by Katie Hamlin | AHL On The Beat
From the Syracuse Stars, to the filming of Slap Shot, and now to the Syracuse Crunch in their 31st season, the city of Syracuse holds a rich hockey history.
Professional hockey arrived in Syracuse when the Stars joined the old International Hockey League in 1930 and claimed the first-ever Calder Cup in 1937. Since then, eight different professional teams and hundreds of individuals have contributed to creating a home for hockey in Central New York.
It was long overdue that Syracuse established a Hall of Fame honoring and celebrating these individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions to hockey in the city. On Nov. 23, the Crunch enshrined Scott Walker, Howard Dolgon, Ed Kochian, Alan Taylor and Brian Elwell as the inaugural class of the Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame with a special induction ceremony.
The first Crunch player forever enshrined was Walker, known as “The Wild Thing.” Walker quickly became a fan favorite in Syracuse with his blue-collar work ethic and physicality on the ice. In the inaugural Crunch season of 1994-95, he played 74 games and racked up 334 penalty minutes. He totaled 67 points in 89 regular-season games with the Crunch and went on to skate in 829 games in the National Hockey League with Vancouver, Nashville, Carolina and Washington.
“It’s a great day,” Walker said of the honor. “It’s obviously something you don’t grow up dreaming about, at least I didn’t. I grew up dreaming about scoring a goal, game seven overtime winner playing street hockey. But this is amazing. It’s beyond believable.”
Walker states his time in Syracuse made him the player and person he grew to be.
“It is a part of who I am now,” said Walker, who came to Syracuse when the Canucks moved their AHL affiliate from Hamilton, Ont., in 1994. “I’ve been back a lot because it means that much to me. I couldn’t have been happier and more lucky, because ultimately when you get drafted and you go play in the [AHL] you don’t know where you’re going to play. Fortunate for me, Howard (Dolgon) and his group brought the team to Syracuse and maybe we say it was a perfect match. I tried to embody what they wanted, and it really helped my career.”
Along with the players and team on the ice, it’s the numerous executives behind-the-scenes that build a long-lasting hockey community. Culture starts at the top and with the Crunch, that begins with owner Howard Dolgon.
Dolgon has been…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League…