I’ve not been to the Hockey Hall of Fame in over 10 years. I’m so glad I went back. It was double the size I remember it being. It was fantastic and I was in hockey heaven.
You will notice a bit of a goalie bias in my photos. Well, that’s because I was a goalie for 12 years. All my heroes were not only immortalized in my mind but here as well in Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame….Bernie Parent, Johnny Bower, Terry Sawchuk, Dominik Hašek in no particular order. And of course, my all-time favourite hockey hero, Vladislav Tretiak. Tretiak made me want to play hockey but more importantly, he made me want to be a goalie. Tretiak’s speed, balance and agility was unlike anything I had ever seen. He never needed to come out to cut down angles. He played from the goal line. He was that FAST! I have not witnessed a goalie as good since. Dominik Hašek comes very close. Tretiak was the first Russian inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He never played in the NHL. Interesting to note, that when I grew up playing street hockey in the hood, it was customary to yell out your favorite hockey player before you started playing. Most would yell out their favourite players from the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadians. Not me, I always yelled out “Vladislav Tretiak!” to some very confused stares and the odd fight. Hell, I hardly ever played goalie in street hockey.
Did I like hockey players other than goalies? Well, yes but not too many and certainly not Wayne Gretzky. While there’s no denying his skills were at the next level, I always felt he was good because he never had to worry about his back. Meaning, he seldom had to worry about what was behind him. A teammate was assigned to protect him (see Dave Semenko) That was their prime directive. Bottom line, Gretzky got to be as good as he was because he didn’t have to worry about getting knocked to the ice. So, I liked more all-around, self-contained players who could take care of themselves on the ice. Players, like Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Alex Ovechkin and Jaromír Jágr off the top of my head.
There you have it.
