Cam Neely

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CanadaCanada  Cam Neely Ice hockey player
Hockey Hall of Fame , 2005
Cam Neely
Date of birth June 6, 1965
place of birth Comox , British Columbia , Canada
size 185 cm
Weight 99 kg
position Right wing
number #8th
Shot hand Right
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1983 , 1st lap, 9th position
Vancouver Canucks
Career stations
1981-1982 Ridge Meadows Lightning
1982-1983 Portland Winter Hawks
1983-1986 Vancouver Canucks
1986-1996 Boston Bruins

Cameron Michael "Cam" Neely (born June 6, 1965 in Comox , British Columbia ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League between 1983 and 1996 . Neely is still considered a prime example of the so-called position of the power forward . Neely had been in the management of his ex-club Boston Bruins since 2007 before being named president of the franchise in June 2010 .

Career

After a successful season with the Portland Winter Hawks in the Western Hockey League , he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft 1983 in ninth place by the Vancouver Canucks . He played three pretty disappointing seasons in Vancouver. Then the Canucks exchanged him and their first right to vote for the 1987 NHL Entry Draft against Barry Pederson of the Boston Bruins . In his first year with the Bruins, Neely was the club's most successful goalscorer with 36 goals and more than doubled his record from the previous season with 72 points.

Neely's strengths were his hard, precise shot, his quick comprehension and his fighting will, paired with enormous physique. At just under 1.85 meters and 100 kg, he was just as good at handing out body checks and punches as he was shooting goals. He became the prototype of the power forward , which was in great demand in the NHL; from then on one looked for “Cam Neely types”.

During his ten seasons for the Bruins, marked by his increasing problems with injuries, he posted remarkable stats. Only the absolute superstars Wayne Gretzky , Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull ever scored a better goals-per-game average than Cam Neely in the 1993/94 season with 50 goals in 49 games. Also, there have only been ten players who have had a higher goals-per-game average throughout their careers. This is even more remarkable when you consider Neely's serious injuries. He reached the 50-goal mark three times, played in five All-Star games and was voted the second best right winger in the league four times.

50 goals in 50 games is considered to be the benchmark for the best goalscorer in NHL history. Maurice Richard , Mike Bossy , Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux are the only ones who managed to do this. Cam Neelys 50 goals in 44 games were not included in the official statistics, as this calls for "50 goals in a maximum of 50 games of the team " 66th game of his team could achieve.

He was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in the 1993/94 season for his special willpower and ability to suffer to keep returning to the ice after serious injuries . A hip disorder forced him to retire after the 1995/96 season at the age of just 30. His shirt number 8 is no longer given in honor of the Bruins. In 2005 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame .

Outside of the field, he is very involved in the social field. Because his parents both died of cancer , he founded the Cam Neely Foundation , which runs the "Neely House" in collaboration with a hospital, where cancer patients can be accommodated with their families during their treatment.

In September 2007, Neely was named vice president of the Boston Bruins. In 2010 Neely received the Lester Patrick Trophy , which is awarded for special services to ice hockey in the USA and the NHL.

He also had a few minor roles as an actor, including a brief appearance in the movie Dumb and Dumber as "Seabass" .

Achievements and Awards

Records

  • Nine power play goals in one playoff season ( 1991 ; together with Mike Bossy )

Career statistics

Regular season Play-offs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1981/82 Ridge Meadows Lightning Minor BC 64 73 86 159 134
1982/83 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 72 56 64 120 130 14th 9 11 20th 17th
1983 Portland Winter Hawks Memorial Cup 4th 5 4th 9 6th
1983/84 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 19th 8th 18th 26th 29 - - - - -
1983/84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 56 16 15th 31 57 4th 2 0 2 2
1984/85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 72 21st 18th 39 137 - - - - -
1985/86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 73 14th 20th 34 126 3 0 0 0 6th
1986/87 Boston Bruins NHL 75 36 36 72 143 4th 5 1 6th 8th
1987/88 Boston Bruins NHL 69 42 27 69 175 23 9 8th 17th 51
1988/89 Boston Bruins NHL 74 37 38 75 190 10 7th 2 9 8th
1989/90 Boston Bruins NHL 76 55 37 92 117 21st 12 16 28 51
1990/91 Boston Bruins NHL 69 51 40 91 98 19th 16 4th 20th 36
1991/92 Boston Bruins NHL 9 9 3 12 16 - - - - -
1992/93 Boston Bruins NHL 13 11 7th 18th 25th 4th 4th 1 5 4th
1993/94 Boston Bruins NHL 49 50 24 74 54 - - - - -
1994/95 Boston Bruins NHL 42 27 14th 41 72 5 2 0 2 2
1995/96 Boston Bruins NHL 49 26th 20th 46 31 - - - - -
WHL overall 81 64 82 146 159 14th 9 11 20th 17th
NHL overall 726 395 299 694 1241 93 57 32 89 168

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

Commons : Cam Neely  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Neely, Cam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Neely, Cameron Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Comox , British Columbia