NHL strike lands Tootoo in Milwaukee

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Jordin Tootoo’s back on ice.

Nunavut’s favorite hockey star will kick off his second season as a professional athlete this weekend when he laces up his skates and strides onto the rink to take on a team from Chicago.

But he won’t be with the Nashville Predators, the National Hockey League team that made him famous last year when he became the first Inuk to play in the NHL.

Instead, Tootoo, 21, will bring his fireball brand of in-your-face hockey to the American Hockey League, where he’s due to play with the Milwaukee Admirals, which serves as a farm team for the Predators.

Like the rest of his hockey brethren, Tootoo’s stuck in a stalemate between NHL management and team owners, who can’t agree on whether players’ salaries should have limits, among other contract details.

As a result, the NHL’s top executives have locked out Tootoo, his teammates and opponents from any NHL play, until the contract dispute is resolved.

Tootoo said he’s disappointed by the situation, but declined to offer an opinion on how the two sides can be brought back together.

He said he’s only got one focus right now.

“All I want to do is play hockey,” he said on a cell phone from Wisconsin, in the northeast United States, last week. “As a player, all I want to do is play, and that’s about all that has to be said. Right now I’m playing here in Milwaukee and I’m going to make the best of it.”

From Tootoo’s perspective, his descent into the minor leagues has several perks. He’ll be playing with the defending champions of the Calder Cup, the AHL equivalent of the Stanley cup.

Tootoo also expects to get more time on the ice, more scoring opportunities on powerplays, and more chances to prove himself valuable in penalty killing.

Last year, Tootoo’s ice-time with the Predators declined to the point that rumours started about whether he was going to ride the bench all season.

Instead of hurting his career, Tootoo actually thinks the break from the pressures of NHL play will help him become a better hockey player.

“All in all, I think it’s going to benefit my game,” he said. “I’ll play more minutes down here… and definitely establish my game. There’s lots to learn, and I’m going to use every day to get better.”

Tootoo’s switch to the AHL also bodes well for the league. In a recent interview, the AHL boss, David Andrews, told a New Jersey newspaper that Tootoo was a specific example of the role players who would bring more fans out to the games.

However, Tootoo’s far-flung fans throughout the North will have fewer chances to see their hero in action. None of his new team’s home games will be televised, although some of their games elsewhere could be picked up by satellite channels.

Tootoo will be playing in Canada several times, including games in Hamilton, Edmonton, St. John’s, and Winnipeg.

He said he has no plans to visit Nunavut before the summer, but said he is thankful for the support he receives from home.

“I’ve got a job to do and that’s to play hockey,” Tootoo said of his time in the South. “Hopefully, we’ll see you guys in the summertime.”

Anyone lucky enough to see Nunavut’s hockey star in action will be among the first to find out what number Tootoo will be wearing. As an NHL rookie, Tootoo gave up his trademark number 22 to another senior player on the Predators last year.

On the Admirals roster, the team appointed the coveted number to another player, but Tootoo said it will be on his back when he hits the ice tomorrow night in Milwaukee.