VIENNA – The EURO League Hall of Fame has just expanded from five players to nine.
On the fifth HOF ballot, general managers voted in these four former superstars:
- Erik Karlsson, D
- Anze Kopitar, C
- Jonathan Toews, C
- Evgeni Malkin, C
Five other former players did not receive the required number of votes but each will be eligible to be on future ballots. Players who scored 6.7 or higher will be included in future Hall of Fame ballots.
Another five averaged under 6.7 were eliminated from all future voting. Those five are Dustin Byfuglien, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, Dmitry Kulikov and Tyler Ennis.
(Editor’s Note: Chuck was asleep at the wheel again and included Frederik Andersen on the ballot even though he hasn’t retired yet. He was eliminated from the process once the mistake was found.)
“We are thrilled to see that so many of our glorious hockey heroes were recognized for the skill and effort they displayed on a consistent basis for a decade or more,” said League Commissioner Chuck Massaro. “We hope all our fans – young and old – get to travel to Vienna to visit the Hall to rekindle memories of the entertaining and awe-inspiring play that these wonderful players provided us in their careers. Fans are also invited to stop in at Rose’s Pierogi Hut in the Hall’s reception area for the tastiest pierogis of this generation.”
In the coming days, the four new inductees will have their plaques and stories added to the Hall of Fame page at https://eurohockeyleague.wordpress.com/hall-of-fame/
Here is a rough chart showing how voting went on the fifth Hall of Fame ballot, which was voted on by 15 general managers. The red vertical lines show the cutoffs for making the Hall of Fame and staying on future ballots.
