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Nunavut's NHL warrior wary of next year's competition

Tootoo expects to fight for spot on Nashville's roster

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Jordin Tootoo wore the number 55 for the Nashville Predators this year, becoming the first Inuk in the National Hockey League. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS)

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Jordin Tootoo, Nunavut's professional hockey star, expects he'll have to struggle to make it onto his team again next season.

In a recent interview with Nunatsiaq News, Tootoo said he needs to train even harder to earn a place on the Nashville Predators' roster in the fall.

Tootoo's million-dollar-plus contract over the next two years allows the franchise to send him to their farm team in Milwaukee if he's outshined by other players during summer training camp.

Tootoo, 21, said veteran players have warned him that surviving in the National Hockey League gets harder after the first season because better players will be competing for a spot on the team.

"Every year it's going to be a challenge," Tootoo said last week by phone from Nashville. "There's hundreds and thousands of hockey players who'd rather be in my shoes."

Tootoo broke onto the NHL scene in October amid huge media hype throughout North America, as the native of Rankin Inlet became the first Inuk to play in the top hockey league.

Tootoo-mania lasted throughout the year in Nunavut, where fans either bought expensive plane tickets to watch his games in person, or signed up for satellite services because cable channels carried only a few Nashville games.

Statistically, Tootoo's performance didn't match the excitement. The rookie right-winger scored four goals, made four assists, and even got benched for several weeks early in the season amid speculation that management was going to send him to the minor league.

However, Tootoo lived up to his reputation as a cannonball on skates, and delivered crushing hits in most games, often dropping the gloves to fight veteran players much larger than him. He earned about 140 minutes in penalties.

Tootoo, whose face is plastered on government of Nunavut posters around the territory, makes no apologies for his scrappy ways.

"Obviously other teams don't like the enthusiasm I bring to the rink," Tootoo said. "It's great for our team [but] they tend to get frustrated. Obviously, I have to back it up and obviously I'm going to drop the gloves here and there. And that's all part of the game."

Tootoo defended his record, saying he surpassed most expectations. He also lived a hockey fantasy of playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, if only briefly, until the Detroit Red Wings beat Nashville in the first round.

"The support that I've been getting from the territory of Nunavut has been tremendous," he said. "They fired me up every day to play the game. I know there was a lot people watching… Hopefully one day, these youth in Nunavut can say, 'if he can do it, I can do it.'"

The intense glare of NHL stardom also put Tootoo's personal life on display. Reporters asked questions, almost daily, about the death of his older brother and hockey mentor, Terence, who committed suicide before he could make it to the NHL.

Asked how he felt about talking about Terence so often, Tootoo replied with his trademark optimism.

"Every time I hear his name, it cheers me up," Tootoo said of his older brother. "Unfortunately, he's not with us anymore, but I know he's looking down, saying 'Bro, you did your best, you've got to keep going for the both of us'."

Before starting his formal summer training in earnest, Tootoo plans to spend some time in Rankin Inlet in mid-May - just in time for the char run.

His homecoming couldn't come too soon, he says, adding with a laugh:

"The closest I get to country food down here [in Nashville] is sushi."

Tootoo said he has no plans to travel to the other Nunavut communities in the near future.

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