Rochester native Brian Gionta was inducted as part of the 2019 USA Hockey Hall of Fame class Thursday in Washington, D.C.

The former Buffalo Sabres captain played in more than 1,000 NHL games spanning 16 seasons, highlighted by winning a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

Gionta also won an NCAA championship with Boston College and represented the United States in the 2006 and 2018 Olympics. The Aquinas grad is grateful for his latest honor in the sport.

“You dream of playing in the NHL, you dream of playing in the Olympics. I don't think you dream of getting into hall of fames and such,” Gionta said. “It's just a culmination of hard work and people giving you your chance, and so I'm very fortunate to have had many people that believed in me along the way and have given me that chance.”

The four other inductees joining Gionta Thursday include NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Tim Thomas, Neal Henderson and Krissy Wendell.