ECAC Hockey Announces Second Group in Top 50
ALBANY, N.Y. -- As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, ECAC Hockey has comprised a group of its top 50 players to recognize the storied history of the League and honor its significant players. The League today announced the second installment of honorees as part of its top 50 players of all-time. The top 50 players were determined by a selection committee made up of former coaches and media members. These honorees were tallied from 145 players (47 defensemen; 73 forwards; and 25 goaltenders).
The second segment of honorees includes: Yale defenseman Ray Giroux, the only player in ECAC Hockey history to earn ECAC Hockey Player of the Year and Defensive Defenseman awards; Joe Juneau, forward at Rensselaer, a two-time all-America and two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist; Andy McDonald, a forward at Colgate, former ECAC Hockey Player and member of all-Decade team; Joe Nieuwendyk, forward at Cornell, a two-time all-America selection, who amassed over 151 points (73 goals and 78 assists) during his career; and Providence defenseman Ron Wilson, a three-time all-League selection who led the Friars in scoring four consecutive seasons.
All current and former teams’ impactful players, including those from Boston College, Boston University, New Hampshire, Middlebury, Army, etc... were reviewed in comprising the list of candidates for the special team. Five players from the top 50 all-time team will be released every two weeks throughout the season leading up the championship in March 18-19 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Throughout its history, ECAC Hockey has been home to seven NCAA men’s championship teams, witnessed over 15,000 games, produced more than 500 National Hockey Leaguers, nearly 300 All-Americans, three Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners, and over 1,100 student-athletes who have earned All-Academic honors since 1999-00, the first year the League recognized these individuals.
The first group of top 50 players released on November 11 included the following: Bob Brinkworth, forward at Rensselaer (1961-64); Ken Dryden, Cornell goaltender (1967-69); defenseman Mark Fusco, Harvard (1980-83); Brian Mueller, defenseman, Clarkson (1991-95); and Boston College forward Joe Mullen.
The top 50 players were determined by a vote of a selection committee of 10 individuals, which include Joe Bertagna, former student-athlete at Harvard, former hockey commissioner of the ECAC and current commissioner of Hockey East, Ed Carpenter, former Sports Information Director at Boston U.; Bill Cleary, former student-athlete, head coach and director of athletics at Harvard; John Connolly, long-time sports reporter at the Boston Herald; Dan Fridgen, former student-athlete at Colgate and former head coach at RPI; Mike Gilligan, former head coach at Yale (interim) and Vermont; Lou Lamoriello, former student-athlete and head coach at Providence and current CEO/President/General Manager of the New Jersey Devils; Mark Morris, former student-athlete at Colgate and former head coach at Clarkson; Tim Taylor, former student-athlete at Harvard and former head coach at Yale; and Adam Wodon, editor of the College Hockey News Web site.
Top 50 Players Second Segment:
Ray Giroux - Yale University - Defenseman, (1994-98) -
North Bay, Ontario
1998 All-America ... 1990-99 ECAC Hockey All-Decade First Team ...
1998 ECAC Hockey Player and Defensive Defenseman of Year ... Only
Player in ECAC Hockey History to Earn Both Player and Defensive
Defenseman Awards ... First Yale Player Named ECAC Hockey
Player of Year ... Two-Time All-Conference (First Team 1998; Second
Team 1997) ... Captain of Yale’s 1998 Team ... Member of 1998
ECAC Hockey Regular-Season Champions ... 1998 Hobey Baker Award
Finalist -- First Bulldogs Defenseman to Earn Honor ... Two-Time
Recipient of Yale’s Murray Murdoch Award (1997-98) --
Presented to Team’s Most Valuable Player ... Three-Time
Recipient (1996-98) of Yale’s John Poinier Award -- Presented
to Team’s Best Defensive Player ... Netted 22 Goals and 62
Assists in 124 Collegiate Contests ... Tied for Second All-Time
Among Yale Defensemen with 84 Career Points ... Ranks Fourth in
School History for Assists in Season (30) ... Competed in 38
National Hockey League (NHL) Contests with New York Islanders and
New Jersey Devils
Joe Juneau - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Forward,
(1987-91) - Pont-Rouge, Quebec
Two-Time All-America (First Team 1990, Second Team 1991) …
Two-Time Hobey Baker Award Finalist (1990-91) … 1990-99 ECAC
Hockey All-Decade Team … Two-Time All-Conference (First Team
1990; Second Team 1991) … 1988 All-Conference Honorable
Mention …1988 ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team … Captain
of Engineers in 1990-91 … 1990 ECAC Hockey Points Leader (70
in 34 games, including 50 in 22 League games) ... Compiled 69 Goals
and 144 Assists for 213 Points in 124 Games … Led RPI in
Assists and Points Four Consecutive Seasons … Ranks Third in
School History for Assists in Season (52 in 1989-90) …
Second in School History for Career Assists, and Fifth in Career
Points … Played for Team Canada in 1990 and 1991 …
Played 13 Seasons in National Hockey League (NHL) ... Amassed
156 Goals and 416 Assists for 572 Points in 828 NHL Contests
... 1993 NHL All-Rookie Team Selection ... Registered 102 Points,
including 70 Assists, as Rookie with Boston Bruins in 1992-93 --
Both Marks are Team Records for Rookie ... Played for Team Canada
in 1992, representing his country in the Olympics ...
Runner-Up in Voting for 1993 Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL's Top
Rookie ... Scored 25 Goals and Added 54 Assists in 112 Career NHL
Playoff Games
Andy McDonald - Colgate -Forward, (1996-00) - Strathroy,
Ontario
2000 All-America ... Two-Time All-Conference (First Team 2000;
Second Team 1999) ... 2000-09 ECAC Hockey All-Decade Second Team
... 2000 ECAC Hockey Player of Year -- Second Colgate Player to
Receive Award ... 2000 NCAA All-Regional Team (East Regional) ...
2000 Hobey Baker Award Finalist ... 2000 ECAC Hockey Points Leader
(All Games: 58 points in 34 games; League: 36 points in 19 games)
... Led Colgate in Scoring and Goals Two Consecutive Seasons ...
Captain of Raiders’ 2000 Team ... Tallied 67 Goals and 88
Assists in 137 Collegiate Games ... Named Colgate’s Top
Offensive Player Two Times (1999-00) ... 2000 Recipient of
Colgate’s Rob Ries Memorial Award -- Presented for
Inspiration and Leadership ... Recipient of 2000 Terry Slater
Trophy -- Presented to Colgate Senior Whose Performance, Leadership
and Dedication On and Off Ice had Greatest Impact on Colgate Hockey
... Currently Member of National Hockey League’s St. Louis
Blues ... Member of 2007 Stanley Cup Champion Mighty Ducks of
Anaheim ... Registered 400-Plus Points, including 150-Plus Goals,
as NHL Player
Joe Nieuwendyk - Cornell University - Forward, (1984-87) - Oshawa, Ontario
Two-Time All-America (1986-87) ... 1987 ECAC Hockey Player of Year ... 1985 ECAC Hockey Rookie of Year ... Two-Time All-Conference First Team (1986-87) ... Co-Captain of Big Red’s 1987 Team ... Two-Time ECAC Hockey Goals Leader (1986: 21 goals in 21 games; 1987: 25 goals in 22 games) ... 1987 ECAC Hockey Points Leader (49 points in 22 games) ... 1987 Hobey Baker Award Finalist ... 1980-89 ECAC Hockey All-Decade ... Member of 1986 League Champions ... Totaled 151 Points, including 73 Goals, in 81 Collegiate Contests ... Ranks No. 12 on Cornell's All-Time Points List ... 73 Goals Rank No. 6 All-Time in Cornell History ... Inducted into Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 ... Enjoyed Illustrious National Hockey League (NHL) Career, Compiling 564 Goals and 562 Assists for 1,126 Points in 1,257 Games ... Three-Time Stanley Cup Champion (1989 Calgary; 1999 Dallas; and 2003 New Jersey) ... One of 41 Players in NHL History to Net 500-Plus Goals ... 564 Goals Rank No. 20 All-Time in NHL ... In 1987-88 -- First Full Campaign in NHL -- Scored 51 Goals and 92 Points, Becoming Only Second NHL Player After Mike Bossy to Score 50 Goals in Rookie Season ... 1988 Calder Memorial Trophy Recipient as NHL Rookie of Year ... 1988 NHL All-Rookie Team ... Scored 50-Plus Goals in Consecutive Seasons with Calgary (1987-88 and 1988-89) ... Captain of 1991 Calgary Squad ... 1999 Conn Smythe Trophy Recipient as Most Valuable Player of Stanley Cup Playoffs ...1995 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Winner as NHL Player Who Best Exemplifies Leadership On and Off Ice and Makes Noteworthy Humanitarian Contributions ... Played in NHL All-Star Game Four Times (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994) ... Two-Time Canadian Olympian (1998 and 2002) ... Competed for Canada at 1986 World Junior Championships and 1990 World Championships
Ron Wilson - Providence College - Defenseman, (1973-77) - Windsor, Ontario
Two-Time All-America (1975-76) ... 1970-79 ECAC Hockey All-Decade First Team ... 1975 ECAC Hockey Player of Year ... Three-Time All-Conference (First Team 1975-76; Second Team 1977) ... 1974 ECAC Hockey Rookie of Year ... 1975 ECAC Hockey Points Leader (87 points in 27 games) ... Friars’ All-Time Leading Scorer (250 points) ... Led Friars in Scoring Four Consecutive Seasons ... Totaled 78 Goals and 172 Assists in 111 Collegiate Games ... 1975 Providence College Athlete of Year ... Ranks Sixth in School History in Career Goals (78) and First in Assists (172) ... ECAC Hockey Record-Holder for Points by Defenseman Career (250) and Season (87), Assists in Season (61) and Career (172) ... Tallied a School-Record Four, Four-Goal Games ... NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer Among Defensemen ... Member of Providence Athletic Hall of Fame ... Spent Parts of Seven Seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) Competing with Toronto and Minnesota ... Competed in 177 Career Games in NHL, Scoring 26 Goals and Adding 67 Assists for 93 Points ... Member of 1975 and 1981 U.S. World Championship Teams ... As Head Coach, Led 1996 U.S. National Team to Gold Medal in World Cup ... In 1998, Served as Head Coach for Team USA at Nagano Olympics ... Coached 2004 U.S. World Cup Team ... Current Head Coach of NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs ... Served as Head Coach of Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993-97), Washington Capitals (1997-00) and San Jose Sharks (2002-08) ... Ranks Among NHL’s Top-10 In Wins with 500-Plus Victories -- in 2008 Became Only 11th Coach in NHL History to Attain 500 Wins
