Len Thornson (February 4, 1933 – December 12, 2021) was a Canadian

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 h ...

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 eccentri ...

. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada, Thornson spent his entire professional hockey career in the International Hockey League, mostly with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...

. He also spent part of one season (1956–57) with the

Indianapolis Chiefs The Indianapolis Chiefs were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in the International Hockey League from 1955 to 1962. The Chiefs were based in Indianapolis, Indiana and played at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum. In seven seaso ...

and the Huntington Hornets. He is the IHL's all-time leading scorer with 1,252 career points. Thornson died December 12, 2021, at the age of 88.

Awards and achievements

MJHL The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

Second All-Star Team (1953) *

Goal Scoring Leader (1953) *Turnbull Cup

Championship (1953) * IHL MVP (1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, & 1968) * IHL Scoring Champion (1962, 1964, & 1967) *

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

( IHL) Championships (1963 & 1965) *"Honoured Member" of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

* Jersey #11 retired by Fort Wayne Komets.

References

External links

*
Len Thornson's biography
a

1933 births 2021 deaths Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey centres Fort Wayne Komets players Huntington Hornets players Indianapolis Chiefs players New Westminster Royals players St. Boniface Canadiens players Winnipeg Canadians players Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1930s-stub