Hockey Hall of Fame Announces 7 New Members for 2024 – Hockey Writers – NHL News

On a case-by-case basis, let's review each of the newest members of hockey history. What did they do to get so much fame?

Male Players Division

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 goal scorers in league history. The center fielder 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 great career. He's never won a major award other than the 2015-16 Mark Messier Leadership Award for his off-ice contributions, but he's been one of the best defensemen 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 lock to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame but he had the ice game to be considered.

Pavel Datsyuk was a very easy candidate to make the Hockey Hall of Fame. The center forward scored 314 goals and 604 assists for 918 points in 953 games in the NHL, but his career needs significant context. In both his 2007–08 and 2008–09 campaigns, he was the league's top defensive player, winning the Selke Trophy. Despite this reliance on defense, he had 97 points in both seasons, making him one of the league's leading scorers. Seeing as he was one of the best in both offense and defense at the same time, his fitness is right up there with some of the NHL's all-time greats—he set a level that hasn't really been matched since. In addition, he won the Stanley Cup twice with the Detroit Red Wings.

Female Players Section

Coming to our women's hockey players category, Natalie Darwitz is a great way to start. As a player, he posted 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 impressive, including three World Championship gold medals, three-time Patty Kazmaier finalist for women's collegiate player of the year, two NCAA championships, and three Olympic medals (two silver, one bronze).

Another forward, Krissy Wendell-Pohl had a similar performance with the University of Minnesota in the NCAA. He had 106 goals and 131 assists for 237 points in 101 games, was a three-time Patty Kazmaier champion, and won two NCAA championships. While she only won one gold medal at the Women's World Championship, she was the tournament's MVP twice and led in assists three separate times. Both she and Darwitz helped define the 2000s for women's hockey.

Builders section

Colin Campbell has been in the NHL for a long time, but his biggest achievement came in 1994 when he won the Stanley Cup as an associate coach of the New York Rangers. He was their head coach from 1994-1998 before he was finally fired. At the time he was the NHL's Vice President of Hockey Operations, playing a key role in that role.

David Poile has had the longest managerial career in the NHL. He began roles with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames as their assistant general manager but moved on to the Washington Capitals as their general manager (GM) and Vice President of Hockey Operations. After his tenure with the Capitals, he had similar roles with the expansion Nashville Predators — he was integral to their culture from 1998 to the present day. He retired from his GM position in 2023 but is still with them today as a consultant.

All of these seven new members have had unique impacts on hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame is meant to see the best, so being inducted is an incredible honor.