HR0698 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0698 LRB104 21005 RMO 34889 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Wendell Edward Young was born on August 1, 1963 in Halifax, Nova Scotia; as a young Haligonian, he was naturally thrown into the world of Halifax hockey, where excellence is nurtured, and began playing defense at five years of age; and

WHEREAS, In his second year of play at age six, the team faced a crisis when a snowstorm blocked their usual goalie from making a playoff game; the coach needed to find a substitute on short notice and asked for a volunteer to step forward; Wendell Young was the only boy on the team who did not volunteer, but the coach, knowing that Wendell's older brother was a goalie, drafted him anyway to guard the net; and

WHEREAS, As a scratch goalie, Wendell Young decided to switch roles and was able to start exercising his growing skill set at age seven; he admired Gilles Meloche of the Chicago Blackhawks and also followed the careers of the Bruins' Gerry Cheevers and Eddie Johnston; and

WHEREAS, In the Nova Scotia U18 Major Hockey League, known at the time as the Major Midget Hockey League, and then the Ontario Hockey League, Wendell Young was a hard worker who was always willing to play goalie for any position player needing practice time; and

WHEREAS, Wendell Young was called up to the National Hockey League (NHL) to play as a goalie in the 1985-1986 season, continuing in that league with several teams through the 1993-1994 season; and

WHEREAS, Wendell Young was with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a goalie for their 1990-1991 and 1991-1992 seasons, helping the team with their winning, back-to-back Stanley Cup efforts; and

WHEREAS, Wendell Young was one of the final players able to enjoy the past tradition of players on the winning team rotating possession of the Stanley Cup trophy; he brought the Cup to his childhood home, which was still his mother and father's house, where it was placed on the back porch for pictures; and

WHEREAS, Continuing what would become an 18-season playing career in professional hockey, Wendell Young played for the Chicago Wolves from the 1994-1995 season through the 2000-2001 season, finding himself amongst dedicated Illinois hockey fans at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont; and

WHEREAS, As a Chicago-based player in the International Hockey League (IHL), Wendell Young found his teammates were also friends who enjoyed experiencing the flow of the game together; and

WHEREAS, During his time playing with the Chicago Wolves, the team won four division titles, three conference titles, one regular-season title, and two Turner Cups; in the 2000-2001 season, Wendell Young was honored as the IHL Man of the Year; and

WHEREAS, When the Chicago Wolves joined the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2001-2002 season, the club chose Wendell Young's number 1 jersey as the first retired number in franchise history; in the number retirement ceremony held December 1, 2001, the jersey was raised to the rafters of the Allstate Arena, where it remains almost a quarter century later; and

WHEREAS, This jersey number retirement reflects Wendell Young's Chicago Wolves record of 322 games, 169 wins with 16 shutouts, 8,467 saves, and 17,912 minutes between the pipes; and

WHEREAS, After hanging up his skates, Wendell Young turned first to goaltender coaching, then team coaching, and then to sports management, returning to the Chicago Wolves and becoming their assistant coach and then their general manager; as the Wolves' general manager from 2009 until the end of the 2024 season, he organizationally led the Calder Cup Finals seasons of 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, with his Chicago Wolves winning the Cup in 2022; and

WHEREAS, On May 3, 2024, the Chicago Wolves named Wendell Young as their Vice Chairman/Governor; and

WHEREAS, Wendell Young is the only individual in hockey history to have won the Memorial Cup, the Calder Cup, the Stanley Cup, and the Turner Cup, representing four facets of an all-time career in the most beautiful game played on ice; and

WHEREAS, Wendell Young was inducted into the Class of 2026 of the AHL Hall of Fame, along with Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, and Jim Wiemer, in a ceremony held in Rockford on February 11, 2026; and

WHEREAS, Athletic feats, whether blazing and unforgettable or durable and team-consistent, bring all of us together to see things that will not fade; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Wendell Edward Young on his exceptional career as a player, coach, manager, and executive; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to Wendell Young, Vice Chairman/Governor of the Chicago Wolves.