A high-scoring forward who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962, Sweeney Schriner is considered by many to be the first Russia-born player in the NHL.

Schriner was born in Saratov in the Russian Empire on Nov. 30, 1911 and made his NHL debut with the New York Americans in 1934. There were players born in areas of the Russian Empire that are no longer part of present-day Russia who played in the NHL before Schriner, but he was the first to be from an area that is within the current borders of Russia.

Schriner's family moved to Calgary when he was one month old and he grew up playing, and loving, multiple sports. In fact, Schriner, who was named David, picked up the nickname "Sweeney" as a child because his idol was a semi-professional baseball player named Bill Sweeney.

The nickname stuck, and that's how Schriner was known during his 11-season NHL career.

Schriner won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year when he had 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 48 games for the Americans during the 1934-35 season. He led the NHL in scoring each of the next two seasons, including an NHL career-high 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists) in 1936-37.

He did not miss a single game, playing 240 straight over five seasons with the Americans before they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs for five players ahead of the 1939-40 season. Schriner won the Stanley Cup in 1942 and 1945 and scored an NHL career-high 24 goals with the Maple Leafs in 1940-41.

Schriner played a big part in Toronto's memorable comeback to win the Stanley Cup in 1942. The Maple Leafs trailed the best-of-7 series with the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 and won three straight games to force Game 7. Schriner scored twice, including the tying goal at 7:47 of the third period, and the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings 3-1 to win the Cup.

"He was the best left-winger I ever saw," Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe said of Schriner, who retired in 1946.

Schriner, who was named twice to the NHL First All-Star Team and was selected once to the Second Team, died July 4, 1990 at the age of 78.