Bergeron, Class of ‘26 in awe of company at Hall of Fame ring ceremony

TORONTO -- One by one Saturday, the inductees stepped on stage to receive their rings. First came the Builder: Brian Burke. Then came the players: Patrice Bergeron, Cindy Curley, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne and Keith Tkachuk.

This was the first event of Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend, and it took place in the Great Hall, the ornate sanctum where the plaques of the honored members live forever.

As Bergeron sat on stage, listening to the introductions that followed his, he looked around the room and spotted the plaques honoring two fellow Boston Bruins legends. Over there was Johnny Bucyk. Over there? Bobby Orr.

The plaques honoring the Class of 2026 were already on display with them. The jacket ceremony is Sunday, when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils in the Hockey Hall of Fame Game (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NHLN, MSGSN). The induction ceremony is Monday (8 p.m. ET; TSN4, TSN5, NHLN).

Bergeron called it “definitely surreal” and “very, very humbling.” 

“Hard to believe that my name is now up there in this room,” Bergeron said, “so definitely very special.”

This is when it really hits home for the inductees each year.

We call them immortals, but they’re human beings. They all started out as kids looking up to the greats. As they progressed through their careers, they learned from, played with and played against others whose faces, names and resumes are on those glass plaques.

They have heroes, mentors, teammates and competitors they cannot believe they’re joining.

“Oh, there’s so many of them,” Price said.

Price singled out Patrick Roy, another legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie, and Shea Weber, a former Canadiens teammate.

“Obviously, ‘Patty’ was somebody that I looked up (to), Patty Roy,” Price said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to go over to that wall over there and look at my picture and then look to my right and see ‘Webs’ there too. But there’s a lot of guys that I looked up to in here.”

Rinne reflected on the fact that he will be the fourth player born in Finland to be inducted. First, there was Jari Kurri. Then there was Teemu Selanne and Riikka Sallinen.

“And now me,” Rinne said.

The legendary Nashville Predators goalie thought about the Finnish players who weren’t in the Great Hall like Jere Lehtinen, Miikka Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Teppo Numminen and Esa Tikkanen. They aren’t represented here, but he is?

“I feel humbled and so grateful,” Rinne said. “It’s such a cool room, just to walk around and see these faces and the plaques. Really special.”

Tkachuk played for the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers, but he started out playing street hockey in East Boston, so he looked for the plaques of Bruins like Bucyk, Orr, Gerry Cheevers, Harry Sinden, Cam Neely and Ray Bourque.

“I mean, that’s what I grew up watching, the Boston Bruins, and I’m proud of that,” Tkachuk said. “It’s just crazy to think you’re in the same spot as Bobby Orr.

“It did hit me when I sat down and just looked around here. I couldn’t believe it. So, yeah, it’s going to be a heck of a weekend, but I honestly can’t believe it.”

Curley, a women’s hockey pioneer from Massachusetts, looked for her favorite Bruins too. Growing up, Orr was her favorite player. Watching Bergeron, she admired his class and sportsmanship, and now her plaque is in the same column on the same wall. It goes Bergeron, then Burke, then Curley.

She mentioned women’s stalwarts Cammi Granato and Angela James.

And then, of course, she mentioned The Great One, Wayne Gretzky.

“It’s just amazing,” Curley said.

Burke, a longtime NHL executive, worked with Hall of Fame players like Daniel and Henrik Sedin, the twin brothers he maneuvered to select back-to-back as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1999 NHL Draft -- Daniel No. 2, Henrik No. 3. As GM of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, he won the Stanley Cup with Selanne, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer.

But he brought up fellow Builders like Sinden, Bill Torrey, Cliff Fletcher, Lou Lamoriello, Pat Quinn and Gary Bettman.

“It’s awesome that I’m up there with them,” Burke said. “I’m still pinching myself. I still find myself pinching my own arm. It is like a dream come true.”