Neal Broten

Neal Broten
Born	(1959-11-29) November 29, 1959 Roseau, MN, USA
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Center
Shot	Left
Played for	Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars New Jersey Devils Los Angeles Kings
National team	United States
NHL Draft	42nd overall, 1979 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1980–1997

Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played on the gold medal-winning "Miracle on Ice" hockey team in 1980, and in 1,099 NHL regular season games from 1981 – 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings. His younger brothers Aaron and Paul Broten are also former NHL players.

College career

Broten is the only player to have played on teams that won the NCAA hockey championship (University of Minnesota in 1979), the Olympic Gold Medal (Team USA, 1980), and the Stanley Cup (New Jersey Devils, 1995). He made a total of three appearances in the Minnesota state tournament. His 1978 individual high school record of four assists in one period still stands today.

As a college freshman, he played hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers under coach Herb Brooks winning both a national championship in 1979 and the inaugural Hobey Baker award in 1981.

NHL/International career

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for the United States
Gold	1980 Lake Placid	Team

Broten was member of the United States Olympic team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in an event known as the Miracle on Ice. He was also a member of Team USA at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1984 Canada Cup tournaments as well as the 1990 Ice Hockey World Championship.

He 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 Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, where he scored the game-winning goal in Game Four against the Detroit Red Wings which clinched the title. Of note, his 1980 Soviet counterpart Viacheslav Fetisov was on the ice for the Red Wings when Broten scored.

Broten served as the captain of the Dallas Stars for 2 months during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. He had previously served as an alternate captain on a number of occasions.

During the 1982–83 NHL season, Broten participated in a rare fight against Wayne Gretzky. 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 [1] [2].

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 former U.S. Olympic teammate Dave Silk's roster spot (Silk 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 moved to River Falls, Wisconsin and managed the Sally Broten Horse Company with his wife after retirement. The company raises and trains reining horses.

In popular culture

Broten is not featured in a 1981 TV movie about the 1980 U.S. hockey team called Miracle on Ice except in archival footage of the gold medal ceremony.

In the 2004 Disney movie Miracle, he is portrayed by Trevor Alto. Alto played college hockey for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

In the 2008 documentary, Pond Hockey, he reflects on his youth growing up playing hockey in his hometown of Roseau, MN.

Awards and achievements

On February 7, 1998, Broten's #7 jersey was retired by the Dallas Stars; Broten played 992 of his 1,099 NHL games with Dallas/Minnesota. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

• WCHA First All-Star Team (1981)
• NCAA West First All-American Team (1981)
• Hobey Baker Memorial Award (Top U.S. Collegiate Player) (1981). He was the first recipient of the award.
• Lester Patrick Trophy (1998)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1983, 1986)
• Was voted by Minnesota Wild fans as the greatest hockey player ever from Minnesota in the Minnesota Hockey Greats contest. The award was announced at the April 10, 2009 Wild game against the Nashville Predators.

Transactions

• Drafted: Minnesota North Stars, 2nd Round (42 overall), 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Pick was obtained by the North Stars in a draft-day trade that sent Dave Semenko from the North Stars to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks.
• Traded to the New Jersey Devils for Corey Millen, 2/27/95
• Traded from New Jersey Devils to Los Angeles Kings for future considerations, 11/22/96
• Claimed on waivers by Dallas from Los Angeles, 1/28/97

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978–79	U. of Minnesota	WCHA		40	21	50	71	18		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	United States	Nat-Tm		55	25	30	55	20		—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	U. of Minnesota	WCHA		36	17	54	71	56		—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		3	2	0	2	12		19	1	7	8	9
1981–82	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		73	38	60	98	42		4	0	2	2	0
1982–83	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		79	32	45	77	43		9	1	6	7	10
1983–84	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		76	28	61	89	43		16	5	5	10	4
1984–85	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		80	19	37	56	39		9	2	5	7	10
1985–86	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		80	29	76	105	47		5	3	2	5	2
1986–87	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		46	18	35	53	33		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		54	9	30	39	32		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		68	18	38	56	57		5	2	2	4	4
1989–90	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		80	23	62	85	45		7	2	2	4	18
1990–91	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		79	13	56	69	26		23	9	13	22	6
1991–92	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		76	8	26	34	16		7	1	5	6	2
1992–93	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		82	12	21	33	22		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Dallas Stars	NHL		79	17	35	52	62		9	2	1	3	6
1994–95	Dallas Stars	NHL		17	0	4	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	New Jersey Devils	NHL		30	8	20	28	20		20	7	12	19	6
1995–96	New Jersey Devils	NHL		55	7	16	23	14		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	New Jersey Devils	NHL		3	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		19	0	4	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Dallas Stars	NHL		20	8	7	15	12		2	0	1	1	0
NHL totals				1099	289	634	923	569		135	35	63	98	77

See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

External links

• Neal Broten's profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Neal Broten's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Neal Broten's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Picture of Neal Broten's Name on the 1995 Stanley Cup Plaque

Preceded by Mark Tinordi	Dallas Stars captain January–February 1995	Succeeded by Derian Hatcher
Awards and achievements
Preceded by None	Winner of the Hobey Baker Award 1980–81	Succeeded by George McPhee

Note: Broten was named captain in January 1995, after Tinordi was traded to the Washington Capitals. Broten was traded a month later to the New Jersey Devils (there was no rotating captaincy).