Vancouver-born Paul Kariya makes the Hockey Hall of Fame

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      A speedy Vancouver-born sniper who scored more than 400 NHL goals is among a select few elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame this year.

      Paul Kariya played with four teams in his 15-season NHL career, scoring more than 30 goals seven times.

      His most productive year was in his sophomore season with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks when he scored 50 goals and posted 58 assists. He only racked up 20 penalty minutes, earning him the Lady Byng Trophy as the league's most sportsmanlike player.

      Kariya repeated as Lady Byng winner the following year when he scored 44 goals and posted 55 assists.

      He never won a Stanley Cup while playing in Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis, though he captained a Mighty Ducks team that made it to the finals in 2003.

      He did, however, win gold medals playing for Canada at the 2002 Olympics, 1994 World Championships, and 1993 World Junior Championships. He also took home silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

      Kariya's career was cut short by concussions.

      He's the first player of Japanese ancestry to make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His father, Tetsuhiko, was born in an internment camp during the Second World War. His mother is of Scottish heritage.

      Other former players voted into the Hall of Fame this year were Kariya's former teammate, Teemu Selanne, as well as Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi (who was born in Kamloops), and women's star Danielle Goyette. 

      In the builders category, junior hockey coach Clare Drake and team owner Jeremy Jacobs were elected. 

      Prior to this year, the last B.C.-born player to make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame was Burnaby's Joe Sakic, who was elected in 2012.

      Video: Watch how Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya lit up the red light with the Mighty Ducks.

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