Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959) is an American 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 ...

player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the

US Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

in 2000 having appeared in 1,099

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

(NHL) regular season games from 1981 to

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. He is the older brother of

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

and

Paul Broten Paul Newell Broten (born October 27, 1965) is an American former professional hockey player who played in 322 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues. He shoots right-handed and played right wing. Broten was ...

Early career

Broten, like his two brothers, attended

Roseau High School Roseau High School is a public high school in Roseau, Minnesota, United States serving students from grades 7 through 12. It is part of Roseau Community Schools, Minnesota ISD 682. The school's hockey program has matriculated several NHL and Olymp ...

, a perennial hockey contender in the state of Minnesota, where he appeared with the Rams in the state tournament in three consecutive years (1977–79). His 1978 achievement of four assists in a single period still stands as a Roseau Rams' record today. As a college freshman playing for Herb Brooks and the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big T ...

, Broten scored 21 goals, had 50 assists, and was named WCHA Rookie of the Year His final goal of that season was the game winner that clinched the 1979 NCAA Championship in which the Gophers defeated the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

by a score of 4–3. Broten would later win the inaugural

Hobey Baker award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Univer ...

in 1981, which honors the US collegiate hockey's best player. Broten is one of two players, along with

Ed Belfour Edward John Belfour (born April 21, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of ...

, to have played on teams that won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

hockey championship (University of Minnesota in 1979), the Olympic Gold Medal (Team USA, 1980), and the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

(New Jersey Devils, 1995). He is the only player to have won the Hobey Baker, the Olympic Gold Medal and the Stanley Cup.

NHL/International career

Broten was a member of the United States Olympic team that won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in an event known as the ''

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournam ...

''. He was also a member of Team USA at the 1981 Canada Cup and

1984 Canada Cup The 1984 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament played during the first three weeks of September 1984. The best-of-three final took place between Canada and Sweden, with Canada winning a two game sweep. Canadian ...

tournaments as well as the 1990 Ice Hockey World Championship. Broten played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League. Highlights of his long NHL career include the first American to score more than 100 points in a single season (1985–86) as well as two NHL All-Star Game appearances in 1983 and 1986. He won a

with the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, scoring the game-winning goal in Game Four against the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

to clinch the title. Coincidentally, his 1980 Soviet counterpart

Viacheslav Fetisov Viacheslav Alexandrovich "Slava" Fetisov (Russian: Вячеслав Александрович Фетисов, ''Vjačeslav Aleksandrovič Fetisov''; born 20 April 1958) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for HC CS ...

was on the ice for the heavily favored Red Wings when Broten scored the clincher. Broten became the first American to score a Cup-winning goal. Fellow Americans Brett Hull,

Mike Rupp Michael Ryan Rupp (born January 13, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins,Ne ...

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blackhawks selected him with the first overall pic ...

, and

Alec Martinez Alec Martinez (born July 26, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. ...

have done it since. Broten served as the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Dallas Stars for two months during the lockout-shortened

1994–95 NHL season The 1994–95 NHL season was the 78th regular season of the National Hockey League. The teams played a shortened season, due to a lockout of the players by the owners. In addition, the NHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place ...

after the trade of previous captain

Mark Tinordi Mark Douglas Tinordi (born May 9, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons between 1987–88 and 1998–99. Tinordi became the coach of the Washington Junior Na ...

, serving as captain for a month prior to his trade to New Jersey. He had previously served as an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

on a number of occasions. During the

1982–83 NHL season The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in ...

, Broten participated in a rare fight against

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. It was one of only a handful of fights during both his and Gretzky's careers. Broten later recalled how he and his teammates would later have to deal with Gretzky's enforcers, Marty McSorley and

Dave Semenko David John Semenko (July 12, 1957 – June 29, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, scout and colour commentator. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career, Semenko played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and ...

. Broten initially refused to play for the North Stars in 1991–92 due to a contract dispute, instead playing in Germany for BSC Preussen Berlin where he filled in for his former U.S. Olympic teammate

Dave Silk David Mark Silk (born January 1, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player. His professional career, which spanned 13 years, included 249 NHL regular season games with the Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Detroit Red Wings ...

who was on temporary leave in the U.S. with his pregnant wife.

Post career

Broten briefly came out of retirement in 1999 to once again play for the US national team in the 1999 Ice Hockey World Championship qualifying tournament (the U.S. team featuring several NHL players had surprisingly finished among the bottom four in the previous 1998 world championship tournament) when no active NHL players were available. He scored six points in three games as the U.S. won the tournament, before retiring from hockey for good. He lives in River Falls, WI. In 2014, Broten's nephew,

Shane Gersich Shane Gersich (born July 10, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey winger currently playing for Västerås IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan (Allsv). Gersich was selected 134th overall by the Washington Capitals at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Ea ...

, was drafted by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

In popular culture

Broten is not featured in the 1981 TV movie about the 1980 U.S. hockey team called ''

'' except in archival footage of the gold medal ceremony. In the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

'', he is portrayed by Trevor Alto. Alto played college hockey for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

documentary, '' Pond Hockey'', he reflects on his youth growing up playing hockey in his hometown of Roseau, MN.

Awards and honors

* NCAA Championship - Minnesota Golden Gophers (1979) * WCHA Rookie of the Year (1979) *

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

XIII Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid (1980) *

Hobey Baker Memorial Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Univers ...

(1981) * NHL All Star (1983, 1986) *

champion - New Jersey Devils (1995) * Lester Patrick Trophy (1998) *

(2000) * Broten's jersey number (7) was retired by the

(February 7, 1998). * Voted by

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

fans as the greatest hockey player ever from Minnesota (2009). Transactions * Drafted:

, 2nd Round (42 overall), 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Pick was obtained by the North Stars in a draft-day trade that sent

from the North Stars to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks. * Traded to the

for

Corey Millen Corey Eugene Millen (born March 30, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He played in the National Hockey League between 1990 and 1997 with five teams. Internationally he played for the American national team at several t ...

, 2/27/95 * Traded from New Jersey Devils to

for future considerations, 11/22/96 * Claimed on waivers by Dallas from Los Angeles, 1/28/97

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com

Picture of Neal Broten's Name on the 1995 Stanley Cup Plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broten, Neal 1959 births Living people 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team American men's ice hockey centers BSC Preussen Berlin players Dallas Stars players Hobey Baker Award winners Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Los Angeles Kings players Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Minnesota North Stars draft picks Minnesota North Stars players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League players with retired numbers New Jersey Devils players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey People from Roseau, Minnesota Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Stanley Cup champions United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans