| Pentti Lund | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Lund with theNew York Rangers during the 1949–50 season | |||
| Born | (1925-12-06)December 6, 1925 Karijoki, Finland | ||
| Died | April 16, 2013(2013-04-16) (aged 87) Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 1943–1953 | ||
Pentti Alexander Lund (December 6, 1925 – April 16, 2013) was aFinnish Canadian professionalice hockeyright winger who played for theBoston Bruins andNew York Rangers of theNational Hockey League. Lund was often credited as being the first Finnish player in the NHL.[1]Albert Pudas, however, played four games with theToronto Maple Leafs in 1926–27. Although Pudas was born in Finland, he had Canadian citizenship.[2]
Lund moved toPort Arthur, Ontario fromFinland at the age of six. He began his junior career with the local Port Arthur teams in theThunder Bay Junior A Hockey League from 1942 to 1945. Lund led the league in scoring during his two seasons with the Navy team, where, in 19 regular season games, he scored an impressive 47 goals.
Lund turned pro in 1945–46 with theBoston Olympics of theEastern Hockey League, a minor affiliate team of theBoston Bruins. He scored 33 points during the regular season and scored 15 points in 9 playoff games with the Olympics helping the team win a championship. Next season, Lund led the league in scoring with 92 points in 56 games. This helped him garner some fame as he was called up by the Boston Bruins in theNational Hockey League to play in one playoff game. In1947-48, Lund joined theHershey Bears in theAmerican Hockey League where his excellent play was rewarded with two playoff game appearances with the Boston Bruins.
During the off-season, Lund was traded to theNew York Rangers, where he won theCalder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year by scoring 14 goals and adding 16 assists in 59 games. He also became the firstFinnish-born player to score a goal in the NHL. In hissecond year with the Rangers, he scored a career-high 18 goals. Lund and the Rangers made a great run to theStanley Cup Finals as the fourth-seeded team. Lund had a great postseason as he recorded 11 points in 12 games. The Rangers would lose theStanley Cup to the first-placeDetroit Red Wings in seven games.
Lund was traded back to the Boston Bruins early in the1951-52 season. During the season, Lund suffered an eye injury from a high stick on November 13, during the 13th game of the season, with Lund skating with number 13 on his jersey, suggesting to many that unlucky number 13 played a role in the injury. The injury was so severe, that he almost lost all sight in his right eye. Lund attempted a comeback after being sidelined for three months, contributing 17 points with only one eye in1952-53. Lund would skate for two seasons with theSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before retiring from ice hockey in 1955.
On September 29, 1984, Lund was inducted into theNorthwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1992 he was inducted into the Finnish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.[3]
He died on April 16, 2013, at the age of 87.[3]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1942–43 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 9 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 1942–43 | Port Arthur Forts | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1943–44 | Port Arthur Navy | TBJHL | 10 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1943–44 | Port Arthur Flyers | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1944–45 | Port Arthur Navy | TBJHL | 9 | 26 | 9 | 35 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1944–45 | Port Arthur Bruins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1945–46 | Boston Olympics | EAHL | 34 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 7 | ||
| 1946–47 | Boston Olympics | EAHL | 56 | 49 | 43 | 92 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 4 | ||
| 1946–47 | Boston Bruins | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1947–48 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 68 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1947–48 | Boston Bruins | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1948–49 | New York Rangers | NHL | 59 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1949–50 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1950–51 | New York Rangers | NHL | 59 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951–52 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1951–52 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1952–53 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1953–54 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | NOHA | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | NOHA | 48 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 259 | 44 | 55 | 99 | 40 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Preceded by | Winner of theCalder Memorial Trophy 1949 | Succeeded by |