Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell-Pohl named to Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

For the first time in the history of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, two women have been voted into the same induction class.

The sport has two Minnesota icons to thank for that.

Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl brought brilliance to a budding women’s sport as teenagers before starring on the ice for the Gophers and Team USA.

The longtime teammates will both receive one of their sport’s biggest honors when they are inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame at a Nov. 11 ceremony in Toronto.

“Hopefully this is a regular occurrence from here on out,” Darwitz told the Associated Press. “There’s so many players of our generation and past generations that have paved the way to get women’s hockey to be where it is today.”

The others five members of this induction class are former NHL standouts Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick and Shea Weber; former general manager David Poile; and longtime NHL executive Colin Campbell. The Hockey Hall of Fame’s selection committee voted Tuesday, and chair Mike Gartner made the announcement.

“The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these hockey legends as [honored] members,” Gartner said in the news release.

Darwitz (2018) and Wendell-Pohl (2019) have both been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, and Darwitz was selected to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in January.

Wendell-Pohl and Darwitz were teammates on the Gophers’ 2004 and 2005 NCAA championship teams. Darwitz, who had starred at Eagan High School, scored the winning goal against Harvard in the 2005 title game.

Darwitz played for Team USA in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics, winning two silver medals and a bronze.

As a general manager, Darwitz just led PWHL Minnesota to a championship, but in a controversial decision, the PWHL league office chose not to bring her back with the team. Sources have explained that there was a power struggle between Darwitz and coach Ken Klee. Darwitz has not commented publicly about the decision.

Wendell-Pohl led Park Center to a state championship in 2000. With the Gophers, she won the 2005 Patty Kazmaier award given to the nation’s top player. Married to former Gophers standout and NHL player John Pohl, she was an Olympian in 2002, captained the Olympic team in 2006 and scored 106 goals over 147 games for Team USA, helping bring home six IIHF world championships.

Going into the hall with Darwitz makes this honor extra special for Wendell-Pohl.

“It’s crazy,” Wendell-Pohl said. “To think of how far the game has come in such a short amount of time ... and the opportunities now that girls have to play.”

Roenick’s 1,216 points with Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Jose are fourth most of any U.S.-born player.

Datsyuk dazzled as “the Magic Man” throughout a 14-year career with Detroit in which he excelled offensively and defensively and afterward won also won Olympic gold with Russia in 2018 when NHL players did not participate.

“Of course I’m pumped,” Datsyuk said. “Now I’m a lucky boy. I’m happy.”

Weber, only 38, is still under contract — his rights are owned by the Utah Hockey Club that relocated from Arizona and used to be called the Coyotes — but was eligible because injuries ended his playing career in 2021 after helping Montreal reach the final. A two-time Olympic gold medal winner for Canada in 2010 and ‘14, the defenseman played 11 of his 16 NHL seasons with Nashville and served as captain there from 2010-16.

Poile, who drafted and then later traded Weber, has the most victories of any general manager in league history from his stints running the Washington Capitals and the Predators. He follows his late father, fellow exec Bud Poile, into the hall.

Campbell, who spent more than a decade on the selection committee, has been working high up in the NHL office for more than 20 years since a stint coaching the New York Rangers. He said it was “kind of shocking” to get the call.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.