Forever the Fame Class of 2024: The Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is a long-standing tradition and the largest honor for people involved in the multilayered world of hockey. Seven people have been selected to enter the infamous and hallowed halls of the masterfully crafted building in Toronto, Canada. This year, the Hockey Hall of Fame has officially inducted five players and two builders. The highest honor in the sport, and it goes without saying that these selected individuals deserved it.
The Female Players
One of the highest goal-scorers in women’s collegiate hockey, Forward Natalie Rose Darwitz was selected by the Hockey Hall of Fame as one of the Fame Class Inductees of 2024. Champion is a word Darwitz is all too familiar with. The consistent ice hockey Olympian played in two Winter Olympic games and has won three World Champion Gold medals, and five World Champion Silver medals, among many others. The NCAA and IIHF organizations also thoroughly decorated Darwitz throughout her career. One of the trailblazers for women’s hockey, Natalie Darwitz has officially been honored.
The second female player to be selected to join the Hockey Hall of Fame is none other than Krissy Wendell-Pohl. One of the most impactful players on the ice, top goal-scorer, and fellow Olympian, Wendell-Pohl has had a lasting effect on women’s hockey and ice hockey in general. Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame “shows my passion for hockey … I love the sport“, she toted during her reactionary interview. She has served in the hockey community at multiple levels, from player, management, coach, and scout. She has positively affected everyone she comes across and has helped spread the world of hockey to countless people.
The Male Players
The gentlemen inducted into the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame are Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, and Jeremy Roenick. Shea Weber coined as the “slap-shot heard around the world” started his NHL career in 2005. The seven-time All-Star and “one of the toughest defensemen“, noted by Victor Hedman, has spent years progressing in the game of ice hockey.
Weber played a total of 1,038 games, scoring 244 goals, and concluded his career with 365 assists, one for every day of the year. The tough player retired in 2021 due to a plethora of residual injuries but continues to influence the game. Leading to one of the most creative playmakers in NHL history, Pavel Datsyuk.
Datsyuk, the native Russian, was before his time. The unfathomable plays he executed were in the old days of brute enforcer hockey. His hockey sense was out of this world, and his plays forever inspired, and were forever etched into the minds of many young players around the world. The Hockey Hall of Fame also welcomes the personality of Jeremy Roenick. The player “you love to hate” as claimed by Connor McDavid, and the “U.S.A hockey legend” stated by Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. Inspiring is an understatement when talking about Roenick, his numbers and wild personality are self-evident.
The Builders
The Hockey Hall of Fame recognized two builders this year. Former NHL Defenseman Colin Campbell and longest General Manager in the NHL, David Poile. Colin Campbell was honored at the Hockey Hall of Fame for his years of building the NHL and his love for the game. During his NHL career, Campbell played mostly for Pittsburg but went on to play for Edmonton, Vancouver, Colorado, and Detroit. His years of service and dedication, needless to say, have not gone unnoticed.
Colin Campbell is joined in the Builders division in the Hockey Hall of Fame by the infamous David Poile. Now 74, Poile has spent decades within the NHL. As the longest-reigning General Manager in NHL history, it would be a disservice to exclude Poile from the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is one of the cornerstones of the NHL and has mentored many people in the league. Serving as the General Manager for the Washington Capitals from 1982-1997 and then moved into the Nashville Predators in 1997, where he still resides to this day.
From Regular To Extraordinary
The 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame has added seven more people to its halls. HHOF inductees in the player division: Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, and Natalie Darwitz. The inductees from the builders’ division include David Poile and Colin Campbell. The Hockey Hall of Fame is the apex of honor when it comes to the hockey world, and these people are well deserving of their new rings and titles. Years of ameliorating ice hockey and the NHL, these individuals have made tracks in the ice, and are now crowned Hockey Hall of Famers forever.
