He was a product of Duesseldorf, Germany... he wore - quite fittingly - #4... and he paved the way for a long history of successful junior aged defencemen in this fine city's modern hockey era. His name - Frank Appel.
Appel was - along with Mikael Kazakavich, who ended up flying to Fredericton instead of Moncton when initially arriving from Russia, incidentally - one of the first two European players to suit up for the Alpines/Wildcats franchise. Because almost nobody remembers the Alpines (including the Wildcats organization), it became evident to myself and a few others that if we talked him up on a message board, people would probably believe it. Either they would hang onto our every word (remember, I was a member in good standing on those boards for some baffling reason) or they would have to take our word for it as they never saw him play themselves. What began innocently enough expanded as the years went by, and at one time or another a number of people, including myself, counted among Frank Appel's many accomplishments:
- Top defenceman in Alpines/Wildcats history
- Was offered a contract by the Calgary Flames, but was lowballed and refused to sign. He returned to Germany, vowing never to play in North America again.
- Was considered by many scouts to be the best dman not in NHL and a certain Norris Trophy candidate had he ever returned to this side of the Atlantic.
- Played many years of elite level hockey in Germany, to the point where he was once named the second most influential person in Germany, after David Hasselhoff
- Had his jersey retired by the Essen Mosquitoes
Some people believed it, which is Exhibit "A" as to why coaches and team personnel hold most message boards in low esteem. As long as someone new was willing to bite, the legend simply grew and grew... and as more people either knew who he was from his Alpine days and knew better or discovered they had been duped but still kept the ruse alive, Frank Appel became more than just alumni... he became a mythical, sensational creature... mythical in the sense that much of what was written about him never actually occurred.
In truth, Appel was a capable enough dman... a decent but not outstanding blueliner for the Alpines in his one season in the Q. At 6'6" and 216 lbs he wasn't the fleetest of foot, but he was tough to beat one on one and managed to contribute sporadically on offense despite a defense corp riddled with subpar players and - even more so - very young, raw talent. I'm sure if Jeff Leblanc, then a 16 year old rookie, was really pressed (as in, if you told him to say it) he'd cite Frank Appel as one of the most influential players in his career.
Old Frank was actually a Flames draft pick, too. Alas, his pro upside was not tremendous and as a result, he left North America after the 95-96 season. Returning to his native Germany, he played another dozen seasons in various German leagues, most notably with the above mentioned Essen Mosquitoes. No mention of jersey retirements or David Hasselhoff comparisons have ever been verified.
Of course, no disrespect was ever intended when Mr. Appel's name would come up from time to time. Part of the ruse was to show how little notice the Alpines ever received during their one season of infamy (if the same had've been said about a guy like Sergei Kaltygen for example, people would've caught on immediately and the prank would've been over before it started). Another part was simply to bring up a name from Moncton's hockey past that otherwise would've been buried forever. You could've used a number of players off that team in his stead... but Frank simply had the luck of the draw on his side.
In the highly unlikely chance that Frank reads this (I have noticed about 100 hits from Germany since this blog started, however... dare I dream?) I apologize if this whole scheme has offended you in any way... I also thank you for the contributions you made to that floundering Alpines franchise. As well, I invite you personally back to the Coliseum sometime for some form of meet and greet. You'd be surprised how legendary your status has become over here in some (extremely small) hockey circles. The beer would definitely be on us.
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