Classa of '07

The Hockey Hall of Fame is set to induct its greatest class of all time.

Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis and Al MacInnis will be honoured on Monday. Former general manager, NHL executive and director of central scouting Jim Gregory will also be inducted in the builder category.

"To know these guys and their professionalism, they're all such great ambassadors to the game," he told The Canadian Press. "To go in with that select company, you couldn't ask for a better group." said MacInnis, who is in awe of the players he's being inducted with.

It is a sign of the amazing careers of each player. Messier was the one of the most feared players in the league in his prime, as was certainly the most clutch in the league. Stevens became the hardest hitter ever to lace skates up. Francis made himself known as one of the consistent scorers in the league, scoring 20 goals in an amazing 20 seasons! And MacInnis made his slapshot feared by players and goalies alike, winning the fastest slapshot award numerous times.

In the future, it will be interesting to see if any Hall of Fame class will ever top this one.

NHL Hall of Fame Inductees

Yesterday, the NHL Hall of Fame announced the inductees for this year. There were lots of worthy players to choose from, but only 4 could go in.

With more than 10 great players to choose from, the Hall of Fame committee chose Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens as this years inductees.

Each player had an amazing career. Messier captained the Rangers to a cup and is 2nd an the all-time points list. Francis was one of the most consistent players ever scoring 20 or more goals in most of his seasons. MacInnis was a great defenceman and had one of the hardest shots in NHL history, and Stevens was the best hitter of his time.

"I have a lot of respect for all the guys who were inducted this year," Messier said after the announcement Thursday. "I think their stats and what they've done speak for themselves."

It is the Hall's first four-player haul since 2001 when Mike Gartner, Jari Kurri, Slava Fetisov and Dale Hawerchuk also pushed the selection to the four-player maximum

"There was a number of players eligible this year beyond the number that we could put in," said former Toronto head coach Pat Quinn, a member of the 18-person selection committee. "The deliberations were strong."

That they were.