TORONTO (AP) ― Defensemen Chris Chelios and Scott Niedermayer, along with forward Brendan Shanahan will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

They’ll be joined in the class of 2013 by Geraldine Heaney, the third woman to be enshrined in the hall, and coach Fred Shero, who led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. He was selected posthumously in the builder category.

“There’s no sense looking back as to why it didn’t happen sooner, because today’s a happy day to celebrate the fact that a guy that deserves it immensely has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame,” Flyers chairman Ed Snider said.

Chelios and Niedermayer earned hockey’s biggest individual honor in their first year of eligibility.

Shanahan was a teammate of Chelios’ in Detroit, and played with Niedermayer during the Olympics in 2002 when Canada won gold.

“When you got to play with them, it was a thrill,” Shanahan said. “I spent some years playing with Cheli, and there’s not another guy that you would want to go into a tough situation looking out for you. It absolutely makes it more special to go in with people I not only played against, but played with and got to know well.”