Mark Messier - The Early Years

Mark Messier is the current special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He spent a quarter of a century in the NHL (1979–2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)'s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active player who had played in the NHL in the 1970s. Messier is considered one of the greatest NHL players of all time without an Olympic medal. He is second on the all-time career lists for regular season points (1887), playoff points (295) and regular season games played (1756). He won six Stanley Cups, five with the Oilers and one with the Rangers, and is the only player to captain two different professional teams to championships. His playoff leadership while in New York, which ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, earned him the nickname "The Messiah". He was also known, over the course of his career, as "The Moose" for his aggression and strength. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

Mark Douglas Messier was born January 18, 1961, he lived in St. Albert and attended St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton as he played junior hockey where his father Doug was his coach and mentor for his early years, where he played with the Spruce Grove Mets. Messier played Tier II in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the St. Albert Saints. In 54 games, Messier had 74 points and 194 penalty minutes. Messier also played a few games with the Portland Winter Hawks. Mark’s father Doug once played junior hockey with Pat Stapleton, the coach of the Indianapolis Racers. Doug called him and got Messier a contract to play hockey in Indianapolis for $30,000. Messier signed the 5-game tryout contract at the age of 17. He failed to register a point and was released just before the Racers folded.

Shortly after being released by Indianapolis, Messier was signed as a free agent by the Cincinnati Stingers. While with the Cincinnati Stingers, Messier was on a line with Robbie Ftorek. Ftorek was one of the top scorers in the league but Messier managed to get only two goals. He would play 47 games for the Stingers tallying only one goal and ten assists. While in Cincinnati, Messier was a teammate of Mike Gartner, Barry Melrose and Paul Stewart. When he retired, Messier was the last former WHA player still active on the ice as a player.