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| 1982 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Todd Bergen
Selected in
fifth round
No. 98 overall by Philadelphia Flyers
Born
July 11, 1963
 | Position:
Center
Height: 6-3 Weight: 185
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Prince Albert (SJHL)
Birthplace:
Prince Albert, Sask. (Canada)
Hometown: Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1981-82 |
Prince Albert | SJHL |
59 | 30 |
62 | 92 |
35 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Centennial Cup: 1982 (Prince Albert)
Miscellaneous: Not selected in 1981 NHL draft despite being
eligible. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: January 8, 1985 (Vancouver at
Philadelphia)
Numbers: 42, 19 (Philadelphia)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired 1987 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1985 |
Philadelphia | 14 |
11 | 5 |
16 | 4 |
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| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1985 |
Philadelphia | 17 |
4 | 9 |
13 | 8 |
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NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 1985 (Philadelphia)
Miscellaneous: Scored two goals in first NHL game. The goals beat
Vancouver goalie Richard Brodeur at 1:52 of the second period and 11:22
of the third. His second goal was the winner in Philadelphia's
5-3 victory. ... Missed part of 1984-85 season with abdominal pains, an
injury suffered during Philadelphia's Jan. 10, 1985, game vs. Chicago. ...
Led all NHL rookies with 13 points in 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bergen's Short NHL Career: Bergen was suspended without pay by Philadelphia for the entire
1985-86 season because he chose not to to honor his contract and report to
the Flyers' training camp in September 1985. His actions were particularly
stunning and distressing to the Flyers and their fans, because Bergen had been
sensational during the late stages of the 1984-85 season and the run to the
1985 Stanley Cup Finals. Bergen did not report to camp because he said he had chosen
to pursue a career as a pro golfer and, failing at that, he would attend
college. He had even
announced his retirement from hockey. Initially, Flyers officials said
Bergen was having "personal problems" and would report to camp late. But
three weeks into training camp, in late September, it was clear to all
parties that Bergen would not play for
Philadelphia again, so the Flyers went ahead with the suspension. General
manager Bob Clarke told The Hockey News' Al Morganti it was "a
strange decision, but it's his life." Clarke noted that Bergen had something
of a personality clash with coach Mike Keenan, who was known for being hard
on his players. Bergen also reacted negatively to Philadelphia's tough, bootcamp-style training camp conditioning drills.
Bergen's agent, Bill Watters, said Bergen simply wasn't a materialist and
was more interested in pursuing his golf dreams than earning a lot of money
playing a sport that didn't make him as happy. Bergen, however, was later
quoted as saying that he would have stuck with hockey if the Flyers had been
willing to trade him, thereby implying his relationship with Keenan was a
bigger motivating factor than his love for golf. Clarke disputed the remarks
by saying he had offered to trade Bergen, but Bergen, who had a minus-1 golf
handicap said he doubted he
would want to play hockey at all. He came back to Philadelphia, and
later went to Florida, to play in some pro-am tournaments and work with top PGA
professionals like Raymond Floyd. While Bergen was away from the team,
Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh was killed in a car accident, and Clarke said
that team chemistry would be adversely affected if Bergen were to return
after the team had been through such an ordeal. Two months into the
1985-86 season, the Flyers officially ended the relationship by trading Bergen and Ed Hospodar to Minnesota in exchange
for Dave Richter and Bo Berglund on Nov. 29, 1985. Free from Philadelphia,
Bergen wasted no time blasting Keenan. He said Keenan had underestimated if
not questioned Bergen's January 1985 abdominal injury, forcing him to do
extra workouts. At one point, Bergen said Keenan told him his injury was
psychosomatic and then continued to direct sarcastic comments toward Bergen
for the remainder of the 1984-85 season. During the playoffs, Bergen said
Keenan singled him out for criticism in the press. Bergen also said the
Philadelphia press was in Keenan's corner even though they knew the truth
about the injury. Members of the press vigorously denied this, and Morganti
questioned Bergen's honesty. Keenan refused comment on the charges entirely,
saying it would be "pointless to respond" because that might "dignify his
remarks." The difficult atmosphere in Philadelphia, said Bergen, was the
main reason he was willing to quit hockey for golf. With a chance to resume
an NHL career in
Minnesota, Bergen reported to the North Stars, but soon pulled muscles
in his groin and abdomen. The severe lower abdominal pull was particularly
devastating, keeping him out of the remainder of the 1985-86 season. The
following fall, Bergen attended the North Stars' 1986 training camp, but
continued to suffer pain from the small tear in the muscle wall of his
stomach and was unable to play in preseason. He elected to undergo
surgery in mid-September and was forced to miss the first 10 weeks of the
1985-86 season. Upon his recovery, he was assigned to Minnesota's AHL
affiliate in Springfield, Mass, and played his first game with Springfield
vs. Binghamton on Nov. 29, 1986. But after 27 minor-league games, he
continued to struggle with injuries to his abdomen and thumb without making
it back to the NHL during the 1986-87 season. In July, he became a
restricted free agent, and again refused to report to training camp, this
time because he claimed the team owed him roughly $130,000 in back pay.
Minnesota would not pay the money, arguing that the salary was
actually Philadelphia's responsibility. The case went to arbitration, but it was a
moot point since Bergen chose not to join the North Stars for the 1987-88
season and instead end his NHL career for good. Perhaps Minnesota's hiring of
Herb Brooks as its head coach also deterred Bergen from signing. If he
hadn't enjoyed playing for Keenan, he wasn't likely to enjoy Brooks. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Prince Albert (WHL); Springfield (AHL); Hershey (AHL)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
1982-83: Played on first Prince Albert Raiders WHL team.
Miscellaneous: Scored 50 goals in his first 35 games for Prince
Albert (WHL) in 1983-84. He finished the season with 57 goals in only 43
total games. ... Missed remainder of
1986-87 season with thumb injury, suffered while playing for Springfield (AHL)
in March 1987. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '82 | | Total Selected: |
252 | | Forwards: |
152 | | Defense: |
82 | | Goaltenders: |
18 | | Major Junior: |
129 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
27/4 | | College Players: |
20 | | High School: |
37 |
| Canadian: |
152 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
62 | | U.S.-Born: |
62 |
| European: |
35 |
| Reached NHL: |
109 |
| Stanley Cup: |
18 | | Hall of Fame: |
0 |
| All-Star Game: |
14 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
4 |
| Olympians: |
37 |
| Picks Traded: |
50 |
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