Men who built modern hockey

The International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame continued to grow as eight new members were inducted as part of the 2003 World Championships today in Helsinki.

The inductees were welcomed to the Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the Canada-Czech Republic game. The IIHF recognizes honorees from four areas of ice hockey. The first category honors players who had outstanding international and professional careers. This year the player inductees included Bengt-Ake Gustavsson, Timo Jutila, Josef Malecek and Alexander Yakushev.

The IIHF also honors individuals who have played an integral role behind the scenes in promoting ice hockey in their native countries. Curt Berglund and Heinz Henschel were honored in the Builder's Category. Two referees, Josef Kompalla and Unto Wiitala were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Rounding out the honorees was Dr. George Nagobads, the recipient of this year's Paul Loicq Award, which recognizes achievement for unsung heroes who have dedicated their lives to the sport.

"The committee had no problem this year selecting these great players for this great honor,"said Art Berglund, IIHF Committee Member and USA Hockey President.

Two inductees, Malacek and Berglund, were honoured posthumously.

The group of inductees includes members from six countries with two Finns, two Swedes, two Germans, one Russian, one American and one member from the Czech Republic. Today's ceremony brings the total number of members inducted since 1997 to the IIHF Hall of Fame to 118.

Below are the biographies of this year's honorees.

Bengt-Ake Gustavsson: Sweden

The forward was in the Swedish Elite League with Farjestads BK by the time he was 19. Gustavsson then spent nine seasons in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, playing in 629 regular season games scoring 196 goals and adding 359 assists. Internationally, he played with Team Sweden in 117 games including two Canada Cups, five IIHF World Championships and the 1992 Olympics. While with Team Sweden, he earned two gold, a silver and one bronze medal. He retired in 1999 after he won five national titles in the Austrian League with VEU Feldkirch. Gustavsson is now a coach, most recently winning the 2002 national championship with Farjestads BK.

Timo Jutila: Finland

This defenseman was born in Tampere, Finland. During his 19-year playing career he played for Tappara Tampere in the Finnish Hockey League, the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, the Rochester Americans in the AHL, Lulea Hockey in Sweden and SC Bern in Switzerland. In his native Finland, Jutila won five national championships and earned 435 points in 561 games. Internationally, Jutila played for Finland in 246 games, including two IIHF World Junior Championships, eight IIHF World Championships and three Olympic Games in 1984, 1992 and 1994, highlighted by a gold medal at the 1995 World Championship and a bronze medal at the 1994 Olympic games. He finished his career with Team Finland with 128 points and is now a commentator for the Hockey Night in Finland broadcasts.

Josef Malecek: Czech Republic

Josef Malecek was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and was a major part of the early development of ice hockey in Czechoslovakia. The forward spent 16 seasons with LTC Praha between 1927 and 1943, winning 12 national titles and four Spengler Cups. Malecek started his international career as a 17-year-old and starred in 17 IIHF events, including three Olympic Tournaments from 1922 to 1939. The late player won four bronze, four silver and four gold medals for his country at the European Championships. Malecek moved to New York at the end of his career, where he spent the rest of his life.

Alexander Yakushev: Russia

Alexander Yakushev starred for Spartak Moscow for 17 years from 1963 to 1980, scoring 339 goals in 568 Soviet League games and leading his team to the national title three times. He also played three seasons in Kapfenberg, Austria. Internationally, the star forward appeared in 218 games with the Soviet Union including two gold-medal performances at the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games. His 10 IIHF World Championship appearances produced seven gold medals, a silver and a bronze, collecting numerous individual honors along the way. After coaching with Spartak Moscow and the Russian National team, he retired in 2000 and is now employed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia.

Curt Berglund: Sweden

Curt Berglund is one of two honorees in the Builder's Category. In 1972 he was elected to the Swedish Ice Hockey Association Board of Directors. That same year he earned the same job with Stockholm's AIK Club. In 1975, he was named the IIHF's Minister of Finance, where he served for 15 years, helping the IIHF continue to grow economically. He has been an honorary IIHF member since 1990 and most recently served as a Tournament Chairman at the 2001 IIHF Division I World Championship. He is one of two inductees being honoured posthumously.

Heinz Henschel: Germany

The second Builder's Category inductee was born in Berlin, Germany. After he retired from a playing career that lasted 24 seasons, he became an official on the domestic and international level. Henschel is a founding member of the Berlin Ice Sport Federation, the Berlin Regional Sport Federation, the German Sport Federation and the German Ice Hockey Federation. He worked with the German Ice Hockey Federation for 25 years, during which time he was the team leader for 10 Olympic Winter Games and 30 IIHF World Championships. He was president of the German Ice Sport Federation and was assigned as the Chef de Mission to the 1984 Olympic Games.

Josef Kompalla: Germany

Josef Kompalla is one of two referees this year to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. After playing 11 seasons professionally, he turned his attention to refereeing. During his officiating career, he oversaw more than 2000 games in Germany. Kompalla officiated three Olympic Winter Games, nine IIHF World Championships, three Pool B World Championships and two World Under-20 Championships, totalling 157 games. He spent four years as a member of the IIHF refereeing committee and has been the Referee-In-Chief for numerous IIHF championship tournaments. Kompalla is also a member of the German Ice Hockey Hall of Fame and received the Cross of the German Federal Republic. He is currently the Referee-In-Chief of the German Ice Hockey League.

Unto Wiitala: Finland

Unto Wiitala is a referee born in Kuolemajarvi, Finland. He played 13 years in the Finnish League before retiring in 1959 after winning a silver and bronze medal at the Finnish national championships. After his playing career, Wiitala made a quick transition to a refereeing career, which lasted for 15 seasons. He was named the best referee in the Finnish league four times and officiated two Olympic games and three IIHF World Championships. Wiitala was also a valuable member of the IIHF Referee Committee and was until recently the Chairman of the Board for Finland's Hockey Hall of Fame Museum. Today as a tribute, Finland's Referee of the Year Trophy bears his name.

Dr. George Nagobads: United States

The recipient of this year's Paul Loicq Award, Dr. Geroge Nagobads, was born in Latvia in 1921. He earned his Doctorate of Medicine Degree from the University of Tubingen before embarking on a remarkable career in the United States in 1944. He started working with USA Hockey in 1967 and went onto work for 15 Men's and Women's national teams during the next 25 years. The highlight of his career with USA Hockey came as the team physician for the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team, which won gold at the Lake Placid Olympics. In 1984 he was named USA Hockey's Chief Medical Officer where he served until 1992. Nagobads has also been a member of the IIHF Medical Committee since 1990. Outside of USA Hockey, he spent 33 years with the University of Minnesota's men's ice hockey team.