Joe Sakic was a young, shy 17 year-old with the Swift Current Broncos when he surprisingly showed up one summer at the local roller rink for a game of floor hockey. I happened to be a participant after a friend’s urging that they needed more players.
We all knew who Sakic was. It likely had something to do with the Quebec Nordiques picking him in the 1st round of the NHL draft, yet for those of us that played floor hockey with him that day, we had no clue he would eventually be considered one of the best players to ever skate on NHL ice.
He just came across to us as an ordinary Joe.
Looking back at Sakic's time in Swift Current, I can still see him skating down the Civic Centre ice wearing number 19 on the back of his sweater. With his Broncos jersey flapping in the wind, Sakic showed us all he was something special. Sakic would score 60 goals in his rookie season and would win the league scoring title and earn CHLplayer of the year honors with 78 goals and 160 points a year later. After just 136 games with the Broncos, Sakic was off to the big show, the NHL, at 19.
To this day I have never heard him talk much about playing junior hockey in Swift Current. When he is voted into the NHL Hall of Fame maybe he will mention his time in the small Saskatchewan community, a city that not only gave him the chance to display his skills, but provided him with the love of his life, his wife Debbie.
Regardless, hockey fans in Swift Current can smile knowing they were fortunate enough to witness an ordinary Joe become an NHL super star.
1 comment:
Being from Moose Jaw & having season tickets to the Warriors during Joes time in Speedy Creek I had the pleasure of watching him play quite often. At the time I knew this kid was special but never realized I was watching an eventual NHL Hall of Famer. Congratulations on a great career!! I'll always remember #19 of the Bronco's.
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