Legendary NHL goaltender Ken Dryden has entered the race to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Dryden, who helped win six Stanley Cups during his NHL career and earned a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, announced his candidacy at an Etobicoke elementary school on Friday.

"I'm here today to announce I'm a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal party," he told the crowd.

Dryden was joined by a panel of supporters at Humber Valley Village Jr. Middle School, which he attended as a child. Those joining him on the stage included Toronto MPP Monte Kwinter, Sen. Frank Mahovlich, and Sen. Art Eggleton.

"I'm running for the leadership because this country fascinates me, inspires me, because I want big things for it," Dryden said.

Dryden, who has written a book about the public education system, stressed the importance of improving the education system in order to keep Canada competitive.

"I'm running because the day after election day I was mad. For 18 months we had worked on something that mattered -- a national system of early learning and child care. And then it was gone."

Dryden held up the program as an example of what could be accomplished by a Liberal government, and pledged he would "do early learning and childcare and lifelong learning, better."

"Learning is at the core of our future -- for a person, a society, an economy, a country," Dryden said. "Learning is our only real security, our only real opportunity, and this program, years in the hoping, was the first big step towards truly lifelong learning."

He also said Canada's unique, multi-ethnic mix needs to be held up as an example to the world.

Dryden said the Liberal party needs to rediscover itself and "get re-energized by what we are," noting "we are the party with the beliefs that have the widest public appeal."

But he was clear the party, and its next leader, must work hard to reach out to a Canadian public that has lost faith in the Liberal brand.

"We may have won the politics but we have lost the public," Dryden said. "As a party we need to reach beyond card-carrying Liberals to the majority of Canadians who aren't card-carrying anything."

'I think I know this place'

Dryden becomes become the tenth candidate to officially declare his intentions, joining the likes of Scott Brison, Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae, who are all contending for the role.

CTV's Roger Smith said Dryden faces particular challenges, such as a limited grasp of French and being one of eight Toronto candidates. Stephane Dion, the former environment minister under Paul Martin, is the only candidate from Quebec.

However, Dryden said his years of playing hockey allowed him to travel all over Canada, and he said he has developed a clear understanding of the nature of the country and the direction it needs to go.

"I think I know this place. I think I know what the right ambitions are for this country," Dryden told CTV's Canada AM Friday.

Brought in as a star candidate in the 2004 election, Dryden won his seat in Toronto's York Centre and was quickly named as minister of social development. He was re-elected in 2006.

In addition to his hockey career, Dryden is an accomplished author with four published books. He also served as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs before entering politics.

He is the current Liberal health critic.

Dryden told Canada AM one of his great passions is discovering what Canadians want and need from their government.

"I mean I love to get around, to listen to people, to try to figure out what's going on in their world, to try to figure out what their problems are, how I can help," Dryden said.

Meanwhile, the race for the leadership has been heating up. Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy joined the race on Thursday, with many promoting the 45-year-old as the face of change for the Liberal party.

Perceived frontrunner Michael Ignatieff, a Harvard professor who has lived outside of Canada for close to 30 years, has already been campaigning hard.

At a rally in Montreal on Thursday, Ignatieff told supporters Quebec will be a deciding factor in determining the winner of the next federal election.

Ignatieff, who grew up in Quebec, also accused Harper of making promises he can't keep in order to win votes in the province.

Though the Conservatives have made great strides in Quebec in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal, Ignatieff predicts voters will eventually swing back to the Liberals.