Inductee Type: Athlete

Dave Bolland was born in 1986 in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, and lived in the Mimico. He started playing hockey at the local Mimico Arena, where he played for the Queensway Canadiens.

He then played minor hockey for the Toronto Red Wings in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) from 2000 until 2002. The Redwings would go on to win the OHL All Ontario Bantam Championship with Bolland recording four points in the championship game.

Bolland was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to joining the Blackhawks full-time, Bolland played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Norfolk Admirals and Rockford IceHogs.

While playing junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Bolland helped the London Knights capture the 2005 Memorial Cup. He also competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships, where he helped Canada capture the gold medal.

Bolland has won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in both 2010 and 2013. He is currently property of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Bolland earned the nickname The Rat for his ability to get under the skin of opponents, similar to the play of Ken Linseman, the first player to have the nickname.

Claude Lemieux has heard it all. Lemieux was equally loved and reviled during his 18-year NHL career, but no one can argue with four Stanley Cups, a Canada Cup gold medal, and a track record of big game success that puts the pesky right winger from Buckingham, Quebec, in the upper echelon of playoff performers.

The scrappy forward did more than needle opponents into taking costly penalties. Maddening as he was on the ice, his penchant for postseason heroics infuriated his adversaries even more.

Three times, Lemieux scored more goals in the playoffs than he did in the regular season, most notably during a remarkable run that saw him net 13 goals to help the New Jersey Devils win the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup in 1995, a performance that earned Lemieux the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. His 80 career playoffs goals in 234 games are ninth most in NHL history. An astonishing 19 of those goals were game winners, a feat bettered only by Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull.

“I love playoffs. You know what it’s like when teams play back-to-back games in the regular season—there’s usually a lot of intensity, and bad feelings grow. In the playoffs it is even more intense,” said Lemieux. “The physical side of the game really became more important and I think that is where I have been able to give my team an edge.” Reaching the playoffs in 18 different seasons is a surefire way to gain big-game experience, but Lemieux has been a clutch performer since his years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he was 1985 playoff MVP. In the bigs, Lemieux is one of just five players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams. He completed the equally rare feat of winning the Cup with different teams in back to back seasons.

Lemieux and his brother Jocelyn, who also had a solid NHL career, came by their abilities naturally. “There weren’t a lot of hockey players in my family background, and we never had the financial capability for me to take any special power-skating clinics the kids get today. It was just something I picked up and went with and loved,” he told Maclean’s.

The Lemieux legend was born in Montreal. The Canadiens selected him in the second round of the 1983 NHL entry draft, and he made his debut that same year before being sent down to the minors for more seasoning. Lemieux thrived with the Verdun Junior Canadiens and Sherbrooke of the AHL before making his return to Montreal late in the 1985–86 season. He led the club with ten playoff goals, including a Game 7 overtime winner against Hartford. Lemieux and fellow rookie Patrick Roy powered the surprising Canadiens to a Stanley Cup victory.

Over the next four seasons, Lemieux garnered a reputation as an abrasive upstart with a deft scoring touch. A trade sent Lemieux to New Jersey in 1990, where he reached new offensive heights with a 40-goal season. Lemieux’s 18 points in 20 playoff games took the Devils to within one game of the Stanley Cup finals in 1994, before his stellar postseason production propelled the team to its first championship in the lockout-shortened 1995 season.

By now well-known for his on-ice intangibles and knack for playoff fireworks, Lemieux found himself a member of the Colorado Avalanche after a three-team deal just before the 1995–96 season. The altitude didn’t affect his scoring prowess, as the winger followed up a productive regular season on a line with Peter Forsberg and Valeri Kamensky with four game-winning playoff goals that helped the former Quebec Nordiques take home the championship during the team’s first year in Colorado.

Lemieux won another Cup with New Jersey and made stops in Phoenix and Dallas before hanging up his skates for good in 2003—or so he thought. Five years later, after finding his sea legs in China, the 43-year-old returned to the NHL for a short comeback with the San Jose Sharks. Lemieux retired with 379 goals and 406 assists for 785 points in 1,197 regular season games. He added 80 playoff goals and 78 assists.

He was no slouch on the world stage, either. Lemieux followed up a 1985 world junior gold medal in Helsinki with another gold at the 1987 Canada Cup as part of the famous squad that included Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. To round out his international career, Lemieux won a silver medal at the 1996 world championships, racking up 19 penalty minutes in eight games.

Off the ice, Lemieux became president of the now-defunct ECHL Phoenix Roadrunners in 2005. He took on wannabe athletes during a guest spot on Pros Vs Joes, and is a recurring guest on TSN’s Off the Record with Michael Landsberg. In January 2011, Lemieux was named president of the North American Chapter of 4Sports and Entertainment, headquartered in Etobicoke. Two of Lemieux’s four children attended John G. Althouse Middle School in central Etobicoke, and Lemieux coached his son Brendan on the Toronto Red Wings major bantam team. In January 2012, Lemieux joined other Canadiens alumni in a charity game at the Powerade Centre in Brampton to benefit pediatric services at Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General hospitals.

Television audiences saw a different side of the pugnacious NHL star when Lemieux joined the cast of the CBC reality show Battle of the Blades in 2009. It was a case of ‘beauty and the brawler’ when a surprisingly dainty Lemieux donned figure skates and twirled partner Shae-Lynn Bourne to a second place finish. “I thought it would be a fun experience, a journey, but I definitely did think this could be an opportunity to show the Canadian people, really, who I am,” Lemieux told Maclean’s about his decision to follow fellow tough guy Tie Domi onto the show. “In hockey, you put on this suit of armour, you go out on the ice in your equipment and you perform as well as you can with the gifts you’ve got. But most of the tough guys are great people off the ice, real soft-spoken and sensitive guys. It’s the complete opposite of what one would expect.”

The result, according to a Maclean’s review, was a “creative, downright sensual” performance that impressed audiences and fellow competitors, but didn’t surprise Lemieux himself. “When you’re a dedicated, focused, zoned-in type of person, you’re just going to do whatever it takes—within boundaries. In hockey, we pushed those boundaries further because we were physically confronting our opponents. Here, you’re really competing against yourself,” he said. Being a figure skating fan with an ear for music helped Lemieux master the on-ice routines. Skating along to his own voice singing a recorded version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was yet another surprise for his fans.

Though many in the game did not approve of his no-holds-barred style—such detractors usually being found on the opposing bench—Claude Lemieux antagonized his opponents on his way to carving out a career marked by overtime winners, playoff stardom, and an undeniable track record of success.

Born in Toronto in 1965, Peter Zezel was destined to excel at sports – but it wasn’t clear for a while whether that would be soccer or hockey!

Originally drafted by the Toronto Blizzard for his outstanding soccer skills, Peter eventually made the decision that would carve out his life’s path – he chose hockey.

He began his hockey career with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984/85. Offensively gifted, he managed to set a Philadelphia rookie record for assists in his first year, and embraced the role of checking centre, relentless penalty killer and face-off specialist.

Four years after beginning his NHL career in Phylly, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues, where he played some of the best hockey of his life. Eventually, however, Zezel was traded back to his hometown, becoming one of the most popular Maple Leafs of the early 1990s.

A key contributor in Toronto’s playoff runs in 1993 and 1994, the team came within one game of the Stanley Cup. And while that would always be a disappointment, Peter’s gregarious, enthusiastic nature carried him through. After playing for several other teams in the league, Peter’s NHL career came to an abrupt end in 1998/99 when he returned to his hometown to be with his terminally ill niece.

He opened the Peter Zezel Hockey and Sports Camps in Etobicoke, which helped teach and improve the hockey and soccer skills of young players. Peter also made the time to coach AAA hockey for the Don Mills Flyers and he was a frequent guest on sports talk shows.

In the spring of 2009, at the age of 44, Peter lost his decade-long battle with Haemolytic anemia, but the effects of the enormous contributions he made to his community will continue to live on.

Colin Patterson, although most people know him as a truly remarkable hockey player, was equally skilled at lacrosse. He represented Canada in the world championships in Baltimore, winning a bronze medal. Lacrosse made him, he says, “a better hockey player”, since the game requires similar skills, hand/eye coordination and conditioning. But when the lacrosse season ended, he turned to hockey.

Colin was born in Rexdale, and played his minor hockey with the MTHL. He left organized hockey to play for his high school, Thistletown Collegiate Institute (T.C.I.) – the year of the teachers’ strike. Sports programs were suspended. While sitting at home with nothing to do, he was visited by the coach and the manager of the Etobicoke Canucks Midget A team, who talked him into playing with them. The best decision he made, he claims. The Etobicoke Hockey Association pulled him back into the game.

During his second year with the Royal York Royals Provincial Jr. A team, he was scouted by Clarkson University. In spite of offers from many other American universities, he chose Clarkson, a small and appealing school with interesting programs and excellent coaching. There he sharpened his skills and was welcomed by the town with open arms.

At Clarkson he was spotted by scouts from the Calgary Flames, who had come over to recruit a teammate. The Flames wanted him to sign with them, foregoing his final year of university, but he was reluctant to do that. They finally worked an agreement – he signed for the coming season, and they would pay for his final year. He completed it over three summers, earning a degree in marketing and management. At Calgary, the skills he perfected in lacrosse made him a superb defensive forward.

In 1989, Colin played on a line with Doug Gilmore and Joe Mullen, and won the Stanley Cup. That same year, he was a finalist for the Selke Trophy. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 1991, and played with them for two seasons, followed by a year with HK Olimpija in Ljubjana, Slovenia, before retiring from hockey.

He was inducted into the Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Colin is president of Just-In Case Ltd, a firm that designs and manufactures eco-friendly portable fire suppression equipment, to safeguard people who live or work more than ten minutes from emergency response. He lives in Calgary with his wife Sherri, daughters Stephanie and Michelle, and son Derek.

Born in 1911, David Murray Dryden was the eldest of eight children raised on a Manitoba farm. He has been a sports lover all his life, starting with skating over ice-covered pastures of his family’s farm while dreaming of athletic glories. In those days, his skates were old rusty blades clamped to shoes or boots.

Murray and his wife Margaret moved to Etobicoke in 1948. With their three children, Dave, Ken and Judy, the family was active in both community and church life. Murray believed strongly in the importance of sports in the development of a child.

His company sponsored one of Dave’s hockey teams, and he and Dave coached and managed several of Ken’s teams in the Humber Valley League and Kingsway Baseball League.

Both Ken and Dave went on to successful goaltending careers in the National Hockey League. Murray wrote a weekly baseball update for the Etobicoke Guardian and later wrote three books including one about hockey entitled “Playing the Shots at Both Ends”.

In 1970, Murray and Margaret founded a unique, non-governmental organization for children – Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). The $12.8 million raised by the organization has helped 522,600 children, their families, and the economies of 31 developing countries.

Murray and Margaret were inducted into the Etobicoke Hall of Fame in 1987. Murray has received many other honours including being made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Fifty-two years after arriving, Murray still lives in Etobicoke with his wife, Theda. Murray Dryden is a great believer in the importance of sports in Etobicoke.