Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya Lead Hockey Hall Of Fame Class Of 2017

Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne are among the headliners of the 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame Class, which was announced Monday.

Ex-Canadian Hockey Star And Coach Danielle Goyette and Clare Drake also inducted

The other inductees include Mark Recchi, Dave Andreychuk and longtime Canadian university coach Clare Drake. 

Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs was also honored in the builder category Monday, and 51-year-old Canadian former hockey star and head coach Danielle Goyette became the fifth female player elected to the Hall of Fame. Goyette retired in 2008 after helping the Canadian national hockey team win two Olympic gold medals in Turin (2002) and Salt Lake City (2006).

Goyette is also an eight-time world champion who scored 113 goals and 105 assists in 171 games for Canada. Jacobs, 77, has been the Bruins’ owner since 1975. Boston has reached the Stanley Cup Finals six times since then and captured one national title in 2011.

Canadian Kariya, 42, retired in June 2011 after struggling with concussions, which led him to sit out his final NHL season (2010-11) with the St. Louis Blues. He and Finnish star Selanne — who will be 47 next month — were teammates on the Anaheim Ducks from 1996 to 2001. Selanne retired in 2014.

Kariya was a five-time All-Star and two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner who compiled 402 goals and 587 assists in his career, which also includes stints with the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

Selanne was a four-time All-Star who captured the 1992-93 Calder Memorial Trophy and the 1998 Maurice Richard Trophy. In 15 seasons with the Ducks, he recorded 684 goals (11th in NHL history) and 773 assists.

“I’m lucky to have played with great people wherever I went in hockey,” Selanne said. The former right wing — nicknamed the “Finnish Flash” — helped lead the Ducks to a Stanley Cup victory in 2007 after scoring 76 goals as a rookie with Winnipeg during the 1992-93 season.

Recchi was a one-time All-Star and three-time Stanley Cup champion who retired in 2011. He logged 577 goals and 956 assists in his career. The former right wing won one national title each with the Pittsburgh Penguins (for whom he played for seven seasons), the Carolina Panthers and the Boston Bruins. Recchi also played ten seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and five seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. He is 12th in career scoring with 1,533 points.

Andreychuk is 29th in career scoring with 1,338 points in 23 seasons. The 53–year-old Canadian served as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2004 Cup team. He retired in 2006 after a 24-year career that included stints with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche.

Drake, 88, holds the record for the most victories of any Canadian college coach after leading the University of Alberta Golden Bears to 697 career wins in 28 seasons.

Article by Pablo Mena