Former NHL star Brett Hull confirmed Monday that he is part of the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2009, joining his father Bobby as the first father-son player entries.
"It's a great honor, it's really unfathomable," Hull told The Dallas Morning News ahead of the official announcement. "I mean, when you're a kid, you dream about someday playing in the NHL or someday winning the Stanley Cup, but you just don't think about this, so it's hard to prepare yourself."
The Hall's 18-member selection committee will vote on its newest members later Tuesday morning in Toronto and will make the announcement at 3:30 p.m. ET. Voters can choose only four players and can also elect members into the builders and referee/linesmen categories.
Hull, Steve Yzerman and Luc Robitaille, who won a Stanley Cup together with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, are among an impressive list of first-time eligible players that also includes Brian Leetch, Alexander Mogilny and Dave Andreychuk.
Yzerman, the longtime Red Wings captain, retired in the summer of 2006 with the sixth-highest point total in NHL history. His 1,755 trail Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe, Ron Francis and Marcel Dionne; those five are in the Hall.
Yzerman also is a three-time Stanley Cup winner and won a gold medal with Canada in the 2002 Olympics. His trophy case includes a Lester B. Pearson Award, Conn Smythe Trophy, Selke Trophy and Masterton Trophy.
Hull, Robitaille and Leetch were among the best in the game at their positions. Hull's 741 goals rank third of all time, Robitaille's 668 are the most by a left wing in history, and Leetch is one of just five defensemen ever to have a 100-point season.
They've also each won at least one major individual award.
Hull scored 86 goals in 1991 and was recognized with the Hart Trophy as league MVP. Leetch earned the Conn Smythe Trophy after helping the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994, was twice given the Norris Trophy as the league's top defensemen, and was rookie of the year in 1989. Robitaille received the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 1987.
Mogilny and Andreychuk put together solid careers and each won a championship.
Andreychuk scored 640 goals and had 1,338 points during his 23-year career, while Mogilny had 473 goals and 1,032 points before being forced into retirement by a knee injury.
A player must be retired for three seasons before becoming eligible to enter the Hall. This year's induction ceremony will be Nov. 9.
It has already been announced that Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for hockey journalism, while John Davidson will be given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a broadcaster.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.