3 CHL Alumni Elected to Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2014
Monday June 23, 2014
The Canadian Hockey League is proud to announce that three CHL alumni are among the class of 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees.
Pat Quinn, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame and John Davidson, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, announced Monday that four individuals have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category including former Prince Albert Raider Mike Modano, in addition to former Hull Olympiques Head Coach Pat Burns elected in the Builder Category, and former OHL Official Bill McCreary in the Referee and Linesman category.
The vote took place today at the annual meeting of the Selection Committee in Toronto.
A native of Livonia, Michigan, Modano was a member of the Raiders for three seasons from 1986-89 recording 294 points in 176 games. He was drafted first overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars franchise, with whom he played 21 of his 22 NHL seasons. Modano holds the NHL record for most goals (561) and points (1,374) by an American-born player. An Olympic silver medalist, he also led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999.
“When I played I always hoped that I could make an impact on the game, both on and off the ice, and this honour recognizes that,” said Modano. “I love this game and as an American born player, I owe a lot to the people in Prince Albert who helped me take my game to the next level.”
After a 17 year career as a police officer, Burns coached the QMJHL’s Olympiques for three seasons from 1984-87. From there he progressed to the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the AHL and in 1988 began his 14- year NHL coaching career with the Montreal Canadiens – winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year in his first season. With a career .573 winning percentage, Pat also won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003. Pat passed away on November 19th, 2010 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
“It’s a great day for me and my family,” said Line Gignac Burns (Pat’s widow). “I’m speechless and tremendously happy. Pat would be proud and this is well-deserved.”
After playing Junior A hockey, McCreary began an officiating career and worked three seasons in the OHL beginning as a linesman in 1979 followed by two seasons as a referee until signing with the NHL. He officiated 1,700 regular season NHL games beginning in 1984 and 282 NHL playoff games before ending his career on April 2nd, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Internationally, Bill worked the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, including the gold medal games at both tournaments.
“I was fortunate living in Guelph to be encouraged to get into officiating by some of the NHL greats that were involved in the game there, “said McCreary. “Just as with the players, being in the Stanley Cup Final is the goal of any official and I’m pleased that I was able to have that recognition on several occasions.”
The 2014 Induction Celebration will be held on Monday, November 17th at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
For more information please visit hhof.com.