3ICE, THE NEW 3-ON-3 PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, APPOINTS EIGHT HALL OF FAMERS AS HEAD COACHES
League Set to Begin Play in June 2021 in Cities Across North America
NEW YORK (May 20, 2020) – E.J. Johnston, CEO of 3ICE, and Commissioner Craig Patrick, today announced eight Hall of Famers to serve as head coaches when the new and totally independent, three-on-three professional ice hockey league begins play in North America next year.
Johnston and Patrick agreed to terms with Guy Carbonneau, Grant Fuhr, Ed Johnston, John LeClair, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Angela Ruggiero and Bryan Trottier for each to coach one of the eight 3ICE teams. The overall schedule will encompass nine hockey-filled weekends in nine different locations throughout the U.S. and Canada during the summer of 2021.
Combined, these coaches represent nearly 8,000 games played, 29 All-Star Game appearances, 28 Stanley Cup Championships and sport five Olympic medals. None of the coaches’ teams will represent specific cities, rather, all eight will visit each tour stop and play in a bracket-style format to determine a champion each weekend of play.
Carbonneau was awarded the NHL’s Frank J. Selke Trophy three times and hoisted the Stanley Cup three times throughout his playing career before his election into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Edmonton was home to Fuhr for a decade that saw him earn six NHL All-Star Game nods while winning five Stanley Cup Championships. Named a Hall of Famer in 2003, the goaltender was announced as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history during the league’s centennial season three years ago.
Ed Johnston’s professional hockey career spanned more than half a century. A player for 22 years and executive for 31, he won two Stanley Cups as the Boston Bruins goaltender and three more as an advisor with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The senior Johnston spent 25 years in various capacities with the Penguins and was the last goalie to play every minute of every game, achieved during the 1963-1964 season.
LeClair’s 16 seasons in the NHL were spent with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Penguins. He famously became the first American-born player to score 50 goals in three consecutive NHL seasons while in Philadelphia and the five-time All-Star won his Stanley Cup as a member of the Canadiens in 1993.
Undrafted, Mullen is the first American player to score 500 goals and to accumulate 1,000 points in his career, Mullen spent 16 seasons in the NHL before being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. He hoisted the Stanley Cup for two different teams, the first coming in 1989 with the Calgary Flames and two others with Pittsburgh.
Murphy is the only player to win four Stanley Cup Championships in the 1990s, winning his first two back-to-back with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the same result in 1997 and 1998 with the Detroit Red Wings. He is the fifth highest scoring defenseman in NHL history with 1,216 points and was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
A four-time Olympic medalist, Ruggiero was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, only the fourth woman and second American woman to have earned the honor. She is the all-time leader in games played for Team USA, male or female, with 256 games. Ruggiero is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sports Innovation Lab, a technology-powered market research firm empowering industry-leading sports brands to identify the trends, products, and services that will drive the future of sports.
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Trottier is a seven-time Stanley Cup Champion earning six as a player – four with the New York Islanders and two with Pittsburgh – and one as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche. He joined Fuhr in being named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017 and in his 18 seasons, Trottier only missed the playoffs once.
The inaugural 3ICE season will take place during the summer of 2021. The league will consist of eight teams with each consisting of seven players – six skaters and one goalie – and a head coach. Overall, every season will see a total of 60 games per season played over the nine tour stops, culminating in a final league championship game, giving fans the ultimate hockey experience.
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About 3ICE: 3ICE is a new and totally independent three-on-three professional ice hockey league in North America, created by CEO E.J. Johnston. Designed to give fans the speed, skill and excitement they love 100% of the time, the on-ice action moves at an unprecedented pace showcasing the best part of hockey. 3ICE will begin competitive play in the summer of 2021. 3ICE will consist of eight teams. For more information, visit www.3ICE.com.
