Hockey, on both sides of the Atlantic lost a great one today.

Borje Salming, who was diagnosed with ALS, passed away at the age of 71.

Salming was last seen at the Hockey Hall of Fame Game earlier this month, where the Leafs iced an all-Swedish lineup to begin the game aginst their opponent, Vancouver.  Salming, who was still mobile, had already lost the ability to speak due to the disease, dropped the ceremonial first puck.

When Salming was first courted to try out for the Maple Leafs, the National Hockey League was of the belief that Swedish players were not tough enough to survive the rigors of the North American game.  The Defenseman not only made the team, but excelled, earning six Post-Season All-Star Selections.  Salming scored 798 Points in the NHL, and was the domino that broke through Europeans to thrive in the most competitive league in professional hockey.

Salming was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, the first Swedish player to have that honor.  Two years later, he entered the IIHF Hall of Fame.  His number #21 was also retired by Toronto.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to offer our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Borje Salming.

The continued growth of Notinhalloffame.com continues, as we have added three new names to our 2024 Hockey Futures; the former hockey players who are eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024.

The three new names are:

Braydon Coburn:  Coburn was a Defenseman for many years who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in 2020.

Patrick Marleau:  A San Jose Shark for the bulk of his career, Marleau logged a record 1,779 Games with 1,197 Points.  The Forward went to three All-Star Games, and won two Olympic Gold Medals representing Canada.

Pavel Datsyuk:  Datsyuk played his entire NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings, winning two Stanley Cups, four Lady Byngs and three Frank J. Selke Trophies.

They join:

Carl Gunnarson, David Backes, Jussi Jokinen, Mikko Koivu, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Pekka Rinne, Ryan Miller and Travis Zajac.

The entire 2024 Hockey Eligible Section can be found here.

As always, we thank you for your support!

We have not done a great job looking at the Metal Hall of Fame, but that changes today!

Yesterday, it was announced that Twisted Sister will be inducted to the Metal Hall at the sixth annual gala.  It will take place on January 26, 2023 at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California.

Honored will be Twisted Sister’s original lineup of Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, Mark Mendoza and the late A.J. Pero.  Formed in the early 80s, Twisted Sister broke through with their third album, “Stay Hungry”, which yielded the hits, “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, the latter remaining a protest anthem to this day.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Twisted Sister for their impending honor.

Shin-Soo Choo was the MVP of the 2000 WSBC U-18 World Cup, an event won by his native South Korea, but he did so as a Pitcher.  The Seattle Mariners believed that his future in MLB was as an Outfielder, and they signed him in 2005.  They were right.

Choo only played 14 Games for Seattle before he was traded to Cleveland, and he became an everyday player in 2009, where he had back-to-back seasons of 20 Home Runs and a .300 Batting Average.  Traded to Cincinnati for the 2012 Season, Choo made history that year as the first South Korean batter to hit a Home Run in the Playoffs.  He departed the state of Ohio as a Free Agent, with the Texas Rangers as his landing spot.

Joining a contending Rangers team, Choo had four more 20-Home Run years and was an All-Star for the first and only time in 2018.  Retiring after 2020, Choo had 218 Home Runs, 1,671 Hits, and a lifetime OBP of .377.  He will likely be the first of many successful Korean baseball players in MLB.