Predators GM David Poile to be inducted into U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Mike Organ | The Tennessean

Predators general manager David Poile will be included in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018. 

The class was announced Thursday by Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. 

The enshrinement for Poile, 68, comes on the heels of a season in which he became the NHL's all-time winningest GM with 1,333 career victories over 36 seasons. 

"When you start in this career, I don't think anyone thinks about getting into the Hall of Fame," Poile said. " It's overwhelming to be considered among the top people in our sport and our country. 

"It's probably things like this that motivate you.  I can't tell you how great it's been in Nashville the last few years in terms of how well the game has been taken on by our fans." 

Predators GM David Poile 'is best there is' Nashville Predators general manager David Poile has reached the pinnacle of NHL history by tying and then passing Glen Sather's all-time wins record as a general manager. 

The other inductees are Michigan coach Gordon “Red” Berenson; Natalie Darwitz, captain of the U.S. Women's national team and three-time Olympic medalist; Leland “Hago” Harrington, the first American-developed player to record a hat trick in the NHL; and Paul Stewart, the first American to referee more than 1,000 NHL regular-season games. 

Poile, a native of Ontario, Canada, has been the Predators GM since their inception in 1998 and is the longest-tenured GM in the NHL. 

He is a four-time finalist and winner in 2017 of the NHL’s General Manager of the Year Award.  He has guided the Predators to the Stanley Cup playoffs in four straight seasons and 11 of the past 14 campaigns, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016-17. 

Poile said of building an expansion team that he got to write his own script and introduce hockey to a new market and put his blueprint together for organizational success. 

Before coming to Nashville, Poile spent 15 years as GM of the Washington Capitals, who made the playoffs 14 times under Poile. 

Introducing the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018 → https://t.co/fzCYOCnU1g#USHHOF🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TIoxhxVnaJ — USA Hockey (@usahockey) August 9, 2018

Poile is the NHL's only GM to record more than 500 victories with two teams — 739 with the Predators and 594 with Washington. 

More: Predators' David Poile becomes winningest GM in NHL history

He is the son of former NHL hockey player, coach and executive Bud Poile, who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  On a conference call to introduce the inductees, Poile recalled Berenson scoring six goals against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1968, the team his father was managing at the time. 

A graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, Poile got his start in the NHL in 1972 as an administrative assistant with the expansion Atlanta Flames.  After five seasons with the Flames, he was promoted to assistant GM.  In 1982, he became GM of the Capitals. 

In 2014 Poile served as GM of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team and was the associate general manager for the U.S. squad that took home the silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. 

Poile's induction will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at the JW Marriott Nashville Hotel. 

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.