Far too early selections for the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame category

The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed its newest class on Monday night in Toronto, which means it’s time to start speculating on next year’s immortals.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hall did not have a 2021 class. This means players like Henrik and Daniel Sedin will move into the 2022 class for consideration, which will certainly make things harder for next year’s qualifiers and 18-person selection committee.

Here is our current ranking in the 2022 category of eligible player candidates. Remember that there can be a maximum of four men and two women in a player class:

1. Caroline Ouellette, forward (first year)

The only absolute lock in the Hockey Hall of Fame category 2022. The striker is one of five athletes to win a gold medal at four consecutive Winter Olympics, helping Canadian women on the podium in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2010. 2014, as well as Olympic silver in 1998. He won six gold medals: IIF n Women’s World Cup. Ouellette scored 2.36 points per game in 97 matches at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

He also won the 2009 Clarkson Cup with the Montreal Stars, becoming the only one of three players to win the Cup, Olympic gold and world gold. The other two are Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford. Guess where they are right now.

An acceptable control here would have been to make Sedin level off second overall. But it is a provable fact that Henrik is better than Sedin. He had more points (1,070) even though they had the same career score per game (0.80). He was the best defensive player of both. Critically, he won the 2009-10 Hart Trophy League MVP for a 112-point transmission of the season, with Daniel Sedin confined to 63 matches due to injury.

During his 17-year NHL career, Henrik was third in goal scoring among the centers, behind only Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby, two Hall of Fame locks if they were eligible today. The funniest outcome in next year’s Hall of Fame class would be that Canucks ’former GM Brian Burke would nominate Henrik Sedin, while no one else would nominate Daniel Sedin, and only one twin would get to the first ballot. But this is unlikely to happen because …

3. Daniel Sedin, right hand (first year)

… if Henrik Sedin is in the Hall of Famer, Daniel Sedin is probably too. The winger scored 1,041 points in 1,306 games. He was the scorer in this remarkable tandem, although his 393 goals were only fourth for him on the left during his career – in fact, he lagged behind Rick Nash, the first qualifying player in this category. Daniel won his goal title in the 2010-11 season with 104 points and selected Pearson as the NHLPA Player of the Year, but he was second in the Corey Perry MVP vote.

The sedins as a duo were such a sensational novelty – not only in the history of hockey, but also in the history of professional sports – that they should rightly be joined together. Damn, they should be on the same board, although Henrik Sedin once told us that “we would have a separate one [ones], for sure. “

4. Alex Mogilny, right wing (13th year)

There is momentum behind Mogilny’s candidacy as he lingers in the election for much longer than his significant career should have justified.

He is 54th in all-time goals (473), 53th in adjusted goals and 36th in goals average (0.478). He scored 1.04 points per game – the 42nd place ever – playing most of his career in the defensive era. A Triple Gold Club member, Mogilny was an important part of hockey history as the Soviet Union’s first cut to the NHL.

Luongo has Hall of Fame numbers: 1,044 games played, second-ever; 489 wins, the fourth ever, as he has played on far less successful teams than Martin Brodeur (691), Patrick Roy (551) and Marc-Andre Fleury (495); and a 0.919 career rejection rate and 77 shutouts, both the ninth best ever. He won Canadian Olympic gold in 2010 and was a member of two IIHF World Championship teams.

The only thing he doesn’t have is the Vezina Trophy because he’s been a finalist three times. He was closest to winning in the 2006-2007 season, when he finished second after Brodeur (and second in the MVP Awards for Sidney Crosby). A well-liked, stellar player and possibly a great Canucks-centric complement to this class of Sedines. But only six goalkeepers have entered the Hall since 2003; is Luongo the number one voter?

Gonchar had the misfortune of not being Nicklas Lidstrom. The Detroit Red Wings Hall of Famer – considered one of the best defenders in hockey history – is the only defender to score more goals (236) and points (985) than Gonchar (220 goals, 811 points) in 1994-1995. for the period 2014-15, which was the period of the career of the Russian defender.

Gonchar is at 17th of all time in the defense career, and the names in front of him are in the hall except for Gary Suteria (14th). He won the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh in 2009 and placed in the top five of the Norris Trophy four times.

The former Senators captain could be part of a Swedish attack with the Sedines in 2022, or he could continue to be closer to “The Hall of Very Good” instead. His 444 goals are all-time 64th and 1157 points 54. He won the Calder Trophy between 1995 and 1996 and won Olympic gold with Sedini in 2006 as well as silver in 2014. However, he never won another single prize or the Stanley Cup.

Jarome Iginla was awarded a great player and an even better ambassador for the game. Alfredsson also fits this description.

8. Jennifer Botterill, Forward (Eighth Year)

Botterill helped the Canadian team win Olympic gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010, winning five IIHF World Championships and winning the tournament MVP twice. But his dominance in the NCAA sets him apart. He played at Harvard, scoring 319 points in 113 games and scoring at least one point in all but one of his college matches. She was the first player to win the Patty Kazmaier Award twice as the best player in the U.S. Women’s University Hockey. Botterill also scored 155 points in 78 CWHL matches.

He is a player who could already be involved and whose profile has only grown in his work in the Canadian media. But the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee has only selected two female players once in the same year: Cammi Granato and Angela James in the 2010 class.

During his 18-season career, Tkachuk scored 538 goals (32nd) and 1,065 points in 1,201 games. He led the league in goal scoring once (1996-97), but was otherwise a model of consistency. Unfortunately for Tkachuk, his career was stable but unseen, as he never won a personal award or the Stanley Cup – although he won World Cup gold in 1996 and Olympic silver in 2002.

But here’s the thing: every player above him on the goal list who is eligible for the Hall of Fame is, in fact, the Hall of Fame. Theory: The success of Matthew and Brady Tkachuk has helped keep their father’s immortality on the radar.

Zetterberg ended his career with 960 points in 1082 games, including 337 goals. A great two-way striker, he never won the Clear Trophy and was nominated only once. He was also second to Calder in the 2002-03 season. His greatest personal accomplishment was Conn Smythe’s victory in the 2008 Redley Wings Stanley Cup. This ring earned him Triple Gold Club status as well as a championship in the 2006 Olympics and 2006 World Championships with Sweden.

One could argue that his former teammate Pavel Datsyuk has a stronger case. It can also be argued that the protection of Guy Carbonneau opened the door for the former Red Wings captain.

Other candidates

Other players under consideration include centers Jeremy Roenick, Rod Brind’Amour and Patrik Elias, winger Theo Fleury and goalkeepers Curtis Joseph and Mike Vernon. The second first-year candidate is striker Rick Nash, with 437 goals in 71st place ever.

One interesting candidate in his first year of eligibility: Former Team USA star Meghan Duggan, who served as captain on the American 2018 PyeongChang Gold Medal Team.

As for the builders category, candidates include Herb Carnegie, a groundbreaking black player; innovative goalkeeper coach Francois Allaire and former Michigan coach Red Berenson.