The Hockey Hall of Fame is set to induct its Class of 2025 this weekend, and it’s an incredible group.
Every one of the eight individuals who will enter the Hall of Fame in either the player or builder category is deserving of the honor, and for some, it’s overdue.
In alphabetical order, here’s a brief rundown of each inductee.
Jennifer Botterill
One of three women honored by the Hall of Fame this year is 46-year-old Botterill, a three-time Olympic gold medallist with Canada and a five-time gold medallist at the World Championship.
Botterill – who has gone on to an excellent career as an NHL analyst with Sportsnet and TNT – was one of the most dominant players of all-time at the collegiate level with Harvard University, winning the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top women’s collegiate player in two years and earning the first-team all-American honors four times. She also played in the National Women’s Hockey League that existed between 1999 and 2007 and then the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
Zdeno Chara
The 6-foot-9 Chara was one of the most towering figures in hockey history – not only for his physical stature but because he could flat-out play the game.
In 24 NHL seasons, the 48-year-old set the league’s record for most games played by a defenseman, with 1,680, and he did so with a mean streak you didn’t want to encounter. Chara is a Boston Bruins and Slovakia icon, a Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best blueliner and one of five European-born-and-raised captains to win the Stanley Cup. You feared him more for his skills than for his considerable snarl.
Brianna Decker
Another collegiate legend from her time with the University of Wisconsin, Decker won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Award.
The 34-year-old is an Olympic gold medal winner and a six-time World Championship winner, and Decker was also named an MVP in the 2010-11 WCHA Final Face-Off, the 2015-16 Isobel Cup playoffs and the 2017 World Championship. Decker set the bar for the women’s game, dominating opponents with a level of skill few others possessed.
Botterill, Decker, Sauvageau: Hockey Hall of Fame To Welcome Three Women For First Time Ever
For the first time in hockey history, three women will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in a single induction class. The 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class will include Jennifer Botterill, Brianna Decker, and for the first time, a woman will enter the builders category as Daniele Sauvageau is set to be honored.
Duncan Keith
Keith came into the pro hockey game as an AHL player. But after two seasons there, Keith made the jump to the NHL, and success was soon to follow.
He won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, two Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and two Olympic gold medals. Keith’s all-around game was virtually flawless, and he became one of the most beloved Hawks players ever because of it.
Alexander Mogilny
Sixteen years after he became eligible for HHOF induction, Mogilny gains entry into the hallowed hall. A Russian hockey pioneer, Mogilny defected from the former Soviet Union in 1989 and went on to play 990 NHL games, posting 473 goals and 1,032 points in that span. He is a Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils and a Lady Byng winner as the game’s most gentlemanly player. Mogilny won’t be in attendance in Toronto, but the truth is he should’ve been elected into the HHOF long ago, so this is a seriously overdue accolade.
Former Maple Leafs Forward Alexander Mogilny Finally Inducted Into Hockey Hall Of Fame After Years Of Snubs
Finally, after nearly two decades away from the game, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alexander Mogilny will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Jack Parker
Now 80 years old, Parker spent literally half of his life as coach of the Boston University Terriers. He won three NCAA National Championships, three NCAA coach-of-the-year honors and five Hockey East coach-of-the-year awards. He was the third-winningest coach in NCAA history when he retired.
Parker goes into the HHOF in the builder’s category, and make no mistake – he left his own imprint on the sport, and he’s a worthy Hall of Famer.
Daniele Sauvageau
A coaching legend, the 63-year-old Sauvageau coached the Canadian women’s team to their first-ever Olympic gold medal in 2002. Considering the women’s gold medal game came before the men’s final, the women’s Canadian team won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey in 50 years.
Overall, Sauvageau has taken part in six Olympics as either a coach, GM or coaching consultant, and she played a role in Canada winning seven straight World Championships. But her time overseeing the building of the women’s hockey program is what solidified her status as an HHOF inductee.
She has been an ambassador for the sport and an advocate for the women’s game, and she rightfully goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder’s category. Few, if any, built the women’s elite game the way Sauvageau did.
Joe Thornton
A universally beloved NHL star, Thornton first burst upon the pro hockey scene in 1997, when he was selected first overall by the Bruins. After seven-and-a-half seasons starring in Beantown, Thornton was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster trade in 2005.
He was an instant hit in California, winning the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-getter and a Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 2006.
One of the most affable players in the game, the 46-year-old will go into the HHOF the way he went around every day of his life – with a smile on his face.
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