By Ben Lypka, Abbotsford News
An Abbotsford product has been ranked as one of the top 125 players in the history of the Western Hockey League.
Brad Moran, who starred for five years on the Calgary Hitmen, was named to the list released on Tuesday as part of the WHL’s 50th season celebration.
Moran joined the Hitmen in 1995 and remained on the team until 2000. He recorded three consecutive years of 100 points, and had his number 20 retired by the team. He still holds the Calgary franchise records for games played, assists in a season, all-time assists, all-time goals and all-time points.
During his time in the WHL, Moran was a two-time all-star and won awards for regular season most valuable player, top scorer and playoffs most vaulable player.
He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1998 draft by the Buffalo Sabres and played in the AHL until he was picked up by the Columbus Blue Jackets and played three games for the team in the 2001-02 season. After bouncing back and forth between the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and the Jackets, he then spent two seasons in the Swiss league before spending two seasons in the Vancouver Canucks farm system.
He compiled three points in eight total NHL games and had 462 points in 556 AHL games. He also holds the Crunch career records in games played, points, assists, powerplay goals and shorthanded goals.
More recently, Moran has played in the Swedish Elite League and leagues in Finland and Austria.
Earlier this summer, he signed a two-year deal with a club in England where it’s expected he will close out his career.
To view the full list of players, visit whl.ca/article/whl-announces-top-125-players.