Guerin, Weight headline 2013 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class

By Joe YerdonJul 25, 2013, 9:17 AM EDT
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This year’s U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class is a doozy.

Headlining this year’s group to be honored are former NHL stars Bill Guerin and Doug Weight. Both are Stanley Cup winners (Guerin twice, Weight once) and each played in three Olympics for Team USA. Overall, Weight represented America at nine international events while Guerin did so at seven.

Both players were also college hockey stars as well with Guerin playing at Boston College and Weight for Lake Superior State.

This year’s other inductees are nothing to sneeze at either. Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr., legendary college hockey coach Ron Mason, and women’s hockey pioneer Cindy Curley round out the class.

Karmanos’ legacy as an owner isn’t one that’s well-remembered in Hartford after uprooting the Whalers, but after 50+ years of building hockey at all levels in the United States he’s more than earned the honor.

Mason finished his coaching career with 924 wins, a mark that was tops in college hockey until BC’s Jerry York surpassed that mark this past season. His legacy as a coach at Michigan State, Bowling Green, and Lake Superior State makes him a legend amongst coaches.

Curley’s work to establish women’s hockey in the United States cannot be stated enough. She was a member of the first IIHF Women’s World Championship team in 1990 and represented the U.S. in numerous tournaments to follow that. As a pioneer of the game for women in America, it’s about time she was recognized for her work.

Is Chris Chelios the greatest U.S. hockey player ever?

By Mike HalfordDec 11, 2011, 11:10 AM EDT
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On Monday night, Chris Chelios will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Chicago-based ceremony will welcome him, Gary Suter, Keith Tkachuk, announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick and Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider into the hall — quite the stellar induction class.

Which got Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune to thinking: Who’s the greatest U.S. hockey player ever?

Rosenbloom says the answer is simple. It’s Chelios.

There never has been a better U.S.-born player than Chelios because there never has been another American who combined skill, smarts, leadership, toughness and longevity the way Chelios did.

You want longevity? Try 26 NHL seasons and a record 24 Stanley Cup playoff seasons. Think about every great hockey player. Think about the legends. They’re all behind Chelios when it comes to invitations to play for sport’s most demanding championship.

And he wasn’t a passenger in those furious springs, believe me.

You want toughness? He once played 18 months with a torn knee ligament, and he still seemed to be on the ice every other shift, even-strength, power play, penalty-killing, what else you got?

Leadership? He was captain of the Blackhawks and just about every American Olympic and U.S. international team on which he played. In my time around Chelios’ dressing room, he was the kind of leader who never wanted to talk much after victories when everybody was available but always stood up after losses when a lot of players hid.

Skill and smarts? This could go on a while. Three Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman. Midseason All-Star. End-of-season All-Star. International All-Star. And that’s just this planet.

It certainly raises an interesting debate, as the list of viable candidates for the “Greatest American Player” title is big. Mike Modano is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader amongst American-born players. Brian Leetch won two Norris Trophies, was one of only five defensemen in NHL history to record a 100-point season and the first American to win the Conn Smythe. Pat Lafontaine scored 148 points in 1993-94, the highest-ever total for an American. Phil Housley played in seven All-Star games and is the career leader for points from an American defenseman.

Other names worthy of consideration include John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick, Joe Mullen and Mike Richter.

(And don’t sleep on Mark Howe, Neal Broten and Frank Brimsek.)

Heck, you could even make the case for Brett Hull (third all-time in goals and a Hockey Hall of Famer, but was born in Canada and holds dual citizenship) or Rod Langway (two-time Norris winner, born in Taiwan, raised in Massachusetts.)

So, who’s the greatest U.S. player of all time? Have at it in the comments section. For the record, I’m going with Leetch because of the surgical precision in which he dissected Vancouver in the 1994 Stanley Cup final.

Related: Versus NHL experts discuss if Chelios is the best American-born player.

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