BOSTON -- The template for generating interest in hockey at the grassroots level that Emile Francis created more than five decades ago remains the foundation for every NHL team today.
"Here's a Canadian [from North Battleford, Saskatchewan] who comes to New York City in 1964 and he's concerned about helping the local kids," U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and close friend Lou Vairo told NHL.com. "What Emile Francis did is an unbelievable achievement that people all over hockey, and that includes America and elsewhere, should respect. What he helped do for hockey at the grassroots level, in my opinion, was worth more than 20 Stanley Cup titles.