EHL Jersey Devils' Jamie Kennedy to P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame

Jamie Kennedy, leading goalscorer in EHL Jersey Devils' history and fan favorite will be inducted this year into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame. Kennedy had 185 goals and 260 assists for 345 points in 282 games with the Devils over 4 seasons. Jamie was a first team Northern Division All-Star in 1970-71, amassing a career high 101 points. The following season he scored 50 goals, before signing with the WHA New York Raiders. Unable to be sent back to Jersey, since the parent Philadelphia Flyers did not allow WHA players on the Devils, Kennedy was traded along with Ted Scharf, Claude Chartre and Pete Donnelly to the Long Island Ducks for Mel Gushattey and Bill Morris. Kennedy played 15 games for the Ducks that final EHL season, scoring 12 goals to go with 11 assists.

P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame announces inductees for 2011
Full Article: http://www.journalpioneer.com/Sports/2011-06-27/article-2616103/PEI-Sports-Hall-of-Fame-announces-inductees-for-2011/1
Published on June 27, 2011 by Staff - The PEI Journal Pioneer

CHARLOTTETOWN - The P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame will grow by five new members later this year.

Jamie Kennedy (athlete, hockey), Cathy Dillon (athlete, curling), Sandy Frizzell (builder, hockey), George Morrison (builder, basketball) and Myron Weeks (builder, volleyball) will be the latest inductees to join the 156 individuals and teams who currently comprise the membership of the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame.

Jamie Kennedy

Jamie Kennedy of Charlottetown is one of the most familiar faces in Island hockey. He enjoyed a professional career that included 588 professional games, scoring 321 goals and 630 points.

The feisty Kennedy landed his first professional hockey contract in 1968 with the Jersey Devils of the Eastern Hockey League, netting 40 goals in his first season. His incredible 50-goal tally in 1970-71 made him the first Maritime-born professional to reach that milestone.

His illustrious career included him lacing up the skates for the New York Raiders of the newly-formed World Hockey Association, the Syracuse Blazers of the North American Hockey League and the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Hockey League, before returning to P.E.I. to play senior hockey for the Charlottetown Islanders and helping them win a Hardy Cup in 1981.

He has successfully passed on his vast experience and knowledge to many Island teams as a coach while also forging a reputation as an outstanding official, considered by many to be the finest referee ever produced in this province.

Kennedy will join his brother, Forbie (that's Forbes Kennedy to us non-PEI natives) , in the Hall of Fame.

******************* From The PEI Sports Hall of Fame website: ************************** http://www.peisportshalloffame.ca
The full article: http://www.peisportshalloffame.ca/news/article.cfm?ID=55

PEI SPORTS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES INDUCTEES FOR 2011 The PEI Sports Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2011, and familiar faces from the sports of hockey, curling, basketball and volleyball will be honoured when the ceremonies, sponsored by the PEI Mutual Insurance Company, are held later this year.

Jamie Kennedy (athlete, hockey), Cathy Dillon (athlete, curling) Sandy Frizzell (builder, hockey), George Morrison (builder, basketball) and Myron Weeks (builder, volleyball) will be the latest inductees and will join the 156 individuals and teams who currently make up the membership of the PEI Sports Hall of Fame. Kennedy will join his brother Forbie in the Hall.

Jamie Kennedy of Charlottetown is one of the most familiar faces in Island hockey, having enjoyed a professional career that included 588 professional games with a yield of 321 goals and 630 points.

The feisty Kennedy landed his first professional hockey contract in 1968 with the Jersey Devils of the Eastern Hockey League, where he netted 40 goals in his first season. His incredible 50-goal tally in 1970-71 made him the first Maritime born professional to reach that milestone.

His illustrious career saw him lace up the skates for the New York Raiders of the newly-formed World Hockey Association, the Syracuse Blazers of the North American Hockey League, and the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Hockey League, before returning to PEI to play senior hockey for the Charlottetown Islanders, helping them win a Hardy Cup in 1981.

As a coach he has successfully passed on his vast experience and knowledge to many Island teams, and he also forged a reputation as an outstanding official, considered by many to be the finest referee ever produced in this province.

On This Day in EHL History - July 17

Happy Birthday!
* July 17, 1933 - Alan "Skip" Teal, C, Clinton Comets
* July 17, 1935 - Hank Therrien, RW, Johnstown Jets, Greensboro Generals
* July 17, 1935 - Don Davidson, C, Charlotte Clippers, New Haven Blades, Greensboro Generals, Clinton Comets
* July 17, 1946 - Kevin Smith, D, Nashville Dixie Flyers

* July 17, 1958 - The Eastern Hockey League admitted the New York Rovers as the seventh member. The Rovers are headed by Tom Lockhart, president of the league. Lockhart heads a group which has been building an arena in Commack, LI. He said the building would be ready for use this season. The league is keeping its Washington franchise. There was talk that West Orange, NJ might become the league's eighth member. The Eastern loop also declined Wednesday to absorb or play an interlocking schedule with three clubs of the wavering International League. This was decided at an Eastern-International meeting here under Tom Lockhart, who heads both leagues and the Rovers. Directors planned a post-season playoff between their league champions, the winner challenging Canada's Allen Cup hockey champions. Remaining in the International are Louisville, Ky, Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne. Ind. Arena leasing trouble knocked out Cincinnati and Indianapolis for at least a year, while Troy, Ohio, has heavy financial problems.
An April 18, 1954 article says that Tom Lockhart was building a new arena in Commack, with James Van Alst of Centerport as the architect. The building was scheduled to be completed "by winter". Pretty much every year in the 1950s, the Rovers were admitted to the league, and then had to back out when they realized the arena wouldn't be ready. The Rovers finally made it in for the 1959-60 season, but even then, John Muckler relates that there was still a whole bunch of work to do on the arena. The troubled Troy, Ohio IHL franchise also joined the EHL in 1959-60 as the Greensboro Generals. West Orange, and the South Mountain Arena, finally got an EHL level team when the Jersey Rockhoppers won the 2008-9 championship in the EPHL's only season.

* July 17, 1967 - A local group, formed recently to bring organized hockey to Syracuse has wired officials that it will formally apply for mrmbership in the Eastern Hockey League. According to Frank Barker, spokesperson for the group, a telegram was sent over the weekend to Nathan Podoloff of New Haven, an EHL representative. The league had granted the Syracuse group until July 21 to confirm that formal application will be made at a league meeting July 24 in Pittsburgh.
Barker said financial arrangements were not complete an that their group was negotiating with prospective backers who may be interested in supporting the hockey club. Barker said that plans are progressing well for a working agreement with the Boston Bruins of the NHL.
This Syracuse group was formed earlier in the summer, when the Jersey Devils were on shaky financial ground. A West Palm Beach, Florida group had offered to buy the Devils, but the EHL deemed the travel to be too far. Then the Syracuse group formed quickly to buy the Devils, but new backers jumped in to bail the team out and keep them in Cherry Hill. Without which, I'd have never seen an EHL game and there would be no http://TheEHL.com.

* July 17, 1972 - The New York Raiders of the WHA announced the signing of center-right wing Jamie Kennedy of the Eastern Hockey League Jersey Devils.
The Devils' Kennedy, Claude Chartre, Ted Scharf and G Pete Donnelly all signed with the Raiders that summer. The Devils had actually been picked to win their division that year (they were in the newly formed Central Division with the LI Ducks and two expansion teams - the Rhode Island Eagles and the Cape Cod Cubs.) However, the parent Philadelphia Flyers decreed that no player signed by the WHA, which was in its first season, could play for the Devils. The ex-Devils started the season with the Raiders. Not able to send the players to the Devils, the Raiders tried to send the players to the Ducks. The Devils balked, and the EHL intervened. The Devils had to work out a trade with the Ducks, otherwise the Raiders would have sent the players to the IHL. Having no leverage, the Devils received Mel Gushattey and Bill Morris from the Ducks. According to the Hockey News stats issue from that year, neither player ever played for the Devils. Gushattey ended up in Cape Cod shortly thereafter. Morris didn't appear to play again that season. In spite of the added help, the Ducks lost their last 15 games. Still, they ended up one point ahead of the Devils for the last playoff spot. The Ducks tried to fold, and hand the last spot to the Devils, but the league intervened and transferred the Ducks to Cape Cod for the remainder of the playoffs, which turned out to be a four game sweep by the Cubs. More on that: http://theehl.blogspot.com/2009/11/when-long-island-ducks-became.html