Stanley Cup champs headline B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2023
A pair of Stanley Cup champions will be bringing their six combined rings with them into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in July.
Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, three-time Stanley Cup winners with the Chicago Blackhawks, will be inducted alongside Lonnie Cameron (Officials category), Ronnie Paterson (Builders) and the 2007 Memorial Cup champion Vancouver Giants.
BCHHF chair Jim Hughson said that Keith and Seabrook “are unequivocally qualified for our Hall.”
“It is unique and almost unheard of that two defenders who played together as a pair at the highest level for so long will be inducted together,” said Hughson.
Keith is a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, a two-time Norris Trophy winner (2009-10, 2013-14) and the Winnipeg native, who calls Penticton home, won gold with Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players as he played 1,256 career NHL regular season games and had 646 points. He added 91 points in 151 NHL playoff games. Keith announced his retirement after spending the 2021-22 season with the Edmonton Oilers.
“I look at it as such a huge privilege to be mentioned and be a part of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame,” said Keith. “With all the great players and people that have been inducted in the past, it’s definitely an honour that myself, my family are super proud of.”
Seabrook played 1,114 regular season NHL games and collected 464 points. In 123 career playoff games he tallied 59 points, including three overtime winning goals. Seabrook was successful at the international level as he helped Team Canada win gold at the 2005 World Junior Championships and at the 2010 Olympics. He announced he would end his playing career in 2021 after 15 seasons with the Blackhawks.
Victoria native Lonnie Cameron joins an esteemed group of B.C. officials who excelled at the highest level. Cameron officiated in the NHL from 1996-2019. Cameron worked 1,554 games as a linesman and 60 in the playoffs and his resume includes the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Ronnie Paterson has spent a lifetime growing the game in B.C. As a player, he was a goaltender for Father David Bauer at UBC and the Canadian men’s national team. He also became a coach, manager, and owner at the junior level. He presently owns the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s White Rock Whalers.
“He epitomizes the builder category and we could fill the rink with the people he’s helped in the game along the way,” said Hughson.
The 2007-Memorial Cup winning Vancouver Giants advanced a long list of players to the NHL that are still playing today, including Evander Kane and Milan Lucic.
“That group deserves to be there,” said Giants owner Ron Toigo. “They went on a really nice run and to win it at home was something that I will never forget.”
The induction evening will be held almost exclusively in the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame, located at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, with a reception giving fans access to inductees and to view the re-invigorated displays that honour players, teams and history of hockey in B.C.
