Saturday, November 28, 2009
Interesting Fact About The 1974 NHL Draft
Did you know that in the 1974 entry draft, Buffalo Sabres General Manager Punch Imlach deliberately selected an imaginary Japanese center, Taro Tsujimoto, supposedly of the Tokyo Katanas of the Japanese Ice Hockey League, in the 11th round (183rd overall)?
Only after weeks had passed did the league discover that Tsujimoto did not in fact exist. Imlach later revealed that he had played the prank because of his frustration with the excessive tedium and length of that year's draft proceedings.
Today, the league officially records the 183rd selection of the 1974 entry draft as an "invalid claim".