Eveleth, Minnesota is a town of only around 3700 people and yet is one of the most important hockey towns in the United States.
It may not have the fan bases of Boston or Philadelphia, or the history of Pittsburgh, or a world class arena like New York, but it has something much more than that. It houses the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (US HHOF), and in a sport largely dominated by Canadians and Europeans, Americans are often left in the shadow.
Schneider, Drury headline 2015 US HHOF Class
The US HHOF opened in 1973 and has seen the likes of players like Mike Modano, Neal Broten, Pat LaFontaine, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin inducted. There are 162 members thanks to this year’s additions of Mathieu Schneider, Chris Drury, Angela Ruggiero, and Ron DeGregorio .
Mathieu Schneider– Schneider, 46, was a defenseman for 10 teams over the course of his 23 year playing career, most notably for the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 1993. Schneider also appeared in two All-Star Games in 1996 and 2003 respectively. Schneider appeared in 1289 NHL games, scoring 223 goals, the 4th-most in history among American defenseman, and 523 assists, good for 743 career points, with his career high of 59 coming during the 2005-06 season with Detroit.
Chris Drury– Drury, 38, spent 13 seasons between the Rangers, Sabres, Flames, and Avalanche. He garnered national attention when he won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in collegiate hockey, posting 57 points his senior year at Boston University in 1997-98. The following season, Drury’s first in the NHL, he recorded 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points en route to winning the Calder Trophy. Drury is the first and so far only player to capture both awards in NHL history. His best season came in 2006-07 when he scored 37 points and had 32 assists for 69 points. He would go on to finish ha career with 255 goals and 360 assists, for a total of 615 points.
Angela Ruggiero– Ruggiero, 35, spent 15 years representing the United States in international play and in that span played in more games representing the U.S. than any other player, man or woman, in country history. She has medaled four times at the Olympics, taking gold in 1998 and silver twice, once in 2002 and once in 2010, and captured bronze in 2006. She is also the only woman in history to play in a professional game in North America as a non-goalie.
Ron DeGregorio– DeGregorio has spent nearly 40 years in hockey and is being recognized for his work over the last 12 years as the President of USA Hockey, with membership consistently rising during his tenure. DeGregorio also owned the now defunct AHL team the Kentucky Thoroughblades.
This year’s class will be inducted on December 17 in Boston.
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