Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as The Hockey Maven, will share his knowledge, brand of humor and insights with readers each week.
This week, Stan takes a look at the similarities between two power forwards from different eras, Hockey Hall of Famer Woody Dumart of the Boston Bruins and Anders Lee, captain of the New York Islanders.
Big, tough and defensively responsible, yet always ready to put the puck in the net. That 1940 scouting report fit Woody Dumart of the Boston Bruins perfectly.
"Woody," said Lynn Patrick, who coached the future Hall of Fame forward in his later years with the Bruins, "was always ready to go -- from the first day of practice to the last game of the year."
That description also fits Anders Lee of the New York Islanders, one of the best power forwards in today's NHL. Like Dumart more than seven decades ago, Lee is a left wing who can score and is willing to get his nose dirty. He's also a leader, as witnessed by the captain's "C" that's been on his uniform since the start of last season.
Dumart was the left wingon Boston's "Kraut Line" with center Milt Schmidt and right wing Bobby Bauer. He finished second to Schmidt in the NHL scoring race in 1940, but he never forgot to do his due diligence when it came to backchecking. Dumart helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1939 and 1941, and he was labeled "The best two-way forward in the game" by historian Andrew Podnieks in his 2003 book "Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL."
"When Woody retired, he was one of Boston's most popular athletes." Podnieks wrote.
Lee, now in his seventh NHL season, all with the Islanders, is every bit as popular among fans on Long Island. He's also a favorite of his coach, Barry Trotz.
"Anders lives his life really well and cares about others," Trotz said. "That's what leadership is all about. He has the qualities of a great leader because he thinks of himself last, not first. That's a great quality, and Anders has that."
Underlining the point, in 2017, Lee won the Bob Nystrom Award given to the Islanders player who best exemplifies leadership, hustle and dedication.
"Lee is just a super solid guy," center Mathew Barzal said. "He's a pro all the time."
A star high school quarterback as well as a hockey player in his native Minnesota, Anders decided to focus on hockey when he entered Notre Dame, where he eventually became captain. In three seasons at Notre Dame, Lee was named to the All-CCHA Rookie Team, All-CCHA Second Team and All-CCHA First Team.
"Lee is admired for being a player willing to go to the 'dirty' areas where he seeks rebounds and makes an opposing goalie's life miserable," one reporter wrote.
That sounds like Dumart, who at 6-foot, 190 pounds was one of the biggest forwards in the NHL during the late 1930s and 1940s. He was a power forward before anyone coined the term.
"Woody used his sizable frame to carve a passageway down the left side of the rink. and woe to anybody who got in his way," wrote author C. Michael Hiam. "He was the largest guy on the Kraut Line and had an even temper that he rarely lost, even when fouled. He played steadily in his own groove."
But Dumart wasn't just a scorer, as he showed in the 1953 Stanley Cup Semifinals against the defending champion Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins defeated the heavily favored Red Wings in six games. "One reason for that," Bruins coach Patrick said, "was the way Woody checked Gordie Howe throughout the series."
Although he was 36 at the time, Dumart gladly accepted the assignment -- even though Howe, 11 years younger, had become arguably the most feared forward in the NHL. He had led the NHL with 49 goals during the regular season, but scored two in six games against Boston.
"Most people thought Woody would run out of gas," Patrick said. "But I knew he wouldn't."
Lee's tank has remained full ever since he joined the Islanders in 2013 and scored a goal on his first NHL shot. At the start of this campaign, he had totaled 152 goals in 452 games and had established himself as an Islanders cornerstone.
After re-signing Lee on July 1, 2019, general manager Lou Lamoriello underscored his importance to the Islanders. "He was our captain and still is our captain," Lamoriello said. "We didn't bring him back; he never left!"
For his part, Lee has made himself at home in suburbia.
"This place, Long Island, is where I always wanted to be and where I see myself," he said. "I couldn't be more thrilled to be where I am today."
He'd probably like to emulate Dumart, who played his entire NHL career (1935-36 through 1953-54) with the Bruins.
Once asked to pick his favorite goal, he remembered a 1949 playoff game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"This was Game 3 after we had lost the first two games," Dumart recalled. "We were tied 4-4 and it went into overtime. I had scored earlier, but now I was itching for the winner when I was sent out on the ice around the 17-minute mark. My center, Eddie Sandford, took the face-off against Ted Kennedy, one of the best at taking draws. But Eddie jumped on the puck and batted it back to me. I let it go at goalie Turk Broda and … it went in!"
Lee hasn't had that kind of playoff success yet. But like Dumart, he's been the soul of consistency. Lee has scored at least 20 goals in five of the past six seasons, has at least five game-winners in three of the past four seasons and is a combined plus-29 since being named captain.
After Dumart hung up his skates in the spring of 1954, Patrick turned to a newspaperman and said, "You can write down that Woody was a model for all hockey players."
