Lou Nanne
Louis Vincent Nanne ( born June 2, 1941 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario ) is a former Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach and manager. For the Minnesota North Stars, he completed 635 games in the National Hockey League, where he was then coach and manager. Nanne was U.S. national team and took, among others, the 1968 Olympic Games in part.
Career as a player
Nanne grew up in Ontario, where he played early on together with Phil and Tony Esposito Hockey. In 1960 he began studying at the University of Minnesota. There he played under the famous coach John Mariucci for the Golden Gophers and became one of the best players in college hockey. In 1963, he was with 14 goals and 29 assists in 29 games the best scorer in the WCHA. This was before any defender. In the same season he was voted team in the WCHA MVP ( " Most Valuable Player ") and in the First All -Star. In addition, he was West First All-American team in the NCAA. Overall, he played in 81 games for the Gophers, scoring 22 goals and 52 assists. He then worked four years for the Rochester Mustangs in the United States Hockey League. Nannes rights at the time were for the Chicago Black Hawks. There were these Vertragsunstimmigkeiten, it took until 1968 until he was allowed to play in the NHL.
In 1967 he took on U.S. citizenship so he could play for the U.S. national team. At the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble, he finished with the U.S. team to sixth place. In seven games, he scored two goals and had two assists. Then he signed as a free agent contract with the Minnesota North Stars in the NHL and was in the first season or two appearances before he became the key players in the following year. Mostly he was employed as a defender, sometimes he also played as a winger in attack. Until 1978 he came to 635 missions with 68 goals and 157 assists. Great team successes were denied him. The North Stars were at this time among the least successful teams in the NHL and survived only once the first round of play-offs. Nanne was a popular player with the North Stars and time, representatives of the NHL Players' Association. 1976 and 1977 led Nanne on the U.S. team as team captain at the World Championships and the 1976 Canada Cup.
Career as manager
Immediately at the end of his career as a player Nanne was 1977/78 trainer ( until end of season ) and General Manager ( until 1988 ) of the North Stars in the season. 1978 merged it with the Cleveland Barons. Nanne succeeded so, using skillful player trades and the draft from one of the worst teams in the league to form an up and coming team. 1981 were the North Stars for the first time in the Stanley Cup final (1:4 against the New York Islanders ). Until 1984, the North Stars played good seasons in the NHL, but without being able to win a title. There were other mostly unsuccessful years. 1988 Nanne resigned as general manager, but remained working for the North Stars until 1991. Furthermore, it was 1981, 1984 and 1987, the Canada Cup and in the 2004 World Cup, the manager of the U.S. team. As a hockey official, he was active in various committees.
Nanne is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and IIHF Hall of Fame. In 1989 he received the Lester Patrick Trophy.