TORONTO - Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl, two women’s hockey players who rose to prominence in Minnesota before going on to college and international stardom, were inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night.
Minnesota stars Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell-Pohl inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Natalie Darwitz of Eagan and Krissy Wendell-Pohl of Park Center only faced each other once in high school, but became teammates with the Gophers and went on to medal-filled careers with the U.S. women’s hockey Olympic team.
By The Associated Press
November 12, 2024 at 1:21PM
Joining them as inductees in the player category were Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk and Jeremy Roenick. David Poile and Colin Campbell entered as builders.
Darwitz, 41, suited up for the U.S. at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, winning two silver medals and a bronze. The former Eagan High School and Gophers forward also competed at the worlds eight times, securing three gold medals.
“I wasn’t your everyday little girl and somehow my mom was on to me,” Darwitz said. “On my fifth birthday, my blonde French braids strolled into the hockey rink.”
Wendell-Pohl, 43, twice represented the United States at the Olympics, winning silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. The former Park Center and Gophers forward grabbed six medals at the world championships and was the first American captain to capture tournament gold.
“The greatest thing about hockey was not winning championships or medals,” Wendell-Pohl said. “But the people that I got to meet along the way.”
The pair only met once on the ice in high school, in the 1999 season opener, when Wendell-Pohl scored seven goals in Park Center’s 10-4 victory.
Weber, whose career ended prematurely because of a long list of injuries, has been unable to play since helping drag the underdog Montreal Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. The 39-year-old registered 589 points in 1,038 games with the Canadiens and Nashville Predators. He added 42 points in 97 playoff contests.
Datsyuk, 46, put up 918 points in 953 games with the Detroit Red Wings. He chipped in 113 points across 157 playoff contests that included Stanley Cup victories in 2002 and 2008.
Roenick, 54, banked 1,216 points in 1,363 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. The colorful, Boston-born winger added 122 points (53 goals, 69 assists) in 154 playoff contests.
Campbell’s hockey life has included time as a player, coach and, for the last 25 years, a senior executive vice president with the NHL. He helped spearhead the league’s centralized video review hub that’s now the standard across much of the North American sporting world.
Poile, 74, started as an NHL executive with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames in the 1970s before becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals in 1982.
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Coming off home losses to Washington and Oregon, the Gophers play at No. 2 Nebraska on Thursday night. The Huskers are 24-1 and feature old friend Taylor Landfair.
