Roenick returns to Chicago as Hall of Famer for pregame celebration

CHICAGO – Jeremy Roenick stood up as he heard the cheers, the same ones the former Chicago Blackhawks forward heard for the first eight seasons of his career here, at Chicago Stadium, then at United Center.

“I got the call from the Blackhawks a couple of weeks ago, asked if I’d like to come back and do a little celebration and be able to come back into this building with a lot of pride,” Roenick said as the Blackhawks recognized his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month prior to their game against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

“When I left here in 1996 (traded to the Phoenix Coyotes after the Blackhawks wouldn’t sign him to a new deal), it was literally the hardest thing that ever happened in my career. I take a lot of responsibility for that,” he said. “The Hall of Fame speech allowed me to cleanse and really get a lot of things off my chest and really tell everybody how much Chicago means to me.”

The No. 8 pick by the Blackhawks in the 1988 NHL Draft, Roenick had 1,216 points (513 goals, 703 assists) in 1,363 career games with the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. He had 596 of those points (267 goals, 329 assists) in 524 games with the Blackhawks.

Roenick did a Q&A with former teammate Troy Murray in the atrium at United Center approximately two hours before the game. He told his share of stories, from dancing to the Bee Gees “You Should Be Dancing” during a 2005 preseason game in Las Vegas – “You guys want to be entertained, right?” he said -- to how former coach Mike Keenan turned him into a physical player.

“I used to do fly-bys, no finishing checks and he grabbed me around the throat and was like, ‘Kid if you ever swing by another check you’ll never play for my team, ever.’ Tears and fear came through because I’m like, ‘I’m 160 pounds, now you want me to hit everything in sight? This is not going to be good. It’s not going to be fun,’” Roenick said.

“There was going to be a lot of pain and I was scared to death. But I was more scared that if I didn’t do it, was I going to be on the team? Was I going to make the team? Where was I going to go? That fear overcompensated the fear of getting hurt, the fear of the pain I was going to have to go through. So I said, ‘screw it.’ I just went out and turned myself into a human torpedo. You know what I found? I found I really enjoyed hitting people. And I also found out that you guys really enjoyed when I hit people.”

He also expressed gratitude for his wife Tracy and former San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who Roenick said gave him a chance in San Jose in 2007 on three conditions: he had to sign for the League minimum, he couldn’t do any media and he couldn’t drink. Roenick agreed.

“If it wasn’t for my wife Tracy, who’s the greatest female on the planet, no disrespect to everybody present. I have the best partner in life of all time,” Roenick said. “And Doug Wilson because we all need friends, but we all need friends at certain times of our life. Doug Wilson was that friend for me when I needed it.”

Roenick got a great reception when he sounded the goal horn, something the Blackhawks began doing this season, from the 300 level prior to puck drop. He was also honored with a video montage of his time with the Blackhawks, played to Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” at 4:41 of the first period.

Roenick had some great moments for the Blackhawks as a player. He was grateful to be back as a Hall of Famer.

“Just by having everybody here, showing up early, coming to listen to my goofy stories that sometimes get a little crazy and emotional, but I can’t thank you guys enough,” he said. “I can’t thank you enough for your support, for being here, you guys are the best. And I’m hoping I see everybody a lot more in the future.”