Inductee Type: Builder

When Clarkson fans think of the modern era of Clarkson Hockey, many can point to the influence of Bill O’Flaherty on the winning culture he helped create.

Bill O’Flaherty began attending Clarkson in 1967, playing under legendary coach Len Ceglarski for two full seasons and graduating in 1971.  O’Flaherty transitioned immediately to coaching after graduation, taking a position at Clarkson first under Ceglarski, then Hall of Fame Coach,  Jerry York.  O’Flaherty remained as an assistant until York himself left to take over at Bowling Green and O’Flaherty was chosen as his successor.

O’Flaherty had immediate and consistent success with the Golden Knights, winning 21 games in his first season (1979–80) and continuing that trend for his entire time behind the bench at Walker Arena. In his second and third seasons, O’Flaherty got Clarkson 26-wins, which provided the team with their only 2 back-to-back ECAC Hockey regular season titles in school history and got them to their first NCAA tournament in over a decade.

In six seasons behind the bench, O’Flaherty achieved five 20-win seasons,  with a record of 134-59-12 (.683 winning percentage),  3 NCAA tournament berths, and 2 conference regular season titles. Billy O was selected as Spencer Penrose Award recipient as National Coach of the Year in 1981. His .683 winning percentage lands him 8th best all-time among NCAA Div. I coaches.

He coached several NHL’ers, when the path to the NHL was still difficult for college players, including Clarkson’s first Stanley Cup Champion, Colin Paterson.  Nine Golden Knights would achieve All-American status under Coach O’Flaherty.  In the ECAC, which included BU, BC, Northeastern, UNH among others at the time, O’Flaherty would coach two players named ECAC Player of the Year (Ed Small 1981 & Steve Cruickshank 1982), Rookie of the Year Don Sylvestri, and Dave Fretz, who was named to the ECAC Top 50 players of all time.  O’Flaherty was named ECAC Coach of the Year in 1981,

After his coaching career, O’Flaherty became Clarkson Athletic Director and held the post for more than a decade, where he would oversee the continued success of the Hockey program and the growth of sports offerings during his time.

Bill moved to the NHL to serve as Director of Player Personnel for the LA Kings. With Dave Taylor as the GM of LA Kings, they helped build the framework for what would become 2 Stanley Cup teams in the 2000’s.

O’Flaherty’s eye for the details of the game would lead him to stay in the game at the highest level as a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Director of Pro Scouting for Florida Panthers until 2010.

Bill is the son of former NHLer John “Peanuts” O’Flaherty who spent most of his career in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Hornets. Bill’s brother Gerry O’Flaherty was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970 and spent parts of 8 seasons in the NHL as a player, eventually winning 3 Stanley Cups as a scout.

While not as well known outside Etobicoke as some other inductees, Kemp Scott’s thirty years of work with the Humber Valley Hockey Association made him one of the most recognizable sports personalities within the community.

Hundreds of kids have benefitted from his volunteer work in the rinks of our community. His hockey clinic for the less advanced players in the area has served the community for 25 years.

Kemp has impacted hundreds of kids over the years with his coaching abilities. He provides outstanding leadership to the children and he serves and provides much needed outlets to the youth of today.

Selected to the Federal Government’s ’88 Awards Program in 1988 to help celebrate the Calgary Olympics, he was obviously a very worthy choice for the Certificate of Merit Award for his outstanding community work.

Mr Scott has also been recognized in the Etobicoke Hall of Fame by the City of Etobicoke in 1991.

Toronto sports fans hope a professional engineer can build winning rosters for the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Marlies and Toronto FC. The task of balancing expectations from shareholders and impatient fans while fielding competitive teams in three world-class leagues requires the deft touch of a detail-oriented big thinker.Enter Tom Anselmi, a veteran sports executive who was recently appointed president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. “It feels terrific. I’m excited about our future,” said Anselmi of leading Canada’s most storied and lucrative sports empire. “For a Toronto guy who grew up playing minor hockey in the west end, it’s an honour and a thrill.”The Etobicoke-born executive was named to the top job after an eight-month search to replace retiring president Richard Peddie, who gave Anselmi his blessing. Upon his appointment in September 2012, analysts noted that the MLSE stalwart knows the company inside out and could maintain stability as the billion-dollar organization transferred ownership from the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan to Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. But fans hungry for a championship—or just a playoff berth—can be most encouraged by Anselmi’s attitude toward the product on the field. “We all feel the pressure to win. It’s all about team success. That is our priority,” he said.From childhood, the sports-loving left winger, who grew up in the rinks of the Humber Valley and Queensway Faustina hockey leagues, seemed destined to run the Leafs. As a senior student at Sunnylea Public School, Anselmi was chosen to present a class project about how to remodel Maple Leaf Gardens to a bemused Harold Ballard and King Clancy. The Royal York Collegiate graduate saw his first live Leafs game in the Gardens at age 14. “And I still remember it vividly,” he said, describing the sounds and colours of the hallowed arena, where everything seemed bigger and brighter than it did on television. Watching the 1967 Stanley Cup win with his father “feels like yesterday,” he said. Anselmi’s uncompromising commitment to success was fostered as a landscape architecture student at Ryerson, and later while studying to be a civil engineer at the University of Saskatchewan.

After graduation he worked on mining and construction projects in the booming Prairies before a strong interest in sports led him from Saskatoon to Toronto to be a project manager on an unprecedented stadium construction project called the SkyDome. “It was absolutely revolutionary,” Anselmi said of the $500 million project. “It was being talked about around the world.” The SkyDome enthralled the young engineer, and convinced him that a boom in arena projects was imminent.

He helped build Rogers Arena in Vancouver before MLSE brought Anselmi on board in 1996 to manage the design and construction of the Air Canada Centre. He arranged the opening ceremonies at the ACC and the closing ceremonies for historic Maple Leaf Gardens.

A promotion to senior vice president and chief marketing officer in 1999 gave Anselmi experience with broadcast media, ticket sales, branding and communications, before moving to executive VP and COO for business operations in 2004. He was the de facto head of MLSE during the nine-month search to replace Peddie prior to officially being named president.

“Tom’s proven strength in operations has made him a respected leader here at MLSE and across the sports and entertainment industry,” said MLSE chair Larry Tanenbaum. “His passion for our teams and our fans makes Tom the perfect choice as president and COO of this great organization.”

“Tom has never forgotten where he came from or the people he met on the way up,” said Leafs alumni executive and Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame member Mike Pelyk.

The busy executive took a hands-on approach as head of Toronto FC, encouraging a passionate fan base that sold out every game in the team’s first three seasons. High turnover of coaches and players has kept Toronto FC from the playoffs thus far in its short existence, but Anselmi’s desire to win is unmatched, and he plans to get all MLSE teams winning again in short order.

However, he has been in the industry long enough to cultivate a sense of balance and perspective in sports, where the dedication of the fan base is matched only by the unpredictability of the on-field product. “There’s no other industry where your customer has the kind of passion that they do in sports,” Anselmi said. “Leadership is about having a clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish, and a set of values.”

Anselmi’s engineering background helps him solve problems and think strategically, while as a leader, he focuses on promoting the triple goals of team success, a good relationship with fans, and positive involvement in the community. To these ends, he is a member of various trade and business organizations, vice chair of Get Active Toronto and on the board of KidSport Canada. The avid outdoorsman enjoys boating, cycling and snowmobiling, along with playing pick-up hockey. Away from sports, he plays rhythm guitar at charity gigs with the MLSE staff band, Play to Win.

Perhaps his most significant philanthropic contributions are the five goodwill trips Anselmi made to Afghanistan to visit Canadian troops, a commitment to the armed forces that earned him the Chief of Defence Staff Commendation, the highest military honour awarded to civilians. Inspired by the memories of his late father, Etobicoke pharmacist William Thomas Anselmi, and grandfather Tommaso—who served in the Canadian Navy and Army, respectively—Anselmi brought several dozen former NHL players to play pick-up hockey with the troops. It was “a life-changing experience” for each member of “Team Canada,” Anselmi said. “We all went over there thinking our job was to inspire the troops, but we found that they were the ones inspiring us. We were blown away by these great Canadians and the job they’re doing over there.”

Anselmi feels honoured to join friends and mentors like Mike Pelyk and the late George Gross in the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame, even though he expects some good-natured ribbing from his beer league hockey mates as they point out his photo in the ESHOF display at the MasterCard Centre.

The new MLSE sheriff understands that fans don’t care about the corporate bottom line. They want to see championships—and so does he. “I think Toronto is a great sports town. Our fans are some of the greatest in the world. We’ve been through a drought for five years, and it’s going to end soon. It’s been difficult, but our fans have stuck with us,” Anselmi said, promising that on-field success will reward their patience.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The story of Dan Brown is one of dedication, passion, and a deep love for the game of hockey. From his own experiences as a player to his remarkable coaching career, Brown has left an indelible mark on the sport and the lives of countless young athletes.

Brown’s journey into coaching began somewhat unexpectedly, as he initially intended to simply support his sons’ hockey endeavors from the sidelines. However, fate had other plans, and Brown soon found himself behind the bench, imparting his knowledge and passion for the game to a new generation of players.

Under Brown’s guidance, the West Mall mite select squad, later joined by standout players like Connor Brown, Matt Finn, and Scott Laughton, experienced unprecedented success, capturing city championships and establishing themselves as a dominant force in minor hockey.

Brown’s coaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of fundamentals, character development, and instilling values both on and off the ice. He believes in fostering a supportive team environment where players can thrive and grow, not just as athletes, but as individuals.

Beyond the Xs and Os of hockey strategy, Brown places a strong emphasis on communication, empathy, and building strong relationships with players and their families. He understands the pivotal role that coaches play in shaping young athletes’ lives and strives to be a positive influence both on and off the ice.

Brown’s impact extends far beyond the rink, as he instills in his players valuable life lessons that will serve them well beyond their hockey careers. Whether it’s teaching resilience in the face of adversity or the importance of teamwork and discipline, Brown’s coaching goes beyond wins and losses, focusing on the holistic development of his players as athletes and as people.

As a coach, mentor, and friend, Dan Brown’s contributions to the game of hockey are immeasurable. His dedication to his players, his commitment to excellence, and his passion for the sport serve as an inspiration to all who have had the privilege of knowing him. In the annals of hockey history, Dan Brown’s legacy will endure as a testament to the transformative power of sport and the profound influence of a dedicated coach.