Natalie Darwitz (B.S. ‘07) visited the Hockey Hall of Fame once, as a teenager, 20-some years ago when she was in Toronto to play in the World Championships. She thought it was “cool” to see the history of hockey laid out in artifacts and the game’s greats enshrined in the museum. She did note, however, that women weren’t part of the story beyond “maybe a token jersey or something.”

Her second visit took place on November 11, 2024, along with Krissy Wendell-Pohl (B.A. ‘05), when the two former Gopher and Olympic teammates were inducted together into the Hall of Fame—the first time two female players have been selected in the same class. They join 10 other women who’ve been enshrined since the Hall of Fame began including women in 2010.

“It’s going to be a lot cooler now to see a bigger display of women’s hockey,” Darwitz says.

Indeed, the women’s game has grown considerably this century, with players like Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl leading the way. At the U of M, where both played from 2003-05, the pair won two NCAA national titles in 2004 and 2005. Darwitz scored the winning goal in the ’05 championship game. Wendell-Pohl won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best collegiate female hockey player that season.

Darwitz set the record for most points scored in Gopher women’s hockey history. She’s now the third all-time leading scorer; Wendell-Pohl is fourth. Darwitz played in three Olympics (’02, ’06, and ’10); Wendell-Pohl played in two (’02 and ’06), captaining the ’06 team. They won bronze medals together in ’06 and silver in ’02. Darwitz won another silver in ’10. Darwitz represented the U.S. in eight world championships; Wendell-Pohl did so in six, including 2005 when she was the MVP.

Entering the Hockey Hall of Fame caps the amazing careers of both women. The two have already both been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (Darwitz in 2018; Wendell-Pohl in 2019), but being chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto—which honors the greatest players from all over the world—is an even greater distinction. And rarer: Only two other American women are enshrined there as players. What’s more, Wendell-Pohl and Darwitz are the first Golden Gophers—male or female—to be selected in the player category. (Fellow U of M alumni Herb Brooks and John Mariucci are both members in the “builder” category).

Still, both women expressed surprise at being selected. “Nobody gets into sports thinking you’re going to end up in the Hall of Fame,” Wendell-Pohl says. “It was never on my radar.”

It certainly wasn’t on Darwitz’s the day the selection committee announced its new class. Darwitz was away from her phone, speaking at the Minnesota Wild’s leadership summit for high school players and coaches. When she saw a slew of missed calls from Toronto, she initially thought they were from telemarketers. It wasn’t until former Olympic teammate and Hall of Famer Cammi Granato texted, “Please pick up your phone if you see a number from Canada” that she caught on. “I was completely unaware,” Darwitz says, laughing.

Wendell-Pohl did answer her phone, but had little time to let the news sink in; she was in Las Vegas, preparing for the upcoming draft with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The past three years, she’s worked for the NHL team as an amateur scout. She had time to text her husband, Johnny Pohl—who played hockey for the Gophers from 1998-2002—and then had to get back to work. They married in 2007, the same year she retired as a player, and have three daughters who, not surprisingly, play hockey.

For her part, since retiring as a player in 2010, Darwitz has coached the women’s teams at Lakeville South High School, Hamline University, and as an assistant at the University of Minnesota. Most recently, she was general manager of the Minnesota Professional Women’s Hockey League team that won the league championship last summer. She resigned after several key players expressed loyalty to coach Ken Klee, who took over her position as interim general manager. (In September, the team hired Melissa Caruso to fill the position.) Darwitz said she wants to remain involved in hockey, but didn’t want to discuss her next step until she had solidified a new job.

Both Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl say they’re honored and happy to be selected as Hall of Famers—but they can see a backlog of former teammates and opponents they think are equally deserving. “The women’s game has grown so much, the pool is filled with a lot of players deserving to be in,” Wendell-Pohl says. “We’re playing a little bit of catchup.”

Nicole LaVoi, who earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in kinesiology at the University (in ’95 and ’02 respectively), is director of the University’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. She says hockey has not been as progressive as some other sports, but at the same time, she sees the selection of two U of M women in the same class as a hopeful sign. “Hockey has been slow to look at equity,” LaVoi says. “I think it’s amazing that we had two of the best female hockey players in the world at the University, and they’re finally getting recognition for what they’ve done for the sport and the University. I am hoping there are many to follow.”

It’s fitting Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl are going in together, given how their careers have mirrored one another. They came of age together, growing from adolescent phenoms in high school—Darwitz at Eagan; Wendell-Pohl at Park Center—to stars on the national and international stages. “It can be quite nervewracking with these experiences as teens [representing your nation in foreign countries at international tournaments], not having done a lot of traveling,” Wendell-Pohl says. “Being with Natalie on the same team, knowing you had a friend with you, gave you a kind of security.”

Darwitz echoes that about her former college roommate, linemate, and teammate: “It was comforting to me leaving home at 16-17 knowing I’d have Krissy around. There were tough times we can belly-laugh about now.”

So entering the Hall of Fame together, sharing yet another moment, makes the occasion all that much sweeter. “It’s super special to know I’ll be going in with Krissy and a good friend,” Darwitz says.

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