Lidstrom, Ruggiero, Karmanos and Fedorov officially enter Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed seven new members into its prestigious fraternity Monday evening, and four of them are names very familiar to Michigan.

Michigan natives Peter Karmanos, Jr., and Angela Ruggiero and former Detroit Red Wings Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov were officially enshrined during the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 Induction Celebration in Toronto.

Fedorov was the first member of the 2015 Class welcomed into the hall, ushered in by former teammate and fellow Russian hockey legend Igor Larionov. In 18 NHL seasons – 13 of which were in Detroit – Fedorov recorded a remarkable 483 goals and 696 assists for 1,179 career points. He captured three Stanley Cups with the Wings, and his name appears on the winner lists for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Lester B. Pearson Award as MVP voted by the players and the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward.

“I would never expect something like that,” Fedorov said in his induction speech. “I never believed and thought something like that would happen to me. It’s such an honor to be here tonight to speak in front of you. I’ve been so fortunate in my career, my life, filled with many great people. They had such a positive influence on me.”

Ruggiero followed Fedorov’s induction, and she was welcomed on stage by fellow American hockey legend Cammi Granato. A Harper Woods native, Ruggiero grew up in California, but called Michigan home during her teenage years. She was a four-time Olympic medalist with Team USA, and regarded by many as the best female hockey player to ever don the Red, White and Blue.

“I’m truly honored and humbled to be here today,” Ruggiero said during her speech. “I didn’t know I could play hockey for a living when I was a little girl. One of my favorite quotes in the world, ‘Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re probably right.’ And for some reason my family thought I could. Even though women’s hockey wasn’t in the Olympics, as a little 7-year-old in Southern California of all places, they always believed in me and encouraged me. When I was in second grade, I showed up to the rink in my hockey gear and wanted to be a hockey player… That’s what I want to be when I grow up.”

After induction speeches from Bill Hay and Phil Housley, Karmanos was the next honored member. The Detroit native enters the hall as a ‘builder’ – a fitting label for the founder of Compuware. Karmanos built one of the best youth hockey programs in the world, and along the way, brought OHL hockey to the U.S. and NHL hockey to North Carolina. After a Stanley Cup, OHL titles and many USA Hockey national championships, Karmanos received a prestigious individual honor for his endless work for hockey’s growth stateside.

“I’m truly honored and humbled to be included in this great institution,“ Karmanos said during his induction speech, after being welcomed on stage by Ron Francis. “…Truly a thrill to be included in this remarkable class.”

Karmanos was followed by a former Compuware hockey parent – Nicklas Lidstrom.

The Red Wings’ legend watched one of his children play in the Compuware system. Of course, he was welcomed to the Hockey Hall of Fame induction stage by former teammate Steve Yzerman for his own accomplishments. The legendary Red Wings defenseman won four Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. The 12-time NHL all-star was also a seven-time Norris Trophy winner and won the award three straight years on two separate occasions (2001-03, 2006-08). Only Doug Harvey (seven) and Bobby Orr (eight) won as many Norris Trophies as Lidstrom. He was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2002.

“There’s an old saying in Sweden…in English it would translate to ‘things never turn out the way you imagined,'” Lidstrom said to start his induction speech. “It was a very true statement for me, because I grew up like most kids shooting pucks in my backyard or at the local rink, dreaming of scoring the big goal and winning championships. But for all the dreams I had playing hockey as a child, I never imagined a night like this.”

Stay tuned for more Hockey Hall of Fame coverage…

– By MiHockey’s Michael Caples, Stefan Kubus and Faith Krogulecki