Vic Mercredi

Vic Mercredi is one of only five NHL players in history (as of 2011) to have been born in the Northwest Territories. Vic was the first, followed by fellow Yellowknife-born Greg Vaydik. Others are Geoff Sanderson and Rob McVicar of Hay River and Zac Boyer of Inuvik.

Vic is one of the few native Canadians (Indian) to have played in the NHL. He may have been born in NWT, but he played his junior hockey for the Penticton Broncos (BCJHL) and New Westminster Bruins (WHL). He managed to crack the 100 point barrier in both leagues..
 
Vic was drafted by Atlanta Flames in 1973 (Atlanta's 2nd choice, 16th overall). He was also selected by Houston Aeros in the 1973 WHA draft. Vic's first professional season came in 1973-74, but he was hampered by a slight shoulder injury. He still managed to score a respectable 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) in 68 games for Omaha Knights (CHL).
 
His only two NHL games came the following season during a west coast road trip. His NHL debut came against Vancouver on December 6, 1974 (7-5 loss) and his last NHL appearance came the following night against Los Angeles (6-2 loss). Vic only skated for a few shifts in these games.
 
In 1975-76 Vic played three games for the Calgary Cowboys (WHA). Calgary had obtained his rights from Houston. The rest of the season he played in the AHL for Baltimore Clippers.
 
In 1976-77 Vic jumped on the opportunity to play in Europe. He signed a contract with the Swedish division 2 club Hammarby IF from Stockholm. Vic only played 18 games and scored 14 pts (5 goals) and collected 67 Pim's before heading back to Canada again.
 
From there on Vic only played one AHL game and the rest in the little known Pacific Hockey League (PHL). In PHL he skated for Phoenix Roadrunners and Tuscon Rustlers. His last season as an active player came in 1979-80 for Delta Hurry Kings in the British Columbia Senior Hockey League (BCJHL).
 
Vic's number one asset was his speed. Interestingly he played with a neutral hockey stick, no curve at all. That made him almost unique in pro hockey at that time. Although he was primarily listed as a right hand shooter, he could move the puck from either side and rarely used the conventional backhand shot.