Here's a guy that i never much liked when he played but have certainly warmed up to since. The "lion killer" is a bit of a jab from
Ed Westfall's comment in the clip i first saw him in, a divisional battle vs islander
Gerald Diduck where he celebrated the fight.
Funny how you take a shine to certain guys but dislike similar ones. For instance, i've always liked
Dennis Vial but never rooted for Rudy despite the fact he's probably a superior scrapper.
From his entrance into the NHL as a ranger tough guy where he had 31 fights in his rookie campaign to his end in St. Louis as an excellent compliment to
Tony Twist, poeschek amassed an amazing 123 fights in only 364 career NHL games. A most willing and entertaining fighter who left us with a bunch of highlight reel memories and compiled a fine card.
DYG credits him with a record of 18-3-10 in his first year in New York including a 5-0 preseason highlighted by nice wins over underrated minor league technician
Rod Dallman and a clear win over
Dale Kushner. It set the tone for a season where he fought a ton of divisional battles. He got clearly beaten by
Dave Brown but tko'ed underrated great
Jay Wells and had his first notable bout vs
Darin Kimble in a tradition of T2T wars. He also had two wins over
Basil Mcrae.
He then followed that up in his 2nd year with a nice win over
Jim Kyte, his second loss to
Craig Berube who he had trouble with and that bout vs diduck in the LI-NY rivalry.
He bounced back and forth to the minors and found time to engage greats like both Roberge brothers and
Jim Mckenzie. I know i've been vaguely impressed by clips i've seen (probably vs the nearly peerless
Serge Roberge). For sure, rudy didn't shy away from anyone and fought the Probert's, Brown's, Twist's, Laus, Mckenzie, J. Kordic, Miller, Ray, Berube, Wells, McCarthy and many others, giving his best account in T2T bouts.
He had a one year run in winnipeg highlighted by a fine bout in a loss to a quebec version of
Tony Twist. Two very similar fighters at that stage. He also fought great
John Kordic.
He then resurfaced in Tampa bay for a run where i recall that all time caps classic vs
Craig Berube where both men were bloodied in a short, furious war that went Berube's way. He suffered few big losses in his career but was handled easily by
Mark Tinordi.
He had many outstanding bouts in tampa. A close battle with
Bob Probert where he pressed the fight and did well until probie got loose from his equipment. He couldn't solve
Dave Brown but had good battles vs
Darin Kimble in a clear win and the first good fight with
Brad May.
He also began a series with
Paul Laus. Unfortunately there isn't much video to enjoy on it. He took wins over
Rob Ray (who he never lost to via DYG) and had a stunning T2T win over
Shawn Antoski.
Following my notes (
), he lost a marathon to
Marty Mcsorley on a late round decision but bloodied
Brad May and beat
Jay Wells again. His series with wells who is in my top 22 really is a feather in poeschek's cap IMO. He fought twist again and had a great punchup with short timer Alex Stojanov. He also beat similar
Ken Belanger who was another short term force in a memorable bout.
He then found his way to St. Louis where he was a fine #2 behind
Tony Twist. He fought less but had a highlight war with
Patrick Cote, a nice draw with a calgary version of
Sandy McCarthy and a win over
Dan Kordic. He also fought great
Jim Mckenzie and was finally dropped by all time great
Donald Brashear in one of those dominant showings by brash.
All in all, Rudy is a guy who has grown on me. A free swinging brawler with a fine chin. He fought a roster of greats that a lot of people avoided and did quite well. For every negative like guys like
Dave Brown or
Craig Berube that he struggled to solve, there are series vs greats like
Rob Ray or
Jay Wells that went in his favor and many, many outstanding clips to enjoy.
123 fights in only 364 games vs all comers. Here's a guy that i didn't care much for but i'm sure that i would have liked if he had played on my team. Certainly a guy that has grown on me on the intervening years like so many guys i didn't like when they played.
Opinions anyone?