HOCKEY HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2017 INDUCTEES
HOCKEY HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2017 INDUCTEES
BY: The National Hockey League
TORONTO (June 26, 2017) – Lanny McDonald, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame and John Davidson, Chairman of the Selection Committee, announced today that seven individuals have been elected to Hockey Hall of Fame Honoured Membership, five in the Player Category and two in the Builder Category. The vote took place today at the annual meeting of the Selection Committee in Toronto.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these hockey legends as Honoured Members,” said Lanny McDonald. “Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved.”
In the Builder Category:
Clark Drake’s contributions to university hockey in Canada include six national championships in the 28 years he was the head coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The two-time Canadian university hockey coach of the year in 1967-68 also won a national championship as the school’s football coach.
“I am truly humbled to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame,” said Drake. “As a Canadian university hockey coach, this honor is truly special.”
Jeremy Jacobs has been Owner and Governor of the Boston Bruins since he purchased the team in 1975. The Chairman of the NHL Board of Governors since 2007, he won the Lester Patrick Award for service to hockey in the United States in 2015.
“Being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame was the furthest thing from my mind when I purchased the team over 40 years ago,” said Jacobs. “To be honored in the same way as former Flames’ governor Harley Hotchkiss is truly humbling.”
In the Player Category:
Dave Andreychuk played in over 1600 NHL regular season games in his more than 20 years in the NHL. After being drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1982 Entry Draft, Andreychuk played 11 seasons with the Sabres before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he scored 50 goals in the 1993-94 season. By his retirement in 2006, he scored 640 regular season goals, while adding 698 assists.
“When I look back I always think of hockey as a team game and it was never about me.” said Andreychuk.” As a player, it is how we are taught and that makes this individual award even more unique.”
Danielle Goyette’s career includes seven gold medals at the Women’s World Championships, and one silver and two gold medals at the Olympics. At the time of her retirement in 2008, she was the fourth all-time point scorer at the Women’s World Championships with 68 points.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame is where the people I have looked up to all my life are enshrined, “said Goyette. It will be an amazing honor for me to be with them.”
Paul Kariya was the 4th overall selection by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at the 1993 Entry Draft and went on to play nine seasons with the organization. With the Ducks, Kariya recorded over 100 points twice (1996 and 1999) and scored 50 goals in 1995-96. A member of Team Canada at two Olympic Games, Kariya won gold and silver medals.
“I have to thank all of the countless people in my life who helped me get here,” said Kariya. “My parents sacrificed so that I could play the game and I wouldn’t be receiving this honor if it wasn’t for them.”
After a season in the IHL, Mark Recchi joined the Pittsburgh Penguins full-time in 1989 and began the fourth longest regular season NHL career in history, playing in 1,652 games. Recchi won his first Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh in 1991 and went on to add championships in Carolina in 2006 and Boston in 2011 – only the 10th player in NHL history to win Stanley Cups on three different teams.
“I can’t thank the Selection Committee enough for this recognition,” said Recchi. “It’s an incredible feeling and the icing on the cake after 22 years of playing the game.”
Teemu Selanne’s stellar rookie season in 1992-93 came four years after he was drafted 10th overall by the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 76 goals and winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. After being traded to Anaheim, Selanne won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. He currently holds or is tied for 18 NHL records and is the all-time leading scorer in the Olympic Games.
“I’m lucky to have played with great people wherever I went in hockey,” said Selanne. “The game is a team effort and I have a long list of those who helped me.”
The 2017 Induction Celebration will be held on Monday, November 13th at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. For more information regarding the 2017 Induction Weekend/Celebration, visit hhof.com.
Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s (“HHOF”) mandate is to recognize and honour the achievements of players, builders and officials who bring special distinction to the game of hockey, and to collect, preserve, research and exhibit objects, images and resource materials connected with the game as it is played in Canada and throughout the world. As a non-profit corporation and a registered charity under the Income Tax Act, HHOF owns and operates a museum and place of entertainment offering state-of-the-art exhibits, multimedia presentations and educational programming from its premises at Brookfield Place, Toronto, Canada.
Related articles
