Hockey
Established in 1943, and currently based in Toronto, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a quite simply a tribute to those who achieved excellence in hockey. Criticized by some for their failure to recognize international stars, the WHA, women and the high amount of players inducted from the Original Six era, the Hockey Hall of Fame is still one of the most impressive facilities despite its lack of size. The rich history of hockey is certainly well represented there. For our list, we have focused on players as opposed to the builders and journalists categories; although we have included some people whom we felt could not be ignored. Current enshrinement for players is based on receiving fourteen votes out of an eighteen member committee. In terms of NHL players, it is based on being out of the league for three years. We have selected one hundred figures of hockey (though honestly only a handful really has a reasonable shot) and again we encourage debate as to who you feel deserves enshrinement in Toronto.
Until Then, keep your stick on the ice.
Sincerely,
The Not in Hall of Committee.
A two time All Star in consecutive seasons (2008 & 2009), Marc Savard quietly put forth a career where he accumulated 706 Points with 499 of them coming by way of Assists. Savard began his career with the New York Rangers, Calgary and the Atlanta Thrashers and in that nine-year…
Undersized at 5’ 7”, Steve Sullivan used every pound he had in his small frame to make a productive career in pro hockey. Sullivan was a crafty playmaker who secured seven 60 Point seasons in a career that spanned 1,011 Games. Sullivan had his highest point totals with Chicago but…
Known for his leadership, two-way hockey and (his wife, Carrie Underwood), Mike Fisher spent a lot of time with the Ottawa Senators would later Captain the Nashville Predators. Fisher was regarded a very good defensive forward and three times he was in the top ten in Frank J. Selke Award…
The possessor of one of the coolest Scandinavian names in sports history, Ulf Samuelsson played 1,080 Games in the National Hockey League who was known for his hard hits and defensive play. Samuelsson may never have been an All-Star but he was one of the better blueliners in his day…
Mattias Ohlund spend the majority of his career with the Vancouver Canucks where he provided solid defensive play, which he combined with six 30 Point Seasons. An All-Star in 1999, the Defenseman had a respectable 343 career Points and he represented Sweden four times in the Olympics where he would…
A member of the famed United States “Miracle on Ice” team Mike Ramsey continued his run as a defensive anchor in an over 1,000 Game career in the National Hockey League. Ramsey played most of his career with the Buffalo Sabres where his well above average defensive skill was complimented…
Murray Oliver was a sweet playmaker who many regarded as the master of the “fake pass”. Oliver was used equally on the power play and penalty kill and an above average hockey IQ. The Centre would be named to five All Star Teams (four with Boston and one with Toronto)…
Daniel Briere was another one of those undersized skilled forwards who had to rely on the non-physical part of the game of hockey. Luckily he was pretty good at it!
Rob Ramage was the first overall draft pick in the NHL in 1979, though by that time he had already played professionally for the WHA’s Birmingham Bulls where he already established himself as offensively potent blueliner. Ramage had a 62 Point season in his second year in Colorado though it…
A four time All-Star, Tomas Kaberle is the second all-time leading scorer among Toronto Maple Leaf Defensemen, which is no small feat considering we are talking about an Original Six Team.
Before we begin, here are two interesting (at least we think so) trivia facts about Ivan Boldirev: The first is that he is the all-time leading scorer who was born in Yugoslavia. Now considering the other three players with that distinction have a combined point total of seven and Yugoslavia…
Generally we think hockey fans can name every Hart Trophy winner as almost all of them have made the Hockey Hall of Fame, but we are expecting that most of you have totally forgotten about Tom Anderson.
From the Czech Republic, Tomas Vokoun had a fantastic career in the NHL, most notably with the Nashville Predators where he had three straight seasons where he finished in the top ten in Vezina Trophy voting with a 10th, 8th and 4th place finish in the 2003/04, 04/05 and 06/07…
Jason Arnott played 1,244 Games with 938 Points and had over 100 Point Shares, all of which are impressive but it might make him the ultimate “compiler” as he was never considered an elite player and was an All Star only twice. Beyond being the runner up for the Calder…
Mike Ridley had a pretty good career for someone who went undrafted.
Joel Otto came from Elk River, Minnesota where he went starred for Bemidji State University. Otto would go undrafted but after what must have seen like an eternity, he was signed with the Calgary Flames. Otto would become a permanent fixture in the pro ranks in the 1985/86 season and…
Early in his career it could certainly be argued that Ab McDonald was in the right place at the right time. McDonald’s first two games in the NHL were in the 1958 Playoffs where with the Montreal Canadiens he would win a Stanley Cup. McDonald would see his name etched…
Petr Svoboda quietly carved out a long and fruitful career in the NHL where he played 1,028 Games. Svoboda didn’t actually enter the National Hockey League in the quietest of ways, as he was a Czechoslovakian defector but it proved advantageous quickly as he was a member of the Stanley…
A bit of a late bloomer in terms of his offensive production, Glen Murray began his career quietly with the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins but a trade to the Los Angeles Kings would see him gain two 60 Point seasons in the late 90’s. He would be traded back…
From Finland, Center, Mikko Koivu played 16 years in the NHL, all but seven Games of with were with the Minnesota Wild. Over his career, Koivu scored 711 Points (709 in Minnesota), and had a three-year stretch (2008-09 to 2010-11) where he had at least 62 Points. A solid playmaker, Koivu…