Anticipation is growing for this summer’s 2022 B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Penticton and one of the nation’s most recognizable voices is set to join in on the fun.
Former Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play commentator Jim Hughson will host the museum’s first ceremony in three years on July 22 when longtime Vancouver Canucks defenceman Mattias Ohlund and the 2011-2012 Penticton Vees team get their moment on the provincial stage.
Along with Ohlund and the record-breaking Vees team, NHL official Jay Sharrers, gold-medal-winning defenceman Eric Brewer, the 2002 Kootenay Ice and junior hockey builder Ray Stonehouse will also get the nod in the museum.
“This particular group of inductees have been waiting two years to get in,” said Pat Loyer, the Hall of Fame’s curator and Penticton resident. “It’s going to be special and we have people from all over the province coming to the event.”
Hughson — inducted as part of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2005 — was the longtime play-by-play commentator for the Vancouver Canucks before becoming the voice of Hockey Night in Canada every week in the early 2010s.
Unlike previous years, the 2022 ceremony will not feature a dinner. Instead, Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre will be home to a pre-party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. before the official event kicks off.
“We’ve kind of mimicked the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto set up,” Loyer explained. “You come in, have a drink, eat an appetizer and then we’ll get the induction event kicked off after that.”
The Vees’ team from 10 years, led by future NHL blueliners Troy Stecher and Mike Reilly, will get the provincial honour, fittingly in a year when the current Penticton squad won the B.C. Hockey League Championship.
PHOTOS: Penticton Vees return home as BCHL Champions
Penticton won a record 54 games during the 2011-12 regular season, on route to the Fred Page Cup.
Tickets for the July 22 event in Penticton are listed for $75 on valleyfirsttix.com.
Loyer added that B.C. hockey royalty, past Hall of Fame inductees and a Canucks alumni presence are expected to be in Penticton for the ceremony.
READ MORE: Record-breaking 2011-12 Penticton Vees among B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
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