The Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Portland Winterhawks announced Friday that the club will be raising Cam Neely’s No.21 to the rafters. He will become the first player in Winterhawks franchise history to have his number retired. The ceremony will take place on March 18 when the Winterhawks host the loaded Seattle Thunderbirds.
Neely’s history with the Winterhawks was short but impactful. During the 1982-83 campaign, Neely recorded an astonishing 56 goals and 120 points in 72 games. He then would go on to record 29 points in 19 combined WHL playoff and Memorial Cup games. The Comox, British Columbia product would record a hat trick during the Winterhawks’ 8-3 win over the OHL’s Oshawa Generals to help the franchise win their first Memorial Cup; the Winterhawks became the first United States-based team to win the trophy.
Neely was selected 9th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. During the 1983-84 season, Neely spent time with the Winterhawks and in the big leagues with the Canucks. In 19 WHL games, he had 26 points. He would play 56 games with the Canucks, tallying 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 56 games. Nelly would spend three seasons with the Canucks before being dealt to the Boston Bruins where he would remain for the rest of his playing career. in 1994, he won the Bill Masterton Trophy after scoring 50 goals and 74 points in 49 games.
The four-time NHL All-Star recorded 694 points (395 goals, 299 assists) and 1,241 penalty minutes in 726 games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 alongside Murray Costello and Valeri Kharlamov. Neely won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2010; the trophy is awarded annually for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.” Neely has served as the Bruins’ President of Hockey Ops since the 2010-2011 season.
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