Joe Thornton begins Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebrations in Toronto

San Jose Sharks legend Joe Thornton officially began his Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration on Saturday as he and other honored members of this year s class received their Hall of Fame rings and blazers during a ceremony in Toronto Thornton who played seasons with the Sharks from to was elected to the Hall in the Competitor s Category in June in his first year of eligibility Also elected in the Players Category were Duncan Keith Zdeno Ch ra Alexander Mogilny Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker In the Builders Category Jack Parker and Dani le Sauvageau received the necessary votes Thornton was introduced by Ron Francis who chairs the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and given his ring and blazer by Hall of Fame chairman Mike Gartner Thornton is sixth on the NHL s all-time list with games played and is th with career points Known as one of the NHL s premier passers during his prime Thornton is also seventh all-time with assists and now joins several of his childhood idols in hockey immortality I played against Wayne Gretzky I played against Francis These are guys I grew up watching and it was just incredible mentioned Thornton who made his NHL debut in after he was drafted first overall by the Bruins earlier that year I don t remember too much about playing against them I don t remember too much but I remember enough that there were a lot of legends that I grew up playing against and I just loved growing up and watching them play Thornton who joined the Sharks front office this summer as a performer maturation coach and hockey operations advisor stated his favorite memories as a athlete included reaching the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in and winning the Gold Medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver But playing so several games and meeting so countless guys that s what was so special to me Thornton commented Thornton on Saturday was reminded of his reaction to the news that he had been elected to the Hall Reached by phone by Francis and Lanny McDonald after the vote in June Thornton commented Holy doodle holy doodle boys Thornton had just finished visiting Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews in Arizona and was going through airport precaution when he saw that he was getting a call from someone in Toronto It was Francis and McDonald And I m like I ll just check it Picked it up and they re the boys Thornton disclosed My bag goes through defense because there s inevitably liquids and stuff in it So I m like screw that I m talking to the boys I was crying and assurance is like what s wrong with this guy Thornton returned to his hometown of St Thomas Ontario on Saturday night and was honored by one of his youth hockey teams the St Thomas Stars at the arena that bears his name He and this year s inductees will then be recognized at the Toronto Maple Leafs event against the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday where they will give a speech and officially be inducted into the Hall on Monday Related Articles San Jose Sharks excited to see what s next after another impressive win San Jose Sharks No overall pick gets tough break with lower-body injury Are the Sharks for real Three reasons why this season might be different Sharks rout Seattle Kraken as Macklin Celebrini sets new NHL record Improving Sharks will be without one of their leaders vs Kraken Former Sharks players Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture among others are expected to be in attendance Thornton is the ninth former Shark to be inducted into the Hall but the first to have spent the majority of his career with the club Other ex-Sharks in the Hall are goalies Ed Belfour and Mike Vernon defensemen Rob Blake and Doug Wilson and forwards Igor Larionov Sergei Makarov Jeremy Roenick and Teemu Selanne Dan Rusanowsky the Sharks longtime radio play-by-play voice also has a plaque in the Hall of Fame as he was given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in The award voted on by the NHL Broadcasters Association is in recognition of members of the radio and television industry who have made outstanding contributions to their profession and to the challenge of hockey