Datsyuk will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Class of 2024 includes 2 American female players | News, Sports, Jobs

FILE – Russian forward Pavel Datsyuk walks during the ice hockey exhibition match between Russia and Belarus in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Datsyuk is part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Jeremy Roenick was just getting a cup of coffee when he got the phone call he'd once hoped for but hadn't expected in a while. The Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee usually meets at the end of June.

Tears welled up in his eyes and then down his face as he could no longer pay, hold the cup or speak. It was an embarrassing but beautiful moment for him to hear that he will be inducted into the auditorium in November.

“I still can't believe it,” said Roenick. “I'm sitting here in shock. I tremble. I sweat. … This means the world to me.”

His long wait is over after more than a decade, as Roenick was unveiled Tuesday as part of the seven-member 2024 crop, the first with two female players since 2010. It is the first crop with two American female players in the hall's history : Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl.

'Hopefully this will become a regular occurrence from now on' Darwitz said. “There are so many players from our generation and previous generations who have paved the way for women's hockey to be where it is today, so hopefully we are the starting point of that happening every year so that two female hockey players can get started. the hall of fame.”

Two-time Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup-winning winger Pavel Datsyuk and former Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber were elected in their first year of eligibility. Longtime executives Colin Campbell and David Poile were chosen in the builder category.

Roenick's 1,216 points with Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Jose are the fourth-most of any U.S.-born player. He has been a candidate since 2012 and has been skipped every year since.

“I actually didn't think it would happen,” Roenick said during a conference call with reporters. “When you get something while you're waiting for it, and like I waited for it, without ever knowing if it would happen, it feels like it means more because it really hit me hard.”

Datsyuk and Weber were slam dunks to get into the first round of voting for Hall of Famers. Datsyuk dazzled as “the magic man” during a 14-year career with Detroit, during which he excelled both offensively and defensively, and then also won Olympic gold with Russia in 2018, when NHL players were not participating.

“Of course I'm pumped,” said Datsyuk. “Now I am a lucky guy. I am happy.”

Weber, just 38, is still under contract – his rights are owned by the Utah Hockey Club, which relocated from Arizona and was formerly known as the Coyotes – but was eligible because injuries ended his playing career in 2021 after helping Montreal reach the final. A two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada in 2010 and '14, he said he screened the call from the hall a few times without recognizing the number or expecting the news.

“My career was clearly a great career,” said Weber, who played 11 of his 16 NHL seasons with Nashville and was captain from 2010 through 2016. “I wish it could have been longer and something that your body tells you is time. Unfortunately, it was a tough time because mentally I still felt like I could compete and contribute, but physically I just had nothing left to give.”

Poile, who drafted and later traded Weber, has the most wins of any general manager in league history, thanks to stints as manager of the Washington Capitals and Predators. He follows his late father, fellow executive Bud Poile, into the Hall.

“I wish I could have a chat with him today.” he said.

Campbell, who served on the selection committee for more than a decade, has worked high up in the NHL office for more than 20 years, beginning with a stint as coach of the New York Rangers. He said the “kind of shocking” to get the call.

Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl were teammates at the University of Minnesota and on the U.S. national team. They reached the Olympic finals in Salt Lake City in 2002 and left with silver medals. Wendell-Pohl became emotional when she heard that they would also be in the room together, especially as a sign of the growth and appreciation of women's hockey.

“It's crazy,” she said. “When you think about how far the game has come in such a short time, it still feels like such a long time ago when you think about what it was like when we started with boys' teams and the opportunities girls have to play now.”

Today's latest news and more in your inbox