Former NHL stars Pavel Bure and Phil Housley are among five chosen for induction into the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame.
Bure, known as the ''Russian Rocket,'' scored 437 goals and added 342 assists in 702 NHL games over 12 seasons with Vancouver, Florida and the New York Rangers. He is joined by fellow players Housley, Raimo Helminen and Milan Novy in the 2012 class announced Friday.
Longtime NHL coach Andy Murray will also go into the Hall in the builder's category at the induction ceremony on May 20 in Helsinki, Finland — the site of next year's hockey world championship.
Kent Angus will receive the Paul Loicq Award for outstanding contributions to the IIHF and international hockey.
''It's difficult to compare inductee classes year from year, but this is really an outstanding group,'' IIHF president Rene Fasel said in a statement. ''Each of the selected greats meant so much to his respective national team program.''
Housley, a defenseman who was one of the top Americans to play in the NHL, scored 338 goals and helped set up 894 others in 21 seasons with eight teams. He was one of the first U.S. born players to be drafted while in high school when the Buffalo Sabres chose him with the No. 6 pick in 1982.
Housley ranks 37th on the NHL career list with 1,232 points and will be the 20th American inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Helminen played three seasons in the NHL with the Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders. He was more successful back home in Finland, and finished his pro career with a total of 339 goals and 786 assists over 25 years.
Novy played one season in the NHL with the Washington Capitals. However, he made his mark during 16 seasons in Europe. Novy holds the Czech league record for most career goals with 474 goals in 633 games.
Murray went 333-278-58-71 in the NHL behind the benches of the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. He also led Canada to the world championship gold medal in 1997, 2003 and 2007, becoming the first coach with three titles.
Angus, a Nike employee, has been in charge of providing jerseys and off-ice apparel to all world championship teams since 1995.
