A five year veteran himself in the National Hockey League as a bruising Defenceman for the Chicago Blackhawks, John Mariucci entered the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder for his work in growing the game in the already hockey rich state of Minnesota. Born in Eveleth, Mariucci returned to Minnesota after his playing career ended and took over as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Rather than recruit in Canada, he focused only on Minnesota players and challenged the state high schools to develop programs. Minnesota hockey improved greatly because of his work, and he was justifiably inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in the inaugural class.

A class act on and off the ice, Jean Ratelle was on many good teams (though never won the Stanley Cup) and was a two time recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy. He would twice top the 100 point mark and finished with a total of 1,267 career points. As good as he was at scoring and playmaking, he was also known for making very few mistakes on the ice and always putting his team in a better position to win games. Jean Ratelle may have only been named to one Post Season All Star game, but he did win the Ted Lindsay Award in 1972 which was indicative of the player deemed most valuable in the NHL by his peers. That accolade is indicative of the respect he had throughout the league. Although he did not win a Cup, he was a big part of Team Canada’s 1972 Summit Series win.

The owner of the most iconic mask in Hockey history (the one with the famed stiches showing where a puck would have hit his face), Gerry Cheevers had his greatest success in the net with the Boston Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972. He was not the best Goalie in the NHL, but he was decent enough to give his powerful Bruins scorers the confidence enough that he would let in fewer goals than his team would score. Cheevers bolted to the WHA, where he was the top netminder there, and after would return to Boston posting spectacular winning percentages year after year.

A star Left Wing with the Montreal Canadians, Bert Olmstead did not always receive a lot of the same accolades that his star teammates did, but within the locker room, his worth was well known. Olmstead was not necessarily a good goal scorer, but we was a brilliant passer (he led the NHL in assists twice) and was a very good checker and his tenacious play in the corners gave him the nickname of “Dirty Bertie”. His legacy may not have been one as the greatest player in hockey history, but one who found a way to achieve the maximum of efficiency with the skills that he did have. It inspired the players around him, and freed the coaches to concentrate on other players as Olmstead was considered to be a player who coaches did not need to help out. Overall, Olmstead was a Second Team All Star twice, and a five time Cup winner (four with Montreal and once with Toronto) and had a resume that probably could have gotten him in the Hall a couple of years sooner than he did.