Another great Hall of Fame induction evening, another great Oiler enters. The competitiveness inside that locker fueled their play on the ice, with each and every player pushing their teammates to new heights. They had as much fun off the ice as they had winning on it, too. That Oilers Dynasty was something to behold.

You got spoiled if you were a fan. Every night the expectations were high, nothing but a win. Nothing but a blowout win. Try being a goalie, or a defenseman against that squad.

Today, there is another unique, dynamic player entering the Hall of Fame and it is the right call by the selection committee, just slightly overdue. Anderson was a gifted, free spirit off the ice and a competitive, free wheeling big time player on it. Maybe his loose and off beat personality kept his 498 regular season goals out of the Hall for this long, who knows. He was nearly a point per game when it mattered most, the postseason. He scored big goals at big times. Clearly a difference maker, but hidden somewhat behind the other big 3 up front.

Make no mistake, every dynasty has layers of great players, all put in a position to succeed. Would Glenn Anderson have been able to carry the mail for that franchise if he was the lone, go-to guy? Not likely. The team was put together with solid drafting and a timely WHA sale with the Greatest player ever. Up the middle its Gretzky and Messier. Patrolling the wings its Kurri and Anderson. On the bleuline, its Lowe and Coffey. In the net it is Fuhr and Moog.

Everything has its order. The players all have their rightful place in the line up and the coaches have the right players to put in match ups against any style of team. You ask any of their coaches and they will tell you they could all play defense when they had to. They could win 2-1 when they needed to. And it was the star players that bought in and sold it to the rest of them. Anderson was unique. He was a winger that would challenge you with speed, tenacity and an edge that bordered on reckless and careless, especially with his stick.

I remember the 1st game I played in Edmonton and the Oilers were coming at us pretty good. As a goalie, studying the likes of Gretz and Messier were one thing. You knew Mess liked to shoot the puck on his “wrong” foot, across the grain to the far side. He was looking for the goalie to be slightly off his angle and by shooting early in a game, he got you thinking he would do it all the time. It backed you off.

Gretz was simply amazing in the way he found the late man, especially on the weak side of the ice. He put pucks where he just came from, always against the flow, causing you to turn your head, if just for a split second. Impossible to defend against.

Anderson could dipsy doodle, beat you with speed or simply run over you. He ran into me so hard that night in Edmonton, I thought I was going right through the mesh in the net. He set a tone. He wanted to know if I would challenge him the next time, or would I get deep in the net and play passively?

I recently spoke with Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin about Anderson. I got the feeling Denis originally felt Anderson might be a little ’soft’ in the tenacious department. But Potvin said he went at Anderson pretty good one night, and Potvin was one tough player, especially when he buried the heavy wooden Titan in your back or mid section. He goes right at Anderson and gets him good. Anderson didn’t back down. He knew he had to earn space and respect in the scoring areas and came back at Potvin with a discreet, timely crosscheck to his back. He stood up to him and that caught Potvins and the rest of the Islanders attention.

The game hasn’t changed that much. You have to show the veteran, tough players you aren’t afraid. If you are, they know it right then and soon the entire team knows about it and that is how soft players get a reputation as being, well, soft players. Not Anderson.

He was unique. He wanted the puck in big games and he delivered. Welcome to the Hall of Fame Glenn Anderson.

For Gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang 40