California is Well Represented at Hockey Hall of Fame

What is there left to say about the career of Sergei Fedorov?  Before joining the Anaheim Ducks for the 2003-04 season after a bitter contract dispute with the Detroit Red Wings, Fedorov had already won 3 Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998 and 2002.  He also became the first European trained player to win the Hart Trophy as League MVP in 1994.  A Lester. B. Pearson award and 2 Frank Selke trophies were added to his cabinet as well.  Before even defecting to America from the “Iron Curtain” of the Soviet Union to play in the NHL, Fedorov had already won 4 Soviet National Team Championships in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990.

But it was with the Anaheim Ducks though (or the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as they were called then), that Fedorov got his 1000th career NHL point.  The first ever Russian born player to do so and he did it as a member of a team from California!  After winning a face-off in Vancouver’s defensive end, Fedorov got the puck to Ducks defenseman Keith Carney, who rifled the puck into the net.  History was made.

Fedorov ended his career as having the most career goals at 483 and 1,179 career points for Russian born players (his career goals record was just recently tied by Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin as of this writing) and being the first Russian born player to play over 1000 games in the NHL.  When speaking about being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Russian superstar and current General Manager of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow, or aka, “The Red Army team,” had this to say,

“I have always played hockey because I loved it, not because I wanted to win awards. But now that my career is over I realize how special it is to be recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame.  I am deeply honored to be an inductee.”

Fedorov reunited with some of his old friends like Pavel and Valeri Bure, Igor Larionov and Nicklas Lidstrom for the Legends Alumni game. In typical Fedorov fashion, he didn’t disappoint by scoring 2 goals for the World’s team, one of them a vintage deke between the opposing defensemen and goalie for the impressive goal.  This wasn’t the case of showing the world he still had it, he just simply never lost it.