Cam Neely

Canadian ice hockey right winger who scored 344 goals in 726 NHL games, known for his power forward style and brief but dominant peak years.

Cameron Michael Neely was born in Comox, British Columbia in 1965. Vancouver Canucks selected him ninth overall in the 1983 NHL Draft and traded him to Boston in 1986. His career produced 395 goals and 299 assists for 694 points. He won the Bill Masterton Award for perseverance and dedication in 1994. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 and named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017. He established the template for the modern power forward — a player who could score 50 goals while fighting, taking hits and dominating physically in front of the net. He scored 50 goals in 44 games in 1993-94 — a pace unmatched before or since. A series of severe hip and knee injuries — caused in part by a deliberate knee-on-knee hit from Ulf Samuelsson in 1991 — prematurely ended his career at 31. He played only 726 NHL games. His goals-per-game rate — 0.545 over his career — is exceptional for a primarily physical player. He became president of the Boston Bruins after his career.

Neely was the prototype power forward who combined elite goal-scoring ability with punishing physical play and intimidation tactics. He possessed a lethal wrist shot and the rare ability to score from close range while absorbing heavy contact from defenders. His physical presence and willingness to fight made him one of the most feared players in the league.

Neely revolutionized the power forward position and inspired a generation of players who sought to combine skill and physicality. His style of play became the template for successful power forwards in the modern NHL.

• Bill Masterton Award (1994)
• Hall of Fame (2005)
• NHL 100 Greatest Players