The bottom line is this: The Hockey Hall of Fame could not remotely claim to be an International entity without the induction of Vladislav Tretiak. For years, Tretiak was the dominant force on the International Hockey scene and is considered one of the best Goalies of all time and was named by Sports Illustrated as their Goalie in 2000 when they named their all-time team.

The second inductee from the “Veterans” Category is even more suspicious than the first. Herbie Lewis had proven to be a decent forward for the Detroit franchise in the 1930’s, but did he do anything that was really of Hall of Fame note? He was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams, and was a very good post season performer, but realistically Lewis is a candidate for the “Hall of Very Good” and not a “Hall of Fame”.

Father David Bauer (not a misprint as he was an ordained Catholic priest) was the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Bobby Bauer. The younger sibling was a decent junior player in his own right, but not at a professional level. He played for a spell at St. Michael’s and after serving in the Canadian military and becoming a priest, he returned to St. Michael’s and became the coach of its junior team and took them to the Memorial Cup.

Best known for a still standing NHL record of ten points in a game in 1976, Darryl Sittler was a lot more than just that dream performance. He was an accomplished offensive player who twice topped the 100 point mark while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was the leader of that team through the 1970’s. He was a consistent scorer, but naturally became frustrated as Toronto management (namely Harold Ballard) began to dismantle the team. Sittler would join the Philadelphia Flyers where he was still a good player for another two seasons. He would finish his career with over 1,100 points and a revered place in Maple Leaf history.