From: Edmonton Journal by Jim Matheson
EDMONTON - Former DU player and Edmonton Oilers right-winger Glenn Anderson, who was part of five Stanley Cup celebrations here with his reckless, drive-to-the-net style, finally scored enough votes Tuesday to get elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Anderson, who retired in 1996, has been eligible for entry to the hallowed hall since 1999 but has continually been overlooked -- until Tuesday.
He joins earlier Oilers entrants Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr from the glory years of the 1980s, along with coach-general manager Glen Sather, who was elected in the builder's category.
The indelible memory everyone has of Anderson is seeing him drive towards the net, often looking as if he had just stepped on a banana peel and was trying mightily to keep his balance -- his legs akimbo, his stick waving menacingly in the air.
"Guys didn't want to defend him because they always knew they were going to get something, like a stick on the head, and he made it look so accidental. They'd get hit and their gloves would be flying," laughed Coffey.
This would happen just before or after Anderson would come racing in at breakneck speed, leaving the poor sap in goal waving at thin air as he scored.
His style of play was infectious.
"Today, you've got (Alexander) Ovechkin and (Sidney) Crosby scoring some highlight goals and it's all pretty good stuff ... but nobody was like Glennie. He could deke a goalie who was standing on the goal line. Who else could do that?
"It was unbelievable," said Coffey.
Anderson, who also won a sixth Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, is fourth all-time in career playoff points with 214. Only Gretzky, Messier and Kurri have more. He also scored five playoff overtime goals, third all-time behind Rocket Richard and Joe Sakic.
He finished with 498 goals and 601 assists in 1,129 regular-season games. He was an integral part of the Oilers landscape through the Cup years.
"I'm very humbled by this honor," the 47-year-old right-winger said during a conference call. "I guess I don't have to answer the question, 'Why are you not in?' anymore. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be."
"I had pretty good faith in the people doing the selecting, although you don't know if this was his last go-round," said Messier, who was Anderson's linemate for most of his time in Edmonton.
Anderson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Oilers in 1979, 21 spots after the team took Messier. He played for Canada in the 1980 Olympics, then joined Edmonton. He had 85 game-winning goals, more than anybody else.
"We had a chemistry from the first training camp," said Messier. "We were good friends and as friends the trust was there on the ice. It was one of those partnerships where you stop thinking on the ice and you just do it.
"He was a very dynamic player. He played hard, he'd take a lot of body contact when he'd go to the front of the net. He wouldn't go behind the net with the puck," said Messier, who went out of his way to praise Anderson in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in Toronto last November.
You can bet Anderson will return the favor Nov. 10 when he's formally inducted.
Anderson had a perpetual sloppy grin on his face when he played. He didn't ingratiate himself with the media and talk about himself or anything else. It looked like he didn't care, but it was all an act, according to Messier.
"He had this loosey-goosey attitude (outwardly), but he was hard on himself, like most great players. He hated losing."
Just like Messier. Just like current Oilers GM Kevin Lowe and everybody else from those glory days.
"He would cut to the net like Maurice Richard," said Lowe, who admired his devil-may-care attitude on the ice. "Andy scored a lot of big goals for us, even when he went to New York, I think he had two goals the year we won the Stanley Cup and both were game-winners."
Anderson had three that spring, actually, but he didn't waste any.
"Glennie was quiet and did his own thing ... he cruised in and cruised out, but when he got in those games he was arguably one of the strongest skaters who ever played," said Coffey.
Anderson, who also loved to pass from behind the net on the shortside to players for easy tap-ins, scored very few ho-hum goals of his own. He loved driving the net.
"That went back to the Olympic team where (coach) Clare Drake had a drill we worked on every day for six months," Anderson recalled. "That's probably why I liked to go to the net."
"Some of the guys thought we did the drill too often, but never Glenn," laughed Drake. "He was such a good skater -- he'd get his body low when he was going to the net and he'd be like he was scooting on one leg."
Anderson's No. 9 will likely go up in the rafters at Rexall Place some time this year, too, maybe when Phoenix comes to town. It makes sense because Gretzky, the Coyotes coach, and Fuhr, their goalie coach, will be here to take part in the ceremony. Coffey pledges to be there, too.
"Looking forward to the party," said Coffey, whose No. 7 is up on the Rexall roof along with Gretzky's 99, Kurri's 17, Messier's 11 and Fuhr's 31.
"I have to thank the guys whose sweaters are hanging up there," said Anderson. "They were unbelievable hockey players ... (and) if I can be in that category, I'll be lucky."
Anderson, who retired in 1996, has been eligible for entry to the hallowed hall since 1999 but has continually been overlooked -- until Tuesday.
He joins earlier Oilers entrants Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr from the glory years of the 1980s, along with coach-general manager Glen Sather, who was elected in the builder's category.
The indelible memory everyone has of Anderson is seeing him drive towards the net, often looking as if he had just stepped on a banana peel and was trying mightily to keep his balance -- his legs akimbo, his stick waving menacingly in the air.
"Guys didn't want to defend him because they always knew they were going to get something, like a stick on the head, and he made it look so accidental. They'd get hit and their gloves would be flying," laughed Coffey.
This would happen just before or after Anderson would come racing in at breakneck speed, leaving the poor sap in goal waving at thin air as he scored.
His style of play was infectious.
"Today, you've got (Alexander) Ovechkin and (Sidney) Crosby scoring some highlight goals and it's all pretty good stuff ... but nobody was like Glennie. He could deke a goalie who was standing on the goal line. Who else could do that?
"It was unbelievable," said Coffey.
Anderson, who also won a sixth Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, is fourth all-time in career playoff points with 214. Only Gretzky, Messier and Kurri have more. He also scored five playoff overtime goals, third all-time behind Rocket Richard and Joe Sakic.
He finished with 498 goals and 601 assists in 1,129 regular-season games. He was an integral part of the Oilers landscape through the Cup years.
"I'm very humbled by this honor," the 47-year-old right-winger said during a conference call. "I guess I don't have to answer the question, 'Why are you not in?' anymore. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be."
"I had pretty good faith in the people doing the selecting, although you don't know if this was his last go-round," said Messier, who was Anderson's linemate for most of his time in Edmonton.
Anderson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Oilers in 1979, 21 spots after the team took Messier. He played for Canada in the 1980 Olympics, then joined Edmonton. He had 85 game-winning goals, more than anybody else.
"We had a chemistry from the first training camp," said Messier. "We were good friends and as friends the trust was there on the ice. It was one of those partnerships where you stop thinking on the ice and you just do it.
"He was a very dynamic player. He played hard, he'd take a lot of body contact when he'd go to the front of the net. He wouldn't go behind the net with the puck," said Messier, who went out of his way to praise Anderson in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in Toronto last November.
You can bet Anderson will return the favor Nov. 10 when he's formally inducted.
Anderson had a perpetual sloppy grin on his face when he played. He didn't ingratiate himself with the media and talk about himself or anything else. It looked like he didn't care, but it was all an act, according to Messier.
"He had this loosey-goosey attitude (outwardly), but he was hard on himself, like most great players. He hated losing."
Just like Messier. Just like current Oilers GM Kevin Lowe and everybody else from those glory days.
"He would cut to the net like Maurice Richard," said Lowe, who admired his devil-may-care attitude on the ice. "Andy scored a lot of big goals for us, even when he went to New York, I think he had two goals the year we won the Stanley Cup and both were game-winners."
Anderson had three that spring, actually, but he didn't waste any.
"Glennie was quiet and did his own thing ... he cruised in and cruised out, but when he got in those games he was arguably one of the strongest skaters who ever played," said Coffey.
Anderson, who also loved to pass from behind the net on the shortside to players for easy tap-ins, scored very few ho-hum goals of his own. He loved driving the net.
"That went back to the Olympic team where (coach) Clare Drake had a drill we worked on every day for six months," Anderson recalled. "That's probably why I liked to go to the net."
"Some of the guys thought we did the drill too often, but never Glenn," laughed Drake. "He was such a good skater -- he'd get his body low when he was going to the net and he'd be like he was scooting on one leg."
Anderson's No. 9 will likely go up in the rafters at Rexall Place some time this year, too, maybe when Phoenix comes to town. It makes sense because Gretzky, the Coyotes coach, and Fuhr, their goalie coach, will be here to take part in the ceremony. Coffey pledges to be there, too.
"Looking forward to the party," said Coffey, whose No. 7 is up on the Rexall roof along with Gretzky's 99, Kurri's 17, Messier's 11 and Fuhr's 31.
"I have to thank the guys whose sweaters are hanging up there," said Anderson. "They were unbelievable hockey players ... (and) if I can be in that category, I'll be lucky."
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