Former Trail resident Ryan Huska will go into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame along with his coaches and teammates from the 1994-95 Memorial Cup winning Kamloops Blazers.
The BC Sports Hall of Fame also selected 11 outstanding individuals for induction as part of its 2016 class, the 50th in its history.
Honoured Members Tom Larscheid, Sean Millington and Charmaine Crooks announced the 2016 induction class today in the Hall of Champions of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
“The BC Sports Hall of Fame is so proud our selection committee chose these incredible athletes for induction in 2016, our fiftieth year,” said Allison Mailer, Executive Director of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. “Each of these athletes has had a tremendous impact on sport in BC and they are welcome additions to the 363 individuals and 58 teams that have been previously inducted.”
The 1993-94 and 1994-95 Kamloops Blazers were previously inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
The 1994-95 Kamloops Blazers were ranked number 1 in the CHL from the start to the end of the season. The season culminated with an 8-2 win over the Detroit Jr. Red Wings on home ice May 21, 1995. It was the Blazers third Memorial Cup title in four seasons.
Bob Brown was the team’s General Manager, while current Kamloops Blazers General Manager, Stu MacGregor was the team’s Assistant General Manager. Current Head Coach Don Hay was the Head Coach of the 1994-95 team.
The 2016 induction class includes:
In the athlete category, five athletes – Dave Barr (Golf), Dave Cutler (Football), Geri Donnelly (Soccer), Steve Nash (Basketball), and Carl Valentine (Soccer)- were selected.
In the coach-builder category, Wally Buono (Football), Diane Clement (Athletics) and Allison McNeill (Basketball) have been selected.
Selected for induction in the pioneer category is Harry Manson (soccer), also known as Xul-si-malt, which means “one who leaves his mark”. Wendy Long has been selected in the media category.
Arthur Griffiths has been selected to receive the W.A.C. Bennett Award.
Finally, the 1994-1995 Kamloops Blazers Hockey Team has been selected for induction in the team category. Team members include: Jeff Ainsworth, Jeff Antonovich, Terry Bangen, Nolan Baumgartner, Rod Branch, Bob Brown, Ashley Buckberger, Ed Dempsey, Greg Deverson, Shane Doan, Hnat Domenichelli, Greg Hart, Don Hay, Brian Henderson, Jason Holland, Ryan Huska, Jarome Iginla, Jeff Jubenville, Aaron Keller, Donnie Kinney, Brad Lukowich, Bob Maudie, Keith McCambridge, Kevin McDonald, Tyson Nash, Cam McCormick, Shawn McNeil, Jeff Oldenborger, Randy Petruk, Scott Sherwood, Rob Skrlac, Andrei Sryubko, Jason Strudwick, Darcy Tucker, Ivan Vologianinov and Bob Westerby.
The 2016 Inductees will be formally inducted to the BC Sports Hall of Fame at the Banquet of Champions at the Vancouver Convention Centre on June 9, 2016.