MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - CALGARY, AB. – The Western Hockey League announced today the recipient of this year’s WHL Alumni Association Achievement Award in the professional hockey category is former Medicine Hat Tiger Trevor Linden.
 
The WHL Alumni Achievement Award recognizes Alumni who pursued professional hockey and achieved a distinguished career in the NHL.  The award also recognizes WHL graduates who have obtained a post secondary education through the WHL Scholarship Program resulting in a highly successful business or professional career.  The recipients are selected by the WHL Alumni Association Executive Committee.
 
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WHL Alumni Achievement Award ‘Professional Hockey Recipient’ – Trevor Linden
 


Trevor Linden, originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, appeared in five games during the 1985-86 Western Hockey League season with the Medicine Hat Tigers before joining the Club full-time from 1986 – 88.  In just two seasons with the Tigers, Linden accumulated 62 goals and 148 points in 144 games.  He also helped lead the Tigers to back-to-back WHL and Memorial Cup titles in 1987 and 1988.  
 
Following his success with the Tigers, Linden was selected 2nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.  His NHL career spanned 19 seasons from 1988 until 2008 during which time he played for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.  Linden played in a total of 1382 NHL regular season games scoring 867 points; he also appeared in 124 NHL playoff games picking up 99 points.
 
Throughout his NHL career, Linden had been recognized as a respected leader on and off the ice.  He was named captain of the Canucks at the age of 21, making him one of the youngest captains in NHL history.  While captaining the Canucks, Linden led the team to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 1994.  In 1998 he was elected President of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a position he held for eight years.  As NHLPA President, Linden played an instrumental role during the 2004–05 NHL

lock-out, including a direct role in negotiations with NHL owners.  Off the ice, Linden has taken an active role in charities, and was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1997 for leadership on the ice and humanitarian contributions off the ice, as well as the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2008.  After 19 seasons in the NHL, Linden retired on June 11, 2008, twenty years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL.
 
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The WHL Alumni Association was formed in November 2007 to take an active role in assisting with the operation and promotion of the WHL at both the Club and League level.  The WHL Alumni Association provides a medium through which past players, coaches, officials and management personnel can reconnect with former teammates and continue to make a contribution to the growth and development of the WHL.
 
“Trevor Linden exemplifies the type of hockey player and person we strive to produce in the Western Hockey League – a tremendous leader on ice and a major contributor to a wide variety of community causes,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison.

 

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