Willie O’Ree headed into hall as builder
Hefford, St. Louis, Brodeur, Yakushev, Bettman also get nod
TORONTO — Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford, Martin St. Louis and Alexander Yakushev will be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year.
Willie O’Ree, the first black player in NHL history, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will enter in the builder category.
Brodeur is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, and a five-time winner of the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed in a season. The NHL’s all-time leader in wins with 691 and shutouts with 125, Brodeur gets the nod in his first year.
The 46-year-old played 1,259 regular-season games with the New Jersey Devils before a brief seven-game stint with the St. Louis Blues.
Since Bettman was named commissioner in 1993, the NHL has grown from 24 to 31 teams with some US$5 billion in annual revenue.
O’Ree will be the third black player in the Hall, joining Edmonton Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr and Canadian women’s national team captain Angela James.
St. Louis went from not being drafted to a 17year NHL career that included 1,134 regularseason games and 1,033 points. A five-time allstar, St. Louis won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and was on Canada’s men’s Olympic team that won gold in 2014. He won the NHL’s Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2004.
A giant in the women’s game, Hefford won four Olympic gold medals for Canada.
Yakushev played for Russia at the 1972 Summit Series against Canada. He won Olympic gold in 1972 and 1976.
The formal induction ceremony will be held in November in Toronto.
A packed Fredericton diner erupted in joyous cheers as O’Ree was named to the hall.
Friends of O’Ree packed The Cabin restaurant, where they chanted his name after the selection was announced. The 82-year-old was inducted in the builder’s category.
“I was pacing in the house for four hours, waiting for the call. I am so happy and feel so fantastic,” O’Ree said from his San Diego home.
— The Canadian Press