WHL alumnus, Stanley Cup champion Chara highlights IIHF Hall of Fame Class of 2025

Calgary, Alta.- Former Prince George Cougars defenceman Zdeno Chara has been named to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame class of 2025.

The Stanley Cup champion will be inducted on medal day at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden on May 25, 2025.

Clocking in at an astonishing 6-foot-9, Chara was encouraged to play basketball in his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia.

But hockey had his heart.

After toiling in the Slovakian and Czech leagues, Chara was drafted 56th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

The Cougars, who had recently moved to Prince George, B.C., promptly selected the towering blueliner with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 CHL Import Draft.

At 19 years old, Chara packed his bag to make the jump to North America.

Chara was so tall, the Cougars had to sew parts of multiple jerseys together to make them long enough, then-Head Coach Stan Butler later revealed.

He logged three goals and 19 assists for 22 points and 120 penalty minutes in 49 games and quickly picked up the now-famous nickname, ‘Big Z’.

“I knew that it would take me a while to adjust to the culture and the language and all those things,” Chara recalled in an interview with Sportsnet focusing on his time in the Northern Capital. “You create friendships for life and that’s something you can only wish for.”

While the Cougars barely eked into the playoffs, they became a force in the postseason, where Chara added eight points (one goal, seven assists) and a +6 rating in 15 games as the Cats upset the highly-touted Portland Winterhawks and swept the Spokane Chiefs to reach the Western Conference Championship, where they fell to the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games.

While he was primed to make the jump to the professional ranks after his season in the WHL, Chara wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye.

“I decided to stay in Prince George over the summer and get a few jobs and one of them was washing cars,” Chara recalled.

While he got his start with the Islanders and Ottawa Senators, Chara is most remembered for his 14-season tenure with the Boston Bruins- all of them as Captain- highlighted by a 2011 Stanley Cup victory.

In total, Chara played 24 seasons with four teams, winning the NHL’s Norris Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership award and setting a new record for games played by a defenceman (1,680).

On the international stage, he shines as one of the most decorated athletes in Slovakian history.

Chara suited up for three Olympics and Captained Slovakia at the Winter Games twice (2010, 2014), competed in seven Men’s World Championships, winning silver in 2000 and 2012, and participated in two World Cups.

Chara joins players Henrik Lundqvist (SWE), Frans Nielsen (DEN), David Vyborny (CZE), Kim Martin-Hasson (SWE) and Vicky Sunohara (CAN), as well as builder Kai Hietarinta (FIN) in the IIHF Hall of Fame class of 2025.

The IIHF Hall of Fame is located in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ont.