Nieuwendyk to be honored Saturday at Lynah

Ben Rocky '04 · February 02, 2007, 08:36:30 AM

FYI: http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/SPORTS/702020352

Rita · February 02, 2007, 11:41:22 AM

I hope people spread the word tonight about the ceremony for Joey and arrive EARLY on Saturday to honor and thank him for all that he has accomplished in his career.

I never got to meet him in person, but by all accounts he is one of the classiest and nicest people, nevermind one heck of a hockey player.

From the article that Ben referred to above:

"He could be the best athlete ever to come through Cornell," said head coach Mike Schafer, who played with Nieuwendyk at Cornell.
"The amount of respect he has had in the professional world speaks volumes of him," Schafer added. "Cornell couldn't have a better ambassador in that arena. It's great to have him back here, and read his accomplishments, which could take some time. For the average fan, maybe the students that don't realize the extent of the impact he has had as a future Hall of Famer, and obviously our longtime fans who were fortunate enough to see him play here, hopefully it will be a special moment on Saturday."

ebilmes · February 02, 2007, 12:03:30 PM

/

peterg · February 03, 2007, 12:53:17 PM

Just a bump to remind people.

French Rage · February 03, 2007, 02:39:03 PM

Can't he wait for the P/Q weekend when some of us will be in town?

Al DeFlorio · February 03, 2007, 03:02:07 PM

There were a few comments last night on the webcast to the effect of Joe being a "voluntary assistant" coach. Anyone (Ari?) have any insights on that? Joe was the absolute best on the power play.

calgARI '07 · February 03, 2007, 03:20:50 PM

I've thought for a couple years that Nieuwendyk will be the next head coach of Cornell hockey whenever that happens. Upon his retirement, Nieuwendyk was saying that he has a lot of options, most of which are in hockey, though he didn't elaborate. I assume one of those options is to come back to ithaca and be involved with the program on a day-to-day basis. If anything, he would really help with recruiting. I would imagine potential recruits would be even more drawn to the program if they met Nieuwendyk during their visit. In terms of hockey, Nieuwendyk seems to be a perfect type to be a coach. He was always very calm and patient as a player and had spectacular hockey sense. He was strong in virtually every area of the game.

johnny923 · February 03, 2007, 03:43:43 PM

Anybody know what time this thing starts at?

redhair34 · February 03, 2007, 03:54:45 PM

[quote johnny923]Anybody know what time this thing starts at?[/quote]

I was told that it would start after the National Anthems. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Larry72 · February 03, 2007, 03:55:06 PM

The presentation is right at 7:00pm after the national anthems. The game will start a few minutes late.

Beeeej · February 03, 2007, 04:04:07 PM

[quote French Rage]Can't he wait for the P/Q weekend when some of us will be in town?[/quote]

Seriously. ::cry::

ebilmes · February 04, 2007, 12:20:47 AM

[quote Beeeej][quote French Rage]Can't he wait for the P/Q weekend when some of us will be in town?[/quote]

Seriously. ::cry::[/quote]

They announced during the ceremony that his number would be retired in the fall. Perhaps you can arrange your schedules to be there for that game.

Beeeej · February 04, 2007, 12:21:54 AM

[quote ebilmes][quote Beeeej][quote French Rage]Can't he wait for the P/Q weekend when some of us will be in town?[/quote]

Seriously. ::cry::[/quote]

They announced during the ceremony that his number would be retired in the fall. Perhaps you can arrange your schedules to be there for that game.[/quote]

If they tell us in advance, yes, perhaps.

mha · February 05, 2007, 02:59:45 PM

Quote from: French RageCan't he wait for the P/Q weekend when some of us will be in town?

If that suggestion came up, the right answer on his part would have been, "Nah, that weekend is about the seniors. Let's not make it about me."

RatushnyFan · February 07, 2007, 03:23:53 PM

One question on Nieuwendyk. I missed him at Cornell (I was '88-'92) but saw him play quite a bit in the NHL. How on earth did NCAA teams hold him to <70 goals in 3 years? I know he only played something like 75 games in 3 years, but how did they do it? Was it a case of just a tremendous amount of defensive focus on him, to the benefit of other Cornell players?

Consider:
Niewendyk (first 2 pro seasons, '87-'89) - 102 goals
Gretzky ('87-'89) - 94 goals
Hull ('87-'89) - 73 goals (just before he started pouring them in)
Gartner ('87-'89) - 91 goals
Messier ('87-'89) - 70 goals
Yzerman ('87-'89) - 115 goals
Lemieux ('87-'89) - 155 goals (ok, at another level)
Robitaille ('87-'89) - 99 goals
Andreychuck ('87-'89) - 58 goals (injured part of '89 but played 56 games)
Kurri ('87-'89) - 87 goals

My goodness Joe. Similar analysis will hold probably for first 4 years of his career (192 goals). Joe was instantly among the best, no transition!