Four big names in U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame's 2008 class

By Terry Frei

The four-person United States Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2008 -- announced on Tuesday morning -- is appropriately Olympian, given the events of the day.


It is also groundbreaking.

Former Olympians Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Brett Hull and Cammi Granato will officially be inducted at a dinner and ceremony on Oct. 10, held in conjunction with the next night's University of Denver-Notre Dame Hall of Fame Game at DU's Magness Arena. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum is in Eveleth, Minn.

A maximum of four can be inducted each year, and the three former NHL stars were obvious choices for the selection committee, a group assembled by USA Hockey in the wake of its takeover of the voting process last year. (Editor's note: Frei serves on the panel.)

The choice of Granato recognized her play and her trailblazing efforts on the women's hockey front in the U.S., and that went far beyond her role as captain and the star of the 1998 U.S. Olympic team that won the first women's gold medal. She will be the first woman inductee in the U.S. Hall.

Four big names in U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame's 2008 class....