Expect Nearly the End of the Hockey Hall of Fame Pandemic Class | The Canadian News

Kevin Lowe waited 19 years for the call.

Doug Wilson’s phone was silent for the longest time – 24 consecutive eligibility periods before it finally rang.

So another 365 days to the Hockey Hall of Fame pandemic delayed class of 2020 probably wasn’t a big deal, right?

“Not at all,” Lowe said with a laugh Friday.

“We have to enjoy the moment even more.”

READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers to retire Kevin Lowe’s No. 4 on Friday night

Lowe and Wilson are joined in the 2020 player category by Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa, chosen in their first years of eligibility, and Canadian women’s national team goalkeeper Kim St-Pierre, while Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland, will enter as a builder.

“I never saw the Hall of Fame as a reality,” said Wilson, general manager of the San Jose Sharks. “It is a privilege that it happened.”

“We have to be a unique class,” Lowe added.

The members were originally announced following the 18-member selection committee vote on June 24, 2020, but the ceremony was delayed by a year due to COVID-19.

The hall, which will officially welcome its newest members on Monday, later made the decision not to have a class of 2021 so that the current group would not have to share center stage.

“People’s health was the priority,” St-Pierre said. “We knew this day would happen.”

A former captain and franchise icon with the Flames, Iginla scored 525 goals and 1,095 points in 1,219 games from 1996 to 2013 with Calgary before stops in Pittsburgh, Boston, Colorado and Los Angeles. The winger finished with 1,300 points in 1,554 regular-season games to go along with 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) in 81 playoff outings.

Iginla, 44, won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top scorer in 2001-02, and won the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy with the most goals that season and then again in 2003-04.

“Whenever it was going to happen, I was excited,” Iginla said of the pandemic ruining plans. “It’s a great honor”.

Selected 11th overall in the 1995 NHL draft by Dallas before being traded to the Flames as part of the Joe Nieuwendyk trade, Iginla led Calgary to Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final, but never again. approached the final hockey award.

While she did not enjoy much of the NHL team’s success, Iginla won two Olympic gold medals and played a key role in one of the most iconic moments in Canadian hockey history, assisting in Sidney Crosby’s 2010 gold goal. .

“It’s really cool, the whole process,” Iginla said. “It makes you look back.

“There are so many things to be thankful for.”

READ MORE: Iginla, Flames alumni react to Hockey Hall of Fame announcement: ‘He’s a legend’

Watch below: Some Global News videos about Jarome Iginla.

Hossa, a three-time Cup champion, finished his career with 525 goals and 1,134 points in 1,309 regular-season games with Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago.

Taken by the Senators with the 12th pick in 1997, the Slovak winger added 149 points (52 goals, 97 assists) in 205 playoff outings, winning the title with Chicago in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Hossa lost the 2008 final to Pittsburgh and again in 2009 to Detroit before finally clinching the Cup in 2010.

He credits time spent with former Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk, including keepaway games after practice, for truly awakening the two-way style that took him to another level.

“I started to take more pride in playing top-down hockey,” said Hossa, 42, who declined to address the Blackhawks sexual assault scandal that shook the hockey world after releasing a statement earlier in the year. this month. “I loved to keep scoring goals, but I would love to steal the discs even more.”

Selected by Edmonton in 21st place overall in 1979, Lowe won five Cups in his 13 seasons in the Alberta capital. The Lachute, Que., Native then won another title with the New York Rangers in 1994.

Lowe finished with 84 goals, 432 points and 1,498 penalty minutes in 1,254 regular-season NHL games. He added 58 points (10 goals, 48 ​​assists) in 214 playoff games playing alongside the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey.

“Whenever the Hall of Fame vote came in and you didn’t see your name, you’d say, ‘I guess if you’re not on the list, you probably won’t be getting on,’ ‘the 62-year-old said. old. “I was fine with that.”

St-Pierre, who will become the eighth female, and the first female goal, to be admitted, helped her country capture three Olympic golds and five world championships.

“When I started playing hockey, women’s hockey was not an Olympic sport,” said the 42-year-old from Chateauguay, Que. “Being able to witness how much sport is done (is great).

“But there is much more to do.”

READ MORE: Trailblazer Kim St-Pierre to become the first goalkeeper to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame

After his playing career, Holland served as a scout with Detroit before being promoted to assistant general manager. Named the club’s general manager in 1997, the Vernon, BC native spent 22 seasons at the job, winning three Cups.

“I’ve been able to pursue my passion every day since I was 20 years old,” said 66-year-old Holland. “I am excited to be here.”

READ MORE: NHL Builder Ken Holland to Receive Freedom of the City Award from Vernon

The seventh pick in 1977, Wilson played 14 seasons with Chicago, claiming the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defender in 1982. Traded to San Jose in 1991, the Ottawa native played his last two seasons on the West Coast before moving on. later to the team. front office, where he has served as general manager since 2003.

In 1,024 regular season games, Wilson recorded 237 goals and 827 points. The 64-year-old also had 80 points (19 goals, 61 assists) in 95 playoff appearances.

“The call from (Hall of Fame President Lanny McDonald) was a surprise,” Wilson said. “It was greatly appreciated … but unexpected.”

Lowe, meanwhile, never imagined his name alongside Gretzky, Messier, Bobby Orr or Mario Lemieux.

“But for some reason I’m here,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. “And I’m taking it.”

Hossa thinks Alfredsson will end up in the Hall of Fame

Hossa played his first seven NHL seasons in the nation’s capital alongside Daniel Alfredsson, a player who is still waiting his turn to get a nod from the aisle alongside players like Alexander Mogilny, Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind’Amour and Jennifer Botterill.

The decision not to have a class of 2021 could delay that even further, as Henrik and Daniel Sedin are now eligible, but Hossa believes their former captain will eventually be tapped on the shoulder.

READ MORE: Daniel Alfredsson bids farewell to Senator fans during pregame ceremony

“He’s such a positive guy, a guy you love to be with,” Hossa said of Alfredsson. “I had a lot of good memories with Alfie. Sooner or later, it will be here.

“He deserves it.”

PWHPA makes a statement

The class of 2020 in the classroom might notice something out of the ordinary not far from where the ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday.

The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and Budweiser have erected a temporary memorial on Front Street in downtown Toronto titled “This game is for all of us.”

Four-time Olympic gold medalist and PWHPA operations consultant Jayna Hefford said the work featuring a female hockey player cheering for her team from behind a 10-foot-long board is meant to spark conversation.

“Hockey must be more inclusive, especially if we want it to continue to evolve and grow,” he said in a telephone interview. “Women who feel part of the game is just one aspect of that.”

READ MORE: PWHPA’s Erin Ambrose fighting for hockey equality and mental health

Hefford, a member of the Hall’s 2018 class, said he was at the memorial earlier this week when a young family stopped by to take a look.

“The girl just stood there and stared at her,” Hefford said. That’s what it was meant to do. Suddenly, this young woman sees a hockey player.

“It’s a great week for women’s hockey with the induction of Kim St-Pierre into the Hall of Fame. We hope it adds to that spotlight. “