Hockey Hall Makes Call

The time has come. The Hockey Hall has elected the class for induction in 2024. And its a solid class too. The inductees for this years class are builders Colin Campbell and David Poile. In the players category will see the induction of former United States women's national team forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick and Pavel Datsyuk. The induction ceremony will take place at the Hall in Toronto on November 11th.

The two men going into the builders category have a long history in the game. Colin Campbell started as a coach in the league, working with the New York Rangers in 1994 when they won the Cup. After that, he spent twenty five years with scouting, officiating and hockey operations. He played over 600 games in the league on a couple different teams, but was mostly known for his post playing career. He then coached in the game from 1985 until 1997, spending four years as head coach with the Rangers. After the Rangers fired him in 1998, he went into hockey operations, a role he still holds to this day.

David Poile has been a general manager in this game for 40 years. He began his career in Atlanta with the Flames in 1972 as an administrative assistant.  He then took over in 1982 as the GM of the Washington Capitals. It was a role he held for fifteen years. Then he was tabbed to run the expansion Nashville Predators when they came into the league in 1997 and built them from the ground up. He finally retired as GM at the end of the 2023 season. Back in 2018 he became the winningest GM in the history of the league, passing Glen Sather.

Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl were both stars on the international stage, representing the Untied States multiple times at the Olympics and in several other international tournaments. Darwitz was at three Olympics (20026, 2006 and 2010) and eight more world championships. From 1999 to 2007 Wendell-Pohl played in 147 games on the international level, scoring 106 goals.

Jeremy Roenick finally got into the hall after a long wait. Roenick started his career in Chicago in 1988 and ended it in 2009 after 1,363 games 513 goals and 1,216 points. He added in another 122 points in 154 career playoff games. Roenick numbers speak for themselves. He may have been very outspoken, sure. But when it came down to it, he was able to produce on the ice.

Pavel Datsyuk. They didn't call him the magic man for nothing. He broke into the NHL in 2001 and played his entire 14 year career in Detroit. He won two Stanley Cups, played in multiple all star games, was a three time winner of the Selke Trophy.  Datsyuk played in 953 games scoring 918 points. But his game was more than just his numbers. What he could do handling the puck was better than most players can ever dream of.

Shea Weber is the last player to get in. Weber broke into the league in 2005 and played 16 years and 1,038 games. He scored 224 goals and 589 points. He was a seven time all star. weber was one of the best captains in the league a a proven all around defender.

Congratulations to the 2024 hall of fame class!