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Just a bunch of Hall of Famers sitting around ...

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Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull and New Jersey Devils executive Lou Lamoriello appeared at an informal fan forum at the Hockey Hall of Fame today, a relaxed moment before they plunge into the pomp and circumstance that will accompany their induction Monday.

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They answered a wide variety of questions from the audience and shared their thoughts on being honored. I’ll have more on Robitaille’s journey later at www.latimes.com/sports, but here are some tidbits from this afternoon’s session with the classy class of 2009.

Robitaille was reminded for probably the millionth time that when he was drafted 171st overall by the Kings in 1994 he was chosen after a fair hockey player named Tom Glavine, who turned out to be a pretty decent pitcher. Robitaille took it with his typical good humor, saying he never became discouraged at being drafted so late.

“For me the biggest thing was I felt my name was on their list and it was for them to watch me,” he said. “I worked real hard and I never stopped trying to improve. I went back to juniors and our team [Hull of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League] had success the next two years and that really helped me along the way.”

Asked to describe the transformation that resulted when the Kings acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1988, he called it “an entirely new world. The building was full and everybody was talking hockey. It was a great thing. There were maybe 10 rinks in Los Angeles, and now there are so many more. You’re seeing more and more kids come out of California that are playing hockey….

“Wayne came to L.A. and showed hockey could be successful and he expanded the league.”

Each of the players was asked to identify the best captain he had played with. Hull pointed to Yzerman, with whom he and Robitaille played on the 2002 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

“He’s right there to my left,” said Hull, whose 741 goals ranks third on the NHL career scoring list and whose 86 goals in 1990-91 is the most scored in one season by someone not named Gretzky.

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Leetch, a two-time Norris trophy winner and one of the few defensemen to score more than 100 points in a season, chose Mark Messier, captain of the New York Rangers’ 1994 Cup team.

“Mark changed a lot of the culture in New York,” said Leetch, who won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP in the Rangers’ Cup run.

Lamoriello, architect of three Cup winners in New Jersey, said the best captain on the teams he built was hard-hitting defenseman Scott Stevens because of his intensity “every second he stepped on the ice.”

Yzerman spoke of the first captain he played with in Detroit, Danny Gare, and praised other veterans like Brad Park, Dave Lewis, Mel Bridgman and Blake Dunlop.

“They were good people who made sure I was taken care of,” said Yzerman, whose career total of 1,755 points is the fifth-highest ever scored by a center, behind Gretzky, Messier, Ron Francis and Marcel Dionne.

Robitaille, the NHL’s all-time scoring leader among left wings, had a tough choice because he played alongside Yzerman in Detroit, Messier with the Rangers and Gretzky in Los Angeles. He called it a three-way tie. “That’s a pretty good group,” he said, laughing.

Yzerman provided a thoughtful response when asked what it takes to transform a good team into a Stanley Cup winner.

“When you get to the point where nothing else matters but winning the Cup and everything else is irrelevant -- goals, assists, everything personal,” he said. “It just became an obsession with our ownership and our fans.”

Robitaille echoed that. “If you’re willing to put aside individual goals and everybody plays for one common goal,” he said. “It could be that you make a good defensive play, the right play at the right time. When guys are willing to pay that extra price to win.”

Asked who was their favorite player or team when they were younger, each made an interesting pick.

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Hull, of course, cited his father, Bobby, who preceded him into the Hall of Fame, but added a few surprising names. “When I was young I loved goalies, like Doug Favell, Roger Crozier and Bernie Parent,” he said.

Leetch selected Ray Bourque. “I was amazed a defenseman could be that dominant in both zones,” he said.

Yzerman’s favorite was Bobby Orr and, later, when he became a forward, New York Islanders standout Bryan Trottier, whose uniform number, 19, he wore.

Lamoriello’s choice was Hall of Fame goalie Johnny Bower, and he had a story behind that. Lamoriello grew up in Providence, R.I., where Bower played for the minor league Providence Reds and lived for a time with Lamoriello’s parents. “John sticks out to this day, and I remind him of that,” Lamoriello said.

For Robitaille, growing up in Montreal his favorite was Yvan Cournoyer, who was known as the Roadrunner for his blazing speed. But that changed. “Once I turned 13, seeing Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers, that became my team,” he said.

More later, and much more on Monday.

-- Helene Elliott in Toronto

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