Hockey Hall of Fame welcomes six new members Monday night with one local tie in

There is a local connection to Monday evening’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Welland Ontario’s Ben Vanderklok was the goaltending coach for 2026 inductee Pekka Rinne.

“Pekka is a special guy, and unbelievable human being the way he treated people. He is so deserving of this, and words cannot describe how proud I am of him,” said Vanderklok before Monday’s enshrinement in which he attended.

“He poured so much into the game, I’m forever grateful of the time we had together while he was competing and our friendship now.

He changed me and my life on so many levels.”

Rinne played all 15 of his NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators, finishing as their all-time leader in games played, wins (369), shutouts (60), and total saves.

He also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2018 (and was a four-time finalist), a four-time NHL All-Star, and led Nashville to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final in 2017, and holds the record for the most NHL wins by a `Finnish-born goaltender and is the first Finnish goaltender to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Rinne is one of two netminders to be inducted Monday night.

Carey Price also played all 15 of his NHL regular-season and playoff seasons entirely with the Montreal Canadiens, finishing as the franchise’s winningest goaltender with 361 regular-season wins.

Price won the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP), Vezina Trophy (top goaltender), Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player), and William M. Jennings Trophy in 2015.

He also won Olympic gold with Team Canada in 2014 (named Best Goaltender) and the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2021–22 for perseverance.

Joining Rinne and Price are longtime Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron.

Bergeron played all 19 of his NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, serving as team captain from 2021 until his retirement in 2023.

He won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011, captured a record six Frank J. Selke Trophies as the NHL’s best defensive forward, and won a King Clancy Memorial Trophy and Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

Bergeron was also a member of the Triple Gold Club, winning Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014, gold at the 2004 World Championship, gold at the 2005 World Juniors, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey

Former Winnipeg Jet, and the father of current Florida Panthers forwards Matthew and Brady, Keith Tkachuk is the last former NHLer to enter the hall.

Women’s hockey pioneer Cindy Curley is the other player entering the Hall of Fame, while long-time NHL General Manager – and the man that brought the word truculence to Toronto Maple Leafs fans vocabulary – Brian Burke enters as a builder.

The six inductees Monday bring the total of hockey hall of famers to 455.