Roenick said he couldn't even concentrate on the Starbucks employee holding his order out the window.
"And then Lanny said to me on phone, 'You're never at a loss for words.' And he's right, I'm never at a loss for words, but he took the words away from me."
Even those who knew it was the day the selections were being announced admitted to being overwhelmed by the news.
Poile, who ranks first among all NHL GMs with 1,533 wins with the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, was practically waiting by the phone.
"I knew exactly what the date was (for the selection announcements)," Poile said. "I hadn't thought about it too much, but my wife said if it was going to happen, it would happen between 1 and 2 p.m. Eastern time based on what had happened in the past years. At 12:58 p.m. Eastern time on June 24 -- I'll never forget that day -- the phone rings and it's 416 area code and I was really hoping it wasn't spam."
It wasn't, and Poile became the second member of his family to be selected into the Hockey Hall of Fame, joining his Dad, Bud Poile, who was a member of the Class of 1990. In fact, the ring ceremony was held in front of a wall of Hall of Fame plaques that included Bud Poile's.
"Hockey in our family was 24/7, 365 days a year, so it's not surprising that I tried to go in this direction," Poile said.
His dad wasn't Poile's only tie to the Hall on Friday. Weber was selected by the Predators in the second round (No. 49) of the 2003 NHL Draft, was named captain of the team on July 8, 2010, and then was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by Poile on June 29, 2016. He served as captain for each team, playing 1,038 NHL games while winning the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015-16.
"We've rehashed that," Poile said about him trading Weber, who is the first player drafted by the Predators to make the Hockey Hall of Fame. "It was a tough decision as a manager that I felt had to be done. It was hard but it comes with the territory. But it's part of the game and part of our history together."
Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl also made history with their inductions; it is the first time since 2010 (Cammi Granato, Angela James) that two women are part of the same Hall class.
But their bond is closer; Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl were teammates for three seasons at the University of Minnesota from 2002-05. As teammates representing the United States on the international stage, Darwitz and Wendell combined for four Olympic medals (two silver, two bronze) as well as 12 World Championship medals (10 silver, two gold).
"Not only was she a teammate, she was a really great friend," Darwitz said of Wendell-Pohl. "We were going through high school together, going to tryouts and making teams, and stuff like that. So not only were we able to be side by side, but our families are so close."