Sakic was no ordinary Joe!

You won't find many people that can boast that they have played floor hockey with Joe Sakic, but I am indeed one of the fortunate few.

Burnaby Joe was a young, shy 17 year-old playing with the Swift Current Broncos at the time, and one summer at the old roller skating rink on Railway Avenue in gorgeous downtown Swift Current, (ok that's a stretch) a bunch of buddies gathered to play some floor hockey including....Joe Sakic!

What the heck?

Sakic was a big deal even back then, after being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1st round in the summer of 87.
But we didn't know we were playing floor hockey with what will certainly be an N.H.L Hall of Famer, but we knew we were playing with a local hero, who skated for the hometown team.

I am not sure the Nordiques nor Broncos Head Coach Graham James knew he was spending his summer playing floor hockey with a bunch of hacks and was a stumble away from spraining an ankle.

All Sakic wanted was to be one of the boys and have some fun.

I can still see Sakic skating down the Civic Centre ice wearing his familiar #19 on the back of his sweater with his blue colored cooperall pants with a green strip down the side.

With his Swift Current Broncos jersey flapping in the wind that he created as he skated up the ice, Sakic was a special player who proved how good he was in small town Swift Current by winning a scoring championship before being named the Canadian Hockey League player of the year.
He scored 60 goals in his rookie season as a 17 year-old and would win the scoring title and be named CHL player of the year with 78 goals and 160 points a year later.
Just 136 games with the Broncos and he was playing in the 'bigs' at 19.

The fact that he was playing in the NHL at 19 shouldn't have come as a surprise to those that watched him back then.

What I admired most about Sakic was when the Broncos returned to Swift Current in 1986, many players from the original Lethbridge Broncos franchise didn't want to come to the small community.

In fact the team had to make several trades before taking to the ice that fall as players simply stated they wouldn't play if the franchise relocated to the 'Frontier City'.

I am not sure if Joe Sakic knew what he was getting himself into, but the bottom line is Sakic wanted to play hockey and if it was a stop on the prairies to play in the smallest market in major junior hockey, so be it.

The fans in Swift Current have always been supportive of the hometown team, but are often times locked to their seats believing that making noise or booing the opposition may not be the neighborly thing to do.

But I recall one particular incident when the fans at the C.C were sour over a non call and began throwing debris on the ice.

One problem though.

The debris was being thrown on the ice during the play, and I recall vividly Sakic skating with the puck, trying to gain speed, only to step on an old program, stumbling to one knee, yet keeping his balance with the puck firmly on his stick.

I looked on helplessly, and in disgust, hoping the fans would stop so Joe nor anyone else on the ice would slip on the scattered paper, potentially blowing out a knee.

Even after Sakic left Swift Current for the big time (NHL), he'd often return to the city to spend time with his mother-in-law.

Joe married a Swift Current girl (Debbie), so Joe and his wife would often show their faces at the city's summer carnival 'Frontier Days'.

Being polite people in Swift Current, everyone would stare at Sakic as he'd roam through the crowd, but few had the nerve to talk to him.

He stuck out like a sore thumb obviously, yet people did their best to respect his personal space.

Being a young sports reporter (I was just 25) I saw this as a great opportunity to interview an NHL star, a former Bronco who everyone loved.

But like the polite people of Swift Current, I too was hesitant in going straight up to him and asking for an interview.
I have way more nerve now!

Instead I phoned his mother-in-law at her home and asked her if I could meet Joe for a quick 5 minute interview.

The answer to my request?

"As a family, we would like to have some private time with Joe and Debbie, so he won't be available for an interview".

Year-after-year Joe would come back to Swift Current, and after several years of trying to get an interview with the hometown hero, I gave up.

Looking back now, it was sad that he couldn't have taken even a small amount of time out of his schedule to answer some questions for this small town sports reporter.

To this day I have never heard him talk about his time playing junior hockey in Swift Current, a decision that paid off for him personally and financially.

I was even disappointed when he didn't want to comment on the 30th anniversary of the Broncos bus crash last December.

I know it was a long time ago, and it likely brought back bad memories, but Sakic was an integral part of that team and it would have been interesting to hear his thoughts on a tragic accident that changed the lives of every member of that hockey club that season.

My general feeling is he doesn't want to be asked any questions surrounding Swift Current for the fear of Graham James becoming part of the questioning.
Sakic undoubtedly saw some things back then he should have acted on, but at the time likely thought it was best to just look the other way.
Now he may regret his actions?

Now 37, Sakic is getting up in age, and like any athlete who is approaching 40, is realizing that his time in the NHL is coming to an end.
His career has been nothing short of spectacular. From winning a WHL scoring title, playing at the World Juniors, playing for Canada on the world stage and winning a Stanley Cup with the same team he was drafted by in 1987.

Yet all the success, unlike others, has likely changed Sakic very little over the years.
He remains this quiet, shy person, who avoids the spotlight.

My wish is that once Joe officially retires, he speaks about his time in the small community of Swift Current.

The city not only gave him the chance to display and improve his skills as a player, but the city was the place where he found the love of his life - outside of hockey.

Maybe at his induction into the NHL Hall of Fame, he'll take the time to say something special about a place where people thought he was special as a wide eyed teenager?

I'm hoping that special place in his heart is where it all began - Swift Current, Saskatchewan.