Cheechoo still looking for another shot at NHL

Jonathan Cheechoo has almost come full circle in his hockey career.
From humble beginnings on the tip of the mighty James Bay in his tiny community of Moose Cree First Nation, to the heights of a National Hockey League career, winning the Rocket Richard trophy as top goal scorer in the league in 2005/06, to a minor league franchise today, his prospects of playing again in the NHL fading.
He knew early in life that he had to listen to his heart and it told him if he wanted to give hockey a truly serious shot he would have to leave.
That he did as a teenager, his father sitting him down and working on a five-year plan with him. He moved up to Midget when still of bantam age, his dream just a sliver of light much like when Kookum left the bedroom door open just a smidgen. He then played junior hockey with kids who were older before being drafted into the Ontario Hockey League.
While even making that level of hockey would have been an accomplishment, it wasn’t enough for Cheechoo, he knew he had more in him but he missed the familiarity of home.
“Definitely, the biggest thing was the tight knit community,” he said. “Being close with my grandparents, aunts and uncles. The hunting and fishing. It was tough to move away from home.
“It was almost like moving into a different country. Everything was fast paced, cities are a lot bigger than Moose Factory. You can’t walk two minutes to go and see your family.”
But making the NHL has its price.
Making it back home became a rarity for a few years.
“During the lockout I got to go home and moose hunting, you miss it and you grow up doing it. I was going to trap with my grandfather if things didn’t work out. The way things worked out was good,” Cheechoo said.
He said he still loves the game and wants to go back to the NHL.
“I feel I can still play at a high level. As long as that desire is there for me I’ll play. For sure I’ll know when I’m done. You sense it anyways and my biggest supporters will let me know.”
He added: “I want to have the passion to contribute at the level I expect of me.”
But that remains the challenge, getting another chance.
Never known as a great skater, Cheechoo will have to convince NHL scouts and general managers that he not only still has the ability to play in the NHL, but at the right price.
He feels he still has a chance, but with the salary cap system, it’s all about timing.
“They way it’s set up some teams have overspent. Chicago had to dismantle half of their team and that may continue regardless if the CBA teams have been handing out big contracts,” Cheechoo said.
What that means is teams are saving cap space for playoff runs in the second half of the season and Cheechoo will be available at a bargain price, but he has to be ready and that’s what he’s doing every day he spends in the American Hockey League (AHL). Cheechoo has rewound the tape back to when he was looking for his first NHL chance.
He works hard, but it’s his outlook that is impressive.
“I think you got to look at it like there’s only 700 or so spots open in the NHL. How am I going to set myself apart from others? The same way I did when I was breaking in. Physical fitness, extra drills, shoot some more pucks, work on my release. It’s those little extras you can do will help you where you want to go and that’s not just in hockey, but in life.”
Right now he’s working on his foot speed.
“I’m putting in a lot of work with foot speed drills and I need to move my feet a little more. It’s a good place to work on it and my coaches are willing to do that with me.”
So far this season that means playing in the AHL for the Worcester Sharks, the primary affiliate for the San Jose Sharks, a team he once reached the pinnacle of his career with.
The season he won the Rocket Richard trophy for scoring 56 goals in 2005/06, the fans would chant, “Choooooo!” after every goal. But after that glorious season his production was cut in half as injuries took their toll on him.
A sports hernia and medial collateral ligaments on both knees slowed him down considerably and Cheechoo, an adequate but never considered a great skater by NHL standards, was slowed by those injuries.
Eventually his ice time dwindled and he was traded to the Ottawa Senators.
His time as a Senator didn’t go so well.
Cheechoo was released after one season in Ottawa, never really given an opportunity to succeed.
“I think I could have been given a better opportunity for sure, but they play the guys they feel they want to go with,” he said. “It was a little setback.”
He spent a lot of time analyzing what he used to do to score. It was a humbling experience but necessary to move forward.
“I spent a lot of time watching tape, going back and forth what had changed in my game. I’m putting in a lot of work.”
His presence in the AHL has not gone unnoticed. Players are saying he’s washed up, but he doesn’t let it bother him.
“Sure there’s a few guys who say things every now and then. You just kind of got to stick to what you are doing.
“This year I feel pretty good everything seems to be going alright physically,” he said.
His numbers reflect that. He leads the Worcester Sharks in scoring with 16 points through 17 games as of Nov. 23.
He said the game has changed in the AHL since he last played there. New rules have made it faster. He hopes he can still make another run at the NHL.
“You never know, I got to stay sharp down here and be ready. You know it’s one of those things, hopefully some team sees me and needs the type of game I bring.
“But if I don’t make it I can leave the game knowing I did everything I could and I’m okay with that. My family, community and wife support me. I still talk to my dad at least once a day. If I didn’t have that I wouldn’t have anything.”
Philip Paul Martin is editor-in-chief of Native Hockey News, an online Native hockey news source found at www.nativehockeynews.com.