2015 Inductees
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2015 Inductees Denny Lambert - Player Born in Wawa, Denny Lambert is one of those rare athletes who was able to make a career out of hockey, despite not being drafted by either an Ontario Hockey League or National Hockey League team. As an 18-year-old left-winger, he walked on at the Soo Greyhounds 1988-1989 training camp and made the team. In his first season in the OHL, Lambert scored 14 times and assisted on 15 others while adding a measure of tough, gritty play 61 games. He nearly doubled that output in his second season, producing 23 goals and 29 assists. He also finished with 276 penalty minutes, fighting often while establishing himself as a player rivals couldn’t afford to take for granted. And in his final season with the Hounds, Lambert played a key role in helping the club win the OHL championship. He tallied 28 goals and 39 assists and with few takers, his fighting numbers - and time in the penalty box - went down. Lambert’s penalty minutes fell by over 100. In the playoffs, he again averaged better than a point per game, notching seven goals and nine assists in 14 contests. Signing with the International Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls as a free agent, Lambert began his professional career in 1991. Willing to hit, defend hard and fight, when needed, the five- foot-11, 200-pounder achieved his goal of making it to the NHL with the 1994-95 Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The 1996-97 campaign marked his first full season in the NHL. Skating with the Ottawa Senators, hard-working Lambert notched four goals and 16 assists in 80 games, while taking on all comers when it came to dropping the gloves. He accumulated 217 penalty minutes that season and topped the 200 mark for five consecutive years after that, while also skating for the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers, before returning to the Mighty Ducks to close his NHL career. In 487 games, Lambert tallied 27 goals and 66 assists, along with nearly 1,400 penalty minutes. He left the NHL having established a reputation as a hard-working player willing to do whatever was needed to help his team win. Beginning in 2003, Lambert spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Greyhounds. He was also the club’s head coach for nearly three years, joining a small group of men who’ve both played for, and coached, Sault Ste. Marie’s favourite hockey club. Chris Simon - Player Chris Simon was born and raised in Wawa, Ontario and grew up playing for the Wawa Flyers of the NOHA. He started his major junior career with the Ottawa 67’s and completed it as a member of the Soo Greyhounds. He was drafted in the 2nd round, 25th overall, in the 1990 NHL entry Draft. Known for his tough, gritty play, Simon played an impressive 15 seasons and 782 games in the NHL logging 144 goals, 161 assists and 1,824 penalty minutes. Over his career he suited up for the Quebec Nordiques, the Calgary Flames, the Colorado Avalanche, the Washington Capitals, the Chicago Blackhawks, the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders and the Minnesota Wild. He made 3 Stanley Cup finals appearances with 3 different teams, winning it in 1996 with the Avalanche. Following his time in the NHL, Chris went on to play 5 seasons in the KHL where he continued as a producer and an enforcer. .