Introducing the Burton Hockey Hall of Fame

Kyle KuschJanuary 08, 2013

Obviously, being the first year of the Hall, there is a large backlog of players to be inducted. As such, the backlog of inductees will be broken into two cohorts. Today, we announce the first cohort chosen by the commissioner late last month, which consists of the nine players who have stuck with Burton Hockey from the very beginning (in fact, seven of them were present at the very first session back on 27 April 2000, with another there at the second) and have built it from the ground up. For their service, dedication, and skill, we honour them as the inaugural inductees into the Burton Hockey Hall of Fame.

Laird Bilinski (2000-2012)
-Goaltender in the very first Burton Hockey game
-Played in every single season of Burton Hockey
-Only goaltender to have played in BUSH, VRH, and Arena leagues
-One of two goalies with 300 games goaltended
-4th all-time in saves
-3rd all-time in points from goal
-2x Most Outstanding Goaltender
-2006 Goaltending Champion
-2002 Dual Threat of the Year
-3x Most Dedicated Team
-4x All-Star

Lorne Bilinski (2000-2010, 2012)
-Spearheaded the drive to build the Burton rink
-Skated in the very first Burton Hockey game
-VRH original
-All-time scoring leader for period spanning 2000-2006
-Career 2.72 PPG
-Only player in history with four straight 3.00 PPG seasons
-7th all-time in scoring
-6th all-time in goals and GPG
-6th all-time in games played
-First-ever Burton scoring champion
-2X Dual Threat of the Year
-2002 Most Outstanding Player
-5x Most Dedicated Team
-10x All-Star

Justin Gordon (2000-2007, 2009-2011)
-Goaltender in the very first Burton Hockey game
-First goaltender to post an .800 session
-2nd all-time in consecutive .800 sessions
-One of nine players with 1,000 points
-8th all-time in assists (5th in BUSH)
-8th all-time in games goaltended
-2x scoring champion
-2x Dual Threat of the Year
-2x Most Outstanding Goaltender
-3x Most Dedicated Team
-10X All-Star

Joern Hornhardt (2000-2011)
-Spearheaded the drive to build the Burton rink
-Skated in the very first Burton Hockey game
-First goaltender to post an .880 session
-Goaltender in the very first VRH game
-7th all-time in games played
-First-ever Burton Hockey MVP
-2x Most Sportsmanlike Player
-2001 Dual Threat of the Year
-7x Most Dedicated Team
-4x All-Star

Stefan Klopp (2000-2012)
-Skated in the very first Burton Hockey game
-Skated in the very first VRH game
-4th all-time in games played
-3rd in all-time scoring
-All-time VRH scoring leader
-3rd in all-time goals
-4th in all-time assists
-3x scoring champion
-2002 Most Sportsmanlike Player
-2008 Ironman of the Year
-2x Comeback Player of the Year
-2x Most Outstanding Player
-2x Most Valuable Player
-9x Most Dedicated Team
-11x All-Star

Bernie Koth-Kappus (2000-2012)
-Skated in the very first Burton Hockey game
-Played in every single season of Burton Hockey
-Goaltender in the very first VRH game
-Most dedicated organiser in VRH history
-2nd all-time in games played
-All-time VRH leader in games played
-5th in all-time BUSH games played
-4th in all-time scoring
-3rd in all-time assists
-8th in all-time goals
-3x Organiser of the year
-3x Ironman of the Year
-2x All-Star
-Only player to be named to Most Dedicated Team in every single season of Burton Hockey

Oliver Koth-Kappus (2000-2012)
-Skated in the very first Burton Hockey game
-Played in every single season of Burton Hockey
-All-time leader in games played
-2nd in all-time BUSH games played
-2nd in all-time VRH games played
-2nd in all-time scoring, poised to take al-time lead early in 2013
-Only player with 1,000 points in both BUSH and VRH
-All-time leader in assists
-8x Most Outstanding Defenceman
-3x Most Sportsmanlike Player
-3x Ironman of the Year
-2005 Comeback Player of the Year
-2001 Most Valuable Player
-10x Most Dedicated Team
-11x All-Star

Seamus O’Connor (2000, 2003-2007, 2009-2012)
-BUSH original
-Most dedicated dual threat in history
-6th in all-time scoring
-2nd in all-time BUSH scoring
-All-time leader in points from goal
-5th all-time in assists
-5th all-time in games played
-9th all-time in games goaltended
-2005 scoring champion
-2x goaltending champion
-2010 Most Outstanding Goaltender
-2007 Most Sportsmanlike Player
-4x Dual Threat of the Year
-2x Ironman of the Year
-DecaSession Most Outstanding Player
-2x Most Valuable Player
-5x Most Dedicated Team
-11x All-Star

Lee Orr (2000-2012)
-BUSH original
-Most dedicated organiser in BUSH history
-Only player to skate in BUSH, VRH and Arena leagues
-All-time scoring champion
-1st all-time in goals
-2nd all-time in assists
-3rd all-time in games played
-All-time BUSH leader in games played
-2nd all-time in Arena games played
-5x Scoring Champion
-2x Ironman of the Year
-2010 Most Sportsmanlike Player
-2x Comeback Player of the Year
-2011 BUSH Organiser of the Year
-2006 Most Outstanding Player
-5x Most Valuable Player
-10x Most Dedicated Team
-10x All-Star

These nine distinguished players are now not only members of the Hall but are also now tasked with the challenge of voting for the rest of the first inductee class. Each January, the members of the Hall will choose from all players who began their Burton Hockey careers at least ten seasons prior (i.e., this year, Hall members will be voting on players who began in 2003 and earlier). The first voting class will be chosen later this month.

ELIGIBILITY RULES:
-Candidates can be inducted into the Hall no earlier than the tenth season following their debut in Burton Hockey. For this year’s ballot, that means players who debuted in or previous to 2003 are eligible.
-Any player who participates in ten separate seasons of Burton Hockey is automatically inducted to the Hall regardless of voting and can only be removed by a majority vote of Hall members.
-Any non-automatic inductee person receiving votes from 50% or more of voters will be inducted into the Hall.
-Non-playing nominees (‘Builders’) can be voted for in the write-in ballot.
-To vote for a player, write ‘YES’ in the box beside the player’s name and date.
-Players who do not get inducted but receive at least one vote will remain on next year’s ballot.
-Players receiving no votes will be dropped from next year’s ballot and will not reappear unless they are written in or they resume their Burton Hockey career.