A Tribute to Hockey Heroes

I can remember my parents letting me stay up past my bedtime to watch the stars of the National Hockey League dazzle fans with their skills. With my L.A. Kings pajamas on and Bob Cole calling the game on Hockey Night in Canada, I would admire the NHL stars of the 1990’s from my basement. It’s a common experience growing up in Canada. I for one will never forget watching my favourite player set the pace of a game and become one of the most respected players in NHL history.

And, while that Hockey Night in Canada scene was playing out in the Doner household, things weren’t that much different in the homes of the guys who did grow up to be hockey stars in their own right.

In Toronto, in the 70’s, Craig Muni cheered for Bobby Orr as he wowed fans with his skill and led his team to two Stanley Cup championships in the 70’s. Just north in Richmond Hill in the 80’s, Jeff O’Neill shouted loud and clear for his hero Wayne Gretzky as he completely dominated the game with his marvelous offensive talent.
Every generation has its handful of hockey heroes. Sometimes from the home team, sometimes from the other side of the continent, these players were the stuff of nickel bets for ten year olds and first drafts to fantasy teams for the older set. We remember the plays, the amazing last minute goals, the stickhandling and the power when the gloves came off in a spirited scrap.

Whether it was Howie Morenz in the twenties and thirties, Maurice ‘the Rocket’ Richard in the fifties, ‘the Golden jet’ Bobby Hull in the sixties, or Wayne Gretzky in the eighties and nineties, every generation of hockey fan can tell you how important these players were to them growing up.

For me, that player was, ‘Burnaby Joe.’ In an astounding 20 seasons in the NHL, Joe Sakic, of Burnaby, British Columbia, accomplished just about everything a hockey player could imagine. Two Stanley Cups, 12 NHL All-Star appearances, an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a Hart trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, a Lady Byng trophy as most sportsmanlike player, a Lester B. Pearson Award for player of the year as voted by his peers, a Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs, and a reputation as one of the classiest players in the game round out his impressive resume.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post has covered Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche closely since the team moved to Denver from Quebec City in 1995. He said, “nobody would have cared how classy he was if he wasn't a great player. He had one of the most accurate shots in NHL history. He brought the same attitude to the rink every day, win or lose. And he never got too high or low.”

Sakic used that shot to get his name into the NHL record books as he climbed his way up the NHL all-time scoring list as one of the most prolific scorers the game has seen. With his lethal wrist shot as his best weapon, Sakic fired 625 goals and 1,641 points in an amazing 1,378 regular season games. However, he might be remembered for his many clutch performances in the playoffs, where he managed 84 goals and 188 points in 172 games.

All the awards and on-ice achievements aren’t the only reasons why so many loved Sakic growing up. But it was also the way he carried himself off the ice, the way he spoke to the media, and the way his teammates would talk about how he was a quiet leader who led by example.

In the later years of his career, Joe played on a Colorado Avalanche team that was rebuilt into a team of rookies and sophomores. Dater said Sakic was the best mentor that has ever been with the team. Budding star, Matt Duchene was apparently a big fan, as Sakic helped him adjust to the NHL in his rookie season. “Duchene never played with Sakic (on the same line), but he still talks about him all the time as a huge influence,” said Dater.

In his early days as a young journalist, Dater recalls meeting Sakic. “For some reason, I still remember him telling me, ‘hope you brought your overcoat,’ on the bus heading to the airport for the Avs' very first road trip in 1995. That just stands out to me, as being a kind of friendly gesture, to a nobody reporter on his very first assignment,” said Dater.

“I've said before and still mean it, he’s the classiest guy I ever covered, for a player so good. He truly is a nice man, and he was great to me from the first minute I ever talked to him, starting with a phone call to him in Quebec when the team was first sold.”

It’s not only how Sakic worked with the press and fans during his years as a player, but there was also an immense amount of respect among his peers. In a game that is sometimes considered one of the toughest in the world, Sakic let his play and winning attitude do the talking. His Lady Byng and Lester B. Pearson awards speak for themselves, but so do the players he played against.

Jeff O’Neill, an NHL player who skated with the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs until his retirement in 2008, remembers Sakic as one of the ultimate hockey players and competitors. “He’s one of the classiest guys you’ll ever play against. I remember one time he butt-ended me by accident in the face after I tried to win a draw and he actually apologized,” O’Neill told Over the Boards Hockey.” “That’s how classy he was. He’s a top shelf guy.”

Three-time Stanley Cup winner, Craig Muni also knows how important Sakic has been to the game of ice hockey and its fans. “For the longest part he was underrated and he did a lot more than people gave him credit for, especially during his time in Quebec,” said Muni.

“He was a total leader and a total player. I’ve heard nothing but great things about him off the ice as well. To me he’ll always be one of the guys I know that has one of those great shots. It was so quick and so accurate.”

Sakic became widely respected for what he did when the Colorado Avalanche won their second Stanley Cup in 2001. As team captain, Sakic received the trophy first, but before raising it over his head, immediately passed the cup to veteran teammate, Ray Bourque, who had never won a Stanley Cup in 21 NHL seasons until that day.

But, you don’t wind up in the NHL without some heroes of your own. Jeff O’Neill was playing junior hockey in Guelph, Ont., when Wayne Gretzky was in his prime and Doug Gilmour was gaining a reputation as a scrappy, heart and soul, scorer with the Calgary Flames and Maple Leafs. “I was always a Gretzky fan growing up. 99 for the Oilers. And then as I got older, and just before Gilmour went to the Leafs, I was a huge Gilmour fan,” said O’Neill.

O’Neill idolized these guys for the same reasons that everyone else did. “Gretzky was just captivating; he was the best player in the world, the way he passed. The finesse,” O’Neill said.

Being the rugged, stay-at-home defenseman that he was in the eighties and nineties, Craig Muni also had his heroes growing up. He lists Bobby Orr, Borje Salming, Bobby Baun, and Larry Robinson as his main influences. “They played the same position as I did. I appreciated how they played. Bobby Orr being able to control the game and dominate a game, his skating and style of play,” Muni mused.

Although, perhaps, lacking some of Orr’s finesse, Muni’s other favourites had playing styles similar to his own. “Salming was one of the first successful Europeans to come over and control the pace of a game. Bobby Baun was just more a hardnosed, rugged defenseman blocking shots and Robinson was a combination of all of the above.”

As one of the league’s best shot-blockers in his prime, Muni recalls watching his idols closely to learn how to mimic their moves. “Nobody really per se taught me how to block shots it was more watching those guys do it, and kind of just trial and error,” said Muni.

As the childhood NHL heroes of my generation are almost all retired, there is no doubt that the next crop of superstars is taking over. Sidney Crosby, one of the NHL’s brightest stars, is leading the way as the new poster child. Looking at the NHL right now, Muni thinks Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin lead the way. “I love to watch Ovechkin play because of how he plays and the passion he plays with, but Crosby is up there as well. He’s more that homegrown Canadian boy,” said Muni.

O’Neill agrees when it comes to Crosby. “Sid the Kid is pretty much top shelf. He’s the best player in the league and he represents the league well, he speaks well and keeps his nose out of trouble. He seems like a good kid, a good person,” said O’Neill. “Steven Stamkos is following right in line. I think he’s just a good Canadian kid and leads by example. He does all the right things, so I think the league is definitely in good hands.”

When it comes to Washington Capitals star, Alex Ovechkin, O’Neill thinks he leads in a different way. “He’s kind of the flashier kind of different type of player. But the NHL needs a guy like that. He’s probably the second best player in the world in my mind and I think that he represents the game very well too, just in a different manner.”

In the end, the game is all about the fans. And that is something that most professional players never forget, even when they have had success. Despite having won three Stanley Cups, Muni directly referenced his childhood when talking about what it was like to win the elusive championship. “You grow up as a kid wanting to play in the NHL and win the Stanley Cup and you always play street hockey and pretend to score the winning goal in game seven in overtime,” said Muni. “It’s all that. All you would dream of and everything you always thought it would be.