Teemu Selanne & Paul Kariya Headline 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame Class
- Updated: November 11, 2017
When the calendar turned to November in each of the last three years, it was a time of celebration for the Los Angeles Kings. That’s because, in each of those three years, the franchise saw one of their own become welcomed as honoured members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, after Rob Blake, Nick Nickson and Rogie Vachon each received their calls during that span, 2017 saw the Kings’ streak, if you will get snapped. Conversely, 2017 saw a celebration for the Kings’ crosstown rivals.
While many teams are represented in the 2017 Hall of Fame class, one team that holds a strong contingent is the Anaheim Ducks who will see arguably two of their biggest names become immortalized forever with hockey’s greatest honour this weekend: Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.
Unfortunately, it was not an auspicious start for the duo as Friday’s ring ceremony, set for 2 pm local time, started an hour later as the Selanne and Kariya’s flight to Toronto was delayed. Thankfully, that was the only snag on this day as the former teammates arrived at a light-hearted reception.
In early 1996, then-Ducks GM Jack Ferreira, as told by Mr. Kariya, walked into the team’s locker room and he “floored” his players by announcing that he had just traded for Teemu Selanne. While Paul Kariya — along with his teammates — were excited by the acquisition, it would mark the birth of one of the NHL’s most fearsome duos of the decade.
In their four full seasons together in Anaheim, Kariya and Selanne teamed up for a combined for 325 goals and 704 points. The pair had so much chemistry that they reunited in 2003 to join the Colorado Avalanche. Yet, while their time together in the Mile High City wasn’t as fruitious, there was never any denying the impact Selanne and Kariya had on hockey in southern California, especially in Anaheim.
Teemu Selanne receiving his Hall of Fame ring
(Photo credit: Ryan Cowley)
Yet, while Selanne and Kariya had a great synergy on the ice, the duo had a great friendship off the ice. Kariya even mentioned to reporters that he and Selanne surf together. Kariya even said that Selanne is “afraid of the sharks”, referring to the actual fish and not San Jose’s NHL club. Kariya, who happened to be surfing when he got the call to be inducted, received a slew of congratulatory calls. One of those calls came from Selanne who, according to Kariya, yelled into the phone in sheer excitement, exclaiming, “We’re going to the Hall together!”
I actually had a chance to speak with one half of said duo shortly following Friday’s Hall of Fame ring ceremony. Paul Kariya told me about how he felt the game has grown in southern California from being drafted by the Ducks in 1994 to reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2003 and beyond.
Paul Kariya receiving his Hall of Fame ring
(Photo credit: Ryan Cowley)
“Well, I remember my first training camp, hopping into a sedan, driving on the freeway and seeing palm trees on the side of the road,” the new inductee told me. “I had just come from Calgary with the Olympic team, Orono, Maine, Vancouver, and I was like, ‘What am I doing here? It’s crazy to be in this type of climate playing hockey.’”
It didn’t take long for Kariya’s attitude to change, though, as the Ducks immediately began contending for playoff spots and were even better than their rivals just up the road in Los Angeles. But, whether it was the Ducks or Kings who held bragging rights, hockey’s popularity in southern California nonetheless blossomed.
“Now, players are routinely drafted out of California. It’s a hockey hotbed. All my buddies that have kids that are playing minor hockey routinely come up to Ontario or Quebec and beat Canadian teams. Hockey’s huge in California and the growth of the game has just been spectacular and I’ve been really privileged to have seen that.”
Dave Andreychuk receiving his Hall of Fame ring
(Photo credit: Ryan Cowley)
While the SoCal contingent in this year’s class is limited to Selanne and Kariya, Dave Andreychuk had his own experience with California hockey, albeit on the opposite end.
In the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs were enjoying their greatest playoff run, Another of this year’s inductees was an integral part of that special team as Dave Andreychuk spoke to me briefly about facing the Los Angeles Kings in an epic seven-game battle — one the Leafs narrowly lost.
“It was an awesome series,” the 22-year veteran said. “It was a series that you think, game by game, how close it was and then to have a Game 7 in [Maple Leaf Gardens], unfortunately, we didn’t win but it was great hockey for sure.
“Didn’t turn out the way we wanted,” Andreychuk continued, chuckling. “But at the same time, I look back on that Game 7– we lose the game to– in Wayne Gretzky’s own words, his ‘greatest game ever’. I was part of it but not the part I wanted. Awesome series, though.”
Overall, it was a great day. The temperature in Toronto may have been below freezing but the rays of sunlight reflected into the shrine’s Great Hall as Selanne, Kariya and Andreychuk all accepted their well-deserved rings. In addition, fellow alum Mark Recchi, longtime Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Danielle Goyette, a cog in Canadian women’s history, entered immortality as well.
As special as Friday was, though, it marked just the first step this great weekend. On Monday night, each of the inductees will officially become the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame — and what a magnificent, well-deserved honour it is.
2017 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class
(Photo credit: Ryan Cowley)
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