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William D. Nyrop

BIRTHPLACE: Washington D.C.

BORN: July 23, 1952

DIED: December 31, 1995

TEAMS/ASSOCIATIONS: University of Notre Dame, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, United States National Team

 

Bio

An outstanding defenseman, Bill Nyrop reached the top in all phases of hockey as a player.  He was an outstanding athlete at Edina (Minn.) High School, where he led his Hornets to a state championship in 1969 over fellow enshrinee Henry Boucha's Warroad Warriors in the title game.  He was also an All-State selection that year as well.  

From there Nyrop enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where he played from 1970-74.  The defenseman tallied 99 points during his tenure for the Fighting Irish and earned All-American honors.  

In 1972 Nyrop was selected as the 66th player in the NHL entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens.  After his illustrious collegiate career, he was assigned to Nova Scotia of the American Hockey League, where he played for two seasons.  In 1976 Nyrop was elevated to the parent team in Montreal, where he played for three consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams and was selected as a 1978 NHL All-Star. 

Nyrop then retired in 1979 to pursue a law degree but was persuaded to play one more NHL season with the Minnesota North Stars in 1981.  Upon playing one more NHL season in Germany, he hung em' up for good, finishing his NHL career with 63 points.

After getting his law degree, Nyrop returned to hockey in 1992 as the general manager of the Knoxville (Tenn.) East Coast Hockey League club.  In addition, he later founded the West Palm Beach (Fla.) team in the Sunshine Hockey League.

Then, tragically, the hockey world was shocked when Bill Nyrop died of cancer at the age of 43.  Always a remarkable physical specimen, he became ill in August of 1995 and passed away four months later on December 31, 1995.  He was truly one of the good guys.