A member of the famous Kennedy hockey family of Charlottetown will be inducted into the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Jamie Kennedy will join his brother Forbie Kennedy in the Hall of Fame during the annual induction dinner at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino in Charlottetown.
Kennedy will be inducted alongside Myron Weeks (volleyball, builder); George Morrison (basketball, builder); Sandy Frizzell (hockey, builder), and Cathy Dillon (athlete, curling).
Having enjoyed an outstanding professional hockey career, Kennedy accumulated a total 630 points, including 321 goals, in 588 professional games. He has also made a name for himself both as a coach and an official. Many consider him to be one of the finest referees to come from this region.
A feisty right-winger or centre, Kennedy was a standout junior in Sherbrooke, where he played under Scotty Bowman, and Halifax, before playing a season of senior hockey with Sandy’s Royals.
In 1967, he attended the expansion Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp, a successful venture in which he was assigned to the New Jersey Devils of the Eastern Hockey League, where he became an immediate fan favourite.
In each of his four seasons in New Jersey, Kennedy potted 40-plus goals, and was drafted by the New York Raiders of the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972.
It was a difficult existence for both Kennedy and the team who were competing with the New York Rangers for attention, and the team was sold after just one season.
With the demise of the EHL in 1973, Kennedy found himself with the Syracuse Blazers of the newly-formed North American Hockey League, a rough-and-tumble association on which the movie Slap Shot was based. The rough play didn’t bother Kennedy, helping the team win the Lockhart Cup and registering 90 regular-season points in the process.
From there, he joined the Winston-Salem Polar Twins in the Southern Hockey League, enjoying two more productive pro seasons before returning back to P.E.I., where he helped the Charlottetown Islanders win a Hardy Cup in 1981 and an Allan Cup in 1991.
Kennedy’s outstanding hockey knowledge saw him in demand as a coach, where he has put together a fine resumé with numerous titles and championships across the region, including another Hardy Cup victory, this time from behind the bench, in 1984.
As an official, he commanded the utmost respect, working hundreds of games at the highest levels in the region. He is one of the most successful and sought-after referees throughout the Maritimes. Many argue today that Kennedy would have easily been good enough to referee at the very top levels of the game.
A few remaining tickets for the inductions are available by calling Nick at 368-4547.
