Ken Hitchcock and Ed Belfour are being honored this weekend in Dallas.
DALLAS - Ken Hitchcock and Ed Belfour will be front and center at the American Airlines Center tonight.
The pair will participate in a ceremonial puck drop ahead of the game against the Flyers, before officially being inducted into the Stars Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Hitchcock coached Dallas to the Stanley Cup in 1999 with Belfour between the pipes.
Head coach Pete DeBoer shared his thoughts on both figures, who will always hold a special place in the organization’s history.
“You can sit for an hour with Ken Hitchcock and hear him tell stories, and time just flies by. You can do that all day. He’s such an engaging guy to talk to. He’s so knowledgeable on the game,” praised DeBoer. “The best thing about Hitch, and I’ve credited this before, but my coaching career, a big part of it, was coming up through Hockey Canada and having all those Hockey Canada coaches share. It was Dave King and Tom Renney and Clare Drake, and Hitch was one of those guys. He’s one of the most sharing guys. He loves to share his knowledge, and that’s rare in our sport. There’s a lot of young coaches out there, myself included, that owe him a debt of gratitude for that.”
Hitchcock will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Nov. 13.
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As for Belfour, DeBoer has a genuine appreciation for his penchant to always rise to the occasion.
"When I think of Ed Belfour, money goaltender, just one of those guys that had the ability. Marty Brodeur was like that when I coached him. He had the ability, no matter what had happened during the game to that point, to raise his level at the most important time - the last minute, overtime, double overtime. Regardless, it could’ve been 6-5 and he could’ve let in three poor goals, but at that critical moment, when you needed your goaltender to be a difference-maker, he had that ability," explained DeBoer. "I think Ed Belfour, all the great goaltenders that have won, have that ability. He's obviously a character of the game, which is always great - a great career, a great Dallas Star, and we're excited to induct him."
Belfour was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
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