Henrik Lundqvist will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame with two of his idols.
And Caroline Ouellette is set to take her place alongside a pair of podium-topping teammates.
Lundqvist, Ouellette, Tom Barrasso, Mike Vernon and Pierre Turgeon headline the hall’s goaltender-heavy class of 2023 in the player category announced Wednesday following a vote by the 18-member selection committee.
Former NHL head coach Ken Hitchcock and the late Pierre Lacroix, who was both an agent and executive, will go in as builders at the induction ceremony Nov. 13 in Toronto.
Lundqvist, a star netminder for the New York Rangers, got the nod in his first year of eligibility, while Ouellette, who won four Olympic gold medals with Canada’s women’s team, will enter after being passed over last year.
Lundqvist said on a conference call with reporters and fellow inductees he had posters of Barrasso and Vernon — two fellow goalies — in his childhood bedroom growing up in Sweden.
“Really cool,” Lundqvist said. “There’s so many players that inspire you when you start playing the game.”
Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie in 2012, and ranks sixth in league history in wins (459), ninth in games played (887) and 17th in shutouts (64).
The Swede’s 459 victories are the most by a European netminder. Lundqvist won 61 more in the playoffs before halting his career in 2020 because of a heart condition.
A seventh-round draft pick in 2000, he backstopped the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup final, and led New York to the Eastern Conference final in both 2012 and 2015.
“You look at the goalies that are playing well,” added the 41-year-old Lundqvist, who also won Olympic gold in 2006. “How they play the game and how they compete.
“That’s how you get inspired.”
Ouellette is one of just three women’s hockey players — along with Hall of Famers and former Canadian teammates Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford — to win four or more Olympic gold medals.
Unable to join Wednesday’s conference call, the 44-year-old forward from Montreal helped Canada top the Olympic podium in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Ouellette also won six world championships with the national team.
Eligible since 2006, Barrasso captured both the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year and the Vezina during a magical 1983-84 season coming out of high school.
A two-time Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, his 369 career victories rank third all-time among American-born goaltenders.
“I was definitely not waiting by the phone,” Barrasso, 58, said with a chuckle. “In fact, they had a hard time getting a hold of me even after they had made the decision.
“You’re competitive and you hold yourself in certain regard as to how you think your career was. This is obviously the ultimate honour.”
Vernon won the Cup with his hometown Calgary Flames in 1989 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP along with that second title.
“The game has meant a lot to me throughout my life,” he said. “I’m just flabbergasted.”
Vernon, who has been eligible since 2005, added he thought Hall of Fame chair and former teammate Lanny McDonald was calling to set up a golf game when his phone rang Wednesday.
“It is an emotional time for me,” said the 60-year-old. “Might be a long time coming, but it’s still worth it.”
Turgeon, who retired in 2007, put up 515 goals and 812 assists for 1,327 points over his 19 NHL seasons. The 53-year-old also won the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play, in 1993.
“It has been a great journey and a privilege,” said the former centre from Rouyn, Que. “It’s crazy. I played hockey for a living … I still go out there twice a week because I love the game so much.”
Hitchcock, 71, ranks fourth on the NHL’s all-time coaching wins list with 849.
“My career started in minor hockey coaching kids and to reach this stage is almost overwhelming to me,” said Hitchcock, who won the Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999. “When the call came today … I was in complete shock and not really ready for it.
“This is an unbelievable honour for a guy who started out just coaching kids.”
He would go onto stand behind an NHL bench for 22 seasons.
“What I’m proudest of is that I survived,” Hitchcock said. “In this business, if you get fired and you do a good job and you have good relationships with people, there’s a really good chance you’ll get hired again.”
Lacroix, who died in December 2020 at age 72, started his career as a player agent before taking over as general manager of the Quebec Nordiques in 1994.
He moved with the franchise when it relocated to Colorado, and won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996 and 2001 thanks to some bold moves that included acquiring Patrick Roy from the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’re so excited,” said Lacroix’s son, Eric. “It’s a little bittersweet since he’s been gone for a couple years now.
“We’re looking forward to an unbelievable few days in Toronto.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
