U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020 includes Granato, York

Former NHL player Tony Granato and Jerry York, a Hockey Hall of Famer and one of three coaches in NCAA men's ice hockey history to guide two schools to national championships, are among the four people who will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in the Class of 2020, USA Hockey announced Monday.

Dean Blais, who won two NCAA championships as coach at the University of North Dakota, and Jenny Potter, a four-time Olympic medalist, also will be inducted.

"The Class of 2020 is an extraordinary group whose remarkable contributions to our game will be felt for generations to come," said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey. "As fans, we've had the great pleasure of watching them play or guide teams to championships at all levels of the game. We are thrilled to welcome Dean, Tony, Jenny and Jerry to the list of immortals who have so positively impacted our sport."

All four will be inducted in December 2021, along with the Class of 2021. A date and location will be announced at a later date. The 2020 induction ceremony has been postponed due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Here's a look at the Class of 2020:

Tony Granato

Granato, from Downers Grove, Illinois, played 773 regular-season games over 13 NHL seasons (1988-2001) as a forward with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. He scored 492 points (248 goals, 244 assists) in the regular season and 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 79 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

He was chosen in the sixth round (No. 120) by the Rangers in the 1982 NHL Draft and scored 36 goals as a rookie in 1988-89. He was traded to the Kings on Jan. 20, 1990, and scored at least 30 goals three times in six-plus seasons with them. He helped the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 24 postseason games. He played his final five seasons with the Sharks after signing as a free agent Aug. 15, 1996, and announced his retirement as a player in 2001.

Granato was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1989, played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1997, and won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, in 1997.

He spent 13 seasons in the NHL as a coach or assistant and had a winning record in all but one of those seasons. He had two stints as coach of the Colorado Avalanche (2002-04; 2008-09), guiding them to a record of 104-78-16 with 17 ties and two appearances in the playoffs. He was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for five seasons (2009-14), helping the Penguins to playoff appearances in each season.

After two seasons as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings (2014-16), Granato was hired as men's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin in 2016. He was named the 2017 Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Memorial Award, given to the coach voted best in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, that same year.

Granato played for the United States at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, was coach of the U.S. men's team at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and was an assistant for the men's team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Granato played four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he scored 220 points (100 goals, 120 assists) in 121 games, and was a two-time All-American, a finalist for the 1987 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the best player in NCAA men's hockey. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Hall of Fame in 2000.

His sister, Cammi Granato, became the first woman in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame when she was inducted in 2008.

"It's funny last night because Cammi's husband, [former NHL player] Ray [Ferraro], sent me a text that said, 'Your little sister is seven years younger than you and she beat you to the Hall of Fame by (12) years, something like that," Granato said Tuesday. "That was his way of congratulating me. I got a good chuckle out of that. when you're able to go in with a class like this, and you're able to look at some of the names of the people who got in prior to you, you realize again how lucky you are, and grateful that you're associated with these people."

Jerry York

York of Watertown, Massachusetts, has coached at the collegiate level for 48 seasons, 26 of them at Boston College, following seven at Clarkson and 15 at Bowling Green. He is college hockey's all-time winningest coach (1,091 wins) entering his 27th season at Boston College and is one of three coaches (Ned Harkness, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell; Rick Comley, Northern Michigan and Michigan State) in NCAA history to win national titles at two schools (Bowling Green, 1984; Boston College, 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012).

York said the timing of the call from USA Hockey director Pat Kelleher to inform him of his upcoming induction couldn't have been better.

"I was coming off a double bogey off my local golf course. I was in a lousy, grumpy mood and I saw Pat called and I said, 'Oh, I'll take this call,' " York said. "I was just so excited even more so when I found out, Dean, Jenny and Tony would join us. This is a great group to go in with. We all love hockey, but besides sticks and pucks, you get to know unbelievable people through the course of your seasons, I really admire these people."

York also has guided Boston College to four national runner-up finishes, 12 NCAA Frozen Four appearances and a winning record in 22 of 26 seasons. He has coached two Hobey Baker Award winners (Johnny Gaudreau, 2014; Mike Mottau, 2000) and 18 NHL first-round draft picks at Boston College.

York was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019, Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 and Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1982. He was honored with the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2010 for contributions to hockey in the United States and won the Spencer Penrose Award in 1977.

Dean Blais

A two-time winner of the Spencer Penrose Memorial Award (1997, 2001), Blais guided the University of North Dakota to NCAA Division I championships in 1997 and 2000 and to a runner-up finish in 2001. In 19 seasons at North Dakota (nine as assistant, 10 as coach), he helped produce 60 NHL draft picks and 28 All-Americans. He was 262-115-33 as North Dakota coach.

He concluded his college coaching career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha for eight seasons, leading the program to its first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2015 and two NCAA tournament berths. He was 146-133-30 at Nebraska-Omaha and remains the school's all-time winningest coach.

"Hockey's such a small world but has such great people that you see day in and day out," Blais said. "My gosh, the quality players we've had the pleasure to coach and who come in as freshmen and wide-eyed and not knowing what's going on and leave three or four years later and still call you and congratulate you. I bet I had 15 phone calls from different players congratulating me getting into the Hall of Fame."

In 18 seasons as a college coach, Blais was 407-246-84 with 14 winning seasons. He was coach of the U.S. national junior team on three occasions (1994, 2010, 2012), leading the country to its first first-place finish in the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2010, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was also an assistant in 1988 (sixth-place finish) and in 1989 (fifth).

Blais, who is from International Falls, Minnesota, was coach and general manager of Fargo in the United States Hockey League in 2008-09 and was named USHL Coach of the Year after helping the expansion team to the Clark Cup Final, when it lost in four games to Indiana. Blais was associate coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2005-06 and their director of player development in 2006-07.

He played college hockey at the University of Minnesota from 1969-1973, scoring 139 points (56 goals, 83 assists) in 124 games. He was the school's rookie of the year in 1970.

Jenny Potter

Potter is one of three U.S. women's players to compete in four Olympics (Angela Ruggiero, Julie Chu), and her 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) are second in the history of women's hockey at the Olympics, first among U.S. players. The forward scored five points (two goals, three assists) in six games to help the United States win gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Potter, who is from Edina, Minnesota, scored seven points (one goal, six assists) at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics (silver) and nine points (two goals, seven assists) at the 2006 Torino Olympics (bronze).

In her final Olympic appearance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she led the United States with six goals, and her 11 points tied for the U.S. lead in a silver medal-winning performance. She was named to the Media All-Star Team and USA Hockey's Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year.

"When I found out that women's ice hockey would make its debut in the Olympics in 1998, I was about 14 (years old), and I said, 'I want to be on that team,' " Potter said. "So I spent night and day playing hockey, going to open hockey, I rink-ratted with a lot of great hockey players and I was fortunate enough to make that first cut and make the Olympic team, and not only that, coming home with the first gold medal for women's ice hockey. That was the most memorable experience of my life."

Potter played one season with the University of Minnesota in 1998-99 before finishing her collegiate career at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 1999-2004. She was recognized as an All-American in each of her four seasons. A two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year, Potter was a three-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the top women's player in college hockey and helped Minnesota Duluth to the 2003 NCAA women's national championship. She finished with 256 points (108 goals, 148 assists) in 102 games in three seasons at Minnesota Duluth.

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report