The Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday announced the American Hockey League alumni Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, Cook Rinne again Brian Burke will be among the entering class of 2026.
All four will be placed aside Keith Tkachuk again Cindy Curley at the event in November.
Bergeron spent the 2004-05 season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins as a 19-year-old, recording 21 goals and 40 assists for 61 points in 68 games. He added 12 points in 16 contests as the Bruins reached the Eastern Conference Finals, and also participated in the AHL All-Star Classic.
Bergeron would play 1,294 games in the NHL – all with the Boston Bruins – totaling 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points. He won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and captured gold medals with Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. Bergeron is a six-time winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward.
Price joined the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs at age 19 in April 2007 and went on to lead the team to the Calder Cup championship, earning the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. He went 15-6 in 22 postseason games, posting a 2.06 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage along with two shutouts.
Price, who also played 13 regular-season games in the AHL with Hamilton and Laval, made 712 appearances in 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, winning a franchise-best 361 games. He won both the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) and Hart Trophy (most valuable player) in 2014-15, and won Olympic gold with Canada in 2014.
Rinne played 147 games in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals over four seasons, going 83-49-11 with a 2.54 GAA, a .910 save percentage and 10 shutouts. A two-time AHL All-Star, Rinne led the Admirals to the Calder Cup Finals as a rookie in 2006.
He collected 369 wins in 683 games with the Nashville Predators and won the Vezina Trophy in 2017-18.
Burke, nominated in the Builders Category, spent his entire professional career playing in the AHL, skating in 72 games between the Springfield Indians and the Maine Mariners. He won the Calder Cup championship as a rookie with Maine in 1977-78.
Since its first members were honored in 1945, the total 139 players, coaches, officials and managers associated with the American Hockey League have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
