Hockey Hall Makes Call

Hall of Famer. That's a phrase that can be handed out to a select few athletes. What that means, in simplistic terms, is that you're the best in the world at whatever you do. It means that your skill set is a step above everybody else. This year, we get six new names to enshrine in immortality in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Willie O'Ree, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Alexander Yakushev and Jayna Hefford were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. O'Ree, the NHL's first black player, and Bettman, who's been Commissioner since February of 1993, are going into the Hall in the builders category.

Willie O'Ree
Even though he didn't have quite as much of an impact on Hockey as Jackie Robinson did for Baseball, Willie O'Ree still had a lot of hardship to go through to get to the worlds best league. To make things more impressive, he kept pushing to try and play in the world's best league while being blind in one eye, which makes this all the more impressive. His playing career never really took off, as O'Ree scored four goals and added ten assists for fourteen points in 45 career NHL games. What O'Ree did off the ice is what's getting him inducted. O'Ree was hired by the NHL in 1998 as director of youth development and an ambassador for NHL diversity. He has championed the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, which has introduced more than 120,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to the game and established 36 local grassroots hockey programs, all geared toward serving economically disadvantaged youth. His charity work and involvement in the community have really been a positive impact for the youth around the country in both the US and Canada.

Garry Bettman
Bettman, who is the current Commissioner of the National Hockey League, has held the position since being given the title in 1993. He took the job over from then league president Gil Stein in February of that year. In his 25 year career as Commissioner of the league, there has been massive growth of the game under his watch. The league has gone over some big changes, including the expansion of the game from a 24 team circuit to the 31 team league we have right now. Annual revenue for the NHL right now is somewhere around the $4 billion mark, which is way up from about $400 million when Bettman began running the show. During his leadership, the game has also expanded on a more international level, with regular-season games played over in Europe and Japan, as well as preseason games in China. The League has participated in four Winter Olympics and held three World Cup of Hockey tournaments under Commissioner Bettman. Sure, there have been some downsides to Bettman running things, like the three work stoppages we've had due to labor disputes. One of which wiped out an entire season, something that had never happened before in hockey. All that aside, the game of hockey has grown leaps and bounds in the guidance of Gary Bettman, and for that, he is getting his just due and getting inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November.

Jayna Hefford
The only Woman to be inducted into the Hall this year Jayna set a blazing trail for women in the sport of hockey. Hefford played for Canada at five Winter Olympics and was a part of four gold medal-winning teams (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014). She scored the gold medal-winning goal against the United States at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and is one of five athletes to win gold at four consecutive Wi He's got a pretty long list of career acomplishments nter Olympics. Besides her Olympic success, Hefford spent most of her career in the National Women's Hockey League. She is the NWHL's all-time leading goal-scorer with 252 of them for the Brampton Thunder. She was one of the great female players to ever step foot on the ice, and helped take the game to another level for female athletes. She was one of the pioneers to help put Women's Hockey really on the map.

Alexander Yakushev
He may not be one of the more famous names to come out of the Russian hockey system, but he was one of the best players to ever come from that country. Yakushev really came to the concuss of North American hockey fans during the 1972 Summit Series. Yakushev led the Russians with seven goals during that famed eight game series against Canada. He later coached both the Kontinental Hockey League's Spartak Moscow and the Soviet national team. He's a former referee who worked prestigious events like the 1991 Canada Cup, he's considered among Russia's top historic hockey figures, taking the title of Soviet scoring champion in 1969. He was one of the key cogs in the Russian hockey system which helped turned the tide in the way the game was viewed and how hockey was played. His style of play was considered revolutionary and is viewed by a lot of younger Russian hockey players as a reason why they got into the game and a style of play that they tried to copy.

Martin St. Louis
For a guy who was never drafted, he turned out to have a pretty damn good career for himself. After spending four years playing for the University of Vermont, St Louis was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Calgary Flames. After spending parts of three uninspired years in Calgary , Marty left as a free agent and went to Tampa Bay, where his career really took off. After 13 very successful years as a Bolt, St Louis wrapped up his career over the final year and a half with the New York Rangers. He's got a pretty long list of career acomplishments. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, and picked up the Hart Trophy as League MVP and Art Ross as scoring champion in 2004. He won another scoring title in 2013, and won the Lady Byng Trophy for his skill and sportsmanship in 2010, 2011 and 2013. St. Louis finished his NHL career with 1,033 points (391 goals, 642 assists) in 1,134 games and is the Lightning's all-time leader in assists (588), points (953), power-play points (300), shorthanded goals (28), shorthanded points (44), game-winning goals (64), overtime goals (10), Stanley Cup Playoff goals (33) and postseason points (68). St Louis is the perfect example of how a great career can really take off once its put in the right situation. He was proof that little guys could still play, and play at a very high level, in the modern game. Good things really do come in small packages.

Martin Brodeur
First year on the ballot, its no surprise that the career wins leader and, some will argue, greatest goalie to ever play the game, gets into the Hall. Martin Broduer played all but seven games of his pro career with the Devils, finishing up the final seven games of his career with the St Louis Blues. He won three Cups with the Devils (1995, 2000, 2003), he was a five time winner of the Jennings trophy for lowest goals against in the league and a four time winner of the Vezina trophy as the leagues top netminder, and won the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 1994.. He also holds almost every possible record for a goalie. Brodeur holds the NHL records for wins (688), shutouts (124), games played by a goaltender (1,266), saves (28,928), minutes played (74,438), 30-win seasons (14), consecutive 30-win seasons (12), consecutive 35-win seasons (11), 40-win seasons (eight) and consecutive 40-win seasons (three). Some are critical of Brodeur because of the system he played in with the Devils. That maybe a deterrent sure, but you still have to be able to stop the puck and make saves. Brodeur could do that and he did with regularity. He was very good at what he did. He was criticized for his style sure, but he did the job, and did it better then anybody else.