For many years Thunder Bay has been noted for the number of individuals who have graduated to the National Hockey League from our minor hockey programs. The one player who has topped all NHL records of Thunder Bay graduates is Alex Delvecchio, who went on to enjoy an outstanding 24 seasons in the NHL. Amazingly, all of those seasons were spent with one team: the Detroit Red Wings.

A stand-out in local hockey ranks with the Fort William Hurricane Rangers, he advanced to the Oshawa Generals in 1950-51 where he led his team in points, was a first all-star team selection and was called up for one NHL game with the Wings. After playing only six games in the AHL with the Wings Indianapolis affiliate, he  was called up and joined their line-up full-time in 1951-52.  For 12 years he captained the Wings and was a member of three Stanley Cup teams. He is remembered as one of the members of the second version of the 'Production Line' replacing Sid Abel to centre Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.

Delvecchio's outstanding hockey skills earned him many awards, including being a three-time Lady Byng recipient in 1959, 1966 and 1969 and, in 1973-74, he was awarded the prestigious Lester Patrick Award for his outstanding service to hockey in the United States. He was also named to the NHL All-Star team a total of 13 times . 

His overall NHL statistics included an impressive 456 goals, 825 assists, 1,281 points in 1,549 games; 35 goals, 69 assists and 104 points in 121 playoff games. Delvecchio became only the 5th man in the history of the NHL to score 400 goals. For 11 seasons he  rated in the top 10 leading scorers category for the regular season.

Following his retirement from active play in the NHL, Alex went on to coach the Detroit Red Wings for 4 seasons. In recognition of his contribution to Detroit’s hockey history, a statue of his likeness greets Red Wings fans as they enter their arena, and his retired #10 Red Wings jersey hangs in the rafters. He has also been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to hockey.

Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 25th, 1982