A History of Hockey Prodigies

 Howie Morenz

Feb 26, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; A young hockey fan skates with the Montreal Canadiens flag before the game against Detroit Red Wings at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Known as the one of the first superstars of the game, Morenz was one of the original nine Hockey Hall of Fame inductees in 1945. He played 14 seasons in the league until his sudden unfortunate death in 1937 and won the MVP award three times on top of leading the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup three times.

While playing junior hockey, Morenz was highly touted by many NHL teams after completely running away with most statistical categories in the Ontario Hockey Association for three seasons in a row. In fact, he even scored an Ovechtrick (9 goals in a game) in 1922 with the Stratford Midgets junior team. The Montreal Canadiens aggressively signed the speedster to a three-year contract in 1923.