After decades as a standout hockey defenseman and accomplished assistant coach, as well as more than 20 years as the owner of his own business, Bob Nardella has concluded that the surest path to success is as a team player. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a janitor or a VIP executive — you have to work together to be successful,” says the 53-year-old, who was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in December.

Nardella spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, the sport’s highest-level minor league, and played for Italy’s national hockey team in three world championships and two Olympic Games. He ranks second on the Wolves’ all-time regular-season list in games (476), fifth in assists (239) and sixth in points (298). He was a key player when the team seized the 1998 and 2000 Turner Cups — when it was part of the now-defunct International Hockey League — as well as the 2002 Calder Cup.