Former New York Rangers Zubov and Nedomanský get call to the Hall
By Ed Stein
A pair of former New York Rangers, Sergei Zubov and Václav Nedomanský were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon.
Two players who wore Broadway Blue for the New York Rangers were announced Tuesday as part of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2019. Both Sergei Zubov and Vaclav Nedomansky will be inducted on November 19, in Toronto. Each had storied careers and played their part in hockey history.
Before getting into the New York Rangers connections, the other members of this class Guy Carbonneau, Jerry York, Jim Rutherford, and the headliner Hayley Wickenheiser deserve recognition. York and Rutherford as builders Carboneau and Wickenheiser as players.
Jerry York was the first NCAA college hockey coach to win 1,000 games. Considering NCAA teams play at most 34 regular season games, it’s quite an accomplishment. His college coaching career has lasted 46 years and York led his teams to five NCAA Division-1 titles, which is second all time.
Jim Rutherford, the current general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a deserving candidate. After hanging up his goalie pads in 1983, he went into management. First with Hartford/Carolina from 1994-2014, then with the Pens in 2014. He has three Stanley Cups to his name, 2004 (Carolina), 2015 and 2016 (Pittsburgh).
Guy Carbonneau was one of the best defensive forwards I can remember as a kid. It was an almost seamless transition from Bob Gainey to the Sept-Iles, Quebec native. Much like the great Canadiens dynasties of the past who transitioned from one Hall of Famer to another, Carbonneau picked up the mantle as les bleu, blanc, et rouge’s shutdown forward and ran with it. Over his 19 year NHL career, he won three Stanley Cup Championships, and three Frank J. Selke Awards as the league’s top defensive forward.
If you never saw Hayley Wickenheiser play hockey, you missed one of the all-time greats no matter the gender. When she was on the ice for Team Canada, it was must-see hockey. Wickenheiser was an all-around threat and as of her 2017 retirement is the leading scorer in Women’s Olympic Hockey history with 51 points.
To put her career in perspective, Wickenheiser won four Olympic golds and a silver, she also brought back seven gold medals and six silvers from the World Championships back to Canada. Wichenheiser currently serves as the Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Director of Player Development.