3 Flyers Amongst All-Time Top Manitoba NHLers

Over the last 100 or so years, this province has produced more than its fair share of hockey stars.

In fact, there are 18 people in the Hockey Hall of Fame who were born in Manitoba, and there are others who are on their way.

So whittling it down to a top-10 list was no easy task, but a challenge we were willing to undertake. We like these selections, but if you want to submit your own list or comment on ours, e-mail topten@wpgsun.com and fire away.

10. Billy Mosienko, RW, Winnipeg Three goals, 21 seconds, March 23, 1952. We've named a bowling alley and an arena after him. Enough said. But just in case you aren't convinced, Mosienko had 540 career NHL points and played his last five seasons with his hometown Winnipeg Warriors of the Western Hockey League, leading them to a league championship. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.

9. Ron Hextall, G, Brandon Hextall's goaltending numbers were good - 296 wins, 23 shutouts and a 2.98 career goals against average, but he made his mark by revolutionizing the position. Hextall was far more aggressive than most goalies - as his NHL record 113 penalty minutes in 1988-89 would attest - and roamed from his net regularly to play the puck. His rookie season of 1986-87 was his best when he won both the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophies. He might be best remembered for becoming the first goalie to shoot a puck into the net for a goal and the first to do it in the playoffs. He has to be on this list, just for the fact that he scored two more goals than 99.9% of Manitobans will ever score. He gets points for his attack on Chris Chelios, too.

8. Tom Johnson, D, Baldur While far from flashy, Johnson was a mainstay on the Montreal Canadiens defence from 1950 to 1963 and won the Stanley Cup six times. Johnson took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman in 1959 and had 51 goals and 264 points in his career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970.

7. Reggie Leach, RW, Riverton The Riverton Rifle fired 381 goals and tallied 666 points in 14 NHL seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia Flyers. Leach won the Stanley Cup twice with the Flyers and became one of the few players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) despite playing on the losing team when the Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 1976. Leach scored 19 goals that playoff season, a record that stands to this day. He also led the NHL in regular-season goals that year with 61.

6. Turk Broda, G, Brandon Walter Edward Broda won 302 games and posted 62 shutouts in his career despite missing two seasons while in the army during the Second World War. He won the Vezina Trophy twice and the Stanley Cup six times and played every one of his team's games in eight of his 11 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had a career GAA of 2.53 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967.

5. Andy Bathgate, C, Winnipeg Won the Hart Trophy in 1959 with the New York Rangers and had 973 career points on 349 goals and 624 assists while playing with Toronto, Detroit, the Rangers and Pittsburgh. He also won one Stanley Cup with Toronto in 1964 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

4. Theoren Fleury, RW, Russell While born in Oxbow, Sask., the pint-sized Fleury was raised in Manitoba and had an impressive NHL career that included 1,088 points on 455 goals and 633 assists. He also had 1,840 penalty minutes. Fleury won the Stanley Cup in 1989 with the Calgary Flames and was part of Canada's gold-medal winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Also played with Colorado, the New York Rangers and Chicago. Yeah, he had his issues, but pound-for-pound, they don't get any tougher.

3. Ed Belfour, G, Carman Why's he No. 3? We've got a billion reasons. The Eagle, who is playing with the Florida Panthers this season and is the only active player on our list, is the second winningest goaltender in NHL history with a 457-303-111 overall record. Belfour has a career GAA of 2.48, has twice won the Vezina Trophy and won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 1991. He also won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1998. He has also played with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs during his career. Not bad for an undrafted free agent from the Manitoba Junior League.

2. Bobby Clarke, C, Flin Flon The all-time leading scorer among Manitobans with 1,210 points (358 goals, 852 assists), Clarke won three Hart Trophies, the Selke Trophy, the Bill Masterton Trophy and the Lester Patrick Trophy during his career and led the Philadelphia Flyers to two Stanley Cups. He was also a member of Team Canada, which beat the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series, and etched his name in Canadian hockey lore when he broke Russian star Valeri Kharlamov's ankle at a crucial point in the series. He also amassed 1,453 penalty minutes and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. We're not nearly as impressed with what he's done as a general manager.

1. Terry Sawchuk, G, Winnipeg One of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, Sawchuk holds the league record for career shutouts with 103. He also had a 447-330-172 career record (third in all-time wins) and a 2.52 GAA while playing with Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles and the New York Rangers. He won four Vezina Trophies, the Calder Trophy, the Lester Patrick Trophy, two Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971.