Joseph Eric Thornton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the Bruins in the 1997 NHL entry draft and went on to play seven seasons with the club, three as its captain. During the 2005–06 season, he was traded to the Sharks. Splitting the campaign between the two teams, he received the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer and most valuable player, respectively, becoming the only player in NHL history to win either award in a season played for multiple teams. Thornton went on to play another 14 seasons with the Sharks, including four seasons as team captain and a run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. Thornton was the last active NHL player and the last big 4 North American sports player to have played in the 1990s.
Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player who serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Ian White is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played over 500 games in the National Hockey League. In a career spanning parts of nine seasons, White suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings. White was originally selected in the sixth round, 191st overall in the 2002 NHL Draft. He returned to professional hockey in 2022 with the Columbus River Dragons of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. On October 26, 2022, White was traded to the Motor City Rockers of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. On January 23, 2023, White was signed to a standard player contract with the Norfolk Admirals the ECHL. He was released on November 14, 2023.
Dirk Milton Graham is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota North Stars in the National Hockey League. He was honored in 1991 as the Frank J. Selke Trophy winner for outstanding defensive play by a forward. Graham served as head coach of the Blackhawks for the first 59 games of the 1998–99 season. Graham was the first NHL captain of African descent.
The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1974. Their primary home arena was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but they sometimes played at the Long Beach Sports Arena when the Sports Arena had other contractual obligations. After the 1973–74 season, the franchise moved to Detroit to become the Michigan Stags and again mid-season to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blades.
The 1972–73 WHA season was the first season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Gary Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy and promised to ice twelve teams in various markets around Canada and the United States. The league championship trophy, the Avco World Trophy, was donated by AVCO Financial Services Corporation along with $500,000. The New England Whalers won the first Avco World Trophy.
Joseph Henri Jean-Claude Tremblay was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association (WHA), notable for play-making and defensive skills.
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is the all-time leading goal scorer in the WHA.
Sylvanus Marshall Apps is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Apps was born in Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame member Syl Apps.
William Earl White was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Black Hawks from 1967 to 1976. He then coached Chicago during the 1976–77 season. White was one of the most notable defensive defencemen of the 1970s.
Ilkka Antero Jouko Sinisalo was a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings. Later he was a scout for the Flyers.
William Mayer Flett was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames. Flett then moved to the World Hockey Association, playing with the Edmonton Oilers, returning to the NHL with the Oilers in the 1979–80 NHL season.
David Ross Lonsberry was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He had his best seasons in a Flyers uniform and was a member of Philadelphia's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in the mid-1970s.
Joseph Francis Léo "Frank" St-Marseille is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings from 1967 to 1977. St. Marseille is of Ojibwe-Métis, French-Canadian and Finnish descent. He is from Levack, which is situated in the Sudbury regional municipality in Ontario, Canada.
Gary Raymond Veneruzzo is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played seven games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues during the 1967–68 and 1971–72 seasons, and 348 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, Cincinnati Stingers, Phoenix Roadrunners, and San Diego Mariners from 1972 to 1977. Veneruzzo was born in Fort William, Ontario.
James William Anderson was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and head coach. Anderson played 7 games with the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the first head coach of the Washington Capitals. He was born in Pembroke, Ontario.
The Columbus Checkers were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1966 to 1970, and the first professional hockey team in Columbus, Ohio.
1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks season was the Los Angeles Sharks inaugural season in the World Hockey Association.
Terry Slater was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. In the World Hockey Association, he coached the teams Los Angeles Sharks and Cincinnati Stingers.
The history of black players in North American ice hockey has roots dating back to the late 19th century. The first black ice hockey star was Herb Carnegie during the Great Depression. Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's color barrier with the Boston Bruins in 1958.
