McQuaid's Marty Reasoner was one of top NHL prospects ever to come from Rochester area
Hockey player Marty Reasoner made his mark wherever he played.
The Honeoye Falls native was McQuaid's top scorers in each of his two seasons skating for the Knights, and it was clear the playmaking center was destined for bigger things.
At Boston College, Reasoner was named Hockey East's Rookie of the Year as a freshman and was an All-American during his junior season. He skated with fellow Rochesterian Brian Gionta on a line that propelled the Eagles to the national championship game in 1998.
Considered one of the top American prospects, Reasoner was a first-round draft pick by the St Louis Blues in 1996, the 14th pick overall. He was just the second local player to be drafted in the NHL's first round (after Jason Bonsignore in 1994).
Reasoner made his debut with the Blues in 1998, scoring 17 goals in three seasons while shuttling back and forth between St Louis and the Blues' farm team in Worcester.
His big break came after a 2001 trade that sent him to the Edmonton Oilers. He tallied 121 points in 351 games for the Oilers. But a serious knee injury in 2003 and the NHL lockout in 2004-05 cost him almost two full seasons in his prime.
The closest Reasoner came to winning the Stanley Cup was in 2001, when his Dallas Stars made it the Western Conference semifinals only to be swept by the St. Louis Blues, 4-0
Reasoner spent 14 seasons in the NHL, also playing for the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, and New York Islanders. He finished with 97 goals and 169 assists (266 points) in 798 games.
He retired from the Islanders after the 2013 season.
Sean Lahman is a former investigative reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle and served as an editor of a number of best-selling sports encyclopedias — including Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball and The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.
This story was published in October 2014 as part of the RocJocks series.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Marty Reasoner Honeoye Falls played 14 seasons with Oilers, Islanders
