2010 Celebrity Player List

Johnny Bower - Ambassador
Hockey Legend Johnny Bower grew up as the only boy in a family of nine children in rural Saskatchewan. His first goalie pads were made from an old mattress, pucks from “cow pies” and sticks from crooked tree branches. Despite this humble beginning, Bower became one of the best goalies of all time. For the first decade and a half of his career, he played in the AHL winning the best player award three times and the Hap Holmes Award for top goaltender three times. At age 34, he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs and played a total of 12 years with the team. Always maskless, Bower never shied away from an attacking player  He led the Leafs into the playoffs his first season with a miracle comeback-ending to the schedule, lost two finals in a row before finally winning three consecutive Stanley Cup championships. After retiring in 1970 as the oldest goalie ever to play in the NHL, Bower remained with the Leafs for many years as a scout and goalie coach. Johnny Bower is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is one of only a few to have their number hang high at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Troy Crowder
Troy Crowder developed a reputation for being one of the best enforcers in junior hockey while playing for the Hamilton Steelhawks, Belleville Bulls and North Bay Centennials and as such was selected to fill that role in the NHL by the New Jersey Devils. He played 59 games for the team during the 1990-91 season which proved to be the most during his six-year NHL career. After a few games with the Detroit Red Wings, Crowder decided he was tired of playing the tough guy role and retired at the age of 24. In 1994-95 he was lured back by the Los Angeles Kings where he spent two seasons before signing a deal with the Canucks. That season was his last with the NHL. He left the league with 433 minutes in penalties.

 Jim Dorey (Referee) 
Dorey retired after playing over 650 games professionally. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers in the NHL, and the New England Whalers, Toronto Toros and Quebec Nordiques in the World Hockey Association. During his career he won the Avcco World Trophy twice. After retirement, he coached the Kingston Canadians (later Kingston Frontenacs) of the Ontario Hockey League. Jim is this year’s recipient of Feb Fest’s Phil Quattrocchi’s Hall of Cheer Award!

Lori Dupuis
Recognized as one of the top female players in the world, Lori Dupuis is a pioneer for women’s ice hockey in Canada and abroad. Born near Cornwall, she played minor hockey in Cornwall and attended the University of Toronto where she played with the Varsity Blues and was nominated female Athlete-of-the-Year in 1996 and ’97. After university she joined the Brampton Thunder where she was named to the NWHL 2nd All-Star Team. A member of Team Canada in the mid ‘90’s, she won three World Championships as well as a silver medal at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano.

Pat Flatley
A hard-working right-winger who could score and check, Pat Flatley spent over 13 years in the NHL during the 1980s and '90s. He was proficient at driving to the net, winning battles along the boards and in the corners and setting a good example on and off the ice.  The industrious winger scored four goals in seven games while helping Canada win the bronze medal at the 1983 World Junior Championships. Later that year he won bronze with the senior team at the World Championships. Flatley benefitted from a year with the Canadian national team where he scored 31 goals in 57 games during the 1983-84 season and then excelled for his country when they finished fourth at the Sarajevo Olympics. Beginning in 1984-85, Flatley played twelve straight years with the Islanders. Flatley signed with the cross-town Rangers in 1996 and played there for one season before retiring.

Lou Franceschetti
“Work ethic”, “physical play”, “checking” and “creating havoc” are all words that come to mind when one hears the name Lou Franceschetti. He played for 18 seasons beginning with the Washington Capitals and ending his career with the Buffalo Sabres in 1991. Franceschetti continues for be a well-traveled man around the world of hockey both as a player and coach with teams in New Haven, Rochester, Jacksonville, Detroit, Minnesota, London and Nashville and has also tried his hand at roller hockey.

Doug Gilmour
Ever since he first laced up his skates in Kingston’s Church Athletic League, Gilmour has been told he’s too small to play the game... but size did not stop him from following in the footsteps of his hero, Kenny Linseman. “I idolized him,” he says. “He proved that guys who are smaller in stature can still play the game.” He played junior hockey in Cornwall, and despite putting up big numbers and winning two Memorial Cups, he was overlooked in the draft until the St. Louis Blues took a chance on him in the seventh round. After five years in St. Louis, Gilmour was traded to the Calgary Flames, where he followed in Linseman’s footsteps by scoring the 1989 Stanley Cup winning goal. Another highlight came in the spring of 1993, when he led the Toronto Maple Leafs to within one game of the Cup finals. It seemed like all of Kingston was dreaming of a final between Gilmour’s Leafs and fellow Kingstonian Kirk Muller’s Montreal Canadiens. “It would have been a great series,” Gilmour says. “But if we couldn’t win it, I’m glad that Kirk did.” After stops in New Jersey, Chicago, Buffalo and Montreal, Gilmour returned to Toronto, the scene of his most publicized triumphs, to wrap up a 20 year career in 2003. Gilmour’s passionate style of play made him a Toronto fan favourite. Kingston is delighted that our hometown boy home is the coach of the Kingston Frontenacs!

Doug Jarvis
Centre Doug Jarvis was solid in all aspects of the game but developed into one of the best defensive pivots in the NHL. He set the leagues ‘ironman’ record by appearing in an incredible 964 straight regular season games from 1975 to 1987. His career began under coach Roger Neilson with the Peterborough Petes and he was drafted into the Toronto Maple Leaf organization in 1975. He was quickly sent to the Canadiens where he played seven years and helped to win four consecutive Stanley Cups. The 1982 season saw him move to the Washington Capitals where he was presented the Frank J Selke trophy as the league’s best defensive forward. Five years later while with the Hartford Whalers he was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for his ‘ironman’ efforts. Jarvis retired in 1988 after playing 1,069 games at full throttle.

Paul Langlois 
Langlois is the rhythm guitarist and background vocalist for the popular Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip. A high school friend of lead singer Gord Downie, he was asked to join the group in August of 1986. Paul was inducted as a member of The Tragically Hip to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005 at the Juno Awards. As a member of The Tragically Hip, he has appeared on Saturday Night Live and in the 2002 film Men with Brooms.

Gary Leeman 
Leeman, a Toronto native, attended Notre Dame College and was a standout defenceman for two seasons with the WHL's Regina Pats. He was chosen 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1982 Entry Draft. In the 1982-83 season, he returned to Junior where he scored 86 points in 63 games and represented Canada at the World Junior Championships. A speedy right-winger with soft hands, Leeman played nearly 700 NHL games for five different clubs. He was best known as a gritty scoring machine on the Toronto Maple Leafs with a recorded 50-goal season to his credit. In 1988-89, he was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. During the 1991-92 season, Leeman was the key player sent to Calgary in the blockbuster trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto. Leeman played in Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, and St. Louis in the ensuing years. He spent the 1997-98 season with the Hannover Scorpions of the German League then spent time in Germany and Switzerland before retiring in 1999.

Ken Linesman
Kingston native Ken Linesman began his career with the Kingston Canadians in 1974. After a year in the WHA, Linesman joined the Philadelphia Flyers where he soon became a leading scorer and agitator with the club. It was Bobby Clarke who nicknamed him “The Rat’ because of his tendency to lean forward like a rat when he skated. Over his four seasons with the club, he spent most of his time skating on the “Rat Patrol” line with Paul Holmgren and Brian Propp. His next stop was the Edmonton Oilers in 1982 where he skated on a line with Glenn Anderson and Mark Messier; the trio clicked in a big way and went on become league champs in 1984. The following year Linesman was traded to Boston where he played five seasons. After a short stint with both the Flyers and Leafs, he went overseas to play a handful of games in Italy before hanging up the blades in 1992.

Dennis Maruk
Toronto born Maruk spent most of his junior years as a London Knight. Despite great scoring stats, he was passed over in the 1975 draft because of his small stature by many teams until the California Golden Seals secured his rights. His inaugural season was a success due to his ability to steal pucks and explode down the ice on breakaways. There were few players in the league who engineered as many one-on-one scoring chances as Maruk. The Seals evolved into the Minnesota North Stars; from there Maruk was dealt to the Washington Capitals. There Maruk caught fire as on of the NHL’s top scorers and despite phenomenal output, he was traded back to the North Stars at the start of the 83-84 campaign. Minneapolis would be his final NHL destination. Only 9 players in league history have scored as many goals in a single season as Dennis Maruk.

Alyn McCauley
Gananoque native, Alyn McCauley, began his hockey career in 1991 with the Kingston Voyageurs. His second season showed his offensive talents when he scored 60 points in just 38 games. McCauley enjoyed a highly successful four year career with the Ottawa 67’s during which time he represented Canada in the 96 and 97 World Junior Championships – both resulted in gold medal performances. Drafted by the New Jersey Devils, McCauley played his first NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs following a trade. Throughout the late 90’s, McCauley was plagued by injuries but returned to the Leafs as a major contributor in the 01-02 seasons. Following trades to the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings, McCauley retired from the NHL. He has now entered the coaching ranks in Kingston at Queen’s University.

Marty McSorley
With his debut in the NHL in 1983, Marty McSorley developed into one of the toughest defencemen in the league and a key player in several NHL clubs including the Pittsburg Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins.  McSorley is the third-most penalized player in NHL history with 3,381 penalty minutes.  A major contributor to the back to back Stanley Cup wins for the Edmonton Oilers,  McSorley scored four playoff goals in the 1987 win and nine goals in 1988 playoffs.  McSorley was also the keystone in the monumental 1988 Gretzky trade to the Los Angeles Kings, with Gretzky refusing the trade unless Marty was included in the deal. 

Kevin Miller
Centre Kevin Miller entered the NHL in 1998 and was a solid two-way performer in the pros. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Miller was a member of the US National Team at the Calgary Olympics. Originally drafted by the New York Rangers, Miller spent his NHL time as part of the Detroit Red Wings, St Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Black Hawks, New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators. In 1999-2000 while with the Grand Rapids Gryphons of the IHL, Miller topped all skaters in points on their way to a Turner Cup win.

Bernie Nicholls
Accumulating over 1200 career points during his NHL career, this Haliburton native is known for his explosive scoring capabilities. Bernie was a part of the Kingston Canadians in 1979-80 scoring 79 points in his rookie year. Following the 1980 season Nicholls was drafted 73rd overall by the LA Kings. His transition to the NHL appeared to be easy, scoring 32 points in 22 games. Along with being a lead scorer in the NHL Nicholls was also an offensive leader for Canada when they won the silver medal at the 1985 World Championships. In the 1988-89 season Nicholls set a career-high record with 70 goals and 150 points. After 9 seasons with the Kings he was traded to the New York Rangers. He has also played for the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawk’s and San Jose Sharks. After a great run in the NHL, Bernie retired at the end of the 1998-99 season.

Kraig Nienhuis
Sarnia, Ontario native and left-winger Kraig Nienhuis played parts of three seasons with the Boston Bruins in the 80’s. There he proved himself to be a rugged grinder with a decent scoring touch (16 goals as a rookie). Nienhuis enjoyed the majority of his success in Europe, scoring 93 goals in two seasons for Slovenia’s Olimpjia Llubljana and playing for Austria at the 1996 World Championships. Most recently, Nienhuis has become known for his guitar and vocal talents in the band 9 House, which has opened for many great bands including Kingston’s own The Tragically Hip. 

Gary Roberts
After growing up in the Whitby and Oshawa minor hockey leagues, Gary Roberts joined the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL and in his second season, they won the Memorial Cup. Several seasons later he arrived just in time to the Guelph Platers to win a second cup. When the pro ranks called, Roberts joined his childhood buddy, Joe Nieuwendyk and the Calgary Flames in 1987. In his second year, the Flames won the Stanley Cup for the first and only time. The 1991-92 season saw the height of his goal scoring at 53. Injuries forced his to sit out a season but he returned with renewed vigour as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes. After time with the Leafs and Panthers, Roberts hit the 900th career NHL point with the Pittsburgh Penguins and retired in 2009.

Meaghan Sittler
Daughter of NHL Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler, Meaghan Sittler has made a name of her own in hockey circles.  After her freshman year at the Nichols School in Buffalo, Sittler was invited to try out for the under-18 girls' U.S. national hockey team. By the time she entered Colby three years later she had been named one of the top five girls in the country.  She is Colby’s all time leading scorer with 199 goals and 121 assists in 85 games.  She was a member of the US National Team in 1999-2000 and has played as a member of the NWHL’s Brampton Thunder.

Rick Smith
Smith was selected 6th overall by the Boston Bruin in the 1966 Amateur Draft. He joined the Bruins in 1968-69, making a solid contribution to the team's efforts to secure the Stanley Cup in 1970. By then, Smith had established himself as a solid, steady rearguard. Early in 1972, he was traded to the California Golden Seals where he played two seasons before joining the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHL. He returned to the NHL midway through the 1975-76 campaign with St. Louis. After a short stay with the Blues, the Bruins reacquired Smith in 1976 where he remained a key member of the Bruin clubs that consistently finished at the top of the standings. In 1980, he was claimed on waivers by Detroit, splitting his final season of pro hockey between the Wings and the Washington Capitals.

Jason Wooley
Toronto native Jason Wooley began his career with St Michael’s in his hometown before enrolling at Michigan State where he was named to the CCHA First Team All-Star and a NCAA West First Team All-American with 59 points scored. In 1992 he helped the Canadian Olympic team capture a silver medal. His NHL debut was the same year with the New Jersey Devils where he played until being signed with the Florida Panthers where he helped them reach the playoffs for the first time. After a year with the Penguins, Wooley was traded to the Buffalo Sabres where he helped them win the Prince of Wales trophy only to lose to the Dallas Stars in the finals. After several more seasons with the Sabres, Wooley ended his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings.