THE HOCKEY NEWS HALL OF FAME

After searching for six years, James Benesh had nearly given up hope. The 35-year-old from Regina, Sask., was looking for a complete collection of The Hockey News, from the first issue on Oct. 1, 1947 to 1995, when he became a subscriber at 14. An answer finally appeared: a man who’d subscribed since Issue 1 had every edition up until 1998 and was willing to sell. Amazingly, he lived steps away. “For years I thought, ‘I’m going to have to go to the U.S. or find some person across the country,’ Benesh said. “But no, I could walk to his house he was so close.”

Benesh’s drive to complete his collection wasn’t without purpose. He is a Society for International Hockey Research member, as well as a contributor to HFboards.com and their All-Time Draft. “It’s kind of like a competitive research project, where you want to build the best all-time team,” he said. “You want to have access to as much research material as possible to get an edge on your competitors.”

With more than 2,500 issues at his fingertips, he now has a leg up.