NAHL selects two "Miracle on Ice" Olympians as honorary captains for All-Star game
Published on January 27, 2005 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release
Two outstanding American-born hockey players and members of the "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic Hockey team -- Neal Broten and Ken Morrow -- have accepted invitations from the North American Hockey League to serve as honorary captains for the NAHL's All-Star Game on February 8, in Frisco, Texas.
Their selection also celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Gold Medal U.S. Olympic team's triumph at Lake Placid in February, 1980.
Tickets for Festival events are available by phoning 972-335-9800. For on-line orders, click here. For hotel accommodations at the nearby Towne Place Suites in Plano, Texas, the Official Hotel of the NAHL All-Star Festival, click here.
"We are thrilled that Neal and Ken will be with us for our All-Star Festival," said NAHL commissioner Michael Santos. "We felt that it was appropriate for these two great American hockey players to be part of our celebration because the young men who play today in the NAHL all aspire to follow the trail blazed by Neal and Ken. They came up through the ranks of organized hockey in the U.S. and had great collegiate careers before reaching the pinnacle of U.S. hockey with the Olympic Gold Medal. And both went from there to outstanding NHL careers and Stanley Cup championships.
"What is equally special is that Neal and Ken hail from regions that produce a large number of NAHL players," Santos continued. "Ken is from Michigan and, as a member of the Jr. Red Wings -- which became a founding member of the NAHL -- was one the first great Junior A players in U.S. Neal came up through the rich Minnesota hockey system, became a high school star and then a great collegian prior to becoming an Olympic champion.
"We know our fans in Texas will be as happy as we are to welcome Ken and -- since he was also a star in Dallas -- welcome back Neal on February 8."
In addition to their being members of the Gold Medal team, both Broten and Morrow are best known for their NHL careers. Broten played 17 NHL seasons, mostly with the Minnesota /Dallas franchise as a highly skilled center. In 1985-86, he became the first U.S. born player to score 100 points in a season. He was a Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. When he retired as a member of the Dallas Stars in 1997, he was the franchise leader in scoring, assists, games played, seasons, shorthanded goals, playoff games and playoff assists. His number 7 was retired by the Stars in 1998.
Morrow went right from Olympic Gold to the blueline of the New York Islanders, where he proceeded to play on four consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams, the first only three months after Lake Placid -- an unprecedented achievement. After his 550-game NHL career ended in 1989, Morrow coached in both minor pro hockey and in the NHL with the Islanders before becoming a pro scout for the club.
Both are excited about their honorary captain selections and are justifiably proud of their legacy to the current generation of young American hockey players.
"I think our Olympic team opened people's eyes that American players could play the game," Morrow says. "We were just a young group of kids and I think what really caught people's attention was the way we approached the game. We played hard and with emotion. We typified all the things that Americans saw in themselves. We kept coming and didn't back down when we were scored on, we came back harder. We got stronger in the third period. I take more pride in that than anything else. We were just a determined group of guys. In hindsight, we were a better team than people gave us credit for. At the time, most of the American players who were in the NHL were role players, but that changed. Who knew Neal would play almost 1100 NHL games, or that Dave Christian and Mike Ramsey would have such long careers? These guys who turned out to be terrific NHLers."
Broten agrees with Morrow on the quality of the team. "I don't think we realized how much of an impact that victory would have on scouts recruiting U.S. players for pro hockey. We knew the U.S. produced quality players before, but we weren't getting scouted. Our victory showed we could play at a high level. I was only 20, Ramsey was 20 -- we were as green as grass. But we played and played hard. And we had leaders like Kenny, who had played four years at Bowling Green, and Mark Johnson and Mike Eruzione. We had a better team than even we thought we had, and it changed a lot of things for U.S. hockey players."
Broten says of the young players skating today in the NAHL, "I admire these kids so much. They weren't given college scholarships as high schoolers, so they go play in the league to work their way up, to work at getting into a college program. They are really dedicated. You know they love the game. It's great for the game that they approach it with such enthusiasm and it's great for the kids because it's a tremendous learning experience for them."
Both Morrow and Broten have been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Broten won the Hobey Baker Award as the country's top collegiate player in 1981 before beginning his NHL career. Morrow was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1996 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2005
- NAHL names on-ice officials for All-Star game - NAHL
- NAHL names All-Star team to face Texas Tornado - NAHL
- NAHL announce first All-Star Festival set for Frisco, Texas - NAHL
- NAHL selects two "Miracle on Ice" Olympians as honorary captains for All-Star game - NAHL
- Barons fall to USA-18, 2-1 - Cleveland Barons
- First Place on the Line This Weekend at the Coliseum - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
