RALEIGH, NC—The Hockey Hall of Fame today announced that Ron Francis has been selected as one of its four player inductees for 2007. Francis will be officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 12.   

Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Francis was selected by the Hartford Whalers in the first round (fourth overall) of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft and spent 16 of his 23 seasons with the organization. He is the Carolina franchise’s all-time leader in nearly every offensive category, including goals (382), assists (793), points (1,175) and power-play goals (132), and ranks first in franchise history having skated in 1,186 regular-season games. In 23 NHL seasons, Francis played in 1,731 regular-season games (3rd all-time), scored 549 goals (22nd all-time), earned 1,249 assists (2nd all-time) and had 1,798 points (4th all-time) with Hartford/Carolina, Pittsburgh and Toronto. His name is on the Stanley Cup twice as a member of the 1991 and 1992 Penguins championship teams. The Hurricanes officially retired Francis’ No. 10 jersey to the RBC Center’s rafters on Jan. 28, 2006.

Francis currently serves as the Hurricanes’ Director of Player Development. In that role, he works with and assesses players in the Hurricanes system and reports to Director of Pro Scouting Marshall Johnston.