gold star for USAHOF
 
Committee Chairman

Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

Niklas Hjalmarsson played most of his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and he is one of seven players who was a member of the 2010, 2012 and 2015 Stanley Cup Championship Teams.

Hjalmarsson was a tradition stay-at-home Defeneseman, but he did have two seasons (2013-14 & 2015-16) where he cracked the 20-Point threshold.  Internationally, he won a Silver Medal with Sweden in the 2016 Olympics.                              

246. Mikko Koivu

From Finland, Center Mikko Koivu played 16 years in the NHL, all but seven games with the Minnesota Wild.

Over his career, Koivu scored 711 Points (709 in Minnesota), and had three years (2008-09 to 2010-11) where he had at least 62 Points.  A solid playmaker, Koivu was equally adept at the defensive side of the rink.  Koivu enjoyed votes for the Frank J. Selke Award ten times, with four of them cracking the top ten in balloting.  Koivu might not have been an All-Star, but his contributions to the Wild are undeniable.

As we said with Jussi Jokinen, Koivu is unlikely to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he could be a fringe candidate for the IIHF.  Koivu played in 77 Senior Games for Finland, winning medals at the Olympics, World Cup of Hockey, and World Hockey Championships.

Jussi Jokinen

Jussi Jokinen may not have been considered a star in terms of his National Hockey League performance, but the Finnish Center appeared in 951 Games, though he never had more than 288 for any team.

Jokinen suited up for Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Florida, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Columbus and Chicago, and scored 563 Points, a respectable number.  Five times, he had 50-Point seasons, his best being a 30-35-65 campaign as a Hurricane in 2009-10.  After the 2017-18 season, Jokinen returned to his first professional team, Karpat in the Finnish League, playing three more years before he retired.

Jokinen is not likely to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Jokinen could be a dark horse candidate for the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, as he played 99 Games for Finland, winning Silver in the Olympics and World Hockey Championships, and Bronze in the Olympics, World Hockey Championships (twice) and World Juniors (twice).                              

David Backes

From Minneapolis, David Backes played the majority of pro career with the St. Louis Blues, a squad he plated the first ten years of his sixteen NHL campaign with.

Backes scored 45 or more Points seven times with St. Louis, with a peak of 62 in 2010/11/.  The Center was not a first line player, but was a very good two-way performer, who had five consecutive Frank J. Selke Trophy finishes (2010-11 to 2011-14), and was the runner-up in 2011-12.  Backes would also be an All-Star in 2011.  He also played professionally for Boston and Anaheim, finishing his career with 561 NHL Points.

Backes also represented the United States multiple times, most notably as a member of the 2010 Olympic Team that won the Silver Medal.