On June 25, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced seven new inducted members for their 2024 class. Among them are three male NHL players, two female hockey players, and two builders.
On a case-by-case basis, let’s review each of the new members who were forever enshrined in hockey history. What did they do to get such an honor?
Male Players Category
Jeremy Roenick has been waiting for this moment for a very long time. The 54-year-old scored 513 goals and 703 assists for 1,216 points in 1,363 games throughout his NHL career, making him one of the best American-born scorers in the history of the league. The centerman never won a major award in his career, but he was a nine-time All-Star and one of the best players of the 1990s.
Defenseman Shea Weber had a tremendous career. He never won a major award aside from the 2015-16 Mark Messier Leadership Award for his off-ice contributions, but he was consistently one of the best defenders in the league. He was a three-time Norris Trophy finalist, scored 589 points in 1,038 games, and was a seven-time All-Star. He wasn’t a sure-fire lock to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame but had the on-ice play required for consideration.
Pavel Datsyuk was a very easy candidate to make the Hockey Hall of Fame. The centerman scored 314 goals and 604 assists for 918 points in 953 games in the NHL, but his career requires some essential context. In both his 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns, he was the best defensive forward in the league, winning the Selke Trophy. Despite this reliance on defense, he had 97 points in both of those seasons, making him one of the best scorers in the league. Seeing as he was one of the best at both offense and defense at the same time, his prime is up there with some of the all-time greats in the NHL—he set a standard that has never truly been matched ever since. In addition, he won the Stanley Cup twice with the Detroit Red Wings.
Female Players Category
Getting to our female hockey players category, Natalie Darwitz is an excellent way to start off. As a player, she put up an unprecedented 102 goals and 144 assists for 246 points in 99 games in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with the University of Minnesota. Her other accolades are pretty remarkable, consisting of three World Championship gold medals, three instances as a Patty Kazmaier finalist for the best women’s college player, two NCAA championships, and three medals at the Olympics (two silver, one bronze).
Another forward, Krissy Wendell-Pohl was similarly dominant with the University of Minnesota in the NCAA. She had 106 goals and 131 assists for 237 points in 101 games, was a Patty Kazmaier finalist three times, and won two NCAA championships. While she only won one gold medal in the Women’s World Championship, she was the MVP of the tournament twice and led in assists on three separate occasions. Both she and Darwitz helped define the 2000s for women’s hockey.
Builders Category
Colin Campbell has been in the NHL for quite a while but had one of his biggest accomplishments in 1994 when he won the Stanley Cup as the associate coach of the New York Rangers. He was their head coach from 1994-1998 before ultimately being fired. He was then the Vice President of Hockey Operations for the NHL, holding a massive responsibility in that role.
David Poile has had a very long managerial career in the NHL. He started with roles with both the Atlanta and Calgary Flames as their assistant general manager but got to take a step up with the Washington Capitals as their general manager (GM) and Vice President of Hockey Operations. After his tenure with the Capitals, he had the same roles with the expansion Nashville Predators—he has been essential for their culture from 1998 until today. He retired from his GM spot in 2023 but is still with them today as an advisor.
All of these seven new members had unique impacts on hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame is meant to recognize the best of the best, so being inducted is an incredible honor.
