Women slowly getting their due in Hockey Hall of Fame selections. On Tuesday the Hall announced its Class of 2025. Among the deserving inductees, three women will enter the hallowed shrine in the same year for the first time in history.
Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker will be enshrined in the Player category, and Daniele Sauvageau has earned the nod as a builder.
They will join their male counterparts, NHL legends Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alex Mogilny and Joe Thornton, as well as builder Jack Parker in being fitted for HHOF blazers in November.
Botterill has been overlooked by the Hall of Fame for well over a decade. Her resume is padded with excellence. A native of Winnipeg, Man., Botterill won three Olympic gold medals from 2002-10 with Team Canada, and is the only two-time winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best women’s player in U.S. college hockey. She earned the honours in 2001 and 2003 while starring at Harvard University.
Botterill also has five world championship golds to her credit and was twice named the Most Valuable Player at that tournament. She is seventh in all-time scoring for Team Canada on the international stage, registering 65 goals and 174 points in 184 career games.
“My heart is really full with this honour,” said Botterill in a statement. “I appreciate all of the people who have helped me through my career.”
Meanwhile Decker, who hails from Dousman, Wis., boasts credentials that are equally impressive. The 5-foot-4 forward compensated for her small size with pure skill, claiming six world titles with Team USA to go along with the Olympic gold medal she won in 2018.
Like Botterill, Decker is also a “Patty Kaz” winner, and went on to play in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, one of the precursors to the present-day PWHL. She is the only player in history to win an Olympic gold medal, a World Championship, a World Under-18 championship, a Clarkson Cup (Calgary, CWHL), an Isobel Cup (Boston, NWHL) and an NCAA title (Wisconsin.)
“I didn’t think I would ever get this call,” said Decker. “To be part of the greats that built this game is truly something that is special. I am so thankful.
On the Builders’ side, Montreal native Sauvageau makes history as the first woman to ever be inducted into this category. Sauvageau, who coached Botterill and the rest of Team Canada to an upset win over the United States at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, has participated in seven editions of the Winter Games. Currently she serves as the general manager of the Montreal Victoire of the PWHL.
My parents have supported me throughout my career,” said Sauvageau. “They taught me that perseverance, patience and passion are the key builders in life. I’m so proud to now be a Builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame.”
While its certainly admirable to see all three women finally get their due recognition, the induction of women into the Hall has historically crawled at a snail’s pace. Starting with the class of 2010 when Angela James and Cammi Granato became the first women to be so honoured, two female players have been eligible per year.
This fall will mark the 15th induction class recognized since then (there was none during the pandemic year of 2021.) Botterill and Decker will become only the 13th and 14th women players to enter the Hall despite 30 available spots.
Sauvageau has received her due as a Builder; hopefully it sets a precedent for pioneers like Fran Rider and Hazel McCallion to join her, even though either could have been inducted years ago.
The fact that Botterill, who retired from competitive hockey in 2011, had to wait until the eleventh year of eligibility to be inducted is a travesty.
The Hall of Fame Selection Committee didn’t get it right until 2010 when they opened the doors to women for the first time.
Now the next question is: “What’s taking so long?”
