If collegians could have been included in our list of greatest Capital Region hockey players, we would have an embarrassment of riches with the likes of former RPI stars Adam Oates and Joe Juneau and Union defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, whose plus-7 rating in the 2014 NCAA championship game is one of the most underappreciated feats in sports.
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The parameters of our “Mount Rushmore” sports series state that we’re evaluating only those who were born and/or raised in the Capital Region, and there is a pretty good talent pool to choose from.
Our research shows 10 area natives have played in the NHL, and dozens of other experienced careers of varying lengths at the professional level. The final four consists of a goaltender, two defensemen and a forward, all one-time NHLers, two of whom played professionally in Albany (listed alphabetically):
Craig Darby
Born in Oneida, raised in Colonie and later a resident of Saratoga Springs, Darby has seen the hockey world inside and outside the Capital Region.
Goaltender Guy Hebert of the United States Olympic Hockey Team poses for a photograph at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, Canada. (Rick Stewart /Allsport)
Rick Stewart/Getty Images
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 07: Former Anaheim Mighty Ducks NHL player Guy Hebert throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the MLB game between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 7, 2015 in Anaheim, California. Hebert, a Troy native, now works on the Ducks broadcast team. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
Darby, an Albany Academy graduate who played two years at Providence College before turning pro, wound up with 192 career NHL games, scoring 21 goals and 35 assists with the Canadiens, Islanders, Flyers, and Devils in a 15-year pro career. He also played in the 2001 World Hockey Championships.
He spent parts of nine seasons in the NHL and played 703 career AHL games (218 goals, 402 assists), including 2002-03 and 2003-04 with the Albany River Rats. Darby, a center, was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game five times and was first-team all-AHL in 1997-98 for the Philadelphia Phantoms.
A second-round pick (43rd overall) by the Canadiens in the 1991 NHL draft, Darby, now 47, spent final North American season came in 2005-06 with the AHL's Manitoba Moose but played two more years overseas in Germany and Austria.
Guy Hebert
No Capital Region native had a longer NHL career than Hebert, a Troy-born goaltender who played 491 games over 10 seasons with the Blues, Mighty Ducks and Rangers.
It was in Anaheim, where he was the first goalie for the expansion Mighty Ducks, that Hebert made his mark, playing there for 7½ seasons. He holds 24 franchise records, including career starts (424), career saves (11,813) and longest unbeaten streak (7-0-5, in 1997). He was an NHL all-star in 1997.
A graduate of Hamilton College, Hebert won the 1990-91 James Norris Award for best goals-against average in the IHL for the Peoria Rivermen, who enshrined him into their Hall of Fame in 1999. His NHL career numbers: 191-222-56, 2.81 goals-against average, .909 save percentage.
He was on the 1998 U.S. Olympic team and also represented the country at the 1994 World Championships and in the 1996 World Cup.
Hebert, 53, is now a TV analyst for the Ducks on Fox Sports West.
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Brian Lashoff
The younger brother of Matt Lashoff, a 2005 first-round draft pick (No. 22 overall), of the Bruins, Brian latched on 11 years ago with the Red Wings organization as a free agent and remains active to this day.
Lashoff, a 29-year-old defenseman from East Greenbush, has played 136 career NHL games (his brother, whose last NHL game came in 2012, got into 70) and has career totals of two goals and 13 assists.
He has split time between the NHL and AHL for seven of the past eight seasons, having spent the entire 2013-14 campaign in Detroit. Lashoff played 75 games that season, getting a goal and five assists.
The bulk of Lashoff’s career has been spent with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, with whom he has played 500 games and has 25 goals with 81 assists. He has logged 75 playoff games with the Griffins, who won the 2013 and 2017 Calder Cups with Lashoff. He also played for the U.S. in the 2010 World Junior Championships.
Jay Leach
Although he was born in Syracuse, Leach moved with his family to Altamont at age 2. He played for Albany Academy, the Capital District Selects and Providence College before embarking on a 12-year pro career.
A stay-at-home defenseman, Leach offered his teams more than just the one goal and two assists he had in 70 games with the Bruins, Lightning, Devils, Canadiens and Sharks over parts of six seasons. He was captain as a senior at Providence and a two-year captain for the AHL Albany Devils, with whom he ended his playing career after the 2013-14 season.
He always had the backs of his teammates, as his 479 penalty minutes in 402 career AHL games would attest.
Leach, 40, is in his fourth season on the coaching staff of the AHL Providence Bruins, the past three as head coach (121-71-22, .617).
Also considered: Rich Brennan, Marc Cavosie, Peter Ciavaglia, Christian Hanson, Matt Lashoff, Peter MacArthur, Matt Murley, Nick Petrecki, Dave Reece, Jeff Taylor.
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Coming Tuesday: The best of Capital Region boxing.
pdougherty@timesunion.com ■ 518-454-5416 ■ @Pete_Dougherty
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