The AHL announced Tuesday that Keith Aucoin (Norwich) and Bill Torrey (St. Lawrence) are two of the four individuals selected for induction into the league’s hall of fame as the class of 2022.
“For more than eight decades, the American Hockey League has been built on principles of excellence both on and off the ice,” said AHL president-CEO Scott Howson in a statement. “Each of these four distinguished individuals exemplified those principles at the highest levels throughout their careers, and the AHL Board of Governors unanimously endorses the selection committee’s recommendation for their induction into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame as the class of 2022.”
Aucoin skated at Norwich from 1997 to 2001, recording 238 points on 114 goals and 124 assists.
Undrafted, Aucoin broke into the AHL with his hometown Lowell Lock Monsters in 2001-02. He went on to record 857 points in 769 games over parts of 13 AHL seasons with Lowell, the Providence Bruins, Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Albany River Rats, Hershey Bears, Toronto Marlies and Chicago Wolves, retiring as the seventh-leading scorer in league history.
Aucoin won the Calder Cup with Hershey in 2009 and 2010 and was the AHL’s MVP and scoring champion for the 2009-10 season after tallying 106 points in 70 games. He played in a record-tying six AHL All-Star Classics, and was voted a First Team (2009, 2010, 2012) and Second Team (2006, 2007, 2011) AHL All-Star three times each.
Torrey played on St. Lawrence hockey teams in 1954-55 and 1955-56 – years in which the “Larries,” as they were called, were among the dominant squads in Eastern U.S. college hockey.
He began his front-office hockey career as the publicity director for the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets in 1961. He remained active with the AHL throughout his illustrious career as an NHL executive, which included four straight Stanley Cup championships as general manager of the New York Islanders and 25 years of service with the Florida Panthers.
A trusted advisor and mentor, Torrey served on the executive committee of the AHL Board of Governors for two decades, and was a member of the AHL Hall of Fame selection committee from its inception in 2006.
Torrey passed away in 2018 at the age of 83.
In addition to the class of 2022, this season’s induction ceremony will include longtime AHL president-CEO David Andrews, who was previously selected as the lone member of the class of 2021. The induction and awards ceremony is scheduled for February 7, 2022 in Laval, Que., as part of the festivities at the 2022 AHL All-Star Classic.
The other two inductees are Nolan Baumgartner and Dave Creighton.
