November 1, 2020
The number of individual awards and the number of championships do not tell the whole story when determining which hockey players should be inducted into the CCAA Hall of Fame.
Athletes eligible for the CCAA Hall of Fame must have earned CCAA recognition a minimum of two years and completed the program of study at the institution. However, the opportunities for recognition varied through the years and athletes of different eras must be placed on equal footing.
From 1975 through 2001, the CCAA tournament's most valuable players and all stars were honoured in hockey. On five occasions, a player was selected as both a tournament all star and the tournament's most valuable player at a CCAA sanctioned event. The achievement of a player who was only named as the tournament most valuable player is on par with one of the aforementioned double honourees. Moreover, a player who was named a tournament all star and the tournament's most valuable player at different events has a more notable achievement than one who received the same honours at one event.
The introduction of CCAA Academic All Canadian and CCAA Player of the Year Awards in the late 1990's can be utilized when comparing athletes from that era only.
Hockey players were also eligible to receive CCAA All Canadian Awards from 1983 through 1990 and 1998 through 2001. While CCAA All Canadian Awards can be used for comparison of athletes who were competing in seasons when the awards were presented, it cannot be used when one athlete had the opportunity to receive the award and another athlete did not. In this instance, a look at the conference all star selections is an alternative.
The number of CCAA All Canadian Awards received in relation to the number of seasons eligible for the honour is more relevant than the total number of awards. A player may have competed four years and was recognized on three occasions while another may have competed two years and was recognized on two occasions.
In a like manner, the number of seasons receiving CCAA Tournament Awards in relation to number of seasons competing for a national title is more relevant than the number of CCAA Tournament Awards.
In addition to individual awards, team performance is another factor in the mix. The average finish of the team at nationals and the average number of teams competing at nationals are telling. If the player was a captain of a team that won multiple championships, it is a feather in the cap.
Furthermore, the number of CCAA gold medals received in relation to number of seasons competing for a national title is more relevant than the number of CCAA gold medals.
While it is debatable whether a sport's best athletes are in the CCAA Hall of Fame, there is no such debate with hockey as no athletes from the sport have received the call to the hall.