Underrated Nation: Uwe Krupp

We at The Hockey Guys are pleased to bring back a very successful weekly series feature called Underrated Nation. Writer, fan and NHL history aficionado Bill Kellett will focus on a different NHL’er every week in our Underrated Nation segment’s, seen only on The Hockey Guys.

By Bill Kellett

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Germany is not known as a hockey hotbed yet we are seeing more and more players from there thrive at the pro level.

Marco Sturm, Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff and Alexander Sulzer are just a few who are making an impact in the NHL today, but it is quite likely that none of these names would be known if it was not for the pioneer of German hockey; Uwe Krupp.

Krupp was born June 24, 1965 in Cologne, Germany. Hockey rinks were not plentiful in his country and there were many times that Krupp’s parents felt he should become something else, but Uwe only wanted to play hockey and it was often a trek to get to the nearest rink just to be able to practice. Little did Krupp and his parents realize, that one day Uwe would become a pioneer for other hockey hopefuls from Germany.

Krupp began his career playing for the Kolner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey League, the highest level you could reach for pro hockey in Germany. Krupp would play 4 seasons for Kolner, but it was during his first season there that he was discovered by Scotty Bowman, the GM of the Buffalo Sabres at the time. Bowman was impressed with Krupp’s positional play and was surprised how well he skated for a big man. Krupp stood at 6’6 and for many years was the largest man in pro hockey. During the 1983 entry draft the teams were coming down to the later rounds so some teams decide to take chances at that point, this was something Sabres GM Bowman decided to do and with pick number 214 he chose the tower German defenceman.

After two more seasons in Germany, Krupp came over to North America and spent the 1986-87 season with the Sabres top minor league affiliate the Rochester Americans. While there Krupp impressed the coaching staff and most notably Scotty Bowman and helped the team to the Calder Cup championship that year. He also spent 26 games in the NHL that season and showed himself to be a steady force on the blueline. He didn’t light it up offensively but that wasn’t his game. He recorded only 1 goal and 4 assists in those games, but that was all Scotty Bowman needed to see. After the 86-87 season, Uwe Krupp would never set foot in the minor leagues again.

His game kept improving every year and soon was a staple of the Sabres defence. His best season came in 1990-91 when he recorded 12 goals and 32 assists for 44 points. He was also selected to the NHL All Star game that year, becoming only the second German born player to have the honour bestowed upon him (the first was Walt Tkaczuk, former New York Ranger). Up until Zdeno Chara started going to the All Star game, Krupp was the tallest player ever to play in the event.

With success of course comes interest. Uwe Krupp had now established himself as a quality NHL defenceman and one who appeared to possess some scoring prowess, so it should have come as no surprise that just 8 games into the 1991-92 season Krupp was a key part of a blockbuster trade between the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. The deal saw the Sabres acquire Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood, Randy Hillier and a 4th round pick for Pierre Turgeon, Benoit Hogue, Dave McLlwain and Krupp. It was a huge deal at the time and some say the Islanders were reluctant to pull the trigger unless Krupp was included in the package.

His stellar play continued on long Island picking up 35 points in the first 59 games he played there. Krupp had really come into his own and now the Islanders would reap those benefits. During this time Krupp had become very interested in dog sledding and started raising Husky puppies. Over time he would start breeding the dogs and would take part in many sledding races. It had become as much a passion for Krupp as hockey and he soon owned his own racing team.

The New York Islanders were just ten years removed from their glory days but to look at them it was hard to believe they had any, the team would struggle and then just when it looked like they were going to turn a corner they would flounder again. The team had been badly managed and the Turgeon deal may have been the last great trade the organization made.

However, one deal which did not work out for them would be at the 1994 entry draft. The Islanders were looking for forward help and some grit so they dealt Krupp and a 1st rounder (turning out to be the late Wade Belak) to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Sutter and a 1st (Brett Lindros). Sutter was a good journeyman player and no one can ever question a Sutter’s work ethic, but this deal was a disaster for the Islanders. Not only had they lost Krupp but Lindros, younger brother of Eric, would suffer concussion after concussion and be sidelined most of his short career before finally retiring. Meanwhile, the Nordiques were building a contender slowly, and Krupp would become a big part of that.

The 1994-95 season was shortened by a lockout and Krupp briefly went home to Germany for the start of the season playing for EV Lanshut but would return in January when the season got rolling again. Krupp stated that he felt more at home in Quebec City than anywhere in his career. It is a very quaint and often compared to many European cities, which was why many Europeans often signed to play there. It gave Krupp a great outlet for his dog sledding passion as well as it was always well stocked with snow.

The Nordiques were an up and coming team and everyone knew they were right on the brink of something special, the problem was the team was broke and had accrued losses in the millions. being one of the smaller markets at the time everyone knew the team would not last in the new economy, and they relocated prior to the 1995-96 season to Denver Colorado and were renamed the Colorado Avalanche.

If Quebec City was perfect for Krupp Denver may have been heaven. Not only was he on a championship caliber team, but this place also presented snow and mountains, another great outlet for his dogs. However things would not be as rosy as hoped. Krupp would suffer what would be the first of a string of back injuries that season, it would become something that would plague him the rest of his career. Krupp would only play in 6 games all season but had prepared himself for the playoffs, and that is where possibly the greatest moment of his career would unfold. The Avalanche had managed to reach the cup final that year to no one’s surprise however their opponents would be an upstart expansion team called the Florida Panthers. The Panthers had literally clawed their way into the final and were deserving of their place there. However they were obviously mismatched as the much more talented Avalanche controlled the series and were up 3-0 in the final. Game four would prove to be Krupp’s crowning achievement.

After a scoreless game the teams went to overtime to decide the game and Krupp would end up deciding it with a great shot that would beat goalie John Vanbiesbrouck. The Colorado Avalanche were Stanley Cup champs and Krupp was the hero.

Krupp would go on to have a few more productive years in Colorado but his back troubles were apparent. In the 1998 expansion draft the Avalanche left him exposed and Krupp was claimed by the Nashville Predators, but he would never play a single game there as his contract was expiring anyway and he chose to go to the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent, reuniting him with former Sabres coach Scotty Bowman.

Now on the downside of his career, Uwe Krupp was playing for the joy of it. His production was waning and his back was giving him nothing but grief. Krupp would be a member of the 2001 Red Wings team that would win the Cup but due to only playing only 8 regular season games he was not eligible to have his name engraved on the Cup.

After that season Krupp thought about retirement, but the Atlanta Thrashers convinced him to give it one more shot and signed Krupp as a free agent. He would play only 4 games there in the 2002-03 season before hanging them up. Krupp would later be named as head coach of the German national team, a position he still holds today.

While Germany has always been known as a powerhouse country hockey was never thought of as one of their great achievements, but now because of a pioneer in the sport such as Uwe Krupp German players are becoming more recognized on the world stage and are beginning to infiltrate the NHL. Uwe Krupp may be the greatest player to come out of that country because of what he was able to accomplish and the hope he gave other youngsters from Germany. Today there are several German born players who are making an impact in the NHL and it is safe to say that this may not have been possible had it not been for Uwe Krupp. Krupp showed them the way, and also secured his spot in the Underrated Nation.