ORLANDO, FLA – In the world of professional hockey, there is no bigger honor than becoming a member of the Hall of Fame. Only the best of the best get invited to be immortalized along with the game’s greatest.
Tuesday afternoon, the Hall’s Selection Committee announced its choices for the Class of 2009 inductees, adding former players Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman and longtime general manager Lou Lamoriello to the list of members. They will join previously announced media members Dave Molinari and John Davidson for the induction ceremony in Toronto on November 9th.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these five hockey legends as honored members,” Selection Committee Co-Chairman Jim Gregory said in a release announcing the choices. “Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved.”
All four players were selected in their first year of eligibility and make up one of the most impressive groups to enter the Hall. Between them, they have won seven Stanley Cups and numerous other awards during their long and illustrious careers.
Hull, son of Chicago Blackhawks’ legend and Hall member Bobby Hull, began his pro career in 1986. He entered the NHL with a resume that included the BCHL record for most goals in a single season (105) which he set while playing for the Penticton Knights as well as WCHA Freshman of the Year in 1985 and WCHA First Team All-Star in 1986 while at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Drafted in the 6th round of the 1984 Entry Draft by Calgary, Hull’s 19-year career has had stops in Calgary, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit and Phoenix. He was just the fifth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games or less, recorded three consecutive 70-goal seasons and ranks third in the record books for regular season goals (741), most combined regular season and playoff goals (844) and most goals in one season (86). He won Stanley Cup titles in Dallas (1999) and Detroit (2002) and has two Olympic silver medals, two World Cup medals (gold and bronze) and an IIHF World Championship medal in his trophy case. His NHL hardware includes the Lady Byng Trophy (1990), the Lester Patrick Award and the Hart Trophy (1991) and three NHL First-Team All-Star awards. He and his dad comprise the only father-son tandem in league history to each record 1,000 career points and 600 goals. He presently is the Co-General Manager of the Dallas Stars.
The Corpus Christi, Texas-born Leetch’s star began its rise in college where he anchored the blue line at Boston College. His rookie season in 1986-87 was one for the books as he took home Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, NCAA East First Team All-American and Hobey Baker Award finalist honors.
Leetch’s outstanding play – and his award winning – didn’t stop when he got to the “show”. In 19 seasons played with the New York Rangers, Toronto and Boston, Leetch won two Norris Trophies (1992, 1997) as best defenseman, the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year (1989), the Lester Patrick Award (2007) and was the first ever American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff most valuable player in 1994 after leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup victory in decades. He was selected as a First-Team All-Star twice and was a member of the second team three times and played in nine All-Star games. He holds the record for most goal by a rookie defenseman in one season (23) and sits in the second spot for most points in one season (71) by a blue liner. Both Leetch and Hull were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
Robitaille may not be the best known name of the group but his play on the ice spoke loudly. A 9th round selection of the Los Angeles Kings in 1984, Robitaille won the Calder Trophy for his outstanding play as a rookie in 1987, just one year after being named Canadian Major Junior player of the year while playing for Pat Burns and the Hull Olympiques. His 19-year NHL odyssey took him to Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and Detroit. He played in eight All-Star games, was named to the First-Team All-Star squad fives times and to the Second Team three times. He hold the NHL record for most career goals (668), career points (1,394) and points in one season (125) by a left winger and also put him tenth on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list and 19th in all-time points (1,394) and games played (1,431). He also has the third longest streak of consecutive 40+ goal season (8), trailing only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He was part of Detroit’s 2002 Stanley Cup championship with Hull and Yzerman and currently is the President of Business Operations and Alternate Governor for the Kings as well as being a co-owner of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers.
If there was any player who could have replaced “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe as the face of the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman was it. Drafted by the Red Wings in 1983, “Stevie Y” spent all 22 years of his career wearing the flying wheel in Motown, 20 of them as the team’s captain.
Yzerman’s stats are staggering. He holds the team records for most career assists (1,063), most goals in one season (65), most assists in a season (90) and most points in a season (155). He ranks fifth in NHL history for career points including playoffs (1,940), most career goals (692), assists (1,063) and points (1,755) by a center. His numbers place him eighth overall in goal scoring, seventh in assists, sixth in points and 11th in games played (1,514). He collected a virtual menagerie of awards including the Pearson, Conn Smythe, Selke (best defensive forward), Masterton and Patrick awards to go along with three Stanley Cups and nine All-Star game appearances. After retiring, he stayed with the Red Wings as their Vice-President of Hockey and is currently the General Manager of Team Canada for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Lamoriello has spent over 40 years of his life dedicated to building hockey programs at the college and professional levels. A graduate of Providence College, he became a coach and later Athletic Director, helping to devise and build the Hockey East Association into one of the country’s elite hockey conferences (Hockey East’s championship trophy is named after him). He became the President of the New Jersey Devils in April of 1987 and took over the dual role of General Manager later that year, crafting the Devils into Stanley Cup champions three times (1995, 2000, 2003). Over the past 13 seasons, his Devils teams have posted ten 100-point seasons, won four Eastern Conference titles and seven Atlantic Division crowns. He was also responsible for the building of the AHL Albany River Rats team that in 1995 matched its big brother by winning the Calder Cup championship.
Lamoriello’s hand has also extended to international play. He served as the General Manager of Team USA for both the 1996 World Cup and the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Presently, he serves as the Devils C.E.O. along with still holding the titles of President and General Manager.
Molinari, the hockey beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for hockey journalism. He has been chronicling the fortunes of the Penguins for more than 20 years. In that time, he has seen the coming of “Super Mario” Lemieux in the 80’s, Jaromir Jagr and the back-to-back championships in the early 90’s and now describes the exploits of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the 2009 Stanley Cup champion Penguins.
Molinari’s electronic counterpart Davidson will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to hockey broadcasting. A former standout goalie, Davidson has been seen in millions of homes across North America as a hockey analyst for the Madison Square Garden network (MSG), CBC in Canada and many other national broadcasts. He has also been the lead analyst for hockey coverage during each of the past five Winter Olympic Games.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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