Stan Mikita

Stan (Stanislaus Gvoth) "Stosh" Mikita was born on May 20, 1940 in Sokolce, Czechoslovakia. In 1948 a puppet regime was installed by the Communist Russians and Gvoth's parents decided to send their young son to live with relatives in the West. He moved to Canada just as the Iron Curtain was closed and lived with his aunt and uncle in St. Catherines, Ontario. He endured a tough childhood, not speaking english and often facing racial abuse from other children. He took on the surname of this aunt and uncle and put his aggression to use on the hockey rink. He played junior hockey with the hometown Teepes and had his first NHL trial in 1958 with the Chicago Blackhawks. He would go on to become a regular with the NHL club in 1959.

Though he was only 5'9, weighing 169 pounds, Mikita was never one to shy away from the physical aspects of hockey. He helped the Blackhawks break a 23 year drought by winning the Stanley Cup championship in 1961. Stan Mikita was a very effective scorer, leading the NHL in points from 1963-65. As he progressed through his career and began his own family, Mikita cut down on penalty minutes from over 100 down to 12 in 1967-68. That year he became the first player to win the Art Ross, Hart Memorial and Lady Byng trophies, all in one season. Mikita continued to have success, scoring on average one point per game. His production fell off in the mid-1970s as Stan began to struggle with nagging lower-back injuries. He played his whole career with the Chicago Blackhawks and finished his career in 1980 as the Blackhawks leader in games (1394), assists (926) and points (1467). Stan Mikita established the American Impaired Hearing Association in 1972 and was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Here is a summary of Stan Mikita's NHL career statistics;

Year    Team                 GP   G   A   Pts   Pim
1958-59 Chicago Blackhawks    3   0   1     1     4  
1959-60 Chicago Blackhawks   67   8  18    26   119 
1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks   66  19  34    53   100 
1961-62 Chicago Blackhawks   70  25  52    77    97 
1962-63 Chicago Blackhawks   65  31  45    76    69
1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks   70  39  50    89   146 
1964-65 Chicago Blackhawks   70  28  59    87   154 
1965-66 Chicago Blackhawks   68  30  48    78    58 
1966-67 Chicago Blackhawks   70  35  62    97    12
1967-68 Chicago Blackhawks   72  40  47    87    14 
1968-69 Chicago Blackhawks   74  30  67    97    52 
1969-70 Chicago Blackhawks   76  39  47    86    50 
1970-71 Chicago Blackhawks   74  24  48    72    85  
1971-72 Chicago Blackhawks   74  26  39    65    46 
1972-73 Chicago Blackhawks   57  27  56    83    32 
1973-74 Chicago Blackhawks   76  30  50    80    46 
1974-75 Chicago Blackhawks   79  36  50    86    48  
1975-76 Chicago Blackhawks   48  16  41    57    37 
1976-77 Chicago Blackhawks   57  19  30    49    20 
1977-78 Chicago Blackhawks   76  18  41    59    35 
1978-79 Chicago Blackhawks   65  19  36    55    34 
1979-80 Chicago Blackhawks   17   2   5     7    12 
NHL Totals                  1394 541 926 1467  1270  



Trophies
Art Ross Trophy - 4 (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968)
Hart Memorial Trophy - 2 (1967, 1968)
Lester B. Pearson Trophy - 1 (1976)
Lady Byng Trophy - 2 (1967, 1968)


Championships
Stanley Cup - 1 (1961)

Team Pages:
Chicago Blackhawks

Other Stan Mikita Resources