I think there is one clear cut choice where the SHL Hall of Fame should be located and that should be in the city of Calgary. While I know this may sound like the biased answer seeing as I am the member of the Calgary Dragons, I am going to make a logical pitch as to why I made this decision based on the history and stats of the Dragons franchise over the fifty seven seasons it has been part of the SHL.

Being an original SHL team with a ton of storied history. In this aspect the Calgary Dragons hold a lot of similarities to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL hockey hall of fame that is located in Toronto. The Dragons’ franchise history dates back all the way to season one of the league when Waldo Cezar created the team. Calgary is one of the very few remaining original teams that have never under went a name change or a franchise relocation. Its rich history represents that of the SHL and the hall of fame.

The rich history of the Calgary Dragons players in the hall of fame and near the top of the all time stats leader boards. With a deep hockey history in the SHL as one of the original teams dating back to season one, Calgary has developed a ton of SHL hall of fame players and helped many people have successful and fulfilling careers in the SHL. Throughout history many great players have suited up for the Calgary Dragons. A total of thirteen Dragons have been inducted into the SHL hall of fame over the years including: defenseman Eric Chisling (season twelve), left wing Ron Bolt (season thirteen), general manager Nathan D'Angelo (season thirteen), left wing Pavel Skvoznak (season fourteen), goaltender Ryan Jesster (season fifteen), left wing Kain Webb (season sixteen), left wing Christoph Klose (season eighteen), goaltender Hunter Wong (season forty), goaltender Mike Verminski (season forty two), left wing Nicholas Pedersen (season forty six), left wing Esa Anrikkanen (season forty eight), left wing Randy Randleman (season forty eight), and left wing Dani Forsberg (season fifty two). In addition, I expect to see a fourteenth Dragon inducted into the Hall of Fame this offseason with Mike Izzy hanging up his skates and projected to be a first ballot hall of fame retiring with the most career hits in SHL history.
Of these thirteen legendary players, Esa Anrikkanen holds the records for most goals and points scored all time in an SHL career. In addition, five active or former Dragons (Esa Anrikkanen, Joe Kurczewski, Nicholas Pedersen, Randy Randleman, and Mike Izzy) are in the top twenty scorers of all time in SHL history, making up twenty five percent of these top twenty.

On the goalie side of things, Calgary Dragons great Hunter Wong is in the top five for all time goalie wins with three hundred and sixty seven, second all time in shutouts with forty six, and in the top twenty five all time for goals against average with 2.64, as well as, has the second most Challenge Cup championships all time amongst goalies with three. As you can see from all of these stats above, a bunch of the best players in SHL history have donned the red, white and black proudly representing Calgary on the all time leader boards. Finally, Esa is the first player ever in SHL history to have reached two thousand tpe with two different players which is quite the impressive feat. All of these individual accolades show that the Dragons have some of the most decorated players of all time that would be representative of what a hall of famer is all about.

Finally the Calgary Dragons also have some of the most dominant team success in terms of longevity in comparison to all other SHL teams which makes them the perfect city to put the hall of fame in the city of SHL champions. The Calgary Dragons are the most successful and consistent franchise in SHL history, winning eight Challenge Cups and making the playoffs in thirty one of the last thirty three seasons! Overall I think these stat lines speak for themselves.

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