Wait for the Hockey Hall of Fame pandemic class

Kevin Lowe waited for the call for 19 years.

Doug Wilson’s phone was silent for longer – 24 consecutive eligibility springs before it finally rang.

So another 365 days for the delayed class in the Hockey Hall of Fame pandemic in 2020 was probably not a big deal, right?

“Not at all,” Lowe said, laughing Friday.

“We need to enjoy the moment even longer.”

READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers to Retire Kevin Lowe on Friday the 4th

In addition to Lowe and Wilson, the 2020 player category includes Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa, who have been selected in their first qualifying years, and the Canadian women’s national team goalkeeper Kim St-Pierre, while Edmonton Oilers CEO Ken Holland will move to the builder.

“I never even saw the Hall of Fame a reality,” said Wilson, a San Jose Sharks GM. “It’s just a privilege that that happened.”

“We have to be a unique class,” Lowe added.

The selections were originally announced after a vote by an 18-member selection committee on 24 June 2020, but the ceremony was delayed by one year due to COVID-19.

The hall, which will officially welcome its newest members on Monday, then decided not to hold a 2021 class so that the current group would not have to share a focal point.

“Human health was a priority,” St-Pierre said. “We knew this day was going to happen.”

Former Flames captain and cartoonist Iginla scored 525 goals and 1,095 points in 1,219 matches with Calgary between 1996 and 2013 before stopping in Pittsburgh, Boston, Colorado and Los Angeles. The winger scored 1,300 points in 1,554 regular season matches and 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) in 81 playoffs.

Iginla, 44, won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top scorer in the 2001-2002 season and grabbed Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy in the highest scoring season and then again in the 2003-2004 season.

“Every time that happened, I was excited,” Iginla said of the pandemic, which threw the key to plans. “It’s a great honor.”

Dallas chose him 11th in the 1995 draft of the NHL before being dealt to the Flames as part of Joe Nieuwendyk’s exchange. Iginla wanted Calgary’s 2004 Stanley Cup final for the seventh game, but never got close to the final hockey prize again.

While he didn’t enjoy much of the NHL team’s success, Iginla won two Olympic golds and starred in one of the most iconic moments in Canadian hockey history, assisting Sidney Crosby in the 2010 Golden Goal.

“It’s really cool, the whole process,” Iginla said. “It makes you look back.

“There are so many things to be grateful for.”

READ MORE: Iginla, Flames alumni respond to Hockey Hall of Fame announcement: “He’s a legend”

Watch below: Global News videos of Jarome Iginla.

2:17The Calgary Flames ’fine Jarome Iginla was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame

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Three-time Cup champion Hossa ended his career with 525 goals and 1,134 points in 1,309 regular season games with Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Chicago.

The Senators chose the 12th pick in 1997, and the Slovakian winger scored 149 points (52 goals, 97 assists) in 205 playoffs and won the championship with Chicago in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Hossa lost the 2008 final to Pittsburgh and again to Detroit in 2009 before finally getting their hands on the Cup in 2010.

He appreciates the time spent with former Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk – including post-rehearsal games – for really reviving the two-way style that took him to a new level.

“I started to be more proud to play up and down hockey,” said Hossa, 42, who refused to intervene in the Blackhawks sexual crime scandal that has shaken the hockey world after making a statement earlier this month. “I still loved to paint, but I’d steal the discs even more.”

Edmonton was elected 21st in 1979, and Lowe won five Cups in 13 years in the capital of Alberta. Lachute, Que., Was then born in 1994 with his second title at the New York Rangers.

Lowe scored 84 goals, 432 points and 1,498 minutes in 1,254 regular season NHL matches. He added 58 points (10 goals, 48 ​​assists) in 214 playoffs while playing with players like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey.

“Whenever the Hall of Fame vote comes in and you don’t see your name, you go along,‘ I think if you’re not on the list, you probably won’t get in, ”the 62-year-old said. old. “I was just fine with it.”

3:21Coffey, Lowe, Pronger and Huddy Win Global News Fan Vote for All-Star Defenders

St-Pierre helped her country win three Olympic golds and five world championships, making it the eighth woman – and the first female goalkeeper.

“When I started playing hockey, women’s hockey wasn’t an Olympic sport,” said 42-year-old from Chateauguay, Questa. “It’s great to see how much you play as an adult.

“But much remains to be done.”

READ MORE: Trailblager Kim St-Pierre is the first female goalie to be selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame

After his career as a player, Holland served as a scout in Detroit before becoming an assistant GM. Named GM of the club in 1997, a native resident of Vernon, BC spent 22 seasons in position winning three Cups.

“I’ve been able to practice my passion every day since I was 20,” said Holland, 66. “I’m excited to be here.”

READ MORE: NHL builder Ken Holland receives Vernon’s Freedom of the City Award

1:58NHL builder Ken Holland receives the Vernon’s Freedom of the City Award

Seventh selection in 1977, Wilson played 14 seasons in Chicago and won the Norris Trophy League for Best Defender in 1982. The Ottawa, who was replaced in San Jose in 1991, played his last two seasons on the West Coast before later moving to lead the team. front office, where he has been a GM since 2003.

In the 1,024 regular season, Wilson scored 237 goals and 827 points. The 64-year-old also scored 80 points (19 goals, 61 assists) in 95 playoffs.

“The call (Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald) was a surprise,” Wilson said. “It was highly appreciated … but unexpected.”

Lowe, on the other hand, never imagined his name alongside Gretzky, Messier, Bobby Orr, or Mario Lemieux.

“But for some reason I’m here,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “And I’ll take it.”

Hossa believes Alfredsson will end up in the Hall of Fame

Hossa played his first seven NHL seasons in the country’s capital alongside Daniel Alfredsson – a player still waiting his turn to get a nod from the hall with Alexander Mogilny, Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind’Amour and Jennifer Botterill.

The decision to leave the 2021 class may be further delayed as Henrik and Daniel Sedin are now eligible, but Hossa believes his former captain will eventually be tapped on the shoulder.

READ MORE: Daniel Alfredsson bids farewell to Senator fans during pre-game ceremony

“Just such a positive guy – a guy you love to be with,” Hossa said of Alfredsson. “I had a lot of great memories with Alfie. Sooner or later he will be here.

“He deserves it.”

The PWHPA will issue an opinion

Hall Class 2020 may notice something different not far from where the ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday.

The Hockey Association of Women Professionals and Budweiser have erected a temporary memorial on “Front Street in downtown Toronto called” This game is for all of us. “

Four-time Olympic gold medalist and PWHPA operations consultant Jayna Hefford said the work, in which a female hockey player encourages her team behind a 10-foot-long board, is set to spark a debate.

“Hockey needs to be made more inclusive, especially if we want it to continue to evolve and grow,” he said in a telephone interview. “Getting women into the game is just one part of it.”

READ MORE: Erin Ambrose of PWHPA fights for equality and mental health in hockey

Hall’s 2018 class member Hefford said he was at the memorial earlier this week when the young family stopped to watch.

“The little girl just stood there and stared at it,” Hefford said. “That’s what it was supposed to do. Suddenly this young girl sees a female hockey player.

“This is a big week for women’s hockey after Kim St-Pierre is inducted into the Hall of Fame. We hope it adds to this spotlight. “