Just a week ago, the hockey world watched a historic triumph » Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup and has now turned its full attention to another major event. Much more epochal is the inclusion of new members in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 2023, the Hall of Fame was replenished with seven persons. Among the players were chosen the famous Swedish goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist, American Tom Barrasso, Canadians Mike Vernon and Pierre Turgeon, as well as four-time Olympic champion in the Canadian team Caroline Ouellette, among the functionaries — Ken Hitchcock and the late Pierre Lacroix.
What is remarkable about the Hall of Fame? There are two main Hockey Halls of Fame in the world — the one initiated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), and founded in 1943 in Toronto. It is the second one that is considered the most prestigious. Every year, a committee of 18 people selects new representatives from different categories: hockey players, female hockey players, referees and functionaries/managers. At the same time, hockey players and judges can be included in the Hall of Fame at least three years after the end of their professional career.
Each member of the committee nominates one candidate in each category, and at the end of the vote, the candidate must receive 75% of all votes (and at least ten votes) in order to receive great honor. Much attention is paid to the success of the players in the NHL, but this factor is not mandatory.
Russia was ignored againAmong the members of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto are 10 representatives of the Soviet and Russian hockey. Among the coaches, Anatoly Tarasov was the first of the national legends in 1974, among the players — Vladislav Tretiak in 1989. Later, Tretyak was joined by Vyacheslav Fetisov, Valery Kharlamov, Igor Larionov, Pavel Bure, Sergey Fedorov, Sergey Makarov, Alexander Yakushev and Sergey Zubov in the hockey category.
To this day, Zubov remains the last of the Russians to be included in the Hall of Fame. It happened in 2019. Since then, silence. In 2023, excellent hockey players Boris Mikhailov, Alexander Maltsev, Alexander Mogilny and Sergey Gonchar claimed this from our legends, but the committee preferred other candidates to them. There is an assumption that such ignoring of the Russians is not a coincidence. The Athletic journalist Rob Rossi, for example, said that this has its own setting:
“The person with whom I spoke on the eve of the announcement of the voting results said that the inclusion of Russian representatives in the Hockey Hall of Fame should not be expected in the near future, taking into account politics, he said, «now it's easier not to choose Russians».
«Mogilny was 'rolled' again. Bullying» It is especially insulting for Alexander Mogilny. The legend of Russian hockey has been on the list of the main contenders for inclusion in the Hall of Fame for 14 years now, but he will not wait for proper recognition and elementary respect from the members of the commission. For what reason — no one can say.
Mogilny sparkled in CSKA in the company of Pavel Bure and Sergey Fedorov, became the Olympic champion and world champion as part of the Soviet team, and also formally opened the way for the Russians to the NHL. No, he was not the first Russian hockey player in the NHL, but it was his move overseas (albeit scandalous, but historical at the same time) that marked the beginning of a new history — including the great and legendary victories of Russians in the world's major hockey league.
Mogilny is still one of the top 100 scorers in NHL history (1,032 points in 990 games) and one of the league's great scorers (473 goals). For 26 years, his 127 points in the 1992/93 regular season were a record among Russian hockey players, until Nikita Kucherov rewrote this achievement in 2019 (128). In the same season, Mogilny scored as many as 76 goals and became the first of the Russians to become the best sniper of the championship, and a little later, the first Russian player to be recognized as the captain of the NHL club. In 2000, Alexander the Great added a triumph in the Stanley Cup to victories at the Olympics and the World Championship, which allowed him to enter the Triple Gold Club. And this is not all the achievements of Mogilny at different levels. But the Hall of Fame committee apparently believes that this is not enough.
Discontent over such injustice is not hidden even in North America. Six months ago, The Athletic published the NHL99 rating, which included the best hockey players in the history of the NHL (since 1967), excluding Wayne Gretzky, and Mogilny took 89th position in it. In a huge material in honor of the Russian, special attention was paid to the absence of his name in the Hall of Hockey Glory:
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“We twice simulated voting for the inclusion of new faces in the Hall of Fame, both times choosing Mogilny. But the present committee does not consider him worthy, and it is difficult for us to find their arguments. Mogilnaya changed the NHL itself, but the committee may take into account the fact that Oleksandr was sometimes considered to be just another shot.
And now the Americans did not stand on ceremony in criticizing the members of the Hall of Fame committee. At the request of «Mogilny» in the North American segment of the Internet and social networks, you can find hundreds of angry comments due to the fact that the Russian was again ignored. There were plenty of journalists among them too.
- «It's unfair to belittle anyone who's been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's an incredible honor to applaud But it's also unfair not to include Mogilny in the Hall of Fame just because you're afraid to do the right thing,» Sportsnet journalist Satiar Shah.
- «Wow. Mogilny was «rolled» again. Bullying,» famous insider journalist Amanda Stein.
- «Hiding behind closed doors, the Hall of Fame commission again inexplicably dismissed Mogilny There's no rational explanation for this.» — New York Post columnist Larry Brooks.
- «I'd like to know the full backstory of why Mogilny — one of the greatest snipers of his generation — constantly not inducted into the Hall of Fame» — The Athletic contributor Ian Mendez.
- «It's because he's from Russia, right? Is that why Mogilny was not inducted into the Hall of Fame again? Me very angry. This is crazy. I especially love hearing about how important international success is to getting into the Hall of Fame, and seeing Pierre Turgeon here (did not play for the adult Canadian team — approx.) «- one of the most popular journalists Greg Wyshinsky .
Perhaps this trend will change someday. But this is not accurate.