Steve Yzerman to be Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame
June 23, 2009
TORONTO (June 23, 2009) — Bill Hay, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Board of Directors, Jim Gregory and Pat Quinn, Co-Chairmen of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Selection Committee, announced today that Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category and Lou Lamoriello has been elected in the Builder Category. The vote took place today at the annual meeting of the Selection Committee in Toronto.
"The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these five hockey legends as Honoured Members," said Jim Gregory. "Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved."
Steve Yzerman played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes from 1981-83. He scored 63 goals and 92 assists for 155 points in 114 games. He was selected 4th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1983 Entry Draft and went on to play 22 seasons for the Wings. The longest serving team captain in Red Wings history (1986 until 2006), Yzerman holds numerous team records, led the team to three Stanley Cups and was a member of Canada's gold medal winning Olympic team in 2002.
This season, Yzerman served as an Honourary Captain for the Eastern Conference All-Stars at the 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic in Windsor, ON.
"It is a tremendous honour to receive this news," said Steve Yzerman. "I want to thank the Selection Committee for recognizing my contributions — I truly had chills down my spine when I got the news."
The 2009 Induction Celebration will be held on Monday, November 9th at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Steve Yzerman
- Born on May 9, 1965 in Cranbrook, British Columbia
- Picked 4th overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings
- 22 NHL seasons played with the Detroit Red Wings
- In his Rookie year, set Detroit records for goals (37) and points (87) for a rookie; he became the youngest player to play in the NHL All-Star Game (age 18), was runner-up to the Calder Trophy, and was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team (1984)
- Served as Captain of the Red Wings 1986-2006, the youngest player to be named Detroit's Captain (age 21), and the longest-serving Captain in League history
- Holds Red Wings records for most career assists (1063), most goals in one season (65), most assists in one season (90), most points in one season (155)
- Lester B. Pearson Award (1989)
- Conn Smythe Trophy (1998)
- Frank J. Selke Trophy (2000)
- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (2003)
- Lester Patrick Trophy (2007)
- Nine NHL All-Star Games played (1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000)
- Six 100+ point seasons (1987-93), and five 50+ goal seasons (1987-91 and 1992-93)
- Finished in the League's top ten in scoring 6 times
- Ranks 5th in the NHL for all-time most career points, including playoffs (1940); most career goals (692), assists (1063), and points (1755) by a Centre
- Ranks 8th in the NHL among all-time top goal-scoring leaders (692); 7th among all-time assists leaders (1063); 6th among all-time point scorers (1755); and 11th among all-time games-played leaders (1514)
- Marked his 500th career goal on Jan. 17, 1996 vs. Colorado Avalanche, and his 1000th NHL point on Feb. 24, 1993 vs. Buffalo Sabres
- 20 NHL post-season appearances
- Three Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002),
- Represented Canada on multiple occasions: bronze medalist at the 1983 IIHF World Junior Championship; champion at the 1984 Canada Cup; silver medalist at the 1996 World Cup; 3 appearances at the IIHF World Championship (1985 - silver medalist, 1989 - silver medalist, 1990); two-time Olympian (1998, 2002 - gold medalist)
- Named the 1990 IIHF World Championship Best Forward
- NHL Regular Season Career: 1514 games played, 692 goals, 1063 assists, 1765 points
- NHL Playoff Career: 196 games played, 70 goals, 115 assists, 185 points
- Retired from NHL play; July 3, 2006
- Sweater number (#19) was retired by the Detroit Red Wings; January 2, 2007
- Currently serves the Detroit Red Wings as Vice-President, Hockey, and as General Manager of Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Click here to read a full biography of Steve Yzerman
Click here for more information about the other Hockey Hall of Fame 2009 Inductees
Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum and place of entertainment offering state-of-the-art multimedia presentations and exhibits from its premises at Brookfield Place, Toronto, Canada. Its mandate is to recognize and honour the achievements of individuals who bring special distinction to the game of hockey, and to collect and preserve objects, images and resource materials connected with the game as it is played in Canada and throughout the world.
For more information please visit www.hhof.com
