The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hall of Fame was established to salute those players and builders who have made significant contributions to the team and the community, either on the ice or off.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted during the 2013-14 season, and consisted of former players Dennis Bonvie and Alan Nasreddine, as well as former State Representative Kevin Blaum in the builder category.
Former Penguins defenseman John Slaney joined the Hall of Fame during the 2015-16 campaign, while Tom Kostopoulos, Tom Grace and Steve Barrouk were enshrined in 2022.
PLAYERS
Dennis Bonvie
Arguably the most popular player in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins history, Dennis Bonvie was a member of the Penguins’ inaugural team during the 1999-00 season. The rugged forward ultimately donned the Penguins sweater for parts of five seasons, and he made two Calder Cup Final appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
During his time with the Penguins, Bonvie recorded 16 goals and 68 assists for 84 points to go with 1,284 penalty minutes in 285 regular season games.
Bonvie had a successful 15-year career in pro hockey, including 92 NHL games, where he skated with the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche.
Bonvie still holds the AHL’s all-time record for penalty minutes with 4,493. Combined with his NHL totals, his mark of 4,804 penalty minutes is the highest ever in professional hockey.
Bonvie was named to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 2013-14.
Alain Nasreddine
Alain Nasreddine spent five seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Penguins and wore the “C” as captain from 2004-2006.
Nasreddine recorded 55 points and 302 penalty minutes in 249 regular season games, but was always regarded by his peers as a fierce, shutdown defenseman. He ranks second in Penguins history in playoff games played with a mark of 57 and was a member of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Calder Cup Final teams in 2004 and 2008.
Nasreddine played 74 regular season games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Montréal Canadians, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
After retiring in 2010, Nasreddine served as an assistant coach for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2010-2015.
Nasreddine was named to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 2013-14.
John Slaney
A member of the inaugural Penguins’ team in 1990-00, John Slaney played parts of two seasons with the Penguins, totaling 110 points in 89 games. He led the team during the 1999-00 season with 30 goals and 60 points in just 49 games and was the first defenseman in AHL history to record 30 goals in a season. Slaney was selected to represent the Penguins in the AHL All-Star Classic that season.
Slaney was named captain for his second season with the Penguins and racked up 50 points (12G-38A) in 40 games. Once again he was selected to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic, which was being held in Wilkes-Barre. Despite being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers the day before the game, Slaney took to the ice in NEPA wearing a Penguins sweater one final time.
Slaney recorded a combined 166 goals, 353 assists and 519 points in 631 games between five different AHL teams. Slaney also skated in 268 NHL games as part of the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.
Slaney was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hall of Fame in 2016.
Tom Kostopoulos
Kostopoulos played 11 seasons with Wilkes-BarreScranton, and is the team’s all-time leader in every major category, including games played (658), goals (186), assists (283), points (469), playoff games (94), playoff goals (23), playoff assists (44) and playoff points (67).
A member of the Penguins’ inaugural squad in 1999-00, Kostopoulos served as team captain during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. He joined the Manchester Monarchs for the 2004-05 season, before spending the next seven seasons exclusively in the NHL.
He rejoined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton briefly in the 2012-13 season, before being claimed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils.
He spent the final five seasons of his playing career back where it started in NEPA, service as team captain once again from 2013 until his retirement in 2018.
One of only four players to have appeared in 600 games in both the NHL and AHL, Kostopoulos currently serves as the Pittsburgh Penguins director of player development.
BUILDERS
Kevin Blaum
Blaum championed the construction of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Convention Center, securing funding from Gov. Robert Casey for the project in 1994. He oversaw construction and management of the facility as chairman of the Arena Authority, and played a major role in acquiring an AHL franchise for Northeast Pennsylvania.
A native of Wilkes-Barre, Blaum was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1980, and served 13 terms in the General Assembly before retiring in 2006. He joined the admission office of Wyoming Seminary that same year.
Steve Barrouk
Barrouk served as President & CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business & Industry for two decades. During this time he played in integral role in the development of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center, known today as the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, and served as chairman of the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority board.
He has served on the boards of the Wyoming Valley United Way, Catholic Social Services, the Children’s Service Center, Leadership Wilkes-Barre, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, and the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board.
Barrouk is renowned for his commitment to the people and businesses of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He has been honored with the Distinguished Citizens Award presented by the Boy Scouts of America and the Distinguished Leader Award presented by Leadership Wilkes-Barre among many other awards.
FRONT OFFICE
Tom Grace
Grace was the ‘Voice of the Penguins’ and an important face in the community from 1999-00 through the 2006-07 season, and rejoined to the organization as the team’s broadcaster from 2010 through 2013.
Known for his unique goal calls and off the cuff sayings, Grace was behind the mic for the team’s trips to the Calder Cup Finals in 2001 and 2004.
He also served as host of the weekly ‘Penguins Report Radio Show’, and made hundreds of appearances at schools, social functions and official events for the club.
Grace called more than 1,000 games during his time with the Penguins, and was the recipient of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award (given to the individual or news outlet for outstanding coverage of a team) on three occasions (1999-00 for TV coverage with WBRE-TV 28; 2000-01 for TV coverage with Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh; as an individual for radio coverage in 2001-02).
Prior to joining the Penguins, the native of Belmont, MA spent three seasons with the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL. He also spent four years calling games for the Boston College Eagles during his time in college.
Grace was also ‘called up’ to the NHL twice to broadcast games for the Nashville Predators.
