page a little more interesting.


Puck bunnies, rejoice! A quick Google images search unearthed a few pictures of Pittis with females in local bars, this one with Soupy, himself.

Why Pittis should be Most Insignificant: Pittis went through four numbers and two stints in the organization, yet could never catch on with the big club.

Why Pittis should not be Most Insignificant: He led the AHL in scoring in the 1998-99 season, possibly giving some Sabres fans high hopes and leaving his name etched in their memory.

There you have it, folks. The last of our six finalists. Expect a poll to be up within the next few minutes.

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Chris Taylor

By Jon

In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Today's finalist comes courtesy of Peter Farrell at The Ultimate Sports Road Trip, former Sabres forward Chris Taylor.

Chris Taylor
#16
1999-2004
Center

Drafted: 1990 (Round 2) by the New York Islanders

Acquired by the Sabres: Signed as a free agent on August 13, 1999.

Regular season stats as a Sabre: 90 games, 8 goals, 12 assists, 20 points, 32 PIM. Not quite a point-a-game player.

Playoff stats as a Sabre: 2 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 2 PIM

After Buffalo: After coming to Buffalo by way of the Islanders, Kings, and Bruins, Taylor stayed in the Sabres organization for two seasons after seeing his final action with the big club, captaining the Amerks through the 05-06 season. As is the case with all of the finalists so far, Taylor headed overseas, playing for the Frankfurt Lions for the past two seasons.

Ebay swag: I could only find one piece of Chis Taylor merchandise on Ebay (this 1995-96 rookie card), however this guy is kind enough to show off the crown jewel of his online merchandise collection: A pair of game-used socks worn by Taylor himself.

I would question the legitimacy of the socks, but who would lie about owning a pair of Chris Taylor's socks? Also available, a pair of practice-worn socks by Andrew Peters and another wore by Mike Ryan. That guy should get an extra vote; He obviously knows a thing or two about insignificant Sabres.

Why Taylor should be The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Last night, when Ryan and I were discussing who the remaining finalists should be, Ryan grabbed his media guide and was convinced that Taylor had only played two games as a Sabre, when in fact he had mistakingly looked up Taylor's playoff stats. That's how insignificant he was: It was completely believable that Chris Taylor played in 88 less games than he actually did. Also, 20 points over 90 games isn't going to cut it for a forward, whether you're a defensive forward or not.

Why Taylor should not be Most Insignificant: He did play for 90 games as a Sabre, and some fans might consider him significant for being "that bastard that wore 16 after LaFontaine was traded."

That does it for Chris Taylor. We'll be back tomorrow with our last finalist, and then we will put it up for a vote. Is Chris Taylor The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade?

UPDATE: We're gonna hold off on the last finalist until Monday. The poll will also be up after we post our last finalist.

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Radoslav Hecl

By Jon

In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Today we'll take a look at Radoslav Hecl, another suggestion from Brian S. in the comments. (What can we say? The man knows insignificance.)

Radoslav Hecl
#21
2002-03 Season
Defenseman

Drafted: 2002 (7th Round) by the Sabres

Acquired by the Sabres: via Draft.

Regular season stats as a Sabre: 14 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 2 PIM

Playoff stats as a Sabre: None

After Buffalo: According to this 2002 Draft Evaluation I found on Hockeysfuture.com, Hecl was 27 when he was drafted, so the Sabres wanted him to achieve some level of production right away. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to cut it, Hecl went back to Slovakia and played there for three years. He played in the UK for one season and played this past season in Italy.

Ebay swag: Be sure to get your hands on an autographed puck from Hecl's days as a Sabre. Autographed in gold, and now 20 percent off. Buy it now for $1.59 plus $4.29 shipping.

Someone forgot to tell Radoslav that here in America we sign our first name in front of our last name.

Why Hecl should be The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Hecl couldn't have been in the Sabres organization for a shorter period of time. He was drafted in '02 and gone by the end of '03; A pretty incredible turnaround. I was pretty shocked that this guy played one game in a Sabres sweater, let alone fourteen.

Why Hecl should not be Most Insignificant: I'm digging for stuff here, but he was a seventh round draft pick that played in his first professional season on this side of the pond. That counts for something, right?

Finalist #4: Radoslav Hecl. I think he's gonna be pretty hard to beat; If you disagree let us know in the comments.

...Dad?

by Ryan

So things are moving along nicely with The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, which is surprising considering I'm not involved at all.

Anyways, a few pictures have been brought to our attention, and they have only brought up more questions when it comes time to finally vote.

First of all let's address the fans of Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Jean-Luc, or "Double Hyphen" as I like to call him, had two separate jersey sightings by our very own Jon and Porky from Side of Pork.

Jon provided a photo for the original post:



And just last night Porky came through with this bad boy:



This was taken at the Winter Classic, and if you are dumbfounded that he is standing next to a guy in a Curtis Brown jersey, you aren't alone.

Now, here's the question: are these two people one in the same? They are both white jerseys, but the one from the Classic appears to be a CCM. Jon's fan seems to be turned at an angle that could obscure the tag on the back, but they seem to wear the jersey a bit differently.

This one's up to you guys, really. If your vote will be somehow affected if it turns out he has two distinct fans, then so be it. I'm still shocked those two jerseys still exist.

---

Our second picture comes from Anne of Sabretooth's House, who dug deep and found a picture of Jason Holland in a Sabres jersey. The link to that picture is here, but it's too small to post here. However, I wondered something when I saw that card: Who is that behind Holland?

There were two possible candidates: Alexi Yashin, or Randy Cunneyworth. Both are possible, and if it's Cunneyworth, well, it seems we have come full circle.



This is Yashin, who sort of fits the bill if you ask me. He is my best guess, but don't we all hope it's...



Cunneyworth? I completely forgot he was the Sens' captain at one point, which only shows you what a laughingstock the team was at the time.

I know this post is lacking answers and only poses more questions, but I thought you'd want this information at your disclosure. Anyone have some ideas?

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Paul Kruse

By Jon

In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Today's candidate comes from dave in Rocha of BfloBlog fame: Paul Kruse. If you have any other nominations, leave them here or in the or in the original post.

Paul Kruse
#24
Left Wing
1998-2000

Drafted: 1990 (Round 4) by the Calgary Flames

Acquired by the Sabres: Traded from the New York Islanders (with Jason Holland, no less) for Jason Dawe at the 1997-98 deadline.

Regular season stats as a Sabre: 66 games (66!), 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points, 206 PIM

Playoff stats as a Sabre: 11 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, 8 PIM. He played in 1 game during the 1998 playoffs, scoring one goal and racking up 4 PIM. Anybody remember this?

After Buffalo: After being released during the 1999-00 season, Kruse played in only one more NHL game, with San Jose in 2000-01. He also played three seasons overseas.

Ebay swag: $8.55 will get you this "rare" photo of Paul Kruse (in the Flames jersey) getting his ass handed to him by Shane Churla. A must have for any diehard Kruse fan.


Why Paul Kruse should be Most Insignificant: Kruse was an established player before arriving in Buffalo (He played in over 300 games for the Flames and Islanders before coming to WNY), and yet, people seem to forget that he existed (dave in Rocha even questioned whether or not he met the 10 game minimum.) Rob Ray was clearly top dog as far as fighters were concerned, leaving Kruse hidden by his shadow. Granted, he was a fighter, but 5 points in 66 games? That's Peters-esque.

Why Kruse should not be Most Insignificant: He did play 66 games, although some would argue that is why he should be Most Insignificant. He was in plenty of fights as a Sabre, which might make him stand out in the mind of a few diehards.

Paul Kruse: Finalist #3. Is he The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade? Have at it in the comments.

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre

By Jon


In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Today's candidate comes from Brian S. and seconded by Porky at Side of Pork in the comments: Former Sabres defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. If you have any other nominations, leave them here or in the or in the original post.

Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
#34
Defenseman
1998-2000

Drafted: 1995 (Round 7) by the St. Louis Blues

Acquired by the Sabres: Traded from St. Louis Blues with a 2nd round pick in the 1996 draft and a 3rd round pick in the 1997 draft to the Sabres for Yuri Kymylev and8th pick in the 1996 draft (via hockeydb)

Regular season stats as a Sabre: 27 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, 32 PIM

Playoff stats as a Sabre: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 4 PIM

After Buffalo: After being traded to Columbus for "future considerations" during the Expansion Draft, Grand-Pierre went on to play two full seasons for the Blue Jackets and parts of a third. Since then, he saw time in Atlanta, Washington, and overseas. This past season, Jean-Luc played for the Lowell Devils of the AHL.

Ebay swag: You can get a puck, autographed by Jean-Luc outside of the players hotel in St. Paul, for $8.95 or best offer. I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm saying any offer is going to win it.

Why Grand-Pierre should be Most Insignificant: He played in 31 total games for the franchise, and his claim to fame is still being "one of those big black defensemen that played a few games for us."

Why Grand-Pierre should not be Most Insignificant: Amazingly, some people still walk around with his jersey on. Porky claims to have seen a Grand-Pierre jersey at the Winter Classic, and I just came across this the other day:



I walked in to my friend's house on Saturday night and spotted this picture on a photo collage on his wall. It is apparently a friend of his, and the picture was shot around Christmastime of '07.

So he's got at least two fans out there.

That does it for our second finalist, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Should he be the "winner?" Let us know in the comments.

Programming Note

Just a quick programming note....

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade series will continue tomorrow. Family obligations prevented me from posting the last two days. Plus, it's a holiday weekend, why would you be sitting at your computer reading a blog anyway?

The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade: Jason Holland

By Jon

In a quest to determine The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade, The Goose's Roost will profile one effectively useless player a day. After the profiles are all said and done, we will put up a poll with all of the finalists. The player receiving the most votes will be crowned Most Insignificant.

Since Keller provided the most suggestions, we decided to start with one of his picks, Jason Holland. Feel free to leave further player suggestions in the original post (or right here. I'm not picky.)

Jason Holland
#20/29
Defenseman
1998-2000

Drafted: 1994 (Round 2) by the New York Islanders

Acquired by the Sabres: via trade on March 24, 1998. The Sabres traded Jason Dawe to the Islanders in exchange for Jason Holland and Paul Kruse (remember that name.)

Regular Season Stats as a Sabre: 12 Games, 0 Goals, 1 Assist, 1 Point, 8 PIM

Playoff Stats as a Sabre: 1 Game (in the 2000 playoffs, for those wondering), 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 0 Points, 0 PIM

After Buffalo: Holland signed with the Kings after his time in Buffalo, even appearing in 52 games during the 2003-04 season. After the lockout, Holland couldn't find work in the NHL, and played professionally in Italy and Germany.

Ebay swag: Make sure you get your bids in on a set of two "rare and official" Jason Holland rookie cards. One dollar and they are yours.




Why Jason Holland should be The Most Insignificant: He was so unmemorable, I can't find a picture of him in a Sabres uniform (though my Google skills are lacking.)

Why he should not be The Most Insignificant: He came over in a deadline deal for a moderately popular player (Dawe) that was on a team that everyone loved and remembers (the 1996-97 squad.)

So there you have it, our first finalist for The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade. Should Jason Holland be the "winner"? Let us know in the comments. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the next finalist.

Insignificance

By Jon



A while back, Chris and I passed back and forth a piece of paper, trying to list the entire 1998-99 Sabres lineup from memory. After naming all of the obvious selections, we were struggling for the last few role players. While we tried to remember when Donald Audette left town (and for that matter, when he came back) and whether or not Erik Rasmussen was around yet, Chris came up with a guy that I had completely forgot about (as a player, at least): Randy Cunneyworth.



Cunneyworth's stats for the regular season were as follows: 14 games; 2 goals; 2 assists; zero memories. Some may argue that playing three games in the Cup Finals would warrent something to remember Randy by, but I'll beg to differ. How many people even remembered Cunneyworth was on that team before I jogged your memory? Anybody?



So that got me thinking. Who else have I forgotten about? I went back and looked at all of the rosters over the past decade or so, and there were a bunch of names that I had forgotten about (i.e. Cunneyworth) and a few names that I had simply never heard of before (Mike Hurlbut, anyone?).



So I ask you, dear readers: Who is The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade? Over the next few weeks, I'll profile a few of the names found on the rosters of teams past, and with the help of you in the comments, we will crown a former or current player as the unlucky winner.



Now, there are far too many players that have had a quick cup of coffee to make a case for one over the other; There is simply no way someone can prove that Dominic Pittis meant less to the franchise than Peter Skudra (who played for exactly one minute during the 2000-01 season. Take that little nugget of knowledge and impress all of your friends!), so some criteria needs to be established.

Here's how things will work:

Any player nominated for The Most Insignificant Sabre of the Last Decade must have played in at least ten games from the 1998-99 season through this past season. If you nominate a player, please be ready to prove their insignificance. I'll then confer with the others in the Roost, and profile the five players we decide are most worthy of the title. After that, we'll throw up a poll and officially crown a player as Most Insignificant.

So have at it! Let us know who you remember as being the least memorable! Leave your nominations in the comments.