Fred Hucul

Frederick Albert Hucul (born December 4, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 164 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues between 1951 and 1968. The rest of his career lasted from 1951 to 1969 and was spent in the minor leagues. He shares the NHL record for the longest gap between NHL appearances, 13 years, along with his former Chicago teammate, Larry Zeidel.

Career
A star in junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Canucks and Regina Capitals, he immediately broke in with the Chicago Black Hawks and played for them for four seasons. He then was sent to the minors and spent the bulk of his professional career in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Stampeders and Victoria Maple Leafs. For six years in Calgary and in Victoria, he was teamed with his brother Sandy Hucul. In the 1955-56 season Hucul scored 21 goals and 38 assists. Upon the NHL's expansion, Hucul signed with the St. Louis Blues and began their inaugural season on the Blues blue line. However, before the playoffs, he was sent to the Blues' minor league team the Kansas City Blues in the Central Hockey League where he replaced Doug Harvey as the Kansas City Blues coach and general manager after Harvey was called up to the parent Blues for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Amid conflict and interference with Scotty Bowman and Cliff Fletcher, manager and assistant manager of the parent St. Louis Blues, over how to run the team, Hucul guided the Kansas City Blues through two losing seasons before being replaced. He gave coaching one more try in 1971–72 and led the Victoria Cougars of the WCHL to an 18-48-2 record before being fired and retiring to his cattle ranch in Alberta. He currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.