Coffey among greats entering Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
Soccer star Forrest, swimmer Edgson and judoka Gill also honoured
TORONTO — Former star defenceman Paul Coffey is proud of the many individual NHL scoring records that he set over his 21-year career.
But it’s the four Stanley Cup wins and his experiences with the national team that really stand out when he looks back at his many accomplishments.
Coffey was recognized for his stellar career Wednesday as he was named to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.
“Winning the Stanley Cups, winning the Canada Cups — those are the things you talk about later,” Coffey said Wednesday. “You don’t say, ‘Oh, I scored this or I did that.’ Nobody wants to hear that. It’s all about the championships and sharing something with the city or a group of guys. That’s what it’s all about.”
Coffey is one of 10 athletes and two builders who will be formally inducted on Oct. 21 at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1984, ’85 and ’87 and with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991. The threetime Norris Trophy winner and 14-time all-star also won three Canada Cups (’84, ’87, ’91).
Here are the other inductees:
• Susan Auch, speedskating: A five-time Olympian in speedskating, Auch won bronze at the 1988 Calgary Games and silver in Lillehammer in 1994 and Nagano in 1998.
• Michael Edgson, swimming: The most accomplished Paralympic athlete in Canadian history, North Vancouver’s Edgson won nine gold medals at the Paralympics in Seoul in 1988 and set more than 20 world records over his career.
•Sharon and Shirley Firth, crosscountry skiing: The Gwich’in First Nation twins were the first indigenous athletes to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics. They competed at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and went on to compete at the Games three more times. Shirley Firth succumbed to cancer in 2013 at age 59.
• Craig Forrest, soccer: The keeper from Coquitlam earned 56 caps for the Canadian men’s soccer team from 1988 to 2002 and guided the national side to a Gold Cup title in 2000. He made his pro debut with Ipswich in 1987-88 and spent 14 seasons with the English club.
• Nicolas Gill, judo: A four-time Olympian, Gill won bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games and silver eight years later at the Sydney Olympics.
• Danielle Goyette, hockey: Over 15 seasons with the Canadian women’s hockey team, Goyette helped the squad win Olympic gold at the 2002 Salt Lake Games and the 2006 Turin Games. She scored 15 goals at the Olympics and recorded 68 points at the world hockey championship over her career.
• Jennifer Heil, freestyle skiing: The first Canadian woman to win a World Cup overall moguls title, Heil won Olympic gold in Turin in 2006 and silver four years later in Vancouver.
• Lori-Ann Muenzer, track cycling: The Olympic gold medallist in track cycling at the Athens Games in 2004, Muenzer retired with 13 national titles and 11 World Cup medals.
• Jocelyne Bourassa, golf (builder): A former LPGA Tour rookie of the year, Bourassa was the executive director of the du Maurier Classic, one of the LPGA’s four major championships, from 1980 to 2000.
• Marina van der Merwe, field hockey (builder): Born in Cape Town, South Africa, van der Merwe was the head coach of the Canada women’s national field hockey team from 1976 to 1995.