TORONTO (AP) — Shea Weber is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The former defenseman headlined the 2024 class that was inducted on Monday night, joining Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell in the player category.

David Poile and Colin Campbell entered as builders.

Weber, whose career ended prematurely due to a long list of injuries, has not been able to play since helping lead the underdog Montreal Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup final.

“My love for the game is still strong,” he said during his speech. “Even if my body doesn’t last as long as I hope.”

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

“There’s a lot to be grateful for when playing this game,” Weber said. “And it’s not just the big moments, it’s a play-off win or taking home the Olympic gold. It’s the small – seemingly routine – moments that matter most.

“It’s the friendships forged over countless plane and bus rides, team dinners, breakdowns in the coach’s room. This is when an experienced player takes you under his wing and shows you what being a professional really means. “I want to thank all the players for showing the importance of hard work and dedication.”

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

The magnificently skilled Russian center also won the Lady Byng Trophy four times as the NHL’s most sportsmanlike player and won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defenseman three times.

Datsyuk, who was enshrined in his first year drafted alongside Weber, played five seasons in the KHL after leaving Detroit in 2016. He represented his country in five consecutive Olympics, winning gold in 2018 and bronze in 2002.

“It is a tremendous honor to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame,” Datsyuk said. “(It’s) an honor I could never have imagined.”

Roenick, 54, scored 1,216 points in 1,363 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. The colorful Boston-born winger added 122 points (53 goals, 69 assists) in 154 play-off games.

Roenick, who won a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics, had to wait 12 years to get the nod.

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

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

“The best part of hockey wasn’t winning a championship or a medal,” Wendell said. “But the people I met along the way.”

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

“I wasn’t your average little girl, and somehow my mother understood me,” Darwitz said. “On my fifth birthday, my blonde French braids walked onto the hockey rink.”

Campbell’s hockey life included time as a player, coach and, for the past 25 years, as a senior vice president of the NHL. He spearheaded the establishment of the league’s centralized video review center, which is now standard throughout much of the North American sports world.

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

“I’ve talked to chief executives and boards of directors over the years,” Campbell said. “This is a first and when I look at this group it is absolutely inspiring and scary.”

Poile, 74, got his start as an NHL executive 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 expansion team 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 poured my heart and soul into the game,” Poile said. “But hockey has given me and my family so much more.”

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