Keith Primeau: A 15-year veteran of the NHL, Keith Primeau, played with the Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and most notably the Philadelphia Flyers, where he acted as Captain from 2001 to 2006. Primeau suffered four documented concussions during his playing career. During his 9th game of the 2005-06 Season with the Flyers, Primeau suffered a concussion after a hit from Montreal’s Alexander Perezhogin which ended his career. As a result of ongoing post-concussion syndrome, he officially announced his retirement on September 14, 2006. He is now an advocate for prevention of concussion in hockey and a hockey parent. He will offer the NHL player perspective. Primeau is a co-founder of stopconcussions.com.
Kerry Goulet: A star European hockey player who at one point acted as a player, coach and general manager of his teams. Goulet has suffered two documented concussions and knows first-hand the affects of post-concussion syndrome. Goulet has focused all of his efforts into generating awareness in regards to concussions and neurotrauma through stopconcussions.com and the Play it Cool platform, educating players on the lifelong affect concussions have on the people who have suffered them. Goulet is a co-founder of stopconcussions.com.
Ron Ellis: Ellis is an ambassador for stopconcussions.com. In 1966-67, he was one of the youthful troops that supported such legendary oldtimers as Red Kelly, Johnny Bower, Terry Sawchuk and George Armstrong. This gritty squad overcame a mediocre regular season to win the Stanley Cup. Ellis provided the crucial first goal in the sixth game of the finals versus Montreal, which the team won 3-1 to take the series in six games. Following the trade of Frank Mahovlich to Detroit, Ellis played on his most cohesive forward unit with Paul Henderson and Norm Ullman. This trio was adept at forechecking and opportunistic scoring. Ellis’s role was crucial since he usually stayed back to guard against the counter attack while his linemates pushed forward. Boston Bruins general manager Harry Sinden was another Ellis admirer. He was the impetus behind the Toronto winger’s invitation to training camp when Team Canada 1972 was being assembled prior to the Summit Series against the Soviets. Despite a serious neck injury suffered in the opening game, Ellis played a strong checking role in all eight games of the series. He reached the 20-goal mark for the team record for 10 straight years and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup semifinals for the first time since winning it all in 1967.
Wayne Primeau: Wayne Primeau played with the Buffalo Sabres. He was then traded as part of a collective to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Chris Gratton. There, Primeau continued in his capacity as a utility centre man until he was again traded in 2001 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Matthew Barnaby. Primeau went on to play parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks at the March 2003 trading deadline. After one full season in San Jose in 2003-04 and a lockout year in 2004-05, Primeau was part of a blockbuster deal in November of 2005 that brought Joe Thornton of the Boston Bruins to San Jose in exchange for Primeau, Brad Stuart and Marco Sturm. Primeau would compete with the Bruins for 101 games over a season and a half before being traded with Brad Stuart to the Calgary Flames for Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew. Primeau is a co-founder of stopconcussions.com.
Paul Rosen: Rosen is a Canadian sledge hockey goalie and motivational speaker and was a member of the 2006 Gold medal sledge hockey team. He suffered 6 concussions in his career and is a leading Ambassador for stopconcussions.com. “Education is key in the battle against concussions,” Rosen said. He played on amateur hockey teams during his teens. He sustained a leg injury during a hockey game as a youth. The resulting damage, infections and pain to his leg plagued him for years until his lower leg was amputated at age 39. Rosen mastered the game of sledge hockey, becoming goalie for Canada’s national team from 2000 until he retired just after the Vancouver Paralympics in 2010, at age 50. Rosen was in 3 Paralympics, and five world championships. Rosen reports that he suffered 9 concussions during his professional career. Currently, Rosen is a motivational speaker and leading Ambassador for stopconcussions.com.
Kyle Quincey: Quincey, a Kitchener, Ontario native played three years in the OHL splitting his time between both the London and Mississauga where he recorded 113 points. Kyle was drafted 132nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2003 draft. Quincey joined the Red Wings AHL club, the Grand Rapids Griffins, following his OHL career. He made his NHL debut with Detroit during the 2005-06 season, but spent most of the next two seasons in the AHL. He did however manage to appear in six regular season games with the 2008 Stanley Cup championship Red Wings. Quincey was claimed off of waivers by Los Angeles on October 13, 2008 and quickly became a valued part of the Kings young blue line. On July 3, Quincey was traded, along with defenseman Tom Preissing and a fifth round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for left winger Ryan Smyth. Kyle again quickly established himself within the re-building Avalanche defense system to lead the team in average ice time and record a career high of 6 goals and 29 points in 79 games. On July 2, 2010, he was then re-signed by the Avalanche to a two-year contract. Kyle is currently playing with Detroit Red Wings.
Zenon Konopka: Konopka, born in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is a professional ice hockey player who is currently a member of the Minnesota Wild (NHL). Konopka has previously played for the Anaheim Ducks Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning and last season with the Ottawa Senators. Though he is known as one of the “Tough Guys” in the NHL, he is also an entrepreneur and partners with many charities around North America; for example his new wine ZK28, donates a dollar per bottle back to stopconcussions.com. Zenon and his partners are a great addition to the campaign to raise awareness and education for stopconcussions.com. Zenon is currently playing with the Minnesota Wild.
Ryan VandenBussche: VandenBussche played three seasons with the Cornwall/Newmarket Royals franchise in the early 1990s and was the 173rd overall selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. The New York Rangers signed rugged right winger as a free agent before the 1995-96 season. The Rangers assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Binghampton where he continued to play a hard-nosed game. The Simcoe native finally debuted in the NHL on December 13, 1996 in Buffalo. The Rangers kept him on the roster for the beginning of the 1997-98 season until he was acquired by the end of the season by the Chicago Blackhawks. More seasoning in the minors took place over the next season before VandenBussche cracked the lineup in 1999-00. Vandenbussche went on to play parts of seven seasons with the Blackhawk organization, continuing to play a tough and physical game before being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2004.
Claude Lemieux: Lemieux played his first full season with the Canadiens in 1986-87, scoring 27 goals and 53 points. For his clutch play, he was named to the Team Canada squad for the 1987 Canada Cup and to the NHL team in the Rendez-Vous 87′ matchup with the Soviet Union that replaced the All-Star Game. Lemieux stayed with the Canadiens, scoring as many as 31 goals in a season (1987-88), until he was traded at the beginning of the 1990-91 season to the New Jersey Devils for Sylvain Turgeon. Lemieux had a breakout season offensively with New Jersey, scoring 41 goals in 1991-92 and the following season recorded a career-high 81 points. However, he saved his best for the playoffs earning 18 points in 20 playoff games in 1994 when the Devils lost a close seven-game series to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions New York Rangers. Lemieux was the leading goal scorer in the 1995 playoffs, including three game-winning goals. After the Devils won the Stanley Cup, Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Lemieux was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 1995-96 season. Upon his arrival in Denver, Lemieux became the fourth player to win a Stanley Cup with three different teams, joining Al Arbour, Larry Hillman and Gord Pettinger.
Bryan Muir: Muir traveled between the NHL, the IHL and the AHL playing with the New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning in the pros as well as Albany, Portland and Detroit in the minor circuit. In early 2001, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Muir in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning adding strength to the already sturdy Avalanche defence corps. A member of Colorado’s Stanley Cup winning team in 2001, Muir spent parts of three seasons with the Avalanche organization before being acquired by the Los Angeles Kings in the summer of 2003. Muir would play one season in the LA Kings before having his rights acquired by the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2005.
Ken Belanger: Belanger entered the 2001-02 season as a physical component with the LA Kings. In 1992, the forward was chosen 153rd overall by the Hartford Whalers at the NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in March 1994. Belanger played three games for Toronto in 1994-95 then was dispatched to St. John’s of the AHL the next season. He was traded to the New York Islanders in January 1996 and was an effective enforcer for the young squad. In November 1998 he was sent to the Boston Bruins for forward Ted Donato. He received more ice time under hard-nosed coaches Pat Burns and Mike Keenan but was not resigned by the Bruins after the 2000-01 season. After missing the majority of the 2002-03 season and the entire 2003-04 season, Belanger signed as a free-agent with Adirondack of the UHL in December of 2004 and went on to play one game with the club.
Jim Thomson: Jim Thomson has coached and mentored numerous people over the past fifteen years. Jim’s background includes playing professional hockey for ten years and then moving into the business world and having success in the corporate arena. Jim has taken his god given talent of inspiring and helping individuals clarify their goals and inspire strategic action that delivers lasting results. Through one on one coaching, Jim works to develop the passion, vision and direction needed to create sustainable success in whatever you’re goals are.
Darryl Shannon: Shannon played his junior hockey with his brother, Darrin, for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs after only one season in the OHL. In his second season, he was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s outstanding defenceman as well as being named a second all-star. He spent 48 games in Toronto for the 1991-92 season. After spending the next season in Toronto and St. John’s, Shannon signed with the Winnipeg Jets as a free agent. Shannon was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 1996, then on to the Atlanta Thrashers who claimed him in the expansion draft of 1999. Shannon moved on to the Calgary Flames then to the Montreal Canadiens for his last season in the NHL, retiring in 2001.
Derrick Smith: Smith, a Scarborough, Ontario native, was selected 42nd overall by Philadelphia in the 1983 NHL entry draft from the Peterborough Petes. He played 10 years in the NHL, 7 years with the Philadelphia Flyers, and 3 years with the Minnesota/Dallas Stars Organization. He was 1 of 34 Canadian NHL players selected to 1987 Canada Cup Camp. He finished his Pro Career Captaining the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL- Player/coach 1993-1998 a 3 time IHL 1st All-star team. Derrick played in 947 Professional Hockey Games.
Denis Maruk: Maruk played junior “A” hockey in the Ontario Hockey League for the London Knights before he was drafted in 1975 by the California Golden Seals. While with the Seals, he became the first NHL rookie to score five shorthanded goals in a season. He followed the franchise when it relocated to Cleveland to become the Cleveland Barons a year later. Maruk’s rights were later obtained by the Minnesota North Stars after the Barons merged with them in 1978, but was traded shortly afterwards to the Washington Capitals. During his time with the Capitals, he enjoyed some of his best years statistically. He scored 50 goals in 1980-1981 and 60 goals in 1981-1982; his mark of 76 assists and 136 points in the 1982 season remain as Capitals’ records for a single-season. Maruk is the first Capitals’ player to score 100 points in a season. In 1982-1983, Maruk was one of the players instrumental in leading the Capitals to their first playoff appearance. Despite this, he was traded back to the Minnesota North Stars where he would finish his career. At the time of his retirement, he was the last active player who ever played for the Seals/Barons franchise. In 888 NHL games, he scored 356 goals and had 522 assists for 878 points.
Sebastien Fortier: Fortier played professional hockey for 8 years signing as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992. Sebastien is the proud CEO of OneHockey Corp, which was funded in 1999. OneHockey is now known as the world’s largest spring and summer hockey program. Check out their web site at www.onehockey.com
Katie Starke: A 21 year-old York University business student, a former member of the OWHA and member of the Women’s York Lions CIS team. Katie suffered one documented concussion but knows she has had four. She is now a spokesperson for stopconcussions.com. As a very active athlete in several sports, she now is dedicated to help spread the word on awareness and management of concussions.
