The press conferences and ceremonies are over and Lee Fogolin and Ryan Smyth’s names are a part of the 2022 Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame.
This past Wednesday and Thursday saw the members of Oilers history honored as members of the inaugural class of the Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame. Fogolin enters the hall as a member of the 1980s dynasty on the blueline and one of the first captains of their early days as an NHL franchise.
In Fogolin’s eight seasons with the Oilers, he’d serve as a captain in three of them before turning over the captaincy to Wayne Gretzky for the 1983-84 campaign.
For Jari Kurri, while the attention over many decades has been on players such as himself and teammates Gretzky, Mark Messier and Grant Fuhr, he was elated to see someone like Fogolin, who was one of the early leaders of the franchise, get his due through the Hall of Fame.
“Players like those don’t get the recognition for their importance with the team; I’m so happy to see him honored here.” Said Kuri.
Fogolin’s presence in Edmonton as an established veteran in the league and someone who had already played in a Stanley Cup final with the Buffalo Sabres in 1975 was significant as someone who could help show the younger players on Edmonton’s roster how to succeed in the league to Kurri.
“We were young guys when we joined the NHL in the 80s, but we had great leadership like Lee Fogolin to show us what it takes and how hard work pays off to play in the NHL.”
Ryan Smyth’s place in the Oilers Hall was one of the surest things for the franchise. Smyth was one of the faces of the franchise in the late 90s and 2000s but also sits inside the top five of games played and goals.
Smyth said coming back to Edmonton for this honor meant quite a bit to him.
“If you cut me open, I’d probably bleed blue,” Smyth said.
On the ice, he connected with the fans with his hard work and ability to get to the net. Off the ice, he was a staple around the community with his work with many local charities and causes.
The genuine connection with Edmontonians and Oiler fans is something that Smyth said let him connect even more with those who watched him regularly.
“To me, I felt like I knew every single fan,” Smyth said. “They were very appreciative of hard work, and I wore my heart on my sleeve and did whatever I could for the organization to win.”
When the Oilers Hall of Fame was first announced, it was made for names like Fogolin and other players not in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto to receive their due.
Including Smyth in the first class showed that the franchise can create a place to honor players and figures from multiple eras and not just the one that saw the team win five Stanley Cups in seven seasons.
Ensuring that all eras of the Oilers had a place in the hall was essential to the voting committee and voting member Louie DeBrusk, an Oilers alum who’s currently an NHL analyst for Sportsnet.
“Let’s face it, it’s really difficult to get away from the ’80s with the dynasty they were,” DeBrusk said. “Five Stanley Cups, the greatest players in the game, the greatest ensemble of players ever in an organization, in my opinion, for a period of time that played together as a team.
“This is about any era, player, any personnel, any person. Doesn’t just have to just be a player – it’s really important to know that they can go into the Oilers Hall of Fame. It doesn’t have just to be players that have had that type of impact on not only the Oilers but also Edmonton as a city and a community.”
Various names will be considered for the class of 2023, and prominent names come to mind, such as the late Joey Moss, Doug Weight, Ales Hemsky and Dwayne Roloson. Even playoff heroes like Fernando Pisani could look forward to the day when their names might be gracing the loge level of Rogers Place and inside the Oilers Hall of Fame.
