TORONTO (Reuters) – Pavel Datsyuk, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings who also won gold medals with Russia at the 2018 Olympics and 2012 world championships, was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday as part of the Class of 2024.
Datsyuk played in the Russia-based KHL before joining the Red Wings in 2001 and established himself as one of the best two-way players in the team’s history while recording 314 goals and 604 assists across 14 National Hockey League seasons.
“I have been lucky in my hockey life to this point,” said Datsyuk, who was elected to the Toronto-based shrine in his first year of eligibility. “I would like to thank all of the people who have helped me along my way.”
Datsyuk won the NHL’s Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward for three straight seasons from 2008-10 and the Lady Byng Trophy as the player who exhibited sportsmanship combined with a high standard of playing ability in four straight seasons from 2006-09.
Shea Weber, one of the NHL’s most feared defensemen during a career spent with Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens and who won gold at the Olympics with Canada in 2010 and 2014, was also elected in his first year of eligibility.
The other three players inducted are Jeremy Roenick, who finished his career as the second-highest American-born goal scorer in NHL history, and former U.S. women’s national team forwards Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl.
Former general manager David Poile and current NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell were elected in the Builder Category.
The induction celebration for the Class of 2024 is scheduled for Nov. 11 in Toronto.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Clare Fallon)
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