Today in history: July 8

Five birthdays

Len Ronson: Winger who played for the Chiefs in the 1956-57 season before being dealt to the Huntington Hornets at midseason. It was the first year in US minor pro hockey in what would become a long, high-scoring career. He would make a name with the cross-state Fort Wayne Komets, with whom he had a 62-goal season in 1959-60. The next year, Ronson made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers, scoring two goals. He would return to the NHL in 1968-69, playing five scoreless games for the Oakland Seals. He played the latter part of his career with WHL San Diego, with whom he played from 1966-73. He had 12 20+-goal seasons and three seasons with at least 45 goals. A native of Brantford, Ontario, he is 75. 

Karl Dykhuis: The Blackhawks' first-round pick (16th overall) in 1990, Dykhuis played 184 games for the Ice from 1992-95. The big -- 6-3, 214-pound -- defenseman had 14 goals and 64 assists as an Iceman, and also amassed 271 PIMs. In 1995, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he would become an NHL mainstay through 2003-04. He went to Europe during the lockout year of 2004-05 and played two more seasons. All told, Dykhus played 644 NHL games between 1992-2004 for Chicago, Philadelphia (in 2 stints), Tampa Bay and Montreal. He played in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals for the Flyers and the 1991 Canadian World Junior Champion team. A native of Sept-Isle, Quebec, he is 39. 

Glen Featherstone: Ice defenseman in 1997-98, tallying 10 goals, 28 assists and 187 PIMs in 73 games. He set professional career highs in all three scoring categories that season. Featherstone had been an NHL veteran. A 6-4 215-pound defenseman, Featherstone was drafted in the fourth round by the Blues in 1986 and matriculated to the team in 1988-89. He played 384 NHL games with the Blues, Bruins, Rangers, Whalers and Flames between then and 1997. After his year with the Ice, he played three more years with the Chicago Wolves before retiring in 2001. He helped the Wolves win the 2000 Turner Cup. A native of Toronto, he is 43. 

Adam Cardwell: Ice center in their inaugural USHL season of 2004-05. He played 27 games in Indianapolis, tallying a goal and four assists. He'd play the next three years with Wichita Falls of the Tier II NAHL, and parlay that into a career with Alaska-Fairbanks. He played 37 games with the Nanooks between 2008-10. A native of Long Beach, Calif., he is 24. 

Mike Cichy: High-scoring center who was dealt to the Ice partway through the 2008-09 season. He had a 24-23-47 line in just 30 games with the Ice, and then had six goals and a USHL-record 19 assists in 13 playoff games, helping lead the Ice to the USHL Clark Cup title. He was a USHL First-Team All-Star and the league's Playoff MVP that season. Combined with his games at Tri-City that year, he had 34 goals and 32 assists. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Montreal Canadiens that summer. Cichy will be starting his junior year at the University of North Dakota this fall, playing for ex-Indianapolis Ice player Dave Hakstol. A native of New Hartford, Conn., he his 21.