Knights add six to Don Brankley London Knights Hall of Fame

The London Knights inducted six alumni into the Don Brankley London Knights Hall of Fame prior to Tuesday’s game against the Guelph Storm.

Garry Unger, Reg Thomas, Brian Bradley, Chris Kelly, Dylan Hunter and John McDonald were all honoured along the wall on the third floor of Budweiser Gardens and welcomed to centre ice for a pre-game ceremony. They join Dave Lowry, Dennis Maruk, Walt McKechnie, Rob Schremp, Chris Taylor and Tim Taylor in the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

Known as the “Iron Man,” Unger played with the London Nationals prior to the advent of the Knights. He’s credited with the second-longest ironman streak in hockey history, playing 914 consecutive contests.

A London, Ont. native, Reg Thomas racked up over 300 points with the Knights between 1970-73. He became the second 50-goal scorer in club history during the 1972-73 season and played several years in the minor pro ranks along with 39 games with the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques. His son, Reg Thomas, would later play for the Sarnia Sting and Soo Greyhounds.

Brian Bradley was a Knight from 1981-85, accumulating 373 points in green and gold, the third-most in franchise history. The Kitchener, Ont. native went on to play 13 NHL seasons between Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Tampa Bay and was a two-time NHL All-Star.

Kelly played parts of four seasons with the Knights from 1997-2001 before ending his OHL career as a member of the Sudbury Wolves. Now 39, Kelly played 14 NHL seasons between Ottawa, Boston and Anaheim, hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011.

Current Knights assistant coach Dylan Hunter was a 2005 Memorial Cup champion with the franchise. He spent five seasons with the Knights, racking up 315 points and also wore the ‘C’ on his jersey. He went on to play over 300 games in the minor pro ranks.

John McDonald becomes the first member of the Hall of Fame’s builder category. McDonald, who once drafted current Knights GM Mark Hunter to the Brantford Alexanders organization, became head scout with the franchise in the early 2000’s and helped bring in eventual stars in Corey Perry, Dave Bolland, Patrick Kane and Marc Methot.