SNUBBING “DEFECTOR” MOGILNY MAKES THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME, A HOCKEY SHAME

DEFECTOR: Hall of Fame Snub, Reasons Unknown

There is an amazing documentary called “DEFECTOR”. This is the documentary about how Alexander Mogilny had to risk his life to escape communism to leave the CCCP Hockey team (amongst other important things) and join the Buffalo Sabres, who took a chance on him late in the 1989 draft. Mogilny would have gone early in the first round if not for the worry that he would never escape the Soviet Union. The harrowing tale of Alexander Mogilny is one of the best stories in professional Hockey history. Yet, the Hockey Hall Of Fame has consistently snubbed this man, who has the numbers and the hardware. Is the HHOF legit if they excuse a player such as this? I will leave a link to the documentary below so you, too, can see how outrageous this is, and how long it has been going on is also unbelievable. It is hard to watch as other players get inducted into the Hall Of Fame way after Mogilny, especially when Mogilny was the catalyst for bringing the other inducted players into the NHL. Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure are both in the HHOF and were where they were with what Mogilny did. Fedorov and his cups are understandable, but putting Bure in before Mogilny when Bure never held a cup is disrespectful. Let’s look at some of Mogilny’s career highlights.

“I heard they write and they say I only think about myself, who was thinking about me when I was finished playing Hockey in the Soviet Union?” – Alexander Mogilny

Documentary: Defector

Mogilny in the NHL

With 990 games played ( 10 from his 1,000th) and 473 career goals, some wonder why Alexander Mogilny (leading New Jersey in Goals and Points at the time) was sent to the AHL and then quickly retired. If he had played that season, he would have celebrated 1,000 games and 500 goals. With that being a lingering question, the bigger one is how is he not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame? In those 990 games played, Mogilny scored 471 goals and had 559 assists for 1,032 points. In the 1992-1993 season, Mogilny tied Teemu Selanne for most goals in the league with 76 in 77 games. Mogilny finished his career above a point per game as well as a +81. Many players in the Hall Of Fame have numbers far lower and without hardware. In 2000, Mogilny was a significant part of the New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Championship. He even had the secondary assist on the overtime-winning goal in game six in Dallas, Texas. However, New Jersey was only his home for a short time, as he came into the league playing for Buffalo before being moved to play with Pavel Bure in Vancouver. From Vancouver, Mogilny went to New Jersey, then to Toronto. He finished his career in a New Jersey Devils jersey for his second stint, and again, some wonder why he didn’t finish the season and hit goal and game markers in the meantime. That will always be a mystery to some.

Awards and Statistics

Moginly is a landmark player in NHL history; he was the first player from the Soviet Union to defect to play in the National Hockey League. That is directly from the NHL website, yet not in the Hall Of Fame. Mogilny won the coveted Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in the 2000 Finals. Oddly enough, the following year, the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup; he was with Toronto, but he won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the 2002-2003 season. So, with the hardware Mogilny holds and what he did for the Hockey players in Russia, how on Earth is he not in the Hall Of Fame?

“I TOLD SOME PEOPLE THAT I THINK MOGILNY IS THE BEST PLAYER IN THR WORLD, IN THAT DRAFT, THAT YEAR” – GARY MEEHAN (Sabres General Manger 1987-1993)

Documentary: Defector

Draft and Defecting the Soviet Union

In 1989, Alexander Mogilny was probably the best player in the world at the time. Before all the danger he went through to get to Buffalo, he won Gold with the Soviets. Mogilny was in Sweden when some Sabres staff flew there and started discussing Defecting the Communist Soviet Union. The story in the documentary is genuinely harrowing. Mogilny was drafted under the radar as the fifth pick in the fifth round, keeping the Soviets off their backs. That didn’t last long; they got wind of it when the Sabres snatched Mogilny from the Soviet team. The Soviets followed him, and even Mogilny’s family was in danger. Alexander had to file for political asylum in America, which at that time was not as that didn’t last long; they got win extremely easy as it is today. Please watch the documentary “Defector” posted in this article to hear the details of this unbelievable story. One of the reasons he is called a “Defector” is that few knew that Mogilny was an Officer in the Soviet Army. This title is not taken lightly by Communists in the Soviet Union. His story of getting to the NHL is so unbelievable that the only thing more unbelievable is that his man is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. To get more information on Alexander Mogilny, check out this Mogilny HHOF video below, and follow @DevilsJointX on X for amazing clips, edits, and live streams. To find the documentary, type into YouTube: “Devils Joint Defector”. Also, follow on YouTube @TheDevilsJoint and its backup @DevilsJointOnX

Here are some Mogilny videos.