Ken Strong a.k.a. "Kenneth Gordon Strong"

Drafted 1980, 1 #13 overall by Peterborough Petes in the OHL Priority Selection

Cult/Star player for Villacher SV

- 1982-05-01 • Traded to Toronto by Philadelphia to complete transaction that sent Darryl Sittler to Philadelphia (January 20, 1982)


The Toronto, Ontario, native Ken Strong (originally: Kenneth Strong) had a solid junior career with the OHL's Peterborough Petes. He was chosen 58th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft but got traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs only one year later. For the Leafs he appeared in 15 NHL games before he sought a change of scenery and moved to Switzerland. In 1987 Strong joined Austrian Villacher SV, the club he represented for eight years. He became one of the most popular players in the club's history because of his outstanding physical game and 609 scored points (293 goals, 316 assists) in 329 appearances for the club. Furthermore, he lead Villach to two consecutive Austrian championship titles in the years 1992 and 1993, when he was part of the league's most productive line with the two former NHL-ers Alfie Turcotte and Kim Issel.
Ken Strong eventually gained Austrian citizenship and represented the country at two A-pool World Championships and the Olympics in 1994. He scored 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 38 games for Team Austria and was part of the 1992 team which achieved promotion to the A-pool after an absence of 33 years.
(by Hannes Biedermann)

Scored 3 goals in his NLA-debut 1986-10-04 (Chur vs. Olten 5:3)