The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced the seven names who will comprise the Class of 2024

Colin Campbell, Natalie Darwitz, Pavel Datsyuk, David Polle, Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were chosen for the Toronto-based institution.

Colin Campbell had an 11-year career as a player, but he entered as a builder.  A Stanley Cup winner in 1994 as an Assistant Coach with the Rangers, Campbell took over as the NHL’s Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations in 1998.

Natalie Darwitz was a three-time All-American at the University of Minnesota, leading the Golden Gophers to back-to-back National Championships.  Darwitz was on multiple U.S. National Teams, and won three World Championship Gold Medals.

Pavel Datsyuk, from Russia, played his entire NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings (2001-16) scoring 918 Points and helping his club win two Stanley Cups.  Datsyuk was one of the best defensive forwards of his day, winning three Frank J. Selke Awards and the Lady Byng Trophy four times.  He was also named to the NHL 100^th Anniversary Team.  Internationally, he won Gold at the 2018 Olympics and the 2012 World Hockey Championship.

David Poile took over as Washington’s General Manager in 1983 and held that role for 15 years before signing on with the expansion Nashville Predators.  He brought them to their first Stanley Cup Final in 2016, and when he retired last year, he had the most wins of any GM in NHL history. 

Jeremy Roenick finally enters the Hall after 12 years of eligibility.  Roenick scored 513 Goals and 1,216 Points over 20 seasons.  The American played for Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Jose and has Silver Medals in the 2002 Olympics and the 1991 Canada Cup.

Shea Weber was one of the best defencemen of the 2010s, having earned two First Team All-Stars and two Second Teams.  While Weber never won the Norris trophy, he finished in the top ten nine seasons in a row.  Weber also won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015-16, which was also his last year in Nashville (he finished his career with Montreal).  Internationally, Weber won two Olympic Gold Medals (2010 & 2014), and also Gold in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.  

Krissy Wendell-Pohl scored 133 Points in two years at the University of Minnesota, where she won the 2005 Patty Kazmaier Award.  She would win Gold in the 2005 Worlds and also owns an Olympic Silver and Bronze Medal.

We at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Clyde Simmons was a beast of a defensive lineman for Western Carolina and joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1986 when he was a ninth-round pick in 1988. 

Simmons was a vaunted pass-rusher in the National Football League, who took down the Quarterback 121.5 times over a 15-year career, which included a league-leading 19 in 1992.  A First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in both 1991 and 1992, Simmons also had three straight years with the Eagles where he exceeded 100 Tackles (1989-91). 

Simmons also played for Arizona, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and Chicago.

Gary Johnson received the nickname of “Big Hands” innocently enough.  In eighth grade, Johnson grabbed a basketball in gym class, and the P.E. teacher yelled the following:

“Get your big hands off my basketball!”

Those meat hooks would be put to good use on the gridiron, first at Grambling, where he was a three-time Little All-American, and then for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted Johnson eighth overall in 1975.

An All-Rookie Selection, Johnson had his first double-digit sack year in 1977 (13.5).  As the Chargers offense improved by a decade’s end under Don Coryell and Quarterback Dan Fouts, the defensive corps also shaped up, making the Bolts serious AFC contenders. 

From 1979 to 1982, Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl, with First Team All-Pros coming his way in 1980 and 1981.  Johnson led the NFL in Sacks in 1980 with 17.5, but the Chargers were unable to get over the hump, and he was able to join the mighty San Francisco 49ers and help them win Super Bowl XIX, where Johnson got three Sacks in that postseason.

1962 SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

Thank you for all of your participation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are unaware of what that is, we acted like the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the years up to 1961.

For “1962,” a Preliminary Vote with over 100 players whose playing career ended by 1956. We are also following the structure in that players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters were asked to pick 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists, and next week, they will pick five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process weekly until we catch up to the current year.

30 Votes took place, with the top five advancing.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

This is for the “Senior Era”

*Bold indicates they advanced to the Finals:

We will post the Finalists of the Class of the 1962 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project next Saturday.

Thank you to all who contributed. If you want to be part of this project, please let us know!