Pat Quinn inducted into International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame

Pat Quinn has been selected to be inducted into International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame. Quinn enters the 2016 class in the builders category, along with players Peter Bondra, Sergei Fedorov, Valeri Kamenski, Ville Peltonen, and builder Ben Smith.

The induction ceremony will take place on May 22nd next year in Moscow, the site of the 2016 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Quinn, who passed away in November of last year, is one of the most popular Vancouver Canucks of all-time. The ‘Big Irishman’ was a player for the team in the 1970s, and returned in the late 1980s as president and general manager. He coached the team during their most successful years in the 1990s, including the team that made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 1994.

Quinn has numerous accolades in the NHL, where he ranks 5th all-time in games coached and 6th in wins, but he is being inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame for his work in the international game.

The list of accomplishments for Quinn in the international game is lengthy. He won gold for Canada at the Olympics, World Junior Championship, and World U18 Championship. Quinn also coached Team Canada in 2004, winning the World Cup of Hockey. He also won bronze at a World Hockey Championship, making him the only coach to win medals at five different levels of international play.

Quinn was a part-owner of the Vancouver Giants. Current majority owner, Ron Toigo, passed along these thoughts in a statement:

“I can’t imagine there’s anyone that has won more than Pat did with international teams. Whether it was the Olympics, World Cups, the Spengler Cup, the World Juniors or the Under-18s, no one was as successful on those stages as Pat, and no one was more proud to be Canadian.”

Quinn received the Order of Canada in 2012. He was also a two-time Memorial Cup champion and was named the NHL’s Coach of the Year twice. All that’s left is an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which shouldn’t be too far in the future.

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