P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame selects Island's all-NHL team

What if some of your favourite hockey players from different decades hit the ice together?

Over 30 players have laced up in the National Hockey League, representing Canada's smallest province on the world's largest stage.

• 3 new members named to UPEI Sports Hall of Fame
• P.E.I. Special Olympian honoured by Maritime Sports Hall of Fame

To celebrate the province's top talent, Dave Holland, with the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame, has paired players from across time to put together this roster of the Island's best of the best.

A few of the players below weren't born on P.E.I. but were raised on the Island.

Richards, MacMillan brothers, Gallant lead forwards

• First line: Errol Thompson, Brad Richards, Rick Vaive
• ​Second line: Bob MacMillan, Billy MacMillan, Al MacAdam
• Third line: Gerard Gallant, Forbes Kennedy, David Ling
• Fourth line: Kevin Devine, Bobby Whitlock, Dave Cameron

​Holland couldn't deny Murray Harbour's Brad Richards the top spot as the first line centre.

Richards stands as P.E.I.'s all-time leading NHL scorer with 298 goals and 634 assists for a total of 932 points. He's also a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.

The MacMillan brothers make for a strong second line next to Al MacAdam — who Holland says was a "great skater [and] playmaker."

Between the three they've played on more than 10 different NHL teams throughout the 1970s and '80s and scored over 1,000 points.

The third line may contain some of Island's grittiest, toughest players with Forbes Kennedy, an original six player Holland calls a "P.E.I. legend" — despite Kennedy being born in New Brunswick.

Led by former Detroit Red Wing Gerard Gallant, now the head coach of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, this line notched nearly 3,000 penalty minutes between the three of them.

Holland also chose Gallant as the head coach for this all-star team.

Summerside's Steve Ott and John Chabot are also among the highest-scoring Island players that made it in the NHL but didn't make the cut on Holland's list as "they were born here but grew up elsewhere."

McQuaid, Stewart, McIver among top D-men

• First line: Adam McQuaid, John Hughes
• Second line: Nathan McIver, Bobby Stewart
• Third line: Mark Flood, Brandon Gormley

Holland chose Adam McQuaid as P.E.I.'s top-ever defenceman. The 31-year-old Cornwall native has played with the Boston Bruins for 9 seasons and was a staple to the team's 2011 Stanley Cup victory.

McQuaid, the only active P.E.I. player in the NHL, has battled many injuries over his career, Holland said, but the "tough and gritty shot blocker" is a standout defenceman.

Among P.E.I.'s defenceman, Bobby Stewart had the longest career in the NHL.

Born in Charlottetown, the 1970 first-round draft choice by the Boston Bruins played nearly 600 games in the league, scoring nearly 130 points and racking up almost 800 penalty minutes.

Stewart passed away in 2017.

The rest of P.E.I.'s chosen defenceman, such as Nathan McIver, Mark Flood and Brandon Gormley, had long careers drifting between the NHL and the minor leagues or playing on international teams.

Simmons, MacIntyre only P.E.I. goalies

• Starter: Gary Simmons
• Backup: Drew MacIntyre

The goalie position is the least represented among Island talent with only two Islanders ever making it inside an NHL crease.

Holland chose Charlottetown's Gary Simmons as the lead man among the two, as he played four seasons in the NHL in the 1970s, posting a 30-57-15 record.

Simmons' Island counterpart, Drew MacIntyre, only "played a handful of games" with Vancouver, Buffalo and Toronto, Holland said. Though he added that MacIntyre was a "standout in the minors."

For more of a glimpse into P.E.I.'s hockey history, visit the Sports Hall of Fame website as well as Holland's Island hockey blog P.E.I. Pucks.

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