Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website

In the Fogolin family, success breeds success. Both Lidio "Lee" and Lee Jr. have won Cups. Father Lidio enjoyed an All-Star season with the Detroit Red Wings in 1949-50, and his punishing checks and no-nonsense defensive style helped bring the Cup to Detroit. Son Lee Jr. enjoyed a banner career with the Edmonton Oilers, winning a pair of Stanley Cups during the early days of the great dynasty.

"…To have two guys from the same family who come from that area (northern Ontario) both win the Cup is incredible," said Fogolin. "It’s not something you think about when you win the Cup, but when you retire and look back on it, you realize just how difficult it is to get your name on it. I guess we were both very fortunate."

Lee Jr. was born February 7, 1955, in Chicago, where his dad played for the Blackhawks. After his father retired, the family returned to northern Ontario where the son quickly showed that he had inherited many of his father’s hockey sensibilities. After some outstanding junior years in Thunder Bay, he excelled with the major junior Oshawa Generals.

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Fogolin 11th overall in the 1974 draft. American boosters noted that he was the first-ever American-born player selected in the first round, but, as the family had returned to Canada years before, Fogolin was American by birthplace only, and he was a proud product of the Ontario junior system.

The Sabres did not waste time with their young player, as he was inserted directly into the Sabres’ lineup for the 1974-75 season. Although he spent a 20-games with the minor-league Hershey Bears, he was back with the Sabres as they marched to the Stanley Cup final, only to lose to the Philadelphia Flyers. Fogolin established himself as a steady defenceman—and while he never scored more than three goals in a season for the Sabres, he entrenched himself as a regular in the Buffalo lineup until 1979.

The Oilers plucked Fogolin from the Sabres’ in the 1979 expansion draft, and he immediately brought veteran leadership to a very young hockey club.

"Certainly, after spending five years in the NHL up in Buffalo, I could see that this team had the ingredients for success," recalled Fogolin. “But even I didn’t think that it would have the success that others thought it would.

"It was a totally different atmosphere than in Buffalo. In the established NHL teams, the rookies moved up very slowly. The veterans let them know that they would have to battle for ice time. Sometimes a young player could spend a lot of his time sitting on the bench for two or three years."

Fogolin enjoyed a solid career with the Oilers from 1979 to 1987. He was part of two Stanley Cup championships and significantly upped his offensive output. In 586 career regular-season games with the Oilers, Fogolin earned 160 points. His best season came during 1980-81, when he finished with 13 goals and 17 assists. He also tied an NHL record for shorthanded goals by a defenceman with four that year.

Like his father, Fogolin’s assets were his defensive knowledge, physical play and leadership. Coach Glen Sather valued those tools, and on March 15, 1981, the Oilers named Fogolin captain of the team. He held the position until the eve of the 1983-84 season, when he made a decision to put the team’s best interests ahead of personal glory. He volunteered to surrender the "C" to Wayne Gretzky, feeling that it would be the Great One who could be the one to lead the Oilers to a Stanley Cup. Fogolin was astute in his decision, and won two Stanley Cups with the Oilers.

Fogolin finished his career in 1987 with a short return stint with the Sabres, but knee troubles pushed him towards retirement.

Fogolin is not forgotten for his accomplishments in either Edmonton or Thunder Bay; in 1993, he was elected to the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.