On July 12 in Penticton, B.C., the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame (BCHHoF) will welcome Dan Hamhuis (Player), Shawn Horcoff (Player), Mike Penny, (Builder), Larry Kwong (Pioneer/Player/Builder), Ted Hargreaves (Builder) as well as the 1987 Centennial Cup champion Richmond Sockeyes and the 1978 Allan Cup champion Kimberley Dynamiters.
“All of these great hockey people honoured the game in our province and now it’s time to honour them,” said Jim Hughson, chair of the BCHHoF.
The Kimberley Dynamiters (Western Canadian Champions) of the Western International Hockey League won the 1978 Allan Cup Championship. The Dynamiters defeated the Brantford Alexanders in the best-of-seven series in five games. They clinched the championship with a 7-3 victory.
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Hamhuis, a Smithers native, played 1148 career regular season NHL games with the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, and Dallas Stars after being the No.12 pick by the Predators in the 2001 NHL Draft. Hamhuis helped the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup Final during the 2010-11 season, his first with the organization.
He won gold with Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, as well as the 2007 and 2015 IIHF World Championships and silver at the 2008 and 2009 World Championships.
“It’s a pretty cool honour to be inducted into the BC hockey Hall of Fame,” said Hamhuis. “It’s a really neat mix of individuals, players and builders that are in there and it’s great to be a part of that group.”
Born in Trail, B.C. and raised in Castlegar, Horcoff played 1,008 regular season NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks after being selected in the fourth round, 99th overall of the 1999 NHL Draft. Horcoff helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06, losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Horcoff represented Canada three times at the World Junior Championships, winning gold in Helsinki in 2003 and Prague in 2004 and earned a silver medal in Bern in 2009.
“First off, it’s a humongous honour. I grew up in British Columbia, playing all my minor hockey there, and played three years of junior hockey (Trail Smoke Eaters/Chilliwack Chiefs) before leaving for college,” said Horcoff.
In his 55th year as an NHL scout, Montreal’s Mike Penny has been instrumental in finding hockey talent. He began with the NY Rangers in 1969, then spent 20 years with the Vancouver Canucks in various scouting roles and assistant GM. For over 20 years, Penny has lived and worked in the BC’s Lower Mainland, while working for the Toronto Maple Leafs as a scout. He played a pivotal role in drafting Hockey Hall of Famers Pavel Bure, Cam Neely, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, as well as BC Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Trevor Linden and Gino Odjick.
Born and raised in Vernon, B.C., the late Larry Kwong made history as the first player of Asian descent to compete in the NHL, suiting up in one game for the New York Rangers in 1948. A dynamic scorer, he led both the New York Rovers and Valleyfield Braves in points, earning MVP honours in the Quebec Senior League (1950-51) and capturing the Alexander Cup, Canada’s Senior “A” Championship.
Born in Saskatchewan, Ted Hargreaves was a player, coach, and educator whose influence on hockey has spanned decades. He won bronze with Team Canada at the 1968 Olympics and played for the Winnipeg Jets (WHA) and Nelson Maple Leafs (Western International Hockey League).
Off the ice, Hargreaves was a development pioneer. He was involved in the first motion picture (16mm film) instruction series on skills (became the foundation of Hockey Canada’s National Coaches Certification Program). He later contributed over 400 illustrations to early coaching manuals and spent 20 years leading B.C. Hockey’s coaching programs, eventually serving as Provincial Coach.
The Richmond Sockeyes won the 1987 Centennials Cup. They defeated the Quesnel Millionaires to capture the Mowat Cup, then won the Doyle Cup, followed by defeating the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League champion Humboldt Broncos for the Abbott Cup. The Sockeyes and Broncos ended up meeting again for the Centennials Cup, with the Sockeyes earning a 5-3 victory in the championship game.
