2008 Inductees

2008 INDUCTEES

Sports stars drawn to Hall induction

2008 Inductee Dan Hogdson

By ROLAND CILLIERS Today staff

It was a night of sports heroes both national and local at the Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner 2008.

Four groups of local athletes were honoured at the ceremony which closed with a speech by NHL Hall of Famer and current member of parliament Ken Dryden.

The Liberal politician earned a standing ovation from the crowd of close to 350 people in the main ballroom of the Quality Inn. He spoke about local hockey teams and how the stories of sports heroes inspire communities for generations.

Speaking about his own accomplishments, Dryden said that while he was member of the NHL Hall of Fame, “I’m also a member of the Etobicoke Hall of Fame, and that means a lot.”

Former captain of the Canadian Junior Hockey Team Dan Hodgson was inducted in the Hall of Fame for his extensive accomplishments.

Hodgson holds a number of Western Hockey League records, including Bobby Clarke’s all-time league assist record.

Hodgson said that while he’s played for a variety of teams, Fort McMurray is still special to him.

“This is where I got my roots from and got instilled a lot of stuff here. Everywhere I went in the world it didn’t matter; I was from Fort McMurray and everybody knew that,” said Hodgson.

The members of the 1992 Alberta Junior Women's curling champions were inducted along with coach Randy Olson.

The rink, which included Rhonda Sinclair, Kary Anne Caines, Laurie Olson-Johns, and Jody Fraser, won the first ever Fort McMurray Junior Women’s Curling Championship. Members of the 1995 team that represented Alberta at the national Championship were also honoured. That team consisted of additional members Kary Anne Kjelshus, Jody Lee and Diane Angelopoulos.

Laurie Olson-Johns said the rink was very excited to be inducted.

“It’s a tremendous honour to be included in this group of individuals and represent the athletes of Fort McMurray. …I think we’re one of the first inductees for females, so we’re definitely honoured for this celebration,” said Olson-Johns.

Famed jet ski racer Mike Klippenstein is the only world champion of any sport currently living in Wood Buffalo. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame last night for his 15 world titles in the sport of water craft racing.

Klippenstein has lived in Wood Buffalo since 1978 and said he was honoured to be acknowledged alongside the other inductees.

“The people I race against in the U.S. all think it’s like eight months of solid winter here, and I don’t tell them any different. They’re amazed by what a guy can do in three or four months,” said Klippenstein.

Also inducted into the hall of fame was Colin Solbak for his contributions to Little League baseball. He has done everything from coach teams to serve as president of Fort McMurray Little League Baseball.

Solbak was the major organizing force behind both the local hosting of several championship events and the construction of Ron Morgan Little League Park.

“It’s something that in a lot ways I feel I don’t totally deserve because when you look at growing organizations it takes a whole pile of people, not just one to do it. There’s been a lot of people that helped me with this,” said Solbak.