Eddie Mio, a goaltender, played 10 seasons of professional hockey, including 6 in the National Hockey League with Edmonton, New York, and Detroit. He was Wayne Gretzky’s best man at his wedding to Janet Jones.

Mio was born in Windsor on January 31, 1954.

He attended Assumption High School, where his goaltending led the Purple Raiders hockey team to three consecutive WSSA hockey titles between 1969 and ’71. He was a two-time First-Team All City selection at the secondary school level.

After graduation, Mio enjoyed a successful NCAA career at Colorado College in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, where he played from 1972 to ’76. He made his league’s Second All-Star team in ’74-75 and its First All-Star team in ’75-76. He was named an NCAA West First-Team All-American in both seasons.

Although he was selected in the 1974 NHL and WHA drafts by the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Blazers respectively, Mio declined to play for either team. Instead, he opted to embark on a journey through minor league professional hockey in 1976. Over the course of three seasons, he played for the Tidewater Sharks in the SHL, the Erie Blades in the NAHL, the Hampton Gulls in the AHL, the Indianapolis Racers in the WHA, and the Dallas Black Hawks in the CHL. He reached the Edmonton Oilers, then playing in the WHA, via a trade from Indianapolis in ’78-79, and stuck with the organization as it joined the NHL the following season. In Indianapolis and Edmonton, Mio played alongside Wayne Gretzky, his lifelong friend.

Mio remained with the Oilers for the ’79-80 and ’80-81 seasons, playing 77 NHL games for the team in total. The following season, he dropped down to the CHL for 11 regular season and 8 playoff games with the Wichita Wind. He split his time that year with the NHL’s New York Rangers, where he would spend the entire ’82-83 season.

Between 1983-84 and ’85-86, Mio was a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization. He split his time between the NHL club and its Adirondack AHL affiliate before calling it a career.

Outside of hockey, Mio was a member of the 1966 Windsor Central Canadian Little League Major Baseball Champions. He went on to play Class “E” Baseball as a catcher and first baseman in Detroit’s Billy Rogell League, where he won a championship.

At the time of his induction, Mio was Director of Player Development for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes.