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Doctor Tootoo a major celebrity at home and away

"It inspires anyone to do anything they want"

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Mickey and Yvonne Akavak took in Jordin Tootoo's historic NHL game at the Astro Theatre in Iqaluit. (PHOTO BY GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS)

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When Nico Towtongie last knocked shoulders with Nunavut's hockey hero Jordin Tootoo, they were back in their home town of Rankin Inlet.

All Towtongie remembers of the game is that Tootoo was "small and fast."

Six years later, Towtongie found himself watching his neighbour on a movie screen, making history as the first Inuk in the NHL.

Towtongie was sitting near the back of a boisterous theatre in Iqaluit on Oct. 8, when Tootoo hit the ice as a right-winger for the Nashville Predators in their season opener against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Fans across Nunavut celebrated in various ways, mostly by gathering in homes with coveted satellite service to watch the game.

In what became an impromptu fundraiser for amateur hockey in Iqaluit, the Astro theatre played host to an upbeat crowd of more than 100 fans, many of whom, like Towtongie, had a direct link to the evening's star.

The scene made clear that Tootoo is Nunavut's biggest celebrity.

"He's a major role model," said Towtongie, 26. "[His success] goes to show that an Inuk can do anything."

From the opening camera shot, Tootoo was front and centre, with constant close-ups of him on the bench and during pre-game practice. Before commercial breaks, the station showed replays of Tootoo driving to the net, and taking a hard hit - only to have his opponent fall to the ice.

The game commentators also made the telegenic 20-year-old and his hometown the main topic of their banter between plays.

During an interview with Tootoo during the first intermission, a question from the sportscaster touched on a more sombre note in his rise to fame. The journalist asked Tootoo how it felt to see his family and supporters in the crowd that night, and also to comment on his late brother, Terence, who couldn't be there.

Tootoo did not respond to the inquiry about his brother, a promising player who committed suicide in August 2002. Instead, he went back to the dressing room.

In recent interviews, Tootoo credits support from his hometown, home territory, and especially family in helping him overcome obstacles and realize his dream.

More than 50 friends, fans and family members from Nunavut and Manitoba travelled thousands of kilometres and spent thousands of dollars to see Tootoo play. Exceptional cases included an Alaska couple who took a bus all the way to the home of country music, and a mayoral candidate from Iqaluit who took time off from crucial local campaigning to fly to Nashville.

Hunter Tootoo, Jordin's cousin and the MLA for Iqaluit Centre, was in the stands with Jordin's parents and Premier Paul Okalik. Another one of Jordin's cousins was seen running shirtless up and down the arena stairs with a large Nunavut flag in hand.

"It's been like this for a while," Hunter Tootoo said of the hype surrounding his cousin. "Even when he was in Peewee [level], people were saying, 'Watch, he's going all the way.'"

In an interview before the game, the MLA remembered a particular point it became clear for him that he would have a famous cousin.

In an all-aboriginal tournament in Saskatoon, Jordin began earning the nickname "Doctor Tootoo" for sending opponents to the hospital. It was his first tournament where body contact was allowed, and according to family, he knocked three players out of the game — with his slapshot.

This is the bruising game that Tootoo's fans have grown to expect. Although Tootoo didn't score or get an assist in his first NHL game, the crowd at the Astro theatre seemed content to see his speed and strength in action.

And the inspiration of seeing Tootoo on the screen isn't confined to young, hockey-playing boys, says Yvonne Akavak. Sitting near the front of the theatre beside her husband - dressed for the occasion in his Team Canada jersey signed by Tootoo - Akavak expected all Nunavummiut could learn from Tootoo's ascent to fame.

"They know his history and they know it takes discipline to get to where you want to go," Akavak said. "I think it inspires anyone to do anything they want, not just hockey."

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