Hall of Famer Wilson gets induction date set for next year
San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson now knows when he’ ll forma lly be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald announced Friday that the class of 2020, which Wilson was elected to in June, will be honored as a standalone class Nov. 12-15, 2021. The Hall of Fame will not elect a class of 2021 next year.
T he induction ceremony was originally supposed to take place next month in Toronto, but in August the event was officially postponed due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Wilson was elected in the Player Category, joined by Marian Hossa, Jarome Ig inla, Kevin Lowe and Kim St-Pierre. Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland was elected in the Builder Category.
“The magic of the induction weekend from the perspective of the new inductees is participating in several days of close interaction with family, friends, former teammates, fellow legends and fans,” McDonald said in a statement. “On that premise, the Board felt that this was the right decision to bestow upon the Class of 2020 the recog nition and lifetime experience they so richly deserve in all ways consistent with past induction classes.”
Wilson, one of the most offensively prolific defensemen of his era, had 827 points in 1,024 NHL regular- season games. He spent the first 14 years of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, with which he was named an NHL All- Star three times and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 1982.
Wi l s on joi ne d t he Sharks in 1991 for their first two seasons, starting in 1991. He retired as a player in 1993 and became the Sharks’ GM in May 2003.
In Jan. 2017, Wilson became only the fourth individual to play in at least 1,000 NHL games and serve as a general manager of an NHL club for at least 1,000 games. The only others to accomplish the feat are fellow Hockey Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke, Bob Gainey and Bob Pulford.