Chara, Thornton, Mogilny, Botterill highlight Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025

A cast of some of the greatest players to ever grace the ice will be enshrined among other legends of the game.

On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2025, featuring former NHL stars Alex Mogilny, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and Duncan Keith, along with women’s hockey superstars Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker. Daniele Sauvageau and Jack Parker will be inducted into the Builder Category.

Mogilny is a far-overdue selection for the Hall of Fame. The first NHL draftee to ever defect from the Soviet Union, he reached stardom with his impressive skill set and electrifying play with the Buffalo Sabres. In 1992-93, Mogilny scored an incredible 76 goals and 127 points.

He didn’t taste team success until he was traded to the New Jersey Devils. There, Mogilny added an offensive punch to the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2000. Across 16 seasons, Mogilny also made stops with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored 473 goals and 559 assists for 1,032 points.

Chara was one of the most imposing figures in the history of hockey. Standing at 6-foot-9 and weighing around 250 pounds, the saying “head-and-shoulders above the rest” was literal for the man from Slovakia. While he made stops with the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, Chara is best known for his tenure with the Boston Bruins. He signed with the team in the summer of 2006 and spent the next 14 seasons in Boston, each of which as captain.

Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2008-09, along with the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2010-11. That season, he became the second European to captain his team to the Stanley Cup. He played 1,680 games, the most of any blueliner in the NHL. Chara scored 209 goals and 471 assists for 680 points.

Speaking of Boston, Thornton started off his career in New England, a first-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft. Though it took him a couple of years to get his feet wet, Thornton eventually became one of the premier playmakers in the game. After the infamous trade that sent the St. Thomas, Ontario native to the San Jose Sharks early in the 2005-06 season, he skyrocketed into stardom. That year, he posted an incredible 96 assists and 125 points, winning the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. To date, Thornton’s the only player to be named the NHL’s MVP after being traded in the middle of the season.

Thornton helped the Sharks advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 2016, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Along with playing in Boston and San Jose, Thornton rounded out his career with the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. In 1,714 games, he scored 430 goals and 1,109 assists for 1,539 points.

Keith was the top blueliner on one of the best teams in the post-lockout era. With the Chicago Blackhawks, the former Michigan State Spartan won three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013, 2015), establishing the team as a modern-day dynasty. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

A feared defender with a scoring touch, Keith was one of the top players at his position in his day, winning the Norris Trophy twice. In 1,256 games, he scored 106 goals and 540 assists for 646 points.

At one point, Botterill was one of the most dominant players in women’s hockey. On Canadian teams with the likes of Hall of Famers Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford and Danielle Goyette, Botterill shined for several years on the international and North American stage. At Harvard University, she became the first, and so far only, player to be a two-time winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best player in women’s college hockey.

With Canada, she played on four Olympic teams, winning gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010, along with taking home silver in 1998. She helped her country win gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship five times, along with three silver medals. She was named MVP of the Women’s Worlds in 2001 and 2004.

Decker is a perfect case of a player who left the game too soon. Her horrifying injury at the 2022 Winter Olympics ended what was already an amazing career. She had been with the U.S. Senior National Team since 2011 and had been one of the team’s best playmakers in her decade-plus of service. The Wisconsin native helped the Americans win six gold medals at the world championships, as well as the gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

At the University of Wisconsin, Decker won an NCAA Championship in 2011, winning the Patty Kazmaier the following year. Professionally, she won two Clarkson Cups (2015, 2019) in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and the Premier Hockey Federation’s (formerly National Women’s Hockey League) Isobel Cup in 2016.

Sauvageau is the first woman to be inducted into the Builder Category. The Montreal native was a massive part in building the Canadian Women’s National Team into what it is today. She participated in seven Olympic Games, including serving as the head coach of the 2002 Olympic team that won gold. Currently, she’s helping build a solid Montreal Victoire team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

One of the greatest coaches in college sports, period, Jack Parker has a lasting legacy thanks to an illustrious career as the head coach at Boston University. The former Terrier captain made BU a powerhouse in the 1970s, beginning a tradition that has carried on to this day. In 40 seasons, Parker won 897 games, guiding the program to three national championships and 24 NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Class of 2025 will be officially inducted on Monday, November 10.