Favorite all-time U.S.-born NHL players include Chelios, Modano, Richter

Hockey Day in America is Sunday. It is a day to celebrate hockey's contributions, big and small, to communities across the United States. As part of the celebration, NBC and NBCSN will air a quadrupleheader of NHL games involving eight United States-based teams: Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders (Noon ET; NBC), Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks (2:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN); New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins (5 p.m. ET; NBCSN) and New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).
To help illustrate the impact the NHL has had on hockey across the country, we asked eight staff writers to talk about their favorite U.S.-born NHL player. Here are their answers:

Chris Chelios

As the grandson of Greek immigrants, I have a soft spot for Chelios, the son of Greek immigrants who took an improbable route to the NHL, let alone the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was born in Chicago but moved to San Diego as a teenager. Cut by from the United States International University hockey team there, he thought his career was finished. But on the beach he bumped into a USIU player headed to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, to play junior hockey. Chelios got the coach's phone number and lied about being a defenseman to get a tryout. The former forward went on to play 1,651 NHL regular-season games, more than any other defenseman, and 266 Stanley Cup Playoff games, more than any other player. He won the Stanley Cup (1986, 2002, 2008) and the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL (1989, 1993, 1996) three times each. His career didn't end until he was 48, 22 years after the USIU program folded. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Jim Craig

The goalie didn't have much of an NHL career, going 11-10-7 with a 3.78 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage in 30 games with the Atlanta Flames, Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars. Fortunately, Craig's place in United States hockey history already was cemented with his play at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, when the native of North Easton, Maine served as one of the heroes of the "Miracle on Ice" upset of the Soviet Union. I was 12 at the time of that game and playing goalie myself in a house league. For years afterward I would try to mimic what I had seen Craig do throughout the Olympics and dream of occupying the spotlight he did. My mom even bought me some shamrock decals to put on my goalie mask, just like the ones decorating Craig's mask. I never accomplished anything close to what Craig did, but his performance remains the foundation of a love affair with the game of hockey and the position of goaltender that has lasted 40 years.-- Shawn P. Roarke

Brian Gionta

Gionta always blew me away with his ability to play big despite being small in stature (5-foot-7, 178 pounds). I vividly recall the battles he had against defenseman Zdeno Chara (6-9, 250), and despite giving up 14 inches and 72 pounds, the native of Rochester, New York never backed down. Gionta was a third-round pick (No. 82) by the New Jersey Devils in the 1998 NHL Draft, so he didn't come out of nowhere, but no one can say they predicted his 89 points (48 goals, 41 assists) in 2005-06 or his seven straight seasons of 20 or more goals from 2003-11. He finished with 595 points (291 goals, 304 assists) in 1,026 games. Gionta was a captain for seven straight seasons, from 2010-17, the first four with the Montreal Canadiens, the last three with the Buffalo Sabres, and was captain for the United States at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. He won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003 and went to the Eastern Conference Final with the Canadiens in 2010 and 2014. He also won the NCAA championship with Boston College in 2001. He was, of course, the captain. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

John LeClair

Growing up in Philadelphia, I got to see some of hockey's best United States-born players in Flyers jerseys, from Mark Howe to Jeremy Roenick. But LeClair is my favorite. The left wing on the "Legion of Doom" line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg, LeClair epitomized hustle, muscle and skill. He gave goalies fits with his lethal wrist shot or by being an immovable object around the net, as evidenced by his 819 points (406 goals, 413 assists) in 967 games with the Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins. The St. Albans, Vermont, native was the first U.S.-born player to score 50 or more goals in three consecutive seasons (1995-96 through 1997-98). LeClair helped Montreal win the Stanley Cup in 1993 by scoring overtime goals in Games 3 and 4 of the Final against the Los Angeles Kings, and he scored six goals in seven games to lead the U.S. to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey title. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Mike Modano

So many current great United States-born players to choose from, but Modano remains my favorite. I'm a little biased since I was fortunate to cover him during my time in Texas. The forward for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings was a joy to watch, his jersey flapping in the breeze he created as he skated by defenders. Modano scored 1,374 points (561 goals, 813 assists) in 1,499 NHL games. He scored 93 points in back-to-back seasons, with 33 goals and 60 assists with the North Stars in 1992-93 and 50 goals and 43 assists in 1993-94 with the Stars. The native of Livonia, Michigan played through a broken wrist to help the Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999. It was a treat to cover Modano's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014, and he'll always be the No. 1 U.S.-born player for me. - Tracey Myers, staff writer

Mike Richter

There have some excellent U.S.-born goalies, including Tom Barrasso, John Vanbiesbrouck, Ryan Miller and Jonathan Quick. But Richter was the best, in my opinion. After two seasons at the University of Wisconsin, the native of Abington, Pennsylvania, embarked on a professional career that saw him spend 14 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers. His crowning achievement came in 1994, when he helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1940. Richter played in the Olympics in 1988, 1998 and 2002, winning a silver medal in his final appearance. He also was voted the most valuable player of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, when he led the United States to its most significant international championship other than the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Richter stopped 70 of 74 shots in winning the final two games of the best-of-3 final against Canada in Montreal. The Mike Richter Award has been presented annually since 2014 to the top goalie in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Tim Thomas

I came to hockey late. I was in my 20s before I attended my first NHL game, and my second was Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. And my goodness did Thomas make an impression. The insanity of watching him play, especially in that Final, for which he would be voted the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs, was mesmerizing. He won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL that season too, the second time in his NHL career after winning in 2009. And while Thomas might not make most people's best United States-born player (or even goalie) lists, the native of Flint, Michigan, is pretty much a folk hero in Boston. Though his NHL career was short -- nine seasons, with a .920 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average -- after he became an NHL regular at 31, there just was something special about Thomas on the ice. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Keith Tkachuk

Tkachuk played a power forward-type game that made me want to park myself in front of the television and be entertained for hours. Tkachuk had the size (6-2, 235), the skills and the passion needed to win a shift and routinely get under the skin of an opposing player. The native of Melrose, Massachusetts, is the only United States-born player to lead the NHL in goals in a season, scoring 52 with the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996-97. I respected the fact that he always seemed to garner much of the attention of the opposition and still produced. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame forward, who played 1,201 NHL games, ranks second among U.S.-born players in goals (538), fourth in points (1,065), first in power-play goals (212) and, along with all that offensive success, fourth in penalty minutes (2,219). His NHL career spanned 18 seasons, with the Winnipeg Jets, Coyotes, Atlanta Thrashers and St. Louis Blues. Not surprisingly, his sons, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, have become fan favorites while playing with the same determination and desire as dad. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer