West Haven’s Barzee gets Patrick award for service

West Haven’s Jack Barzee has been named the 2021 recipient of the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, the NHL announced Tuesday.

The longtime hockey player, coach and scout will receive the honor at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in December, date and site to be announced.

“Through six decades of service to our game, Jack Barzee played just about every conceivable role — from player to coach to general manager to scout to administrator,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in the announcement. “Every step of the way, he tirelessly advocated for hockey in the United States and focused relentlessly on promoting the talent and skill of American players.

Barzee, a former West Haven High player, played in the USHL when it was a semi-pro league in the 1960s and early 1970s, then coached in the league in the late 1970s, staying in the league as a coach and team owner as it became the premier junior league in the country.

He had a 27-year career in scouting, 23 of them with the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, before retiring in 2012.

“Throughout, he was and remains one of the most engaging personalities and great conversationalists in the sport,” Bettman said.