Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame unveils Class of 2023

Two of the province’s greatest hockey players are among the seven people being inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.

Shaunavon’s Hayley Wickenheiser and Regina’s Ryan Getzlaf were part of the Class of 2023 announced Wednesday. They’re joined in the class by fellow athletes Jaime Boyer of Saskatoon and Joan McEachern of Leroy, and builders Lorne Lasuita of Wynyard, Bernadette McIntyre of Bethune and Noreen Murphy of Saskatoon.

The 55th annual induction ceremony is to be held at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina on Sept. 23. Tickets are $110 per person or $880 for a table of eight, and can be purchased here or by contacting the Hall of Fame at 306-780-9232.

Wickenheiser played on the Canadian women’s team from 1994 to 2017.

She competed in five Winter Olympics (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), winning four gold medals and one silver. She also appeared in 12 women’s world championships, winning seven gold medals and five silvers.

Wickenheiser is Canada’s all-time leader in goals (168), assists (211), points (379) and games played (276). She’s also the all-time points leader in the Olympics among men or women (51) and is the all-time scoring leader at the IIHF world championships (38 goals, 74 points).

She was also the first woman to play in a men’s professional league in a position other than goal, doing so in Finland in 2002.

Wickenheiser was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.

Getzlaf played 17 seasons in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, recording 282 goals and 737 assists in 1,157 regular-season games before his retirement in 2022. He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 and retired as the all-time franchise leader in games played, assists and points.

He also represented Canada at two world junior championships, two Winter Olympics, two world championships and a World Cup of Hockey.

Boyer (nee Cruickshank) competed internationally in both power tumbling and trampoline before becoming a record-setting junior track and field athlete.

She eventually got into bobsleigh and was in the Canada II sled that finished 13th in the two-woman event at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.

McEachern played on the Canadian women’s soccer team from 1987 to 1995 and was on the squad that appeared in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995.

She made 31 appearances for Canada during her career, good for sixth on the all-time appearance list for Canada at the time of her retirement. She also won the Canada Soccer National Club Championship four times.

Lasuita has been a fixture at multi-sport events, representing Team Saskatchewan at 18 Canada Games and being part of 24 of the 25 Saskatchewan Games that have been held to date.

He has been Saskatchewan’s chef de mission at five Canada Games and an assistant chef de mission or part of the mission staff with Team Sask. at nine other Canada Games. He also was a volunteer administration officer on the Team Canada mission staff at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

McIntyre also is a well-known volunteer in the province, serving on committees that have staged curling, golf and football events – among others.

She was the bid committee chairperson for an Olympic Curling Trials, a world men’s curling championship, three Briers and two Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Regina. She also served as co-chair of the 2018 LPGA CP Women’s Open that was contested in the Queen City, and was on the Grey Cup Festival leadership teams in 2013 and 2022.

Murphy was the head coach of Canada’s softball team for 14 years (1989-96, 2001-06) and was on the staff of the Canadian team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She also was the head coach of the national junior team in 2003.

She won eight provincial titles in eight years as a coach in Saskatoon during her accomplished coaching career.