fly3rs18 Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 i know this happened a while ago, but i just never posted anything about it. he was a great player and amazing guy. one of my favorite players. i still have a signed roenick jersey hanging in my room Jeremy Roenickwas playing golf when he received a call from San Jose general manager Doug Wilson asking about the possibility of playing for the Sharks. “Sometimes friends come and save you,” Roenick said of his former Chicago teammate. “Just when I thought that it was all over, Doug Wilson asked me to fly to San Jose and talk about playing for the Sharks. He asked me if I could still play the game and I told him I know I could still play.” Roenick recalled that story on Thursday, announcing his retirement after 20 years in the league. “In Phoenix, I wasn’t able to say goodbye to the game,” Roenick said. “Doug Wilson and the San Jose Sharks gave me my life back. I can sit here and make my own decision to hang them up and move on.” Roenick, choking up throughout his farewell speech, leaves the game as one of four Americans who scored at least 500 goals. He finished with 513. “This is a great day for me,” Roenick said. “I had the greatest career I could possibly imagine. My body can’t do it any more even though my head and my passion are still in the game. I know, truly in my heart, it’s time to leave the game.” Roenick also had 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Sharks. Roenick had 53 goals and 69 assists in 154 games with the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Flyers and Sharks in the playoffs. His six goals in Game 7s is tied for second all time. “I was a big fan of his a long time before I met him,” Sharks forward Jody Shelley said. “You can’t meet a better teammate.” He was a key part of the 1991 Blackhawks that won the Presidents’ Trophy and reached the Stanley Cup finals. Chicago lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. “I haven’t won a Stanley Cup and that will haunt me for a long time,” Roenick said. “Otherwise I have no regrets; nothing I’ve done, nothing I’ve said.” He’s one of 24 players with at least 500 goals and 700 assists, and 17 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Roenick was a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian. He scored his 500th goal in San Jose and then hoisted his son, Brett, on his shoulder and skated around the ice. “That was a real moment,” Wilson said. His 500th goal was a fluke. He was trying to clear the puck, hit it off the glass and had it ricochet into the net. He has that piece of the glass in his home as a memento. Several of his Sharks’ teammates of the past two seasons were in attendance. Many former NHL teammates, including Mike Modano, Chris Chelios and Keith Tkachuk called in during the announcement to extend their congratulations. “He is one of the greatest hockey players to play this game,” Wilson said. “He played hard. He was fearless. He’d go through the wall. I’ve had guys come up to me and say he was the greatest teammate they ever had.” As a kid growing up in New England, Roenick would watch the Hartford Whalers work out. “I’d lean my head over the glass and watch these guys,” Roenick said. “Once, when I was 7 years old, Gordie Howe got a bunch of snow on his stick, skated over and dumped it on my head. I thought that was the coolest thing and I’ve always carried that with me. “He skated around a little more, then looked at me and winked. For 3 seconds it was just me and Gordie Howe. That small amount of gratitude resonated my whole life. It was a gift to me and when I reached the NHL, I made sure to acknowledge the fans.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastNiner Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 He was a very good player for a period of time, but he shouldn't make the HOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phightins Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 He was the face of the Flyers when I started to really get into hockey, so he will go down as one of my all time favorites. He will be an analyst for Versus or NBC within a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly3rs18 Posted August 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 He was a very good player for a period of time, but he shouldn't make the HOF. he has a small chance, but unfortunately not big enough. he had some monster years on chicago and and a great career in general. one of the best american players ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly3rs18 Posted August 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 wow, i just looked at a top 20 american hockey player list, and the flyers have had a ton of these guys at some point. roenick, amonte, leclair, vanbiesbrouck, mark howe. 6 of SI's top 20. kinda cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universe Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 Isn't there an American HOF for hockey too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phightins Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 Isn't there an American HOF for hockey too? Yeah I'm pretty sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 He was the face of the Flyers when I started to really get into hockey, so he will go down as one of my all time favorites. He will be an analyst for Versus or NBC within a year. If you ask me it was Primeau(SP?). Anyways I never particularly enjoyed watching him play but he is a great person and his press conference to end the year was really good... where he was explaining about why he played/acted the way he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly3rs18 Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 no, roenick was absolutely the face of the team. primeau was the captain and also loved by the fans, but it was roenick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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