Dave Staffen: NAHL Record for Most Goals in a Season

NAHL

A website called the Encyclopedia of the North American Hockey League cannot be even close to complete without an article on the man with the record for most goals in a single season. Dave Staffen set that mark in the NAHL’s final season of existence, 1976-77, as a member of the Binghamton Dusters.

In tandem with Rod Bloomfield, who recorded 124 assists in 1976-77, Staffen put in an incredible 87 goals over 74 regular season games. Of course, he led the league in goals. With 40 helpers, his 127 points placed him tied for second in the league, behind Bloomfield’s 173.

Dave toned it down in the post season, scoring six goals and assisting on five over ten games. After finishing third overall in the eight team league, the Dusters were swept by the Maine Nordiques in the semi-finals.

The only other year Staffen played in the NAHL was 1975-76. He started the year with the Erie Blades and played 62 games with the club. His final ten games of the season were played with the Syracuse Blazers. Combined, he scored 41 goals and assisted on 27 for 66 points. His goal total played his tenth in the league.

In the 1975-76 post season, Dave scored eight goals in eight games for the Blazers with no assists and a hefty 41 minutes in penalties. Syracuse reached the semi-finals before being swept by the Beauce Jaros.

Junior Hockey

Staffen played three years in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1971-72 to 1973-74. After playing his first year exclusively with the Kitchener Rangers, Dave was traded to the Hamilton Red Wings during the 1972-73 season. The following year, Hamilton traded him mid-season to the Ottawa 67’s.

Pro Hockey

Staffen was drafted into both the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association. At the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Dave was taken in the ninth round by the Minnesota North Stars, 148^th overall. In the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, it was the New England Whalers that selected him in the 13^th round, 211^th overall.

Dave played pro hockey from 1974-75 to 1977-78 in the IHL, NAHL and AHL. In his rookie year, split his season between the Lansing Lancers and Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL. He played a combined 74 games, scoring 37 goals and assisting on 27 for 64 points – decent numbers for a first year player.

When the NAHL shut down after the 1976-77 season, the Dusters moved to the American Hockey League. Staffen came with the team to the AHL for the 1977-78 season but played just three games, scoring one goal. He went on to finish the season in the OHA Senior circuit before retiring from the game.

 

Rod Bloomfield: A Binghamton Hall of Famer

Rod Bloomfield played the full four year duration of the NAHL with the Binghamton Dusters (also known as Broome Dusters). He carried on with the club for one more season, 1977-78, when the franchise joined the American Hockey League.

During his North American Hockey League career, Bloomfield played 288 regular season games, scoring 187 goals and assisting on 310 for 497 points. In the tradition of the NAHL, Bloomfield also sat 417 minutes in the penalty box.

Rod led the league in goals during the 1974-75 season with 55. He was twice the NAHL assists leader with 73 in 1973-74 and an incredible 124 in 1976-77. In the final season of the league, Bloomfield was the scoring champion with 173 points. The point total was pretty incredible but a far cry from the NAHL record of 208 set the year before by Joe Hardy of the Beauce Jaros.

His four years with the Dusters in the NAHL and his one year with the club in the AHL were his only five years in professional hockey. He turned 26 years old during his first season and called it quits after during his fifth year due to an injury resulting from a puck to the eye. I still find it surprising he never saw at least some action with a WHA club. Sure, he was small with a listed playing height of 5’6” and weighing in at just 160 lbs. However, at the time, guys like Andre Lacroix in the WHA and Yvan Cournoyer in the NHL were proving the little guys could get it done.

Bloomfield was Binghamton’s team leader in each of the four seasons. In 1974-75, he led the Dusters to the Lockhart Cup finals before being swept by the Johnstown Jets in four games. Over 15 playoff games, Rod scored ten goals and assisted on nine more for 19 points.

The NAHL is known as the inspiration behind the cult classic move, Slap Shot. Although uncredited, Bloomfield acted as Paul Newman’s on-ice stunt double during the movie.

In 1999, Rod was inducted into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame. It was just the Hall’s second year of existence. The Hall of Fame doesn’t have a web presence and is located inside the Broome County Veteran’s Memorial Arena. The Arena was completed in 1973, just in time for the Dusters to be its first tenants.

Bloomfield is also an inductee at the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound, Ontario. He was inducted as an individual in 2011. In 2012, he was inducted again as a member of the 1961-62 Parry Sound Bantams, a team that also included Bobby Orr.