Drury, Schneider, Ruggerio, and DeGregorio to be Elected Into US Hockey Hall of Fame

Chris Drury (Photo by Jonathan Klein/Getty Images)

This year’s inductees include Chris Drury, Mathieu Schneider, Angela Ruggerio and Ron DeGregorio. The current class will be honored at the 43^rd U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinement Dinner and Ceremony in Boston, MA on December 17^th. The National Hockey League’s Lester Patrick Trophy, awarded for outstanding service to hockey in the United States will also be presented on that night.

Drury, played 892 games with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers over 12 seasons in the NHL. Throughout his career the Avalanche’s third round selection in the 1994 entry draft found the back 255 times, while amassing 615 points.

The Trumbull, CT native played four seasons for Boston University prior to joining the Avalanche for the 1998-1999 season. He followed up winning the Hobey Baker Award for top college player in 1997-1998, with the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year the following season.

Drury said, “USA Hockey has always meant the world to me and my family coming from a small hockey area back in Trumbull, to have two brothers combine for five Olympic teams and a number of World Championship teams and World Junior teams is pretty special.”  He added, “Certainly without USA Hockey and their tournaments, I may never have made it out of there so I will always owe USA Hockey a debt of gratitude.”

Prior to beginning his career in hockey, Drury gained national recognition in baseball, by helping the Trumbull, CT Little League team win the Little League World Series in 1989.  In the championship game, he threw a five hitter and drove in two runs.

Schneider’s career was spent over 20 seasons with the Rangers, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canuks and Phoenix Coyotes. Schneider won the Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Canadiens.

The New York City native currently serves as a Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the NHL Players’ Association. Throughout his career he scored 223 goals and 520 assists in 1289 regular season games. His 36 game winning goals puts him in 11^th place amongst defensemen.

Schneider said, “We’re all extremely privileged to be a part of USA Hockey and this is one of the greatest days of my career. I appreciate everything I’ve been able to achieve through the help and support of USA Hockey. Timing is everything, I feel fortunate to have been able to play with a tremendous group of players.”

The 1987 third round selection of the Canadiens is a two time NHL All Star. On the International level he helped lead Team USA to the inaugural World Cup of Hockey Championship in 1996. Schneider also represented the country at the 1998 Nagano and 2006 Turin Olympic Games.

Ruggiero becomes just the fourth woman to be inducted into the USHOF, joining Cammi Granato (2008), Cindy Curley (2013) and Karyn Bye Dietz (2014). In 2009, the 1998 US Olympic Women’s Team was inducted into the USHOF.

Ruggiero, a star on defense during her career with the women’s national team, is one of five American hockey players to compete in four Olympics. Jenny Potter, Julie Chu, Chris Chelios and Keith Tkachuk are the other four. The Panorama City, CA native was the only member of the 1998 Gold Medal winning team born in the 1980’s. Ruggiero also won medals in the 2002 Salt Lake (Silver), 2006 (Bronze) and 2010 Vancouver (Silver) Winter Olympics. She currently serves as a member of the International Olympic committee.

Ruggiero said, “I just loved the 15 years I got to spend with USA Hockey. I grew as a person, I learned so many things through hockey and can’t say enough about the opportunity I had because I wore that sweater for so long.”  Ruggiero will also have the honor to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on November 9. She added, “I didn’t start playing hockey so I could be in the Hall of Fame and now the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s just a tremendous, tremendous honor.”

After 12 years of service, DeGregorio, stepped down in June from his role as President of USA Hockey. He was a visionary that helped institute the successful National Team Development Program, the American Development Model and the Progressive Skill Development Program.

The US National Team Development Program was founded in 1996 as a two year residency program for 16 and 17 year olds. DeGregorio’s vision was to build teams that could compete with some of the best players in the world. At the 2015 IIHF U-18 World Championships in Zug, Switzerland, the US under 18 team won their ninth gold medal and sixth in the last seven years.

DeGregorio said, “I really am honored, from the grassroots level to the NHL to the international level, USA Hockey has had some great successes together and there’s much more in the future I’m sure.”

Last season 62 USNTDP alumni played in the NHL, including Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Kane and St Louis Blues 2006 number one pick and current Avalanche, Erik Johnson. The 2015 U-18 team was led by Austin Matthews, the potential number one pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.