Colorado Avalanche: 4 Forgotten Facts about Uwe Krupp
Uwe Krupp was a Big Boy
Hockey players weren’t as big in the 1990s as they are now, though they’re getting smaller again.
Uwe Krupp was 6-foot-6 and weighed 235 pounds. That made him the biggest player on the Avalanche team by a good margin. And this was a team that included Chris Simon in the lineup. (He was actually #2 on the team for size at 6-foor-3 and 233 pounds. Craig Wolanin, though taller at 6-foot-4, weighed just 215 pounds.)
Though Krupp wasn’t an enforcer, all that size certainly carried with it physical responsibilities. During his time as an Avalanche player, Krupp got into three fights on behalf of the team.
On January 23, 1998, he fought Dave Roche of the Pittsburgh Penguins:
In the modern era, that would be accounted a knock-down, drag-out fight. Back then, the players just received roughing penalties.
On March 26, 1997, Krupp kept the Detroit rivalry alive by dropping the gloves with Jamie Pushor:
The boys got a couple good right-hooks in each before tying each other up.
Krupp engaged in a playoff scuffle against
of the Vancouver Canucks (yes, they occasionally made the playoffs back in the day) on April 27, 1996:
That was a beat-down. Now do you see why I don’t get wound up by Tom Wilson‘s antics, much less those of our captain’s?
Like I said, Uwe Krupp was no goon. He was actually known as a mobile, puck-moving defenseman. In his time with the Colorado Avalanche, he recorded 13 regular-season goals and 42 assists, plus an additional four goals and 13 assists in the playoffs.