Copyright The Boston Globe
“When I stood up there with everybody that was inducted…,” mused Parker, chatting with a Boston reporter in the Great Hall in the moments after the Ring Ceremony, “...and we were looking at our plaques, the first thing that came to me was, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’” The eight new members, introduced by ex-Whaler great Ron Francis, chair of the Hall’s selection committee, also included Danièle Sauvageau (builder’s category), ex-Harvard star Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker (ex-University of Wisconsin). Chara, who spent 14 years as the Bruins captain, was vacationing with his family in Thailand when word finally reached him in June that his life’s work landed him here. After receiving the news from the Hall’s executives, the phone calls that immediately followed underscored the moment. “My first phone call, John Bucyk,” recalled Chara. “Then Bobby Orr. Those are the calls that … it puts you really in a standstill, and everything is like slowing down in a movie. You realize you are getting calls and messages from people who were inducted here a long time ago and they meant so much to the game, and such good people. That’s when you sit down, after you hang up, you have those moments you are really thinking about your life.” Keith was a vital blueline component on the Blackhawks teams that won three Cups, including a 2013 Cup Final win over the Bruins. An undersized kid from Winnipeg, he was the 54th pick in the 2002 draft, following a freshman season at Michigan State in which he compiled an uninspiring 15 points. Asked here to opine why a future Hall of Famer would drop to the second round, a smiling Keith shrugged and offered, “Some bad scouts?” Truth was, added Keith, the scouts couldn’t be blamed. He remembered being 14 years old and weighing only 130 pounds. “It was always kind of like that, throughout my whole life,” noted Keith. “Unfortunately, I never got to be the biggest player out there, but I got tall enough (6 feet 1 inch) to make it, and I always used that as motivation.” The Hall did not explain why Mogilny did not attend. Francis called his name from the podium, welcomed him to the Hall, then simply added that he was not here. His absence was not a surprise, given rumors in recent days that he likely would not be here. Prevailing theories regarding Mogilny’s absence included that he remained unhappy he was not inducted long ago, as well as the fact that he has long been known to have fear of air travel. He lives in Russia and is president of a KHL team (Amur Khabarovsk). The ever-gregarious Thornton, chosen No. 1 by the Bruins in the 1997 draft, added some context to his joyous “Holy doodle!” comments back in June when he first learned he was part of the ‘25 class. When the call came, he said, he was at the airport in Phoenix, making his way through the TSA security line. “This was too much,” said Jumbo Joe, explaining how he felt in the moment. “I just started crying. “I think the flight home was like four hours, and honestly I was by myself and I was just crying — because it was so emotional, and really [had] no one to share it with.” On Nov. 30, 2025, the Bruins dealt Thornton to the Sharks for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart. Almost 20 years later, he said here he was “disappointed for a little bit,” but an hour later thinking, ‘Hockey on the west coast … this is good!” Sturm, who Saturday night was behind the Boston bench at Scotiabank Arena, hoping to coach his Bruins to a sixth consecutive win, reflected on the day of the Bruins-Sharks swap late Saturday morning. “I said it before, it was not my fault,” Sturm said, chuckling as he summed up the deal. “A lot of people were upset, but I don’t know, I had a good time with that trade and, for me personally, it started my real career, playing my best hockey. I think it turned out to be good for both sides. Boston won the Cup [in 2011] and Jumbo is a Hall of Famer and had a great career.”
