Jeremy Roenick’s eyes were welled up with tears and he was sniffling as he got settled behind the microphone, the last of the seven members of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2024 to speak during the induction ceremony on Monday night in Toronto.
Ever the showman, JR delivered.
“Wow!” he said, grinning, as he looked over the crowd, before doling out thank yous and apologies (to Tony Amonte and Bill Wirtz) and I love yous (to “Iron Mike” Keenan), and spinning tales of car rides to and from hockey games spent combatting his dad’s cigarette smoke from the front seat and the “nasty aroma” in the back seat due to an earlier stop at Taco Bell.
To start what would be a 20-year NHL career with five different teams, an 18-year-old Roenick, who’d just been drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks, recalls finding himself next to coach Mike Keenan at a urinal. Roenick swears Keenan asked him: “Do you have any balls, kid?” And he replied: “Enough to play for you.”
“Thank goodness he didn’t look over the divider,” Roenick added, with a grin, getting the crowd laughing. “I might not have been their first pick that year.”
A nine-time NHL All-star who ranks third all-time among American goal-scorers in NHL history, Roenick is joined in the 2024 class by fellow players Pavel Datsyuk, Natalie Darwitz, Shea Weber and Krissy Wendell, while Colin Campbell and David Poile — who joins his late father, Bud, in Hall enshrinement — were inducted as builders.
Roenick thanked the fans in all five cities he played in, and apologized to L.A. fans because he says he was “terrible” when he played for the Kings. He lauded teammates like Keith Tkachuk, who he called “the most intimidating, confident and vocal person I’ve ever met — well, other than myself, I guess.”
One of Roenick’s biggest thank-yous was reserved for Doug Wilson. In the summer of 2007, Roenick was four goals shy of a career 500, but no team wanted him. “Depression and heavy drinking had set in,” he said, when finally the call came in from Wilson, who was then the GM of the San Jose Sharks.
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Wilson was Roenick’s first-ever NHL roommate and asked Roenick to fly out to see him. A day later on the golf course, Wilson asked if Roenick wanted to play for the Sharks, but under three conditions: He’d sign for the league minimum, only do media when asked (“which was very hard,” Roenick says) and he wasn’t allowed to drink. Roenick swears he dumped the beer he was drinking on the golf course right then and there.
“I scored No. 500 three months later,” he said, again through tears. “Thank you Doug Wilson for being a great friend, but more importantly, for being a friend when I needed it the most. I would not be up here — and I don’t mean up here — if it wasn’t for you. You truly saved my life.”
Roenick began his speech by mentioning the tragic loss experienced earlier this year, offering condolences to the families of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. Weber, the first inductee to speak on Monday, also started his speech by expressing his deepest sympathies to the Gaudreau family. “Hockey’s a brotherhood,” Weber said.
Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald commemorated brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau later in the evening.
“Nobody loved the game or played over his weight class like Johnny Gaudreau did,” McDonald said. “He was a joy to be around and everyone in the hockey world will miss him and his brother Matthew. Anyone who knows the game knows Johnny would’ve been here one day.”
Many who couldn’t be there in person to see the events on Monday night were honoured. Datsyuk, the on-ice magician who won a pair of Stanley Cups during his 14-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, dedicated his induction to his late parents. “You taught me the value of hard work and sacrifice,” Datsyuk said. “You live in my heart.”
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The 46-year-old Russian had many thank yous to dole out, to teammates, fans, and opponents, who he called “my nightmare,” but a vital contributor to helping him become the player he was. In 2012, Datsyuk was voted both the smartest and most difficult to play against in a player poll. He is the only player to win the Lady Byng and Selke trophy in two seasons — he won the Lady Byng in four straight, and the Selke in three straight seasons.
“As I stand here today, I realize that being inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame is a tremendous honour,” said Datsyuk, who represented Russia five times at the Olympics, and won gold in 2018. “An honour I couldn’t even dream of.”
It’s one that came sooner than Weber dreamt of, the 39-year-old defender’s career spanning 16 NHL seasons, but shortened due to injury. The former captain in Nashville and in Montreal played his last game in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final after helping lead Montreal there for the first time since 1993. Weber, a world junior, world and Olympic champion with a booming shot from the point, called Montreal “the most passionate hockey city I think I’ve ever seen.”
Darwitz and Wendell both hail from The Hockey State, and played much of their careers together, Minnesotans who starred for the NCAA’s Golden Gophers and for Team USA on the world and Olympic stages.
Darwitz, a three-time Olympic medallist, was just 15 when she was named to her senior national team after playing much of her early career with and against boys. She thanked her dad, who was teary-eyed in the crowd, for giving her the best advice she could ask for once hitting was introduced to the game: “They can’t hit ya if they can’t catch ya!”
Darwitz began playing girls’ hockey in high school, and it was then that she debuted for Team USA. In eight world championship appearances, she won three gold medals and twice led the tournament in goals, including in 2008 when she was named the best forward and served as her team’s captain. Her two young sons, Zak and Joseph were in the crowd, and Joseph had tears in his eyes as he gave his mom a hug after her speech.
She also got a hug from Wendell, who saw many of Darwitz’s biggest moments live, and vice versa. In 2005, Wendell captained Team USA to a first-ever world championship gold medal and was named the tournament’s MVP. She was also captain of Team USA at the 2006 Olympics. In 147 games for Team USA, Wendell scored an incredible 106 goals. She thanked her husband and three daughters, who were in the crowd, along with her parents, and Wendell said she couldn’t look at her dad without crying. He was in tears, too.
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Roenick ended his speech with a thank you to his kids and his wife, Tracy, who he called the true hall of famer in his family. Tracy put her hand over her heart.
For Roenick, the call from the Hall came in his 12th year of eligibility, and he wasn’t sure it would ever come.
“This was a great way to end this chapter of my life, and I couldn’t be more humble or grateful,” Roenick said, teary-eyed. “Thank you.”
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