2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

The 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees 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 inductees of the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame:

Joe Sackic: 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 for 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 of Colorado’s Pepsi Center.

Sundin Mats: The second Swedish-born player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was selected first overall in the draft 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 shortened lockout season and his last 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 World Championships gold medals and one Olympic gold medal 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 other player except Gretzky. Coaching 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 on the day of his induction. Not bad for a kid who was never drafted.

Pavel Bure: The “Russian Rocket” dazzled with its lightning speed and dipsy doodle moves. It’s 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 the night of the Annual NHL Awards and the NHL Draft just completed, the induction of the 2012 Hockey Hall of Famers capped off a fun week in hockey with the stars of today, tomorrow and yesterday 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.