John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
With former NHL star Jeremy Roenick officially getting inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, it’s a good reminder of how many American-born elite forwards were around in Roenick’s era of the 1990s, let alone all American players.
Roenick was named the 39th-best NHL player of the 1990s in The Hockey News’ special “Top 90 of the ’90s” issue earlier this year. The best American player of that period was longtime St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars icon Brett Hull, who slotted in at ninth overall. Other Grade-A American talents on offense included former Flyers and Canadiens left winger John LeClair (25th), former Dallas Stars center Mike Modano (29th) and former Blues and Jets-Coyotes left winger Keith Tkachuk (31st).
A historic night for 🇺🇸 hockey! Four Americans—Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Jeremy Roenick and David Poile—are being inducted into the 2024 @HockeyHallFame. A true testament to the growth of the game in the U.S.
Watch live tonight on @NHLNetwork at 8 p.m. ET!
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) November 11, 2024
Together, those five American forwards combined for a whopping 3,390 games played in the 1990s. They generated 1,730 goals, 1,807 assists and 3,537 points in that decade. In their NHL careers on the whole, Hull, Modano, Tkachuk, Roenick and LeClair combined for 6,299 regular-season games, 2,759 goals, 3,106 assists, and 5,865 points.
These players were prominent faces on Team USA over the years, with four of them playing in the world juniors, three of them appearing in the Canada Cup and all of them appearing in a World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.
That group doesn’t even include the elite American defensemen, such as Brian Leetch (ranked 12th in the top 90 of the 1990s list), Chris Chelios (15th), and Phil Housley (36th).
But whether it was Hull’s incredible shot, Modano’s slick creativity, LeClair and Tkachuk’s brute force as true power forwards or Roenick’s electric personality and consistent scoring, the five top American forward stars in the 1990s did their own thing and did their homeland proud.
Roenick follows Modano and Hull from that group as Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, while Tkachuk and LeClair are U.S. Hockey Hall of Famers who haven’t gotten into the HHOF yet. New generations of American stars can point to them as athletes they wanted to emulate as they embarked on their own NHL careers. All five Americans had unique skill sets they brought to the table, and each excelled in their own special way.
Roenick’s personality will keep him prominent in the hockey community, but Hull, LeClair, Modano and Tkachuk have also left indelible marks on American hockey and the game in general. The next waves of U.S. offensive stars owe the quintet a debt of gratitude, and their impact on the sport will stay prominent as the newer eras of American hockey come and go.
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