Jan 26, 2014; New York City, NY, USA; NHL former player Jeremy Roenick skates with youngsters on a miniature rink before the Stadium Series hockey game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Since I’m the new guy on the site, I’ve decided – why not start with a throwback? I’ll make my debut with a look back into Coyotes history- and who else comes to mind but Jeremy Roenick?
The guy defines courage. I was impressed with his hockey skills during both his campaigns with the Phoenix Coyotes; first from 1996-2001, and then again from 2006-2007. He chose to nearly finish off his peak years with the team, as he would retire in 2009 and be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012- nothing says “Desert Dog at heart” quite like that.
Puck Prose
His stats tell the tale of a tough but successful forward. Finding a player with the combination of scoring power and physical dominance that J.R. possessed is a rarity- even today, very few power forwards like Roenick exist. Season after season saw him surpassing the 20- and even 30- goal mark with ease; he finished off the 1999-2000 season with 34 goals and 44 assists to supplement the monstrous 125 hits he recorded, and that wasn’t inconsistent with the majority of his career. He brought the kind of consistency to Arizona (well, then Phoenix) that the team would murder for now- and wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself, either.
Jeremy Roenick is as known for his controversies on the ice as he is for his vocal disposition off it- many hockey fans remember when he was savagely hit on April 14, 1999 while playing against the Dallas Stars.
Derian Hatcher will go down is history as being the player who hit J.R. with such a force that it dislocated his jaw, broke it in several places, and broke eight of Roenick’s teeth. He was allegedly retaliating for a hit Roenick put on Dallas’s star player, Mike Modano several weeks earlier. The low-scoring enforcer’s memory, it seems, was better than his on-ice ability- and when someone of Hatcher’s physique (6’5″, 235 lbs.) hits you, the end results are usually not pretty. Roenick learned this the hard way.
"“I had my jaw wired shut,” Roenick said, “and I actually came back 17 days later to play in the playoffs. I put on a big storm trooper helmet and played Game 7 of the first round.”"
Roenick may have suffered a pretty severe beating, but didn’t seem to mind. “I think it’s funny, actually; he and I had such great wars together. We were very passionate, and wore our hearts on our sleeves. We played the game the way it’s supposed to be played… with grit and tenacity. I looked forward to playing Derian. I looked forward to going against him and battling hard.”
The way Roenick brushed off the beating was very in keeping with his personality outside of the rink. He truly revolutionized the “go hard, then go home” attitude- Jeremy Roenick may have been the picture of vocal controversy over his career, but he made sure to keep himself grounded. He’s one of the league’s biggest advocates for giving back to the hockey community.
Despite his humbling message, no one has ever claimed Jeremy Roenick doesn’t know how great he is. He actually wrote an entire book about how awesome he is: “J.R.: My Life as the Most Outspoken, Fearless, and Hard Hitting Man In Hockey”.
We don’t blame you, Jeremy.