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Unlike some of their 2020 classmates - Iginla and Hossa were elected in their first years of eligibility - Lowe and Wilson had to bide their time after retiring. But everything changed when I got my hands on a VHS tape of Wayne Gretzky. "My early dreams focused entirely on playing for my country. "Growing up in a communist Czechoslovakia, I didn't know much about the National Hockey League," said Hossa. The Slovak winger played for a total of five teams, registering 525 goals and 1,134 points in 1,309 games.
"The losses that taught me more than the wins, the players and the coaches who contributed so much to my success." "I'm grateful to the game I love for everything it has given me," said Hossa, 42.
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He finally got his hands on hockey's holy grail in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks after losing the title series as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and the Detroit Red Wings in 2009. Hossa is the only player in NHL history to play in three straight Cup finals with three different teams. The induction ceremony usually takes place in a plaza attached to the Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto, but this year's event was held across the street at the larger Meridian Hall. "My first year in hockey as a seven-year-old, a kid came up to me and said, 'Why are you playing hockey?' Over the years I would hear, 'What are your chances of playing in the NHL? There's not many Black players.' "Being a young Black hockey player, it was important for me to see other Black players in the NHL," Iginla. Iginla joins Grant Fuhr, Canadian women's national team player Angela James and trailblazer Willie O'Ree, who went in as a builder, as the fourth Black person enshrined. "It was truly, truly awesome," he said of that moment. Iginla also registered one of the most famous assists in his country's history by setting up Sidney Crosby's golden goal at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. He became the first Black athlete to win gold at a Winter Olympics when he helped the Canadian men end a 50-year drought at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Iginla did, however, have plenty of success on the international stage. Iginla got close to winning the Stanley Cup with Calgary in 2004, but the power forward couldn't quite get over the hump in a hard-fought series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Edmonton native, who also grabbed the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point-getter in 2001-02, combined to register 625 goals and 1,300 points in 1,554 games in a career that included four other NHL stops. When I look back on those chapters, each reminds me of so many things I have to say thank you for."Ī mainstay with the Flames from 1996 through 2013, Iginla led his team in scoring 11 times, winning the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer twice. "And then in a blink of an eye, you're done.
"A career in hockey is a series of exciting chapters where you learn and grow from a wide-eyed rookie to a seasoned veteran," Iginla said in his speech. The former captain of the Calgary Flames was joined by Marian Hossa, Kevin Lowe, Doug Wilson and Canadian women's national team goalie Kim St-Pierre, while Ken Holland went in as a builder to round out the group voted in by the hall's 18-member selection committee nearly 17 months ago. Jarome Iginla headlined the five players and one executive enshrined Monday night - a year later than originally intended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. TORONTO - The Hockey Hall of Fame's pandemic class finally got its moment in the spotlight.Īnd while the delay was longer than anyone wanted or expected, the wait was well worth it for 2020's six inductees.