History of the NHL Alumni Association

In November 1999, the NHL Alumni Association was established as an independent association, by amalgamating two Alumni groups formed by the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association. The Alumni Association's ties to both the NHLPA and NHL remain strong.

The NHL Alumni is a non-profit organization, which serves as a liaison for 28 local alumni groups. The Association has adopted the motto of "Hockey's Greatest Family", providing programs and assistance for all retired NHL players, including career transition with the Life After Hockey Program. We maintain a database of approximately 3,400 retired players and keep them updated in our efforts through the production of a newsletter. Whether a retired player played one game or over 1,000, just over 5,000 players have ever played in the NHL of which approximately 3,400 are currently living and 1,600 are currently registered and active with our association.

The NHL Alumni's Mission is:

"The National Hockey League Alumni brings together former NHL players to: Support and participate in charitable causes, primarily those youth oriented; Assist former players in their transition to life after hockey; Promote the game of hockey."

To help achieve these objectives, the NHLA coordinates and facilitates providing Alumni members to appear and participate in a wide range of events and activities. As ambassadors of the history and tradition of the great game of hockey, the Alumni members often receive a fee for their appearance and participation.

In addition, an event organizer generally also provides the NHLA with some consideration for its assistance in the coordination and facilitation of the Alumni appearances and participation. As a not-for-profit association, all the funds that go to the NHLA from these events and activities go directly towards the development and management of programs and services for the benefit of all former NHL Players.

The Association is presently represented by our Executive Committee and a Board of Directors, our Executive Director, Mark Napier; Alumni Relations Manager, Wendy McCreary; Alumni Relations Coordinator, Debbie Sittler; Financial Coordinator, Maryann James; Marketing and Media Coordinator, Dylan Wade; and Website Coordinator, Carly Napier. The Board Members are as follows: Mike Pelyk - Chairman, Colin Patterson - Vice-Chairman, Gerry Sillers - Secretary/Treasurer, Andy Bathgate, Pat Flatley, Mike Gartner, Rejean Houle, Larry Playfair.

The NHL Alumni's relationship with our community and business partners is equally as important as our relationship with our members. The Alumni Association operates with the assistance of its partners in the hockey and corporate community, especially our Sponsors, Scotia Bank and Labatt's. Our Affinity Partners are equally important partners and are as follows: Roots, Royal Woodbine Golf Club, The Bottom Line, Sportscorp Travel, Decorium, Sportzbiz, Toronto Airport Marriot and Westin Harbour Castle, Club at Bondhead.

Our organization continues to grow with the development of new marketing and licensing initiatives featuring the NHL Alumni and our members. The NHL Alumni, local alumni association s and our members continue to be active in local communities, assisting in fundraising efforts that collectively raise more than $1 million annually for a wide range of charitable causes.