Harold Cameron York (born April 16, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played several seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Playing career

Born in Ponoka,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, York was the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

MVP and leading scorer in 1994–95 while playing for the

Fort McMurray Oil Barons The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada at the Centerfire Place. The Oil Barons have won three AJHL playoff championships, three regular ...

, but was not drafted. York caught on with the

Nashville Knights Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

the following season. An 83-point campaign for Nashville finally caught the eye of NHL scouts, and he was signed by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

just before the end of the 1995–96 season, adding 8 goals in 13 games for the Blues' farm team in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

. York would make the Blues' NHL roster in 1996–97 as a complete unknown and surprise everyone by flying out of the gates as one of the NHL's leading rookie scorers. At one point he scored goals in 5 consecutive games and he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month in November. York spent most of the season as the Blues' #2 Center, playing alongside fellow surprise rookie breakout success Jim Campbell, with the two inexorably linked in the press throughout the season. Although he slowed down somewhat later in the season, he still finished with a solid 14 goals and 32 points on the season, good for 9th on the Blues in scoring. York returned to the Blues in 1997–98, but struggled to find the scoring touch he showed as a rookie. After scoring just 4 goals and 10 points in 58 games, York was dealt to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

for

Mike Eastwood Michael Barry Eastwood (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Eastwood played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blue ...

late in the season. York's stay in New York was brief, as he was dealt to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

early in the 1998–99 season after only 7 games for the Rangers and without scoring a point. Likewise, Pittsburgh waived him after only two weeks and two games as a Penguin, and he was claimed by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. In Vancouver, York was reunited with head coach

Mike Keenan Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams ...

, under whom he'd had his greatest success in St. Louis. York returned to form in Vancouver, posting 7 goals and 16 points in 49 games and establishing himself as a solid defensive forward and penalty killer. In 1999–2000, York recorded 4 goals and 17 points in 54 games for the Canucks. However, his role had diminished under new coach

Marc Crawford Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently was the assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cu ...

and, also struggling with concussion problems, he was released by the team at the end of the year effectively ending his NHL career. York finished his career with 29 goals and 75 points in 244 NHL games, along with 99 penalty minutes. York is of

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

descent, and during his career was one of several

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

players in the NHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

* ''All statistics taken from NHL.com''

Awards and achievements

Most Valuable Player (1994–95) * Alberta Junior Hockey League Leading Scorer (1994–95) * NHL Rookie of the Month (November, 1996)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:York, Harry 1974 births Living people Atlanta Knights players Bonnyville Pontiacs players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Cheetahs players Fort McMurray Oil Barons players Ice hockey people from Alberta Nashville Knights players New York Rangers players People from Ponoka, Alberta Pittsburgh Penguins players St. Louis Blues players Syracuse Crunch players Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players Worcester IceCats players First Nations sportspeople