Darwitz had 'pretty wild' journey on way to Hockey Hall of Fame

The 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame induction is Monday. This class includes Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick, Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Colin Campbell and David Poile. Here, NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest profiles Darwitz:

Natalie Darwitz had a distinctive talent which helped develop her prolific goal-scoring hands.

Darwitz was a juggler in elementary school, performing in the Shrine Circus before embarking on a standout hockey career.

"In elementary school they had an enrichment program and you can take whatever you wanted to do," Darwitz said. "My first-grade teacher said he was going to teach a juggling class, so I signed up for it. You started with scarfs, balls, then went to bowling pins and clubs. Then the two top advanced ones were the fire sticks and machetes. People got wind of this, and we became this traveling show, we would go to seniors' homes and we were in the Shrine Circus and I was always picked to juggle the machetes."

Juggling fire sticks and machetes as an 8-year-old was a unique way to develop keen hand-eye coordination. Combined with blazing speed, the native of St. Paul, Minnesota, quickly became one of the best players her state.

"It was pretty wild, it would have been the first, second and third grade when that happened," Darwitz said. "It was all over the news. You wouldn't get away with that now, you couldn't juggle machetes, you can't even bring a machete into school now, and we were juggling fire and knives and that's pretty wild to think back on that. Those things were big, they were three-fourths the size of me. It was pretty wild."

Darwitz would eventually trade in her juggling instruments for a hockey stick and went on to star with her high school team, the United States women's national team and University of Minnesota. Darwitz was on the national team for a decade competing in three Olympic Games and eight Women's World Championship tournaments.

Darwitz will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with good friend and fellow USA and Minnesota teammate Krissy Wendell-Pohl, former NHL players Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber and Jeremy Roenick along with executives David Poile and Colin Campbell.

"I don't think you go into playing hockey hoping that one day you'll be in the Hall of Fame, it's kind of a byproduct of the work you've put in and how much you care about the game. It's a great combination," Darwitz said. "I think on the female side, the ones that go in where a little bit younger, but to look back at the career of playing with boys and growing up playing with boys and being one of the only girls, and then having a good college career, a good U.S. career and going in with a good teammate and friend Krissy Wendell as well."

Darwitz, 41, and Wendell-Pohl, 43, are the third and fourth women players from the United States to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Cammi Granato was inducted in 2010 and Angela Ruggiero in 2015. All are pioneers of the sport and helped grow women's hockey in America.

"To be the third and fourth female players (from the United States) inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame is pretty humbling," Darwitz said. "It gives you goose bumps and make you really grateful and appreciative of teammates you had, the coaches you had, the people that surrounded you and the people that went the extra mile for you to get on the ice and train."

Darwitz's star potential was evident early according to teacher and high school coach Merlin Ravndalen. Outside of being an exceptional machete juggler, Darwitz displayed an extraordinary competitive drive at an early age.

"When she was my student in the third grade, she was already doing extraordinary things," Ravndalen said. "She played boys hockey all the way up until the seventh grade and then she made the move to girls hockey. Even then, she was the top player on the team and because of her speed she really differentiated herself."

Darwitz joined the Eagan High School girls hockey team in 1996 and had 121 points (93 goals, 28 assists) in her first season as a seventh grader. She was named to the All-Conference, All-State, All-Metro and All-Tourney Team at the state tournament where her team was runner up.

In four seasons with Eagan, Darwitz became a local sensation, and it wasn't long before she attracted the attention of the U.S. national team. Darwitz left her high school team after the 10th grade following a 118-point season (81 goals, 37 assists), to train with the national team and made her Olympic debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

"That obviously left a tremendous hole on our team in her junior and senior year," Ravndalen said. "It was certainly the right move, and in my eyes, she could have been an Olympian before that, she could have been an Olympian in 1998 (Nagano). I think, at that time she was 14 years old, but she could have competed on that team in 1998 and done very well."

Darwitz had eight points (seven goals, one assist) in five games as an 18-year-old in Salt Lake. The United States lost to Canada 3-2 in a memorable gold-medal final.

"She's a hockey lifer, she lived and breathed the game," Granato, a teammate in 2002, said. "She was one of the best skaters in the game. I've never seen anyone be able to shoot in stride and get the puck off like she did in the women's game. She could come down the wing and she was so quick and so fast with speed and in mid-stride she would launch the puck to the net and take the puck to the net. That was just a skill that she had."

By the time Darwitz made her Olympic debut, she had been a member of the national team for three years. She played in the 1999 Women's World Championship as a 16-year-old, winning silver.

"When she first came on the scene, we were like, 'Who is that kid? Wow,'" Granato said. "Her hockey skills were, if you were going go out of five, you're going to say five. Just her edges, her quickness, her speed, her puck-handling, her shooting, she had it all."

Darwitz quickly became a core member of the national team, helping the United States win gold at the 4 Nations Cup in 2003 and then gold at the World Championship in 2005. She also played at the University of Minnesota for three years along with Wendell. The two led the Golden Gophers to back-to-back NCAA national titles in 2004 and 2005.

"I know for sure we pushed each other," Wendell said. "We loved to play together, but I think being able to play against each other in practice, for me, made me a much better player. It brought a next level of intensity. We certainly benefited from it as a team, and I benefited from it as an individual, having her show up every day and make me bring my best, because you knew she was going to bring her best. I felt like it was such a healthy competitive thing."

Darwitz was named most outstanding player of the NCAA Frozen Four tournament in 2005. She also won the Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year award presented by USA Hockey. That year, she helped the United States win gold at the World Championship in Sweden, defeating Canada in the final

Darwitz was always up to face the United States' top rival Canada.

"I loved it, I mean, that's why you play, you play for those rivalries, you play to bring out the best in each other, and you play your best hockey," Darwitz said. "I honestly wish that every game was against Canada, or we played a seven-game series. It's just great hockey, fun hockey. You want those rivalries. Everyone talks about bad blood, or you don't talk to them if you see them in elevator the hotel, but I'm not like that, I respect them. There were a tremendous amount of players to go through that program and pave the way and to make women's hockey better and I respect that. I appreciate that and I obviously love playing against them."

Darwitz helped the United States win gold at the World Championship again in 2008 and 2009. She also won gold at the Four Nations Cup twice, including 2008.

"I was fortunate enough to play for 10 years and come in at a time where [the United States] just won gold (1998), and woman's sport and the game was growing," Darwitz said. "To see that and be a part of that; to go from playing in games and maybe junior venues to NHL rinks. I remember when we were doing the pre-Olympic tours, we were playing in the Detroit Red Wings facility (Joe Louis Arena). To have the fans and have 8-,9-,10,000 fans there and when we went to Canada, the place was always packed and when you scored, you could hear a pin drop. It was a lot of fun."

Following her playing career, which included two pro seasons with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women's Hockey League, Darwitz went into coaching at the high school and then university level. She was named general manager of the Minnesota team of the Women's Professional Hockey League, who went on to win the inaugural championship last season.

Darwitz parted ways with the WPHL and is looking forward to her next venture.

"I enjoyed developing players and helping them get better," Darwitz said. "I think as a player one of my strong points in my game was my was hockey IQ, and now it was a challenge for me to teach kids that. How do I have them see that vision? And for me, any challenge lights my fire, and that's what became a passion of mine. So coaching was a lot of fun."

NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report