About Al Iafrate
Albert Anthony Iafrate ( EYE-ə-FRAY-tee; born March 21, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League between 1984 and 1998. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and grew up in Livonia, Michigan. Iafrate had one of the hardest slapshots in hockey history. He set a record for velocity during the NHL Skills Competition of 1993, a record which stood for 16 years, at 105.2 miles per hour (169.3 km/h). The record was broken in 2009 by Zdeno Chára of the Boston Bruins with a slapshot at 105.4 mph in Montreal. Internationally, Iafrate has represented the United States at the 1984 Winter Olympics and 1998 IIHF World Championship. == Playing career == === Amateur === As a youth, Iafrate played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Detroit. Iafrate was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1984 NHL entry draft after a standout career with the Windsor Compuware Spitfires and a short but distinguished stay with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Iafrate played for Team USA in the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. During the summer of 1984 Iafrate was driving a car with teammate Mike Vellucci when it crashed and flipped multiple times.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.