What does your 2018 Hockey hall of fame class look like?

[Ceremony]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/posts/145792753/

 

[Canadiens1958]

Brodeur, St. Louis and Yakushev. Bettman and O'Ree as builders.

Soviet players are not my strongest suit. Is Yakushev a good pick?

From a Summit Series,N/A perspective he is.

 

[Fire Benning]

Brodeur, St. Louis and Yakushev. Bettman and O'Ree as builders.

Soviet players are not my strongest suit. Is Yakushev a good pick?

Yes although Boris Mikhailov being in is well overdue in my opinion.

 

[JackSlater]

Maybe I am off here, but somehow the Yakushev pick is an induction of a Soviet player that somehow makes the HHOF look even more North America-centric.

 

[johan f]

I remember him as one of those good players behind the more famous first line players. He scored in heaps , 60 goals in 80 games in World Championships for instance. There are worse players inducted in HOF.

 

[Sprague Cleghorn]

Maybe I am off here, but somehow the Yakushev pick is an induction of a Soviet player that somehow makes the HHOF look even more North America-centric.

Ha, thats exactly what i was going to post in here. This pretty much confirms the NA centric view of the HOF. No way was Yakushev considered better by the Soviets or Europeans in general compared to Mikhailov, Petrov, Vasiliev, and Maltsev among the 70s Soviets.

 

[Sprague Cleghorn]

Though of course, even with all that said, Yakushev is still a worthy nominee.

 

[DaveG]

Brodeur, St. Louis and Yakushev. Bettman and O'Ree as builders.

Soviet players are not my strongest suit. Is Yakushev a good pick?

IMHO there's better still out there, off the top of my head certainly Mikhailov.

 

[Megahab]

Shouldn't Krutov be in or no? I don't know much about him but from what I've read, it seems like he should be in.

 

[JKM]

Selection committee did a good job this year. Worthy nominees. Same can't be said about Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Larry Brooks is not the first name that comes to mind when I think of ”distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey”.

It seems like Don Cherry doesn't have too many fans in the selection committee. Hopefully they will induct more Soviets and Czechoslovakians in the coming years.

 

[JackSlater]

Though of course, even with all that said, Yakushev is still a worthy nominee.

Yes I'm not complaining about his induction given that European greats pre-NHL are sorely underrepresented, but more marveling that Yakushev was inducted before various other better and even more famous (though I guess not in North America) players from that region.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Maybe I am off here, but somehow the Yakushev pick is an induction of a Soviet player that somehow makes the HHOF look even more North America-centric.

Ha bascially. I was actually fine with the HHOF closing its doors to Soviets after Makarov was finally inducted. It would then just be the case that the standard for non-NHL-prime Euros would be a lot higher than for NHLers.

But Yakushev opens a door. Is it a door to clearly better Soviets like Firsov, Mikhailov, Petrov, Maltsev, and (if you ignore his cheeseburger years) Krutov? Or is it a door to Paul Henderson because "it's unfair to induct Yakushev because of '72 and not Henderson."

 

[Guy Gadowsky]

Housley is the worst defenseman in the Hall and Zubov's individual accolades are worse than his. I don't see him ever going in. For some reason, the Hall also seems to be harder on defensemen than they're on forwards. Not to mention goaltenders where the standards are extremely high.

Although all of above could be questioned by the inclusion of Phil Housley, I guess.

Its worth noting individual accolades aren't handed out by objective hockey gods, most of them are voted by the PHWA morons


Rob Blake Norris Season 97-98: 81 GP, 23/27/50, 94 PIMS

Zubov 97-98: 73 GP, 10/47/57, 16 PIMS


Zubov's statline isn't that much different than Blake's. Blake won the Norris, Zubov was 10th or so. Was Blake that much better defensively than Zubov to warrant this gap? I dunno, before my time. But just going off the stats, Zubov is in my HHOF

 

[MaxV]

Shouldn't Krutov be in or no? I don't know much about him but from what I've read, it seems like he should be in.

Even if this is the start of HHOF recognizing Soviet (and hopefully Czech/Slovak) greats, Krutov won’t make it.

They won’t be able overlook him showing up 30 lbs overweight and not taking NHL seriously.

 

[MaxV]

BTW, some of you guys might remember, from previous discussions on this subject, that I called this one.

I knew Yak would take precedent over others. That SS performance stands out.

 

[Sentinel]

I am very happy. The guy was one of the greatest power forwards of his era and clutch to a "T."

 

[Laphroaig]

I remember how good Yakushev was in 1972 but I wasn't really aware that the likes of Petrov and Maltsev were generally more highly regarded. With that in mind I would have preferred that a different Soviet era player had been chosen. Firsov would be my choice.

As far as Paul Henderson is concerned I'm hopeful that he'll never be allowed near the Hall of Fame without purchasing a ticket.

Just for the record I'm disappointed that J.C. Tremblay was, once again, passed over.

 

[Staniowski]

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Willie O'Ree's on-ice career is that he played his entire professional career - which lasted over 20 years - almost completely blind in his right eye. He took a slapshot in the eye when he was playing junior. The doctor told Willie that, unfortunately, his hockey career was over, but Willie didn't tell anybody and found that he could still play with sight in only his left eye. Incredibly, he played left wing without use of his right eye.

 

[Big Phil]

Brodeur and St. Louis, for sure. I'd have been shocked if they had gotten passed over. Yakushev is a bit of a surprise but I can live with him in there. Oh, by the way, didn't Jayna Hefford get into the women's wing? I know, I know, but I thought I'd mention it at least.

O'Ree probably didn't get in because he is the first black player. I know people think that, but that isn't where he made an impact. It was his grassroots programs that got him in there. The "first black" player didn't hurt either, but he was the first black player for 60 years and they didn't put him in. I am guessing his work at the minor league level is what did it.

Bettman............ugh. If you are a commish or President you are getting in. Bug Selig is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Someday Roger Goodell will be in Canton. It isn't something you can avoid.

I am wondering when they are going to put Fleury in though. Are they going to go the Pete Rose avenue where they are literally waiting for him to die just to sort of "stick it to him" so that he doesn't get the satisfaction to see it while he's alive? I don't know. But he belongs. Tremblay, Barrasso and I guess to a lesser extent Alfredsson will have to wait.

 

[Zegras Zebra]

Martin Brodeur: Yes
Martin St. Louis: Yes
Alexander Yakushev: Don't know enough about him, I'll judge it when I learn more about him
Jayna Hefford: I'd prefer Cassie Campbell, but I can't complain
Willie O'Ree: Yes, as a builder he absolutely deserves it
Garry Bettman: (Boo!) Not yet, sometime after he retires, but not now

Hopefully Alfie and Fleury get in next year

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Its worth noting individual accolades aren't handed out by objective hockey gods, most of them are voted by the PHWA morons


Rob Blake Norris Season 97-98: 81 GP, 23/27/50, 94 PIMS

Zubov 97-98: 73 GP, 10/47/57, 16 PIMS


Zubov's statline isn't that much different than Blake's. Blake won the Norris, Zubov was 10th or so. Was Blake that much better defensively than Zubov to warrant this gap? I dunno, before my time. But just going off the stats, Zubov is in my HHOF

i’m reading that first sentence and i’m nodding my head. every subsequent line gives me more and more pause. then i read the last line and i’m like, glass houses man.

As far as Paul Henderson is concerned I'm hopeful that he'll never be allowed near the Hall of Fame without purchasing a ticket.

paul henderson should never ever have to buy a ticket if he wants to visit the hall of fame. he can’t stay after it closes at 5pm but he should always be on the comp list.

O'Ree probably didn't get in because he is the first black player. I know people think that, but that isn't where he made an impact. It was his grassroots programs that got him in there. The "first black" player didn't hurt either, but he was the first black player for 60 years and they didn't put him in. I am guessing his work at the minor league level is what did it.

exactly. he did something unique and symbolically important, but if you listen to what guys like subban and smith-pelly say about willie o’ree the man, what got him into the hall is that he lived up to the responsibility of that unique thing he did once upon a time.

 

[GMR]

Ha bascially. I was actually fine with the HHOF closing its doors to Soviets after Makarov was finally inducted. It would then just be the case that the standard for non-NHL-prime Euros would be a lot higher than for NHLers.

But Yakushev opens a door. Is it a door to clearly better Soviets like Firsov, Mikhailov, Petrov, Maltsev, and (if you ignore his cheeseburger years) Krutov? Or is it a door to Paul Henderson because "it's unfair to induct Yakushev because of '72 and not Henderson."

Do you know how hard it was to get a cheeseburger in Russia back then? I hope the voters take that into account when thinking of Krutov. However, I think Mikhailov and Firsov need to be in before anyone else, including Maltsev, Krutov, and Petrov. I would actually put Zubov ahead of the latter players.

Also, why aren't Holecek and Martinec in the Hall of Fame? They gave those Soviet teams more than just a run for their money. Those were great players too. Are they judged on a different metric than the Russian players?

 

[DannyGallivan]

Shouldn't Krutov be in or no? I don't know much about him but from what I've read, it seems like he should be in.

The pizza hall of fame maybe. I'm sure he'll be there someday.

 

[VMBM]

Soviet players are not my strongest suit. Is Yakushev a good pick?

He was a legendary good performer vs the Canadians/North Americans, especially in 1972; arguably the best of them all (Soviets) in that series (Kharlamov was possibly denied of that 'honour' when Clarke did what he did in game 6, though). Especially for that reason, Yakushev is well-known in Canada. However, in Europe/Russia, Yakushev isn't usually among the very first players who are mentioned when talking about the Russian or European greats. I don't want to knock him, though; he was an excellent player and goal-scorer.

But I hate to see him getting in before Firsov, Mikhailov and Maltsev. And I don't know what makes him more worthy than the Czechs Vladimir Martinec, Jiri Holecek and Vaclav Nedomansky either.

 

[Epsilon]

Its worth noting individual accolades aren't handed out by objective hockey gods, most of them are voted by the PHWA morons


Rob Blake Norris Season 97-98: 81 GP, 23/27/50, 94 PIMS

Zubov 97-98: 73 GP, 10/47/57, 16 PIMS


Zubov's statline isn't that much different than Blake's. Blake won the Norris, Zubov was 10th or so. Was Blake that much better defensively than Zubov to warrant this gap? I dunno, before my time. But just going off the stats, Zubov is in my HHOF

So you call the PHWA morons, then provide an even more superficial analysis than they typically use, while outright admitting you didn't watch the games.

Interesting tactic.