TORONTO — Joe Thornton at all times did issues his method.
Bigger than life on the ice and away from the rink, the massive ahead with a radiating character, elite imaginative and prescient, comfortable arms and a glowing smile has been unapologetically distinctive ever since entering into the NHL highlight at age 18.
Now the person affectionately generally known as “Jumbo Joe” is a member of the Hockey Corridor of Fame.
Thornton was inducted Monday alongside fellow 2025 class members Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker within the participant class.
Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau had been enshrined as builders.
Chosen first total on the 1997 draft by the Boston Bruins, Thornton’s trajectory actually took off after a commerce to the San Jose Sharks. He spent 14 seasons in California, profitable the scoring title and Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2005-06, and was simply the third participant all-time to guide the NHL in assists three straight seasons.
“So long as I can keep in mind, my 12 months consisted of going from highway hockey proper to the yard rink,” Thornton stated of his childhood in a tear-filled speech. “There was just one season for me — it was hockey season.”
Thornton topped San Jose in scoring eight instances, together with 5 straight seasons, and helped the Sharks make the 2016 Stanley Cup closing.
The 46-year-old, who performed 24 NHL seasons and received Olympic gold with Canada in 2010, put up 1,539 factors in 1,714 regular-season video games in a profession that ended with pit stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. He completed twelfth all-time in scoring, seventh in assists and sixth in video games performed.
“Profitable the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 was actually electrical,” Thornton stated. “I keep in mind leaving the world and I seemed to my left, and I noticed a unadorned girl on the again of a motorbike waving a Canadian flag.
“I seemed to my pregnant spouse, and I stated, ‘I’m so proud to be Canadian.'”
Chara, 48, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996 and traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 earlier than signing with the Boston Bruins.
The six-foot-nine blueliner performed 14 seasons in Beantown — all as captain — from 2006 by way of 2020. Boston received the Cup in 2011 and made the ultimate two different instances.
The second European captain to hoist hockey’s holy grail, Chara competed at three Olympics and 7 world championships. He captured the Norris Trophy because the NHL’s high defenseman in 2009, and completed his profession with the Washington Capitals earlier than returning to the Islanders.
“Rising up in small city in Slovakia — Trencin — you do not dream about nights like this,” Chara stated. “You dream a few patch of ice that does not soften earlier than we end follow. You dream about discovering a stick that is not damaged or skates that may nonetheless match for a few years.”
Keith performed 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, profitable the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The 42-year-old received Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 earlier than topping the rostrum once more in 2014, twice claimed the Norris Trophy and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2015. Keith performed one marketing campaign with the Edmonton Oilers earlier than retiring in 2022.
“You possibly can’t chase a dream alone,” he stated. “And you may by no means raise the Cup or put on a gold medal by yourself. You raise it with all people that ever lifted you.”
Botterill performed for Canada at 4 Olympics, profitable three gold medals and a silver. She was a part of 5 championship performances and three second-place finishes on the worlds, together with taking MVP honors in 2001.
“My mother and father stated they at all times knew that the game of hockey was one thing particular,” stated the 46-year-old broadcaster. “Each time I used to be on the ice taking part in, they stated they may see my smile by way of the cage. I carried that exact same smile all through my total profession.”
Decker received gold on the 2018 Olympics with the U.S. and owns two silver medals. The 34-year-old ahead from Dousman, Wisconsin, additionally received the worlds six instances together with a pair second-place finishes.
“Hockey has given me a lot,” Decker stated. “It is given me lifelong friendships, unforgettable recollections, and now this unimaginable honor.”
The 63-year-old Sauvageau has taken half in six Olympics both behind the bench or in administration for Canada, together with the nation’s 2002 run to gold as head coach. The Montreal-born trailblazer — the corridor’s first feminine builder — is presently basic supervisor of the Skilled Girls’s Hockey League’s Victoire in her hometown.
“I dreamt of a life that didn’t exist,” she stated. “And I’ve lived a life that I couldn’t think about.”
Parker, 80, led Boston College’s males’s program from 1973 by way of 2013, profitable three nationwide championships. He was additionally named NCAA coach of the 12 months 3 times.
Mogilny, who skipped the week of celebrations, defected from the Soviet Union to the US in 1989. He set career-highs with 76 targets and 127 factors with the 1992-1993 Buffalo Sabres – essentially the most ever by a Soviet/Russian participant.
The 56-year-old hoisted the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000 in a profession that included stints with the Leafs and Vancouver Canucks, ending with 1,032 factors in 990 regular-season video games.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude,” Mogilny stated in a recorded message. “Not only for this honor, however for the unimaginable journey that introduced me right here.”