The Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) inducted six new people into the hall Monday. Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford, Martin St. Louis, and Alexander Yakushev went in as players. Willie O’Ree, the first black player to play in the NHL, and current NHL commissioner were inducted into the Builders category. Additionally, long-time voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Joe Bowen, was honoured with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions as a hockey broadcaster. New York Post writer Larry Brooks was also honoured with the Elmer Ferguson Award for excellence in journalism.

Players

Drafted 20th overall in the 1990 NHL Draft, Martin Brodeur was a goaltender and spent 22 seasons in the NHL, 21 of them with the New Jersey Devils. He is the all-time NHL wins leader, with 691. He also has the most shutouts in NHL history with 125. Brodeur won three Stanley Cups with the Devils, he also won two Olympic gold medals as well as two silver medals at the World Championships. The 46-year old was born in Montreal and his father was a renowned hockey photographer.

Jayna Hefford is the 6th woman to enter into the Hall. The Trenton, Ont. native is known for representing Canada in women’s hockey at both the Olympics and IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championships. Hefford won four Olympic gold medals and one Olympic silver medal, as well as seven gold and five silver at the Worlds. Hefford now serves as the commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

Martin St. Louis played over 1,000 NHL games and scored over 1,000 points, even though he was undrafted. He played in 16 NHL seasons with three separate clubs, most notably the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2004. The Laval, Que. native also won three medals (one gold, two silver), while representing Canada at the Olympics and World Championships.

Alexander Yakushev also got into the HHOF. The Russian never played in the NHL, but North Americans remember him from the Summit Series where he represented the Soviet Union. He briefly served as a coach after his playing career.

Builders

Willie O’Ree was the first black player to play in the NHL. The Fredericton, NB native broke into the league with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. The 83-year old has been the director of the NHL’s diversity task force since 1998.

Finally, amid much disapproval, Gary Bettman enters the Hall this year. Bettman is the current commissioner of the NHL, and has been since Feb. 1, 1993. The Queens, NY native isn’t liked by many hockey fans as there have been three lockouts in his term, but he has grown the league quite a bit, from 24 to 31 teams and continues to try to expand to more teams.

Awards

Joe Bowen has been the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1982, calling over 3,000 games. He was honoured with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions.

Larry Brooks is a writer for the New York Post. He was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Award for excellence in journalism.

Sources

Stats and info courtesy of NHL.com and Wikipedia.