The wait is finally over, Jeremy Roenick is entering the Hockey Hall of Fame

TORONTO – After a long career, waiting out his eligibility period and then 12 years of making calls, Jeremy Roenick finally received his call for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And on Monday night, he officially took part in a ceremony with the rest of his class.

Roenick, 54, an American who scored 1,216 points in 1,363 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, was among the headliners in a class that included Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Natalie Darwitz and others counted Krissy Wendell in the player category. David Poile and Colin Campbell signed up as builders.

Roenick, the colorful Boston-born winger, scored 122 points, including 53 goals, in 154 playoff games. He also won silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics when Team USA fell to Canada.

“I love this game,” he said. “It’s been such a big part of my life for most of my life.”

Roenick, the No. 8 pick by Chicago in 1988, finished his career as a nine-time NHL All-Star.

“If you wait a long time, you don’t know how [the call] will meet you,” Roenick said in September, addressing the Chicago media at a Hall of Fame event with the Blackhawks. “And I thought maybe beforehand that it wouldn’t be as big a deal as it was.” But it hit me like a train.

Weber, the former defenseman whose career ended prematurely due to a long list of injuries, has not been able to play since leading the underdog Montreal Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

“My love for the game is still strong,” he said during his speech. “Even though my body didn’t last as long as I had hoped.”

The 39-year-old scored 589 points in 1,038 games with the Canadiens and Nashville Predators. He scored 42 points in 97 playoff games.

“There’s so much to be thankful for when playing this game,” Weber said. “And it’s not just the big moments, winning the playoffs or winning Olympic gold. It’s the small, seemingly routine moments that count the most.”

“It’s these friendships that were formed over countless plane and bus rides, at team dinners and while disassembling things in the trainer’s room. It’s when an experienced player takes you under his wing and shows you what it really means to be a professional. I want to thank all of these players for showing the importance of hard work and dedication.”

Datsyuk, 46, scored 918 points in 953 games for the Detroit Red Wings. He scored 113 points in 157 playoff games, including Stanley Cup victories in 2002 and 2008.

The Russian center with his majestic skills was also a four-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s gentleman player and three times won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward.

Datsyuk, who was anchored along with Weber in his first year of eligibility, played five seasons in the KHL after leaving Detroit in 2016. He represented his country at five consecutive Olympics, winning gold in 2018 and bronze in 2002.

“Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is a great honor,” Datsyuk said. “[An] Honor I couldn’t even dream of.

Wendell, 43, represented the United States twice in the Olympics, winning silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. The forward from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, won six medals at the world championships and was the first American captain to win tournament gold.

“The best part of hockey wasn’t winning championships or medals,” Wendell said. “But the people I got to meet along the way.”

Darwitz, 41, competed for the United States at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, winning two silver medals and one bronze medal. The forward from St. Paul, Minnesota, also competed in the World Championships eight times, earning three gold medals.

“I wasn’t a normal little girl and somehow my mother was after me,” Darwitz said. “On my fifth birthday, my blonde French braids strolled into the hockey field.”

Campbell’s hockey life has included time as a player, coach and, for the past 25 years, senior executive vice president of the NHL. He was instrumental in developing the league’s centralized video review hub, which is now the standard across much of the North American sports world.

The 71-year-old also won the Stanley Cup in 1994 as an associate coach of the New York Rangers.

“I’ve spoken to chief executives and board of governors over the years,” Campbell said. “This is a first, and when I look at this group, it’s definitely inspiring and scary.”

Poile, 74, started as an NHL manager with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames in the 1970s before becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals in 1982.

The Toronto native joined the Predators in Nashville in 1997 to become GM, a position he held until his retirement in 2023. One of his biggest moves was trading Weber to Montreal for PK Subban in June 2016.

“I put my heart and soul into the game,” said Poile. “But hockey has given me and my family so much more.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.