O’Ree, Brodeur, Bettman , Hefford, St. Louis and Yakushev inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame //
First black player in the NHL receives honour with Bettman, Brodeur, Hefford, St. Louis and Yakushev
TORONTO — A National Hockey League trailblazer, the man that ushered in unprecedented growth and the best statistical goalie in the game’s history headline the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2018.
Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player, and league commissioner
Gary Bettman will enter in the builder category, while former
New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur sits at the top of the list of the four individuals set to be inducted in November for their on-ice skills.
“I was literally speechless,” Bettman said on a conference call of his initial reaction to the news. “I was really focused on whether Willie O’Ree was going to be selected.
“I’m delighted Willie is going to be going in, and I’m delighted to be going in with him.”
Also getting the call are five-time NHL all-star Martin St. Louis, Canadian women’s star Jayna Hefford and Russian great Alexander Yakushev. Brodeur and St. Louis were eligible to be selected by the 18-member committee for the first time.
Nominees require 75 per cent of the vote to make the cut.
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.
The 82-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., was called up by the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958, making him the first black player in league history.
O’Ree, who had a long career in the minors, played only 45 games in the NHL, but returned to the fold in 1996 as an ambassador.
He has been instrumental the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone program that introduces the game to children that might not normally see a path in the sport, while the league established the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award this season.
“I was laughing and I was crying,” O’Ree said. “I’m just so happy that I’m alive to be able to share this.
“There’s not enough words to say how pleased I am.”
Since Bettman was named commissioner in 1993, the NHL has grown from 24 to 31 teams with some US$5 billion in annual revenue.
“I’m proud of the fact that at the league level and the club level there are hundreds if not thousands of people that are committed to and have been working very hard to grow the game,” Bettman said.
“There are more people now involved in hockey, watching hockey, fans of hockey, not just at the NHL level, but at all levels.”
Brodeur is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, a five-time winner of the Jennings Trophy, and is the NHL’s all-time leader in victories (691) and shutouts (125).
“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “You play your whole career and you don’t expect to get this phone call, but when it does, it definitely does feel pretty good.”
The 46-year-old played 1,259 regularseason games with the New Jersey Devils before a brief seven-game stint with the St. Louis Blues, where he transitioned into the front office prior to becoming an assistant general manager.