Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Seventeen years ago John Slaney played his first game with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, embarking on a stint with the team that was brief, but memorable.

On Tuesday, the Penguins announced that Slaney had been selected for induction into the team’s Hall of Fame. Slaney, a defenseman, becomes the fourth person to join the hall, following the inductions of Dennis Bonvie, Alain Nasreddine and Kevin Blaum in 2014.

A member of the Penguins’ inaugural team, Slaney appeared in 89 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during parts of two seasons (1999-2001), recording 110 points (42G-68A) during his time with the team.

Slaney led the Penguins in goals (30) and points (60) during the club’s first season in the American Hockey League, despite appearing in just 49 games with the team. He represented Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the AHL All-Star Classic in Rochester, N.Y., and became the first defenseman in the history of the AHL to record 30 goals in a single season.

Slaney began the 2000-01 campaign wearing the captain’s “C” for the Penguins, and recorded 50 points (12G-38A) in 40 games. He was selected to represent the Penguins at the 2001 AHL All-Star Classic being held in Wilkes-Barre but, on the eve of the game, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers.

A native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Slaney appeared in 631 AHL games with the Baltimore Skipjacks, Portland Pirates, Cornwall Aces, Penguins, and Philadelphia Phantoms, recording 166 goals, 353 assists and 519 points – all of which were career records for AHL defensemen at the time of his retirement. He was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2014.

Selected ninth overall in the 1990 National Hockey League Draft, Slaney appeared in 268 NHL games with the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers, recording 91 points (22G-69A). He currently serves as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes.

Slaney will be inducted into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony prior to the Penguins home game with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Jan. 30.

John Slaney shoots the puck during the 2001 AHL All-Star game, the last time he would don a Penguins jersey. On that same day Slaney was traded to the Philadelphia organization.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_s1_faa.jpeg.optimal.jpegJohn Slaney shoots the puck during the 2001 AHL All-Star game, the last time he would don a Penguins jersey. On that same day Slaney was traded to the Philadelphia organization. Times Leader file photo

By Tom Venesky

[email protected]

If you go …

The Penguins Hall of Fame pregame ceremony will take place on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Mohegan Sun Casey Plaza at 7 p.m.

Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky