International ice hockey hall of fame
The
IIHF Hall of Fame
is a
hall of fame
operated by the
International Ice Hockey Federation
(IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the
Hockey Hall of Fame
in
Toronto
since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the
International Hockey Hall of Fame
in
Kingston, Ontario
. Inductions are made annually at the medal presentation day of the
Ice Hockey World Championships
. As of 2024, the IIHF has
inducted 253 members
.
Background
[
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]
The
International Ice Hockey Federation
(IIHF) was founded in 1908, with a membership that consisted of five European nations.
[1]
The federation has since grown to include 76
national association members
as of 2019,
[2]
and now oversees international events which include
ice hockey at the Olympic Games
, and the
Ice Hockey World Championships
.
[1]
The IIHF had amassed a collection of artifacts from these events over the years, but only displayed them in temporary exhibits. In 1991, the IIHF reached an agreement with the city of
Kingston, Ontario
, and the
International Hockey Hall of Fame
, to loan its exhibits to the museum for a five-year period from 1992 to 1997, while a more permanent display was being planned.
[3]
Kingston City Council
provided a
CA$
100,000 line of credit towards building a true international ice hockey museum.
[4]
The temporary setup for the IIHF exhibits was located adjacent to the
Kingston Memorial Centre
, but that partnership ended in 1997, when the IIHF withdrew.
[5]
The IIHF cited the lack of progress made towards getting a new facility constructed in downtown Kingston, as the primary reason for terminating the agreement.
[4]
History
[
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]
The first step taken by the IIHF to create its own hall of fame was a proposal made in 1996, which was later ratified at the 1997 IIHF summer congress to host the museum in
Zurich
.
[3]
The approval came exactly 89 years from the foundation of the IIHF, with the purpose of honoring former international
ice hockey
players, builders (administrators) and
officials
.
[6]
Efforts to establish the hall of fame were led by vice-president,
Walter Bush
; and the director of public relations and marketing,
Kimmo Leinonen
.
[7]
The IIHF has sought to honor the people who have made the greatest contributions to developing hockey in their respective nations, and internationally, with the annual induction ceremony taking place on the medal presentation day of the Ice Hockey World Championships.
[3]
[6]
The hall of fame recognized its first members at a ceremony in
Helsinki
, during the
1997 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
. The longest-serving president of the IIHF at the time,
Paul Loicq
, and 30 others were members of the inaugural class of inductees. The IIHF later agreed with the
National Hockey League
to transfer its exhibits to the
Hockey Hall of Fame
in
Toronto
, as of 29 July 1998.
[3]
The IIHF has also created two other awards to honor international hockey persons. The
Paul Loicq Award
has been awarded annually since 1998 for contributions to the development of hockey.
[3]
In 2015, the IIHF created the
Torriani Award
for "players with an outstanding career from non-top hockey nations". The award was named for
Bibi Torriani
, who played internationally for the
Switzerland men's national ice hockey team
.
[8]
The two awards are handed out at the same time as the hall of fame induction. The IIHF includes the recipients of the Torriani Award in the list of Hall of Fame inductees, but the Paul Loicq Award recipients are listed separately.
[9]
In 2024, the IIHF introduced an annual media award presented to an ice hockey journalist.
[10]
Exhibits
[
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]
The IIHF Hall of Fame and its exhibits reside in the "World of Hockey Zone", and are sponsored by
Tissot
. At approximately 6,000 square feet (560 m
2
), it is the largest section of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
[1]
[11]
The zone includes the IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame honor roll, listing each inductee by country and year of enshrinement. Each national association member of the IIHF is represented in the collection of artifacts in the display, which includes many national team
hockey jerseys
. The World of Hockey also recognizes members of the
Triple Gold Club
, and displays memorabilia from the "
Miracle on Ice
" at the
1980 Winter Olympic Games
. Other notable events included are the 1972
Summit Series
, the men's and women's Ice Hockey World Championships, national-level hockey leagues in Europe, the
Spengler Cup
, the
World Cup of Hockey
, and the
Canada Cup
.
[1]
[11]
The exhibits also display trophies from IIHF-sanctioned events. Included are Olympic gold medals from men's ice hockey,
[12]
and women's ice hockey,
[13]
the men's world championship,
[14]
the women's world championship,
[15]
the
IIHF World U20 Championship
(World Juniors),
[16]
and the Spengler Cup.
[17]
Inductees
[
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]
Elections to the IIHF Hall of Fame are based on the proposed candidates from national associations, members of the IIHF council, and members of the elections committee.
[3]
There are 245 total inductees as of 2023, which includes 165 in the player category, 67 in the builder category, 7 in the referee category, and 7 recipients of the Torriani Award.
[9]
In 2008,
Geraldine Heaney
,
Angela James
, and
Cammi Granato
became the first three women inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
[18]
As of 2020,
Bob Nadin
is the only recipient of the Paul Loicq Award to also be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
[19]
The 2020 induction ceremony was scheduled during the
2020 IIHF World Championship
, but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
. The IIHF Hall of Fame class of 2020/2022 was inducted during the
2022 IIHF World Championship
.
[20]
In December 2022,
Sandra Dombrowski
was announced as the first female referee to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
[21]
[22]
See also
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]
References
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External links
[
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Ice hockey halls of fame
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International
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National
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Other recognition
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World Championships
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Other competitions
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Awards and honors
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Related articles
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