Three former Corner Brook Royals and a former Western Star sports reporter will be among seven inductees to Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame.
Ex-Royals Alex Blanchard and Harry Katrynuk of Nova Scotia will be inducted as players, while Mike Anderson of Corner Brook will be inducted in the athlete/builder category. Bill Callahan of St. John's will be inducted in the media category.
Player Leo Kane of Gander, builder Gerry Kelly of Conception Bay South and referee Len Butt of St. John's are also slated to receive the province's highest hockey honours.
Alex Blanchard
Blanchard was one of the finest forwards to play senior hockey with the Royals and his 15-year career involved standout performances based on exceptional talent and important grit in every game in which he played.
He was a solid Royal, who contributed much to the overall success that Corner Brook enjoyed between 1967 and 1984.
His determination and hard work was supported by a skill that allowed him to score more than his share of goals and draw more than his share of assists. His value was decided by his play in all areas of the ice including strong play along the boards and in the corners.
He received a tryout with the Brockville Braves of the Ontario Hockey League in 1967, but he decided to remain with the Corner Brook club.
He contributed greatly to the Royals clubs that won the provincial senior hockey title and the Herder Memorial Trophy in 1968 and 1977. He was voted Corner Brook athlete of the year for 1977 and named Corner Brook's sports executive of the year for 1986.
Mike Anderson
Anderson's hockey career as a player and coach spans five decades, mainly with Gander and Corner Brook.
He achieved great success in both aspects and earned an exceptional reputation for his valuable contributions to any team with which he was associated.
He played 15 seasons, 10 with the Gander Flyers, three with the Royals and two with Mike's Shamrocks. He won the Herder Memorial Trophy in 1969 with the Flyers when they advanced to Allan Cup competition where he was selected as Gander's most valuable player.
His coaching career is highlighted by leading Corner Brook to the national amateur title and the Allan Cup in 1986. This is the only Newfoundland and Labrador hockey team to win the nation's top amateur hockey prize. He was Corner Brook's coach when they won the provincial title, the Eastern Canadian crown and the Bolton Cup in 1985 and 1986.
His highly knowledgeable and inspirational coaching career included selection as the provincial sports coach of the year for 1986 and the John Drinkwater Memorial Award. The Royals were named provincial team of the year and won the Ed Browne Memorial Trophy. Minor hockey coaching was a major part of his efforts with impressive contributions to a long list of peewee, bantam and midget Corner Brook and Western Newfoundland all-star clubs.
Harry Katrynuk
Katrynuk moved from his native Ontario in 1963 to play hockey with the Royals and enjoyed considerable success during an 11-season career.
A big, strong skating, tough forward he excelled in physical games, but possessed the skill to provide solid puck control in a defensive role.
He has four Herder Memorial Trophy titles to his credit. He skated with the championship Corner Brook Royals in 1964 and 1966, with the winning Gander Flyers in 1969 and with the champion Grand Falls Cataracts in 1971. He was very valuable to all four teams. His 701 penalty minutes ties him with Ernie Hynes of Corner Brook as the leader in this department.
Bill Callahan
During most of the 1950s and for a large portion of the 1960s, Callahan was a very beneficial influence on the growth and expansion of hockey in the province.
As a newspaper sports reporter and editor, as a radio and television sportscaster and especially as a hockey play-by-play announcer for both radio and television, he earned a great personal reputation for the high-class manner in which he performed.
He started his sports reporting career in 1948 with The Western Star and continued reporting sports, especially hockey and the Royals, until he moved to St. John's in late 1953. He became CJON's sports director when the St. John's Memorial Stadium opened in 1955 and, in addition to three sportscasts daily on the radio and television networks, took over from the great Don Jamieson as the station's hockey play-by-play announcer.
Leo Kane
Kane was a proficient goalscorer during the 10 years he played for the Gander Flyers in provincial senior hockey.
Owner of exceptional shooting ability and dedicated as a hard skating, hard working forward, he established himself as the finisher for some of the better players to perform in senior hockey. During the final nine years of his career, he averaged close to 30 goals per season. He made two trips to the national Allan Cup playoffs, one with the 1969 Flyers who won the first provincial championship and Herder Memorial Trophy for the community. His other appearance came as a "pickup" player for the St. John's Capitals in 1970.
Gerry Kelly
Kelly ranks among the top hockey builders in the province. His overall contributions to sport include work on major activities other than hockey, it has been special within his volunteer career.
A tireless worker as a coach, manager, fund-raiser, organizer and a long list of executive positions, his co-operative approach and his hands-on manner have been extremely beneficial for anything with which he has been associated, especially hockey.
Len Butt
Butt devoted 33 years of his life to hockey within Newfoundland and Labrador.
He officiated his first game when he was 17 and called his final game when he was 50. In between he was the moderator of hockey games at every level of skill and importance as he made long, valuable and unbiased contributions to hockey, always officiating in a manner that was fair to both teams and all players involved.
The seven will be inducted June 2 during the annual general meeting of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Association at the Albatross Hotel in Gander.
