Six New Inductees For Sports Hall Of Fame

An NHL hockey player, the province’s first fencing champion, and long-time on-court basketball official.

They are among six people being inducted into the Greater Saint John Sports Hall of Fame this year.

Officials with the hall of fame committee announced the latest inductees in a news release Wednesday.

“Our region is fortunate to have had such high-calibre people representing us on the national and international sporting stages,” said Aaron Kennedy, chair of the Greater Saint John Sports Hall of Fame Committee.

The late Bruce Melanson is the highest-drafted Saint Johner in NHL history. He was selected 41st overall by the four-time Stanley Cup-champion New York Islanders in 1984.

Rick Gosselin, New Brunswick’s first fencing champion in 1970, represented the province twice at the Canada Winter Games. As a coach, he also guided the provincial fencing team at four Canada Winter Games.

Cynthia Johnston competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as a member of the Canadian Women’s Basketball team. She was recognized by U SPORTS as one of the country’s top 100 women basketball players of the century.

Malcolm (Seward) Neilsen serves as an on-court basketball official for more than five decades. Behind the scenes, he nearly single-handedly reorganized the structure and function of the New Brunswick Association of Approved Basketball Officials.

Charlie Sullivan Jr. was a member of the 1988 World Junior Curling Champions. He was part of Team New Brunswick that finished second at the 1990 Brier, the province’s best finish in the national men’s championship.

Kevin Watson excelled in the ring as a competitor, but his true calling was as a boxing coach and administrator. He was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the World Championships in 1995.

This year’s induction ceremony will take place Nov. 6 with ticket information expected to be released soon.

The Greater Saint John Sports Hall of Fame is located in the lobby of TD Station.