AHL Legends Honoured Tonight

The American Hockey League welcomes four new members to it's Hall of Fame tonight.

Players John Paddock, Marcel Paille and Bill Sweeney and builder MacGregor Kilpatrick are all set to be inducted.

Paddock was feisty player, but better known as a coach. Although he's had stints behind NHL benches already, he's a Bruce Boudreau-type career minor leaguer who deserves a shot at the NHL once again.

Goaltender Paille played a record 15 AHL seasons with six different teams and ranks second all time in wins with 344 compared to Johnny Bower's 359.

The late Sweeney (he died of liver disease at age 54 in 1991) was described by Don Cherry as “the best player that never played in the NHL.” Sweeney did actually have a 4 game stint with the Rangers in the 1959-60 season, but excess drinking likely cost him future employment in the big leagues. Sweeney played 746 games in the AHL, scoring 317 goals and adding 536 assists.

Kilpatrick was a Yale graduate lawyer who dedicated 27 years of his life to the AHL in various capacities. In 1997 the AHL named their trophy for the team with the best regular season record in his name.