TORONTO — It was only a few weeks ago that Igor Larionov and Glenn Anderson were playing exhibition games together in Europe and had a discussion about how nice it would be to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame at the same time.

Turns out it was more than just wishful thinking.

The Russian center and former Edmonton Oilers winger were elected to the Hall on Tuesday along with former linesman Ray Scapinello and junior hockey builder Ed Chynoweth.

Larionov and Anderson were recently in Russia to play during a celebration for Slava Fetisov's 50th birthday and traveled to Belarus to help open an arena on the invitation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Igor and I were kind of talking about this," said Anderson. "We were thinking if we do get in, it's going to be — I don't know if we can compare it to what the party was like over in Moscow and in Belarus.

"We'll try our hardest to make it a good one."

It's hard to blame them. They each had to wait.

Many were surprised that Larionov was passed over after first becoming eligible last year. He was graceful in complimenting the 2007 inductees and indicated that it was no less special to receive a call 12 months later.

"I was really overwhelmed by the news," said Larionov. "It's a big, big honor."

The call was even longer coming for Anderson. He's been eligible since 1999 and had to watch as 23 players were enshrined before him during that time.