Weber Shocked, Honored to be First Homegrown Pred to Join Hockey Hall of Fame

Over four months later, Shea Weber is still a bit shocked.

He’s currently in Toronto surrounded by friends and family ahead of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame set for Monday night, so he knows the honor is real, he just can’t quite fathom the truth.

But this is now the reality for a kid who grew into a mammoth of a hockey player in Tennessee, a beloved son who embodied what it meant to be a Nashville Predator.

Weber will go in alongside the man who drafted him - former Predators General Manager David Poile - a full-circle moment in what will be a monumental night for the Preds organization as the first homegrown player in club history takes his place alongside hockey’s best.

The shock of it all is understandable, but the former Predators captain - and forever a face of the franchise in Nashville - has no other choice but to embrace it, and he’s doing just that.

“It’s hard to believe, and it's something I never thought would happen,” Weber said via phone from the province of British Columbia earlier this week. “As a kid, dreaming of playing in the NHL, that's your dream, let alone being a Hall-of-Fame player. It’s still not really sinking in fully, but it’s an amazing feeling, and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”

The call came last June when Weber was on the golf course. He let the unknown Ontario number go to voicemail a few times, but when he finally picked up, the emotions took over.

“I was in disbelief,” Weber said. “Like, I just kind of dropped to my knees. I heard [Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Committee members] Lanny [McDonald] and Mike [Gartner] talking, but I was just like, ‘What are they calling me for? Are they looking for someone else?’ I didn't even know it was an option, so it caught me completely off guard. I was definitely emotional, especially when I called my dad. It was a pretty emotional moment.”

After 16 NHL seasons - and in his first year of eligibility - Weber is becoming an honored member of hockey’s most prestigious group.

Weber is also part of another exclusive class - he might just be the only one in Nashville who was surprised to hear the news.

“It’s just so well deserved,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said.

“It sounds right,” former Preds goaltender and current broadcaster Chris Mason added.

“He was a game changer. He could beat a goalie from 80 feet, and he could beat you up,” Preds General Manager Barry Trotz said.

Indeed, Weber is celebrated in these parts, and for good reason.

Drafted 49th overall by the Predators in the 2003 NHL Draft - coincidentally held in Nashville - it wasn’t long before Weber established himself as not only one of the League’s best defenseman, but also top overall players.

Weber skated 11 seasons in Nashville and served as captain for six of those campaigns, and he captured the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2016 following two runner-up finishes for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the League’s top defenseman.

Known across the hockey world for his physicality and thunderous slap shot, Weber won the NHL’s Hardest Shot Competition in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020, topping out at 108.5 miles per hour. A seven-time NHL All-Star, Weber is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner with Team Canada in 2010 and 2014.

When he’s returned to Bridgestone Arena over the years as an alumnus, he's always received the loudest ovation from the Smashville faithful, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“When I first got drafted there, I had no idea what to expect,” Weber said. “And I still talk to people around the League, or people ask me, ‘What's the loudest rink?’ And I'm like, ‘Well, debatable, but those fans in Nashville are amazing, the support they have for the team and the community, too.’ I mean, the times that I bumped into fans in the community, they're very respectful and nice, and it's just a great, great city to be fortunate enough to have spent 11 years and get to know some of them. I can't say enough about the support I had there from the fans over the years.”

Everyone Weber interacted with in the organization was a fan, too.

In fact, Mason, who eventually became Weber’s first NHL roommate, was sure Weber was special from the first moment they shared the ice.

In the first few days of Weber’s first training camp in Nashville, he was a part of the same practice group as Mason. After a simple scrimmage, the Preds goaltender knew the defenseman was different.

“I called my best friend, he's a coach, he played pro hockey…and I said, ‘Remember this name: Shea Weber,’” Mason said. “And he goes, ‘OK, why?’ I said, ‘This kid is unbelievable.’ Not only what he did on the ice - I was blown away by his shot - but just his demeanor, just the way he was going after some of the veteran players, everything about him.”

Mason was right, and Weber soon became a mainstay on the Nashville blue line. The rest of the NHL quickly became acquainted with the type of player Weber was - one who would do anything for his teammates, and anything to win.

Josi witnessed that firsthand as soon as he came into the League. The two eventually made up a formidable defensive pair, with the young Swiss blueliner soaking up everything he possibly could from the veteran.

“I came up, and he was the captain here, so automatically he's the guy you look up to,” Josi said. “Just the way he practiced, the way he behaved off the ice, the way he behaved around the rink, he was always the team-first guy. His main goal was to win. He wanted to win. He wanted the team to be successful, and he did whatever he could to do that… He had a massive impact on my career. When you come in as a young kid, that's the first thing you do is see what the older guys do. And he was my example, which was obviously awesome for me.”

One of those examples was appreciated most by Predators Head Equipment Manager Pete Rogers. The owner of that title since the franchise’s very first game in October of 1998, Rogers has worked with every single player in club history, and there aren’t many - if any - better than Weber.

“I brought up a story earlier in the season with some of our new, older players that watched our guys carrying their bags out of the locker room after games,” Rogers said. “And somebody goes, ‘Oh, why do they do that?’ I said, ‘Because when Shea Weber does it, when you're a young person, or you're a young player, [you do it]. And if you don't do it, he just gives you that look. He's saying it without saying it. And he does that because he has so much respect for guys like me and [Assistant Equipment Manager] Brad [Peterson]. He’s just a great person.”

Trotz has seen that look, too. Weber always had a presence about him, and once he became captain in 2006, he didn’t always have to be the most vocal person in the locker room. Instead, Weber was the epitome of leading by example.

“You saw a person who demanded the room,” Trotz, who was Weber’s coach at the time, said. “He didn't have to say much, but he demanded the room, and just a look or a stare could put you in your place pretty quickly. I don't think he was a hoot-and-holler type of guy, but when he spoke, it got pretty quiet in there pretty quickly, and everybody put their eyes on him. And if you didn’t, he would, one way or another, get your attention.”

Leadership seemed to come naturally to Weber. Everyone around him could see it, even if Weber himself wasn’t so sure.

Mason recalled a conversation he once had with the soon-to-be captain about what it would be like to wear the ‘C’ for an NHL hockey club - an honor only bestowed on the top leaders in the game.

“He wants to be the best at whatever he does, and he wants to learn and ask,” Mason said. “And he's not scared to share his vulnerabilities with somebody at a personal level. So, he would ask questions: ‘How do I do this? How do I give speeches?’ And he's maybe not the most vocal guy all the time, but when he speaks, people listen, and he's got a presence.

“The biggest thing that I passed onto him, I said, ‘The best leaders that I ever played with are people that just be themselves. You are a leader. You're a leader every single day. You’re the hardest working guy, you’re tough on the ice, you stick up for your teammates, you lead by example, and when you speak, people listen. So, just be yourself.’ And he really grew into an unbelievable captain.”

Weber served in that role until he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2016 in a deal that is arguably the most impactful trade in franchise history.

Although Weber was no longer physically in Nashville from that point on, his aura never really left. To this day, his influences remain sprinkled throughout the way the Preds operate, and for good reason.

“Shea is just in a League of his own in terms of his play and his people ability,” Rogers said. “David [Poile] created the fabric, Barry [Trotz] created the fabric, and Shea listened and was taught from within with David and Barry, and they've continued that fabric. And now Roman's continuing that, because Roman's the same kind of a person as Shea, the great personalities, great people.”

“With different defensemen and players that he played with, or players he helped groom through his leadership as captain, he set an example,” Predators Assistant General Manager Brian Poile said. “I mean, I think we're still seeing that today. He took Roman Josi under his wing at a very young age. Roman’s a fantastic person himself, but I know he wouldn't be as good of a player or a leader as he is with the Preds today without his time with Shea, learning from Shea. I always think that when you can have an impact on the game, either off the ice or on the ice at the time, is fantastic. But then, to have it last well past your playing days or your office days, that's a real sign of someone who left a stamp on the game.”

Trotz sees the Weber effect still lasting today, too. Weber’s first NHL coach experienced it when Josi and former Preds defenseman Seth Jones learned from Weber, and those players in the Nashville locker room still have a sense of how to carry themselves from his reputation.

“One of the things that Shea has done with our leadership is we have humble superstars,” Trotz said. “They're superstars, but they're pretty humble, and they're diligent about what they do, and that's the impact that Shea’s had. I mean, it's like [former Preds goaltender] Pekka [Rinne]. Pekka and Shea grew up together as the best of friends, but they were blue-collar superstars. They didn't know they were superstars, and if they did, they just didn't act like it.”

Everyone around Weber certainly witnessed his impact, and his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame only confirms what fans of the Predators already knew - he was a superstar in every sense of the word, on the ice and off.

"The biggest validation for Shea is the respect that he got from the best players in the League,” Trotz said. “Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, all those guys, they knew Shea Weber. Henrik Zetterberg and a lot of those Detroit guys will tell you, he’s not easy to play against. They did not want to play against him. You know you're going to get pounded nightly, and he was a deterrent for them, and he was a big, impactful guy for us.”

“He never wanted to take any of the accolades, even though he deserved any accolade that you can think of,” Mason said. “He never wanted that personal attention or fame or anything like that. But he loved hanging out with his friends. He's hilarious, he’s outgoing, he's caring, and he gives people the time of day, no matter who you are, at any given moment.”

Perhaps this will all sink in a bit more for Weber once he receives his official plaque and gives his speech on Monday night. That’s the way it works for humble superstars - it takes a bit of time for them to realize they’re worthy of such a recognition.

But Weber deserves this. All of his former teammates, coaches, general managers, equipment managers, teammates and friends know it. His fans do, too.

And when the first true homegrown Nashville Predators Hall-of-Fame player takes his rightful place alongside the greatest to ever play the game, that status will be solidified and acknowledged for the rest of time.

“I'm looking forward to spending time with those people who helped me get to this point and reliving some of the memories,” Weber said. “And then obviously getting to see the great players and legends that are in the Hall of Fame already, I still get a little bit starstruck when I’m around those older guys that I looked up to when I grew up. It’s pretty crazy to be a part of that group.”