Some players simply have their greatness overshadowed by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mike Rogers made a career of it. His outstanding WHA rookie season was overshadowed by Anders Hedberg. He stood in the shadow of the Howe family with the New England Whalers.
Rogers is one of four players in the history of the NHL to total over 100 points in each of his first three years in the league. Yet, it happened at the same time one of the other four were doing it and that kid did it in much more spectacular fashion. He was denied the Lady Byng Trophy in his first NHL season, despite having more ‘gentlemanly’ numbers than the actual winner.
Mike Rogers – Junior
Rogers played three years in the WCHL with the Calgary Centennials from 1971-72 to 1973-74. The franchise has since moved on to become the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. Over his three years, Mike scored 148 goals and assisted on 161 for 309 points over 199 regular season games. He added another 48 points over 33 playoff games.
In his second season with the Centennials, Rogers led the team with 54 goals, 58 assists and 112 points over 67 games. He placed tenth in the league for goals and tied for ninth for points.
In 1973-74, Mike scored 67 goals and assisted on 73 for 140 points over 66 games. He led the team in assists and points but scored one less goal than teammate Danny Gare. Rogers placed fourth in the WCHL for goals, tied for fifth for assists and finished third for points.
Mike Rogers – WHA
Rogers was a second round pick, 19th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers at the 1974 Secret WHA Amateur Draft. Despite also being selected by the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL that same spring, Mike chose to go to the World Hockey Association.
He played in the WHA from 1974-75 until the league’s demise after the 1978-79 season. Mike’s career started with the Oilers but he was traded to the New England Whalers midway through the 1975-76 season.
Over his WHA career, Rogers scored 145 goals and assisted on 222 for 367 points over 396 regular season games. He added 34 points over 45 playoff games. In his rookie year, He scored 35 goals and assisted on 48 for 83 points over 78 games. His two minutes in penalties earned him the Paul Deneau Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player. However, his rookie numbers weren’t enough to earn the Lou Kaplan Trophy as rookie of the year. That honour went to Anders Hedberg of the Winnipeg Jets who scored 53 and totalled 100 points over just 65 games.
In his first year with the Whalers, 1975-76, the team had a losing record during the regular season, winning 33 while losing 40 and tying 7. Yet, New England reached the semi-finals before falling to the Houston Aeros in seven. The Whalers outscored the Aeros on the series, 21-19.
In 1977-78, Mike was third in scoring on the Whalers, behind Gordie and Mark Howe. The Harry Neale coached team placed second in the eight team league, behind just the Winnipeg Jets. New England reached the Avco World Trophy finals before being swept in four by the Jets. It would as close as Rogers would come to a professional championship.
Mike Rogers – NHL
Rogers played just seven years in the National Hockey League from 1979-80 to 1985-86. His first two years were spent with the Hartford Whalers before moving on to the New York Rangers. In his final season, he played eight games with the Edmonton Oilers.
A fifth round pick by the Vancouver Canucks way back at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 77th overall, Rogers played 484 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 202 goals and assisting on 317 for 519 points. He played just 17 playoff games, adding 14 points.
In his first year, 1979-80, Mike scored 44 and assisted on 61 for 105 points. He tied for sixth in the NHL for assists with Larry Robinson of the Montreal Canadiens. His 105 points placed him fifth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, one point behind Gilbert Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres and one ahead of Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders. Despite his ten penalty minutes, Wayne Gretzky of the Oilers was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy despite sitting 21 PIM.
Another year and another 105 points. In his final year with the Whalers, Rogers scored 40 and assisted on 65 over 80 games. He served as team captain for the Hartford squad. Mike tied Dave Taylor of the Los Angeles Kings for ninth in assists. His 105 points placed him tied for seventh in the NHL with Charlie Simmer, also of the Kings.
In his first year with the Rangers, 1981-82, Rogers scored 38 and assisted on 65 for 103 points over 80 games. However, offense in the league was exploding and Mike didn’t rank in the NHL’s top ten for any of the three categories. He played nine playoff games as the Rangers knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round before falling to the Islanders in round two. It would be the deepest into the Stanley Cup playoffs that Rogers would travel.
As mentioned, Rogers is one of just four players to reach the 100 point plateau in each of their first three years in the NHL. The other three are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Peter Stastny.
In his final year in the NHL, 1985-86, Mike played just nine games with the Rangers and eight with the Oilers. He played an additional 53 games in the American Hockey League, the only minor pro he would play, split between the New Haven Nighthawks and Nova Scotia Oilers.
Mike Rogers – International
Rogers played for Canada at the 1981 IIHF World Championships. The tournament was held at Gotherburg, Sweden. Canada placed fourth in the tournament with Mike recording just one assist over six games. Placing first was the Soviet Union, followed by Sweden and Czechoslovakia.
In 1986-87, Mike played one year in Switzerland’s National League A before retiring. That season, Rogers played for Ambri-Piotta.
Mike Rogers – Rookie Card
The Mike Rogers rookie card appears as number eight in the 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee World Hockey Association set. The card is valued at 50% more than a common card. His first National Hockey League card came as number 43 in both the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee and 1979-80 Topps set. That card is valued as a common.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1971-72 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 66 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 19 |
| 1972-73 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 67 | 54 | 58 | 112 | 44 |
| 1973-74 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 66 | 67 | 73 | 140 | 32 |
| 1974-75 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 78 | 35 | 48 | 83 | 2 |
| 1975-76 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 44 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 10 |
| 1975-76 | New England Whalers | WHA | 36 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 10 |
| 1976-77 | New England Whalers | WHA | 78 | 25 | 57 | 82 | 10 |
| 1977-78 | New England Whalers | WHA | 80 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 46 |
| 1978-79 | New England Whalers | WHA | 80 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 31 |
| 1979-80 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 80 | 44 | 61 | 105 | 10 |
| 1980-81 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 80 | 40 | 65 | 105 | 32 |
| 1981-82 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 38 | 65 | 103 | 43 |
| 1982-83 | New York Rangers | NHL | 71 | 29 | 47 | 76 | 28 |
| 1983-84 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 23 | 38 | 61 | 45 |
| 1984-85 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 24 |
| 1985-86 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 20 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 28 |
| 1985-86 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 33 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 14 |
| 1985-86 | New York Rangers | NHL | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 1985-86 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 484 | 202 | 317 | 519 | 184 | ||
| WHA Totals | 396 | 145 | 222 | 367 | 109 |