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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Former NHL stars Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick and Shea Weber and former Olympians Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were part of the seven-person 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame class announced Tuesday.
Datsyuk and Weber were both in their first years of eligibility.
Also in the class are Colin Campbell and David Poile, who were selected in the Builders category.
Datsyuk was a star for the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup twice. His stickhandling ability and defensive acumen — he won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward three times — made him a player that a generation of NHLers emulated. He was a four-time Lady Byng Trophy winner for gentlemanly play and a five-time Olympian, winning gold for Russia in 2018.
“I’m pumped. I’m a happy boy,” Datsyuk said.
Weber was a towering defenseman for the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens during his 16-year NHL career. While he never won the Norris Trophy, he was a three-time finalist for the award. He won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2014-15. Weber never won the Stanley Cup but won Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 and ’14, as well as championships in junior hockey and international play.
Roenick has been eligible since 2012. He had a 20-year NHL career, but he was mostly known for his superstar seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1988-96, when he had 595 points in 524 games. He also played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.
“I’m at a loss for words and I’m never at a loss for words,” Roenick said. “Getting over this last hockey hurdle means so much to me.”
Roenick never won the Stanley Cup nor an individual award, but was the personification of “Fame” during his career while amassing 513 goals, 42nd all-time in the NHL and fourth among U.S. players. He won Olympic silver in 2002.
With Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl, the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee selected two women’s players in the same year for the first time since Cammi Granato and Angela James in 2010. Both played internationally for the U.S. and were members of the University of Minnesota national championship team in 2005. Wendell-Pohl represented the U.S. at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games, serving as captain in the latter. Darwitz played in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games.
“I think knowing where the women’s game has gotten to in the last few years shows the strength of it,” said Lanny McDonald, chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame board. “To have two women go in together — especially being teammates — we couldn’t be more prouder of them.”
Two individuals were selected in the Builders category: Campbell, NHL senior vice president of hockey operations who had a massive impact on the league’s rules and disciplinary process; and Poile, the winningest general manager in NHL history with the Washington Capitals and the Predators.
“I’ve known David since I was drafted in Nashville. I tell him that he made only one bad trade in his career and has to live with that one,” said Weber, whom Poile traded to the Canadiens in 2016. “But it’s an honor.”
All seven will be inducted Nov. 11.
Among the first-year eligible players not selected were Patrick Marleau, who had 566 career goals in an NHL best 1,779 games, and goalies Ryan Miller and Pekka Rinne. Among the players still waiting for their Hockey Hall of Fame call are Alexander Mogilny, a Triple Gold Club member and the first Soviet player to defect to North America in 1989; Jennifer Botterill, who helped Team Canada win Olympic gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and five IIHF World Championships, capturing MVP in that tournament twice; and Meghan Duggan, who won seven IIHF World Championship gold medals and captained the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team to gold in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
The Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee is comprised of former players, executives and journalists.
“Each of the 18 members of the selection committee take their responsibilities very, very seriously. They know that this means a lot to people, and it means a lot to players,” said Mike Gartner, a Hall of Fame player who is the head of the committee. “I’ve just been impressed with the committee and how they’ve, uh, how they’ve proceeded.”
Source: www.espn.com