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Hockey Hall of Fame 2014
They covered the bases with this year’s group of inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Four players will be inducted: Rob Blake, from Simcoe, Ontario; Domink Hasek, from Pardubice, Czechoslovakia; Mike Modano, from Livonia, Michigan; and Peter Forsberg, from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. Add to that list a coach from Quebec, Pat Burns, and a referee from Guelph, Ontario, Bill Mc- Creary. Four nations, two provinces.
Rob Blake played his junior hockey in Western Ontario, then headed to Bowling Green to play for the Falcons from 1987 to 1990. He played 20 NHL seasons with the Kings, the Avalanche, and the Sharks. He won the James Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman in 1997-1998.
Blake played in seven all-star games between 1994 and 2004. In 12 seasons, he scored more than 40 points, and potted more than 15 goals in eight seasons. In 1998, he was chosen as the best defenceman at the Olympic Games, and brought home a gold medal to boot. He is the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.
When it was announced that he had been chosen to the Hall, Blake commented: “This is a tremendous honour. I am fortunate to have been around the game of hockey and have it to be a key part of my life for as long as I can remember”.
Forsberg joins Borje Salming and Mats Sundin as the third Swede to be inducted into the Hall. “It’s been a good run, and I wouldn’t change places with anybody,” he stated. Forsberg played his entire junior career in his home town, and was drafted sixth overall in 1991 by the Philadelphia Flyers. He played 14 seasons with the Flyers, Nordiques, Avalanche, and the Nashville Predators.
He won the Hart trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2003, leading the League in scoring as well. He played for Sweden on four Olympic teams, capturing the gold medal in 1994, and 2006. You may recall he scored the championship-winning shootout goal against Canada at Lillehammer, Norway in ‘94. Shootout goals? Now a serious bone of contention in the soccer world.
Mike Modano played 22 seasons in the NHL with the Stars in Minnesota and Dallas, and with the Red Wings. He played his junior hockey with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. He played in seven all-star games. He holds several franchise records for the Stars, including most seasons (21), games played (1,459), goals (557), assists (802), points (1,359).
Modano played international hockey for many seasons for the USA, representing his country in three Olympic Games in 1998, 2002, and 2006. They won the silver medal in 2002. A first overall draft pick in 1999, he led the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999.
Before bringing his unorthodox goaltending style to the NHL, Dominik Hasek played nine seasons in the Czech League with Tesla Pardubice and Dukla Jihlava. He was drafted by the Chicago Black Hawks in the tenth round, 207th overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Seriously? Can you imagine? Likely a coin was flipped, and his name came up. Then, 10 years later, after he had won the Stanley Cup, some assistant GM could proudly announce, “Told you so!”
Hasek was the first European goalie to win the Vezina trophy as the League’s best goaltender. He was chosen by the players to win the Lester B. Pearson award as the league’s MVP in 1997, and 1998. He won the Olympic gold medal in 1998, and played Olympic hockey in 2002, and 2006 as well. He was the first goalie to win the Hart trophy since Jacques Plante in 1962. He copped that award in 1997 and 1998.
Induction ceremonies will take place in Toronto on November 17.
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