Answering the Call (of the Hall)

The class of 2013 has been announced, and there will be four players and one coach going into the Hockey Hall of Fame this fall.  Scott Niedermayer, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan, Geraldine Heaney, and Fred Shero will be entering the Hall of Fame, with Niedermayer and Chelios both being first ballot entries while Shanahan gets in on the second try.

Niedermayer was taken in the first round of the 1991 NHL Draft by the Devils after a successful junior league year in Kamloops, where he won a Memorial Cup in 1992.  He would make his NHL debut in the 1992-93 season, and would go on to win four Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, 2003, and 2007), two gold medals in the Olympics (2002 and 2010), a World Championship and World Cup of Hockey (both in 2004) and a World Junior Championship (1991).  He also took home a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2007 and a Norris Trophy in 2004.  His numbers don't tell the whole story, but his ability to lead players (he was captain of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup run, as well as the 2010 Olympic team that won gold) was one reason why he won a lot during his career.

Chelios made the Hall of Fame at 51 years old, meaning that from the time he was drafted in 1981 by Montreal until his retirement at age 48 (as a member of the Atlanta Thrashers), he played a lot of hockey, and at a high level for much of that time (his peak years were in Chicago and Detroit).  He took home the Norris Trophy in 1986, 1993, and 1996, and was a Stanley Cup Trophy winner in 1986, 2002, and 2008.  He also represented the United States in international play, taking home a silver medal in 2002.

Shanahan was drafted in the first round by the Devils in 1987, and he would go on to play with the Devils, Blues, Whalers, Red Wings, and Rangers and amass 656 goals for his career.  He was never the leading man (the year in Hartford, notwithstanding), but was an integral part of the Red Wings teams that won it all in 1997, 1998, and 2002.  A World Championship in 1994 and Olympic gold in 2002 were some of his highlights when he represented Canada in international play.

Heaney will be the third woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after Cammie Granato and Angela James.  Heaney represented Canada in tournaments, winning gold in the 2002 Olympics and silver in the 1998 Olympics.  She was also on the Canada team that won seven World Women's Championships between 1990 and 2001.

Fred Shero was the head coach when the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, but his greatest contributions to the game were before the games, as he started the morning skate routine that teams use today, as well as incorporating elements of hockey philosophies from the (then) Soviet Union and was the first to hire a full-time assistant coach.  He was also the first Jack Adams award winner in 1974.