Hall in the Family: Carpenter, Broten, and Vanbiesbrouck Named to U.S. Class of 2007
Tuesday, 08.14.2007 / 4:55 PM
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New Jersey Devils
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As a player and assistant, Carpenter was a part of all three Devils Stanley Cup Championships.
newjerseydevils.com – The Devils' family tree just keeps extending its hall-of-fame roots.
Less than two months after it was announced that former captain Scott Stevens will be enshrined at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this November, three ex-Devils have been named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2007.
Former forward and assistant coach Bob Carpenter, former forward Aaron Broten, and former goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck will be officially inducted in a ceremony slated for October.
The late John MacInnes, who spent 26 years as the head coach of Michigan Tech, was also named to this year's class.
Carpenter spent six of his 19 NHL seasons in a Devils uniform, and was a member of New Jersey's 1995 Stanley Cup Championship. Selected third overall by Washington in the 1981 Entry Draft, Carpenter was the first American taken in the top five of an NHL draft.
The Beverley, Mass. native scored 32 goals as a rookie in 1981-82, and later became the first American-born player in NHL history to crack the 50-goal mark when he potted 53 in '84-85. In international play, he represented the United States at the 1981 World Junior Championships, the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments, and the 1987 World Championships.
Carpenter signed with New Jersey as an unrestricted free agent in 1993, recording 35 goals and 71 assists in 353 games in a Devils uniform. After retiring as a player in 1999 with 320 goals and 408 assists in 1,178 career regular season contests, Carpenter went on to serve as an assistant coach for New Jersey's Stanley Cup Championship runs in 2000 and 2003.
Broten scored 147 goals and 283 assists for 430 points over 581 games played with New Jersey. The native of Roseau, Minn., was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the sixth round, 106th overall, of the 1980 Entry Draft, after two seasons at the University of Minnesota, where he set the Gopher record for points in a season (106).
The brother of former NHLers Paul and Neal, who won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995, Aaron Broten represented the United States in the World Junior Championships ('78), World Championships ('81, '82, '85, '86, '87), and Canada Cup tournaments ('84, '87). He retired from the NHL in 1992 after stops in Minnesota, Quebec, Toronto, and Winnipeg, finishing with 186 goals, 329 assists and 515 points in 748 career games.
Vanbiesbrouck spent his final two NHL seasons in New Jersey after a 20-year playing career that began with the New York Rangers. The Detroit native was just the second U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to record 300 games, and finished with 374 career wins, the most by an American-developed goalie.
Vanbiesbrouck represented the U.S. at the 1981 and 1982 World Junior Championships, four World Championships ('85, '87, '89, '91), the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup tournaments, and the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
with wire services
