Former NHL star and five-time Stanley Cup winner Jari Kurri received a very pleasant invitation in the mail on Thursday. He has been chosen along with four other NHL greats in this year's intake into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Kurri is only the fourth European player to receive the accolade, and the first Finn.

   

"Sure it choked me up quite a bit. This selection comes pretty high up on my list of personal achievements", said Kurri. His admission into the Hall of Fame had been considered a distinct possibility, but there was no certainty about the timing of the award. He will be travelling to Toronto for the official awards ceremony in October or November.

   

Kurri, 41, played seventeen seasons in the NHL from 1980 onwards, spending ten years with the Edmonton Oilers. He managed to hit a golden streak with what was the premier team of that era, and won five Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.

   

After one season playing for Milano Devils in Italy (where he scored 75 points in just 30 games!), he returned to the NHL in 1991 and played for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and Colorado Avalanche. He retired from the sport after the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Jari Kurri and the legendary Wayne Gretzky

formed the entire NHL's most-feared and most-talented strike pairing during their time together at Edmonton in the 1980s.

   

They racked up goals by the truck-load and set some astonishing records in the League. Gretzky is the name everyone remembers, as the Pele of the sport, but Wayne himself has always been quick to point out that without his Finnish lieutenant a great many of the goals and assists would simply never have happened.

   

Gretzky and Kurri were together for four of Kurri's five Stanley Cups, but in 1990 the pairing was broken up after Gretzky signed for Los Angeles. During his career, Jari Kurri scored 601 goals and 797 assists for 1,398 points, entitling him to 14th place on the career points list. He was an 8-time member of the All-Star team.

A short note on the website

of Kurri's former team, the Edmonton Oilers, shows the respect that the player is held in.

   

General Manager Kevin Lowe, who was actually one of Kurri's team-mates in the 1980s, writes: "Jari was one of the most gifted players I had the pleasure of playing with. Although he was known as a prolific scorer, he was also an outstanding defensive player. His understanding of the game, his ability to always find open ice, his incredible shooting ability and his fluid, almost effortless skating style all combined to make him one of the truly great players. We are all very proud that he has been recognized, and we are particularly happy that he has become the first Finnish-born player to be entering the Hall of Fame."

   

Kurri's career in ice hockey continues from the bench. He has been chosen to the coaching squad for the Finnish Olympic team to travel to Salt Lake City next year.

This year's Hall of Fame inductees

also included Mike Gartner, 5th in the all-time goalscoring tables, the great Russian defenseman Vyacheslav Fetisov, and Dale Hawerchuk, who is one place above Kurri on the career scoring list with 1,409 points. Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Craig Patrick, the man behind the Penguins' two Stanley Cup teams in 1991 and 1992, was also chosen from among the non-playing nominees.

   

The only European players to have made the honours list before Kurri are the Swedish defenseman Börje Samling, Slovak forward Peter Stasny, and the former Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretyak. All are excellent company for anyone to keep.