Darwitz, Wendell-Pohl election into Hockey Hall of Fame ‘extra special’

Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl have played a lot of hockey together. Now the two are going into the Hockey Hall of Fame together.

“I got emotional when ‘Dar’ was also being inducted. Our lives have been pretty tight since we joined the U.S. team together, we played at the University of [Minnesota] together and she went on to play (one more) Olympics,” Wendell-Pohl said during the Hall of Fame announcement on Tuesday.

It's the first year two women have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2010, when former Canada centers Angela James and Cammi Granato received the honor.

“All of us have great teammates and people that have got us there,” Wendell-Pohl said. “But just to be able to celebrate with that person in this type of capacity, I think it has an extra special meaning to it.”

Indeed, Darwitz was at the University of Minnesota from 2002-05 while Wendell-Pohl was there in 2002-03 and 2004-05.

Darwitz played for the United States at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games, winning two silver medals and a bronze medal. She also represented the U.S. in eight world championships, winning three gold medals, five silver medals and being named Best Forward in 2008. Darwitz also led Minnesota to a national championship in 2005, scoring the winning goal.

Wendell-Pohl played for the U.S. from 1999-2007, scoring 106 goals in 147 games. She won a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics and a bronze at the 2006 Olympics, where she was captain. She also played in six IIHF World Championships, including 2005 when she was MVP in the United States' first-ever gold medal win. She also won silver five times.

Both are also in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Darwitz was inducted in 2018 and Wendell-Pohl in 2019.

The two enter the Hall as the women’s game continues to grow. The Professional Women’s Hockey League, which launched in January with six teams, just completed a successful inaugural season. It’s an encouraging sight for Wendell-Pohl.

“I mean, it’s crazy to think of how far the game has come in such a short amount of time, yet it feels so long ago when you think of whenever it was when we kind of started, we’d be playing with boys and the opportunities now that girls have to play, including my three girls,” she said of her daughters.

“I’ve been able to see the game grow. It’s really special and I’m really honored.”

Candidates had to receive at least 75 percent of the vote from the selection committee to be inducted. A maximum of four former male players, two former female players, two builders or one builder and one retired official may be inducted in a single year.

Also entering the Hall are NHL forwards Jeremy Roenick and Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Shea Weber. The NHL’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations, officiating and central scouting departments Colin Campbell and former general manager David Poile were voted in the Builders category.

The induction ceremony will be held at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Nov. 11.

Interest in girls and women’s hockey continues to grow, and more women getting into the Hall of Fame is another good sign for their game.

“Hopefully this is a regular occurrence from here on out in 2024,” Darwitz said of two women being inducted into the Hall. “There are so many players of our generation and past generations who have paved the way for women’s hockey to be where it is today. So hopefully this is kind of the starting line of that happening, every single year that two female players can get into the Hall of Fame.”