Brian Rafalski to enter U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Dearborn native and former Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski at the Alumni Showdown this past December. (Photo by Jen Hefner/MiHockey)

 

By @MichaelCaples –

The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame announced the four people they will be welcoming into their storied collection later this year, and one of them hails from the suburbs of Detroit.

Dearborn native Brian Rafalski, who spent his last four NHL seasons with his hometown Detroit Red Wings, will be part of the Hall’s Class of 2014, it was announced today.

“I’m very humbled and honored to be selected to the Hall of Fame…very rewarding for myself,” Rafalski said during a media teleconference call. “I wasn’t really expecting this.”

Rafalski, 40, played 15 seasons of professional hockey, 11 of which came with the National Hockey League. The University of Wisconsin alum captured three Stanley Cups – two with the New Jersey Devils (2000, 2003) and one with the Red Wings (2008).

The Dearborn native was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, capturing silver in two of them.

Rafalski attempted to make a return to professional hockey this past January, playing three games with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. He recorded one assist and a +1 rating before re-entering retirement.

He will join Karyn Bye Dietz (River Falls, Wis.), Jeff Sauer (St. Paul, Minn.) and Lou Vairo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) as the four-member Class of 2014.