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AHL announces American Hockey League Hall of Fame inductees

November 15, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League today announced the four people selected for induction into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame as the Class of 2007.

Honored by the AHL Hall of Fame Selection Committee as the second group of enshrinees are Fred "Bun" Cook, Dick Gamble, Gil Mayer and Mike Nykoluk.

"The AHL Board of Governors has unanimously endorsed the selection committee's recommendation for the induction of these four hockey legends into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame," said David Andrews, AHL President and CEO. "All four inductees established standards of excellence during their AHL careers that have helped define our league's great history, and we are honored to have them join our Hall of Fame."

The Class of 2007 will be honored as part of the festivities at the 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic in Toronto. The induction ceremony will take place as part of the AHL All-Star Classic Luncheon on Monday, January 29.

In a unique effort to make the rich tradition of the AHL available to the widest possible audience, the AHL Hall of Fame is housed on-line at www.ahlhalloffame.com and is accessible to fans worldwide with the click of a mouse as part of the AHL Internet Network. The Network also includes theahl.com, caldercup.com and all 27 official team sites, and hosts more than 240 million page views each year.

Now in its 71st season of play, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 80 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the fifth year in a row, more than 6.3 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2005-06.

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AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE HALL OF FAME -- CLASS OF 2007

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Fred "Bun" Cook

Following a storied playing career in the National Hockey League that earned him an honored place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Fred "Bun" Cook carved a legacy in the American Hockey League as the most prolific coach ever to work an AHL bench.

Cook was a popular player in the early days of the NHL, known as one-third of the famous Bread Line (with brother Bill Cook and Frank Boucher) with the New York Rangers in the 1920's and 1930's. He was also recognized as an early innovator in the evolution of the game of hockey, including helping to introduce the slap shot and the drop pass.

A native of Kingston, Ont., Cook retired in 1937 and became head coach of the AHL's Providence Reds, leading the team to the Calder Cup championship in his first season. Two years later, Cook's Reds won another Calder Cup, and in 1942, he coached the Eastern Division team in the first AHL All-Star Game, a benefit to raise funds for American and Canadian efforts in World War II. Cook also put himself back on the ice while in Providence, playing a total of 37 regular-season games during his six years with the Reds.

In 1943, Bun Cook took over for his brother Bill behind the bench of the Cleveland Barons and soon solidified his reputation as one of the most popular and successful teachers in the sport. His 13 seasons in Cleveland saw the Barons dominate as a perennial power in the AHL, including seven first-place finishes in the regular season and five more Calder Cup championships.

Cook retired from the AHL in 1956, following his 11th trip to the Calder Cup Finals. He led his team to the postseason in 18 of his 19 seasons and finished with a record of 636-413-122 (.595), still leaving him as the winningest head coach in league history. His incredible seven Calder Cup championships are by far the most ever by an AHL coach; no one else in league history has won more than three. Cook also ranks second all-time with 1,171 games coached and second with 75 postseason victories.

Cook passed away in 1988 at the age of 84, and was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.

Dick Gamble

Discovered playing amateur hockey in his native Moncton, N.B., Dick Gamble became one of the most prolific scorers in American Hockey League history, as well as an all-star in the National Hockey League.

Gamble skated three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, appearing in the NHL All-Star Game and winning a Stanley Cup championship in 1953. He made his AHL debut in 1954-55 with the Buffalo Bisons, needing just 45 games to score a team-leading 38 goals and earning a Second Team AHL All-Star nod.

Gamble returned to Buffalo in 1957 and would score at least 30 goals in 10 of the next 12 AHL seasons. He moved east to Rochester in 1961 and soon became one of the faces of the burgeoning Americans franchise.

In 1964-65, Gamble set a career benchmark by scoring 48 goals for the Amerks and leading the team to their first Calder Cup championship. A year later, he won the AHL's scoring title with a personal-best 98 points and was named league MVP as Rochester won a second straight Cup. A 46-goal season in 1966-67 helped the Amerks to the Finals for the third year in a row, and in 1968, he helped bring Rochester its third championship in four seasons.

In 1968-69, Gamble became player/coach of the Americans and put up one more 30-goal season. He hung up his skates for good seven games into the following season.

Gamble earned a total of six postseason AHL All-Star berths (two First Team, four Second Team), and was inducted as an original member of the Amerks Hall of Fame in 1986. During the 2005-06 season, he was named to the starting lineup for the franchise's 50th Anniversary Team.

Gamble ranks fourth all-time in AHL history with 468 goals and fifth with 892 points in 898 career AHL games.

Gil Mayer

A workhorse between the pipes despite his small size, few goaltenders in professional hockey had the success that Gil Mayer did in the American Hockey League.

An Ottawa native, Mayer was nicknamed "The Needle" because of his 5-foot-6, 135-pound frame, making him just about the smallest player in the league at the time. But he made up for his diminutive stature with quickness and agility, and would be credited with winning 346 games over 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Hornets, Hershey Bears, Cleveland Barons and Providence Reds from 1949-63. (His victory total is actually slightly higher, but statistics from the 1958-59 season remain incomplete.)

Mayer posted 30 wins in a season seven different times, including a memorable 46-19-3 campaign in 1951-52. He led the Hornets to Calder Cup championships in 1952 and 1955, and along the way, was recalled to see action in nine games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When the Hornets folded following the 1955-56 season, Mayer joined future AHL Hall of Famers Frank Mathers and Willie Marshall in making the move from Pittsburgh to Hershey. He spent three seasons with the Bears, playing on teams that went on to win the Calder Cup in 1958 and 1959, although he did not see any postseason action either year.

Mayer played the next two years (1959-61) in Cleveland and the two after that in Providence before retiring in 1963 trailing only Johnny Bower in all-time AHL wins and shutouts (41).

Mayer's career saw him capture many individual honors as well, earning three First Team AHL All-Star nods along with two Second Team berths. Five times in a six-year span, beginning in 1950-51 at the age of 20, Mayer captured the Harry "Hap" Holmes Award, which was at the time presented to the goaltender who led the league in goals against.

Mike Nykoluk

He wasn't known for his goal-scoring ability, but as a talented playmaker, Mike Nykoluk turned out to be one of the most productive point-getters in the history of the American Hockey League.

The Toronto native was a member of the inaugural Rochester Americans club in 1956-57 and suited up in 32 National Hockey League games for the Toronto Maple Leafs that same season. But Nykoluk would spend the entirety of the next 15 years in the AHL, mostly becoming one of the faces of the Hershey Bears franchise.

Nykoluk's 14 seasons in Hershey were highlighted by two Calder Cup championships, one in 1959 and another in 1969. He never cracked the 20-goal mark in his career, but he recorded at least 50 assists in seven straight seasons (1963-70), leading the league twice.

In 1966-67, Nykoluk won the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL's most valuable player and was a Second Team AHL All-Star. A year later, he set career highs with 19 goals and 85 points and earned a First Team All-Star selection.

Nykoluk, who retired in 1972, remains third on the AHL's all-time list with 686 assists, sixth with 881 points and fourth with 1,069 games played. He also ranks second with 62 career playoff assists and tied for fourth with 112 Calder Cup Playoff games played.

In Chocolatetown, Nykoluk is the Hershey Bears' all-time leader in games played (972), assists (636) and points (808), and his number 8 has been retired by the team.

Nykoluk went on to become one of the first assistant coaches in the National Hockey League, helping the Philadelphia Flyers to Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. He later returned to Toronto and spent three seasons as the head coach of his hometown Maple Leafs.

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