The 2012 Hockey Hall of Famers were Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Adam Oates and Pavel Bure. These four were selected from a list of seventeen candidates. Bure had to wait six years after becoming eligible, and Oates had to wait five years. Both Sundin and Sakic made it in their first year of eligibility.
The following is a brief summary of the careers of the four 2012 Hockey Hall of Famers:
Joe Sakic: One of the best ambassadors in the game and a true gentleman. Sakic played his entire career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. He won two Stanley Cups, numerous individual awards, including league MVP, voted in 13 All-Star games and led Canada to Olympic gold in 2002 when he won tournament MVP. One of the most productive forwards of all time, Joe had six 100-plus point seasons and currently ranks ninth on the all-time points list. Today, Joe’s retired #19 hangs from the rafters at Colorado’s Pepsi Center.
Sundin Mats: The second Swedish-born player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was selected with the first overall draft pick by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, where he played four seasons before being traded to Toronto. In his 13 years with Toronto, he captained the team for 11 years. Except for his rookie season, the lockout-shortened season and his final half-season with Vancouver, he scored at least 70 points every year. Throughout his career, he averaged more than one point per game. Internationally, Mats won three gold medals at the World Championships and one gold at the Olympics while playing for Sweden.
Adam Oates: Adam began his NHL hockey career with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1985-86 season. Known as a setup man and playmaker, he had more assists in the 1990s than any player except Gretzky. Grooming the likes of Brett Hull in St. Louis, Cam Neely in Boston and Peter Bondra in Washington, he racked up 1,079 assists and 1,420 points in 1,337 games. He reached the Stanley Cup final twice, was a six-time Lady Byng nominee and played in five all-star games. By the way, he was named Washington’s head coach the day of his induction. Not bad for a kid who was never drafted.
Pavel Buré: The “Russian Rocket” dazzled with its lightning speed and dipsy doodle moves. Too bad his injured knees cut short a stellar career in which he scored 437 goals and a total of 779 points in just 702 games. In five of his eleven NHL seasons he scored 50 or more goals, including two 60-goal seasons. He also starred in three World Junior Championships, winning one gold and two silver medals, won one gold and one silver at the World Championships, and one silver and one bronze at the Olympic Games.
With NHL Annual Awards night and the NHL Draft just wrapped up, the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame induction capped off a fun week in hockey with today’s, tomorrow’s and yesterday’s stars sharing the center of attention. These three major events officially closed out the 2011-2012 season and the NHL can now begin preparations for next year.
