Monday, June 18, 2007

110% Hall of Fame Nominations

So Chris asked Russ and I to put something together that is good "off-season" talk for me, which is the 110% Hall of Fame inductions. This idea appeals to me a lot in that I like to see stuff like this debated and like to celebrate sports whenever I can. The format we were to follow was to pick a Historical Player, Current Player, and a Personal Fave.

This of course sent my head spinning because I can think of way too many players that fit in here. I thought I'd go off the beaten path a little bit and avoid obvious picks. So, Gretzky, Jordan, Montana, etc... not in my list. Way too obvious. So without further ado, and of course, they will all be Hockey players for me.

Historical Player: I didn't go back too far.. This player began his career with the Vancouver Canucks in 1983 and played for three seasons before being traded to the Boston Bruins where he eventually notched 344 of his 395 goals, and 590 of his 694 total points. He was a pioneer who was a prototype for what would be termed the Power Forward amassing 1241 PIM's to go along with his points. He topped 50 goals three times including the 1993-1994 season when he scored his 50th in his 44th game giving him the unofficial second shortest time to 50 goals (next to Gretzky). Injuries shortened a very bright career that he was making and in the end, even though his numbers were low for forwards inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, he was inducted in 2005. My first nomination for the 110% Hall of Fame - Historical Player division is Cam Neely.

Current Player: Drafted first overall in 1988, he has played his entire career for one franchise. He has never won a major NHL award, but has finished as a finalist three times. He owns franchise records for games played, goals, assists, and points for both regular season and playoffs. This last season, he passed Joe Mullen to be the American-born goal-scoring leader. Next season, he will most likely pass Phil Housley for american-born points. He is the face of the Dallas Stars franchise and still as enjoyable to watch as ever. My Nomination for 110% Hall of Fame - Current Player division is Mike Modano

Fav Player: So, this last category is so open, it's really hard to decide. I thought about the people I like to see play. I thought about those that did something truly extrodinary, and I came up with with a few ideas, but one name kept jumping to the top of my list. He was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, where he later became the Captain, won three Selke Trophies for best Defensive forward, and two Stanley Cups (including one as the Captain). He made his way to Dallas where his leadership and play helped the Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999. today, he is currently the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. My Nomination for 110% Hall of Fame - Fav Player division is Guy Carbonneau

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I go for those picks. I like that you didn't stick to the regulars. Obviously the big names are in there without a doubt... you may as well "induct" them without even bothering to nominate them, really. But Neely as a power forward is an awesome pick -- I would almost pick him as a "fav" despite the fact that I never really got much chance to see him play, simply because power forwards like Iginla and Bertuzzi are really a position that brings huge amounts of excitement to the sport, if you ask me.

The pick for Modano's solid, although there's a number that could be picked out of the not-quite-retiring corps still present in the NHL. I think I would still take Sakic over him, but you being a Dallas fan would clearly have seen Modano at his very best, which is something I'm sad to say I haven't seen nearly enough. Especially of late, he seems to be basically a purely defensive force, despite the fact that he's touted as "two-way."

It shocks me that Housley has the most American-born points! Wasn't he a defenceman?

And Carbonneau is definitely one of those players that you wonder why Montreal let him go after the '93 Cup. Dallas got to take advantage of a very poor management decision by the Habs to dump their stars after the Cup win... kudos to Guy for making the most of it and helping another team to a championship!

Jim Looby said...

What about The Eagle? One of the best goal keepers the Stars have seen...