Hockey Hall of Fame: Zdeno Chára, Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton among 8-member class of 2025
Jennifer Botterill, Zdeno Chára, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jack Parker, Danièle Sauvageau, and Joe Thornton will make up the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025, Selection Committee chair Ron Francis announced on Tuesday.
The 18-member Selection Committee met on Monday and Tuesday to nominate and elect a class of eight players and builders. Players must not have played in a professional or international game in any of the previous three seasons. Builders are eligible even if they are still active in the game.
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Candidates must receive at least 75% of the vote from the Selection Committee in order to be elected.
Jennifer Botterill (Player) — A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Botterill helped Canada win five IIHF World Championship gold medals while averaging over a point per game in her international career (62 goals, 164 points, 162 games). Before starring on the international level, Botterill was a standout player at Harvard and was a back-to-back winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, which recognizes the top women's collegiate player.
Zdeno Chára (Player) — "Big Z" played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals over a 1,680-game NHL career that saw him score 209 goals and 680 points. An unmistakeable presence on the ice at 6-foot-9, Chara was one of the best defensemen of his era winning the 2008-09 Norris Trophy as the league's top blue liner. He was also a three-time NHL first team All-Star and was a part of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup winning Bruins squad. Chára also holds the hardest shot record with a 108.8 mph blast during one of his five Hardest Shot competition victories during NHL All-Star Weekend. Internationally, Chára won silver medals at the IIHF World Championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey representing Slovakia.
Brianna Decker (Player) — Decker finished her decorated hockey career in 2017 with a mantle full of individual and team honors. While playing collegiately at Wisconsin, she won the 2011-12 Kazmaier Award. She began her international career while still in college and would go on to win six gold and two silver medals at the IIHF World Championships, along with one gold and two silvers at the Olympics. Decker also claimed two CWHL Clarkson Cups and the NWHL's Isobel Cup, where she was also two-time league MVP.
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Duncan Keith (Player) — Keith spent all but one season of his 17-year NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks where he helped the franchise win three Stanley Cups. During that time he also won two Norris Trophies, was named the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP and was twice voted a first team NHL All-Star. Over his career, he scored 106 goals and recorded 646 points. He was also a part of the 2010 and 2014 Canadian Olympic teams that claimed gold.
Alexander Mogilny (Player) — Mogilny was the first Soviet player to defect west and when he arrived in the NHL he quickly made his mark. His 76-goal season in 1992-93 tied him for the NHL's goal scoring lead with Teemu Selänne. He would finish with 127 points that season. A year later the Sabres named him the first European captain in league history. When it was all said and done, the six-time All-Star scored 473 goals and recorded 1,032 points. He's a member of the IIHF's Triple Gold Club after winning the Stanley Cup, Olympics and IIHF World Championship. He also helped the Soviet Union to gold at the World Junior Championship.
Jack Parker (Builder) — Parker coached Boston University for 40 years and helped the Terriers claim three NCAA national championships and six Hockey East tournament titles. He's a three-time Spencer Penrose Award winner as the top Division-I men's coach and owns the record for most wins with one school with 897 and the most NCAA tournament appearances with 24.
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Danièle Sauvageau (Builder) — Sauvageau is the first woman to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category and earned the honor following a coaching career that saw her guide Canada's women's team to a silver medal at the 1998 Olympics and then gold four years later in Salt Lake City. She's been part of seven Olympics with Canada serving as head coach, general manager and consultant.
Joe Thornton (Player) — Thornton's 24-year NHL career saw him suit up for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NHL draft. He fell short of Stanley Cup glory, but did win an Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, a Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and was a first team NHL All-Star. Thornton did find success on the international stage with Canada winning gold at the 1997 World Junior Championships, 2010 Olympics, and two World Cups of Hockey. "Jumbo" finished with 430 goals and 1,539 points in 1,714 games. He is one of only 16 players in NHL history to have reached the 1,500-point mark.
The Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025 will be inducted in Toronto on Monday, Nov. 10.
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(Top photo of the Maple Leafs and Bruins in 2013: Brian Babineau / NHLI via Getty Images)
