Tootoo officially retires from hockey

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This article was published 18/10/2018 (2531 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jordin Tootoo came back to where it all began on Friday to announce the end of his professional hockey career.

The 35-year-old former Brandon Wheat King from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, played for the team for four seasons from 1999 to 2003. He would go on to skate in the 11th most National Hockey League games for a former Wheat King with 723 contests in 13 seasons.

Tootoo said there were a lot of reasons for making the announcement of his retirement from the NHL in Brandon in front of family and friends.

“This is where life really began for me in the hockey world,” Tootoo said. “To have the opportunity for everything to come full circle just seemed right for me and my family. This is where I met my wife (Jennifer). I give a lot of credit to Mr. (Kelly) McCrimmon, who picked me up when I was down. It’s always special to come back.”

Tootoo played 220 games with the Wheat Kings, earning 209 points on 93 goals and 116 assists and 874 penalty minutes. He also played for Team Canada at the 2003 world junior hockey championship, winning a silver medal.

Tootoo, wearing No. 22, was an electrifying presence in Brandon with his offensive ability, hard hits and fights, often against much bigger foes. He not only drew well at the Keystone Centre, he also pulled in bigger crowds around the league.

In 39 playoff games, he added 22 points and 125 penalty minutes.

He was taken in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL draft by the Nashville Predators, and made the jump in his 20-year-old season in 2003-04.

In the National Hockey League, he played 723 regular season games with the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks between 2003 and 2017. He last saw action in the 2016-17 season with Chicago.

Now a resident of Kelowna, B.C., Tootoo plans to work with indigenous communities on mental health issues and suicide prevention.

“I feel like it’s my calling to get out and help our communities to get back on their feet and live to fight another day,” Tootoo said.

The father of daughters Siena Rose, 2, and baby Avery Grace said he would entertain a potential job in hockey but added his first focus is his family.

In his remarks, Tootoo saluted his brother Terence, who died by his own hand in Brandon in 2002, calling him his inspiration in life and the afterlife. He also thanked a number of hockey executives, friends and family for their unwavering belief in him.

Tootoo has been candid about his struggles with alcoholism. He entered the NHL’s substance abuse and behavioral health program in 2010, and has been sober for eight years. He detailed many of those battles in the book, “All The Way: My Life on Ice,” which was co-authored with Stephen Brunt, and released in 2014.

He said he fondly remembers his breakthrough season as an 18-year-old Wheat King when he led the team in scoring with 32 goals and 39 assists. But the highlight lay elsewhere.

“Ultimately, it was playing in front of these fans,” Tootoo said. “It was a second home for me and I thoroughly enjoyed playing here smashing guys through the boards and the Zamboni doors.”

It was an affection that was abundantly returned by Brandon fans.

Tootoo was one of a handful of Wheat King legends who came back for the ceremonial faceoffs at the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon. It proved to be an emotional night for him as fans rose to their feet and gave him a prolonged standing ovation.

“To come back and be honoured, it’s hard to describe the feeling,” Tootoo said. “Playing in front of these fans for four years and to hear the roaring that was going on just hit me in the chest. I broke down in tears but they were tears of joy.”

Tootoo also dropped the puck in Friday’s game between Brandon and Everett and had a meet and greet session during the first intermission.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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