The Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday announced that American Hockey League alumni Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne and Brian Burke will be among the induction class of 2026.
The four will be enshrined alongside Keith Tkachuk and Cindy Curley at the ceremony 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 at 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 as a 19-year-old in April 2007 and went on to backstop the team to a Calder Cup championship, earning the Jack Butterfield Trophy as 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 over 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, winning a franchise-best 361 games. He won both the Vezina Trophy (outstanding 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 parts of 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 victories in 683 games with the Nashville Predators and earned the Vezina Trophy in 2017-18.
Burke, selected in the Builders Category, spent his entire professional playing career in the AHL, skating in 72 games between the Springfield Indians and Maine Mariners. He won a Calder Cup championship as a rookie with Maine in 1977-78.
Since its first members were honored in 1945, a total of 139 players, coaches, officials and managers with ties to the American Hockey League have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
