Duncan Keith was sorting through papers in his house when he got the call.
Unsure if it was a spam call or not, but recognizing the Toronto 416 area code, he quickly decided to answer.
It was the right move, to say the least.
"I had goosebumps when they started telling me," Keith told reporters on a conference call. "It's a pretty surreal moment just sitting in my living room here."
Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker were the players named to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The group will be officially inducted in November.
"Going into the Hall of Fame with players that I grew up idolizing and trying to emulate," Keith said. "It was such a special call and one that I'm going to remember."
Defencemen Keith, Chara and centre Thornton were all in their first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.
Keith, from Winnipeg, was a three-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Olympic gold medallist, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenceman across his 17-year career.
He played for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2005-2021 before a one-year stint with the Edmonton Oilers.
"Growing up, the goal was always to play in the NHL," hew said. "It was always just one step at a time. As you go through, climbing the ranks you get drafted then you might get to play in the minors and then made it to the NHL. Always just wanted to push myself.
"It wasn't really until I had retired I guess the thought had come into my head about the Hall of Fame. But that was really only because people were asking that question and telling me that they thought that I'd get the call."
Thornton is 14th all-time with 1,539 career points and seventh all-time in career assists with 1,109 over a 25-year career. One of the great playmakers of his generation, Thornton won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer in 2005-06.
He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers from 1997-2022. The London, Ont., native also helped Canada win gold at the 2010 Olympics.
Chara, the tallest player in NHL history at six-foot-nine, lived up to his imposing frame as a physical force throughout his career from 1997 to 2022. The Slovak defenceman won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and was a finalist six times.
He also helped lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup title in 2011, along with trips to the final in 2013 and 2019. Chara holds the NHL record for most games played by a defenceman with 1,680 — third most overall.
Mogilny has been eligible since 2009, with the Russian having recorded 473 goals and 1,032 points in 990 career games. His 76-goal season in 1992-93 is fifth all-time for goals in a single season.
He suited up for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs during a 17-year career that spanned from 1989-2006. He won a Stanley Cup in 2000 with New Jersey and Olympic gold with the Soviet Union in 1988.
"I still remember going to Vancouver Canucks games and watching him and seeing how fast he was," Keith said of Mogilny. "I was sitting up in the nosebleed section and he stood out with just his speed and skill.
"And I can remember it very clearly just how good he was in person. You see it on TV but it was another level being able to witness that in person."
Botterill, from Ottawa, won three Olympic gold medals for Canada (2002, 2006, 2010), and five world championships, with two tournament MVPs.
She is the only player to win the Patty Kazmaier Award twice, claiming the honour as the top player in women’s NCAA Division I hockey in back-to-back seasons at Harvard.
"My heart is just full of such gratitude," Botterill said. "It's been an amazing little moment here to reflect and to think about the people that have shared the journey with me. I certainly think about my family and fitting that I received this very exciting and special phone call today when I'm visiting my parents back in Manitoba.
"For me, when I think about growing up in Winnipeg ... it was my parents who walked me to the end of the street to the Wildwood Community Club when I first started playing the sport of hockey and they knew it was something very special."
Decker was part of the United States’ Olympic gold medal-winning team in 2018 and captured six world championship titles.
She also won the Patty Kazmaier Award after posting 37 goals and 82 points in 40 games during her junior season at Wisconsin.
Longtime Boston University coach Jack Parker and women’s coach Daniele Sauvageau were elected in the builders category. Sauvageau, who led Canada to Olympic gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, is now the general manager of the Montreal Victoire in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025.
Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press
