Jeff Serowik
Induction Year: 2009
Birthday: January 10, 1967
City/Town: Manchester, NH
The Dream is always alive, out there in the minds of talented youth hockey players everywhere. All of them, one day, want to suit up with a National Hockey League team, take a regular shift and score goals-lots of goals.
What set Jeff Serowik apart from his young teammates, though, is that he made his dream come true, eventually suiting up with three NHL teams in the cities of Toronto, Boston and Pittsburgh.
It took time and a lot of hard work. His youth hockey years-12 to be exact-were spent in Manchester with the acclaimed Flames organization. He was a defenseman and one of the teams he played on was a Junior National Champion.
As a high school freshman and sophomore, he played at Manchester West and then in the fall of 1983, he left in favor of attending Lawrence Academy for his final two years.
In his senior year there, he was hockey captain. Also he earned All Independent School League (ISL) honors in hockey and baseball in his junior and senior years.
In June of 1985, following his junior year, he was drafted in the 5th round-an 85th selection overall-by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Dream was taking shape.
Jeff elected, though, to enroll at Providence College where he played four years. In 1990, his senior season, he was named an All-Hockey East defenseman. By the time it was over, he had played 136 collegiate games and scored 65 career points.
He graduated from Providence in 1990 with a degree in finance and then signed on with the Maple Leafs, ultimately playing 10 years of professional hockey, first with teams in the International Hockey League and American Hockey League, then in the NHL.
In 1994, while in the AHL, he won the Eddie Shore Award for Best Defenseman and still holds the AHL record for most goals in a season by a defenseman with 28.
His playing career ended prematurely during the 1998-99 season while with the Penguins. He sustained a head injury during a regular shift and later retired.
Today, Jeff is owner of Pro Ambitions Hockey, Inc.-the official camp of Hockey East and the largest hockey camp in North America, annually hosting more than 4000 players.
Jeff and his wife Christine also operate Sports Saves Souls, a charity for former hockey players who have fallen on hard times.
They reside in Dover, MA with their children Alexa, Pia and Jeff.