Doug "Andy" Anderson

Doug "Andy" Anderson is part of a pretty select group of players in National Hockey League history.

As of 2015, Anderson is one of only 25 players in NHL history to play in at least one Stanley Cup playoffs game, but never in a NHL regular season game.

The most famous member of this unique club is Don Cherry.

Anderson was a tiny center (five-foot-seven, 160 pounds) out of Edmonton, Alberta. He was described as a speedy playmaker who rarely took a penalty.

Born in 1927, Anderson played all his youth and junior hockey in the Alberta capital city, including as a member of both the junior and senior Edmonton Flyers in the late 1940s. He helped the Flyers win the Allan Cup as Canada's amateur senior champions in 1948.

In 1951 Anderson headed to the British Columbia capital city of Victoria to play the next decade with the WHL Cougars. He teamed well with the likes of Colin Kilburn and "Weiner" Brown, another member of the "playoffs-only" club.

In the spring of 1953 the Montreal Canadiens borrowed his services for two games in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Habs considered Anderson to be a "highly regarded" prospect since at least 1948. They finally signed his NHL rights in October 1951 under the agreement that if he did not play in Montreal he would be returned to Victoria.

Anderson finally got to play for Montreal in 1953, thanks to Paul Meger's eye injury. but he never registered a point or penalty minute in two games vs Chicago, but he did get to participate in a Stanley Cup championship celebration as Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins four games to one in the final. Despite playing in the playoffs, Anderson's name was not inscribed on the Stanley Cup.

Though he concluded his career with two seasons with the Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds in 19 and 1963, Anderson returned to Victoria after retiring to raise his family. He was always committed to both sports and academics, and was honoured with a memorial bursary at the University of Victoria.

Doug Anderson passed away in Victoria on January 8th, 1998. He had been diagnosed with cancer just a month earlier.