Slater to suit up for Team USA at Olympics tournament

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This article was published 03/01/2018 (2809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE was ready to hang up his skates last summer, figuring his best hockey was behind him. He was homesick, the contract offers from North America had vanished and he questioned just how many miles his now 35-year-old body had left.

But then came the decision from the National Hockey League not to allow players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Jim Slater decided retirement could wait as he chased an opportunity, however slim it might have seemed.

He stepped up his training. He paid meticulous attention to his diet. He added an offensive flair to his already stellar defensive game. This week, it paid off in an incredible way when Slater was named to the United States men’s hockey team that will compete next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“It was a great call. I was just overjoyed to hear those words. It was a pretty special moment I was able to share with my family,” Slater told the Free Press on Wednesday during a telephone interview from Switzerland, where he’s playing with HC Fribourg-Gottéron in that country’s national league. “Just putting on the jersey for the first time and skating on the Olympic ice, that’s going to be the ultimate.”

Slater spent the four seasons in a Winnipeg Jets uniform upon the team’s return to the city in 2011. The gritty centre, drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2002, was part of the memorable “GST” line that first year with Tanner Glass and Chris Thorburn. He also embedded himself in the community through his volunteer and charity work.

Slater’s NHL career ended at 584 games following the 2014-15 season, when the unrestricted free agent wasn’t re-signed by the Jets or any other organization. He headed overseas, playing two seasons as an import with Genève-Servette HC while his wife and young daughter remained home in Michigan.

He wasn’t prepared to extend his stay to a third season, but then everything changed.

“I’m over in Switzerland by myself, my family’s back home. It’s just hard being over here and not having them,” said Slater. “But then the announcement came that the NHL’s guys weren’t going to go. I talked to my wife, and she’s like ‘You gotta go, give it a chance.’ That’s when you start getting excited about it, that this really could be a possibility. And here we are.”

It certainly wasn’t easy to get here. Slater, with 11 goals and 14 assists through 32 games with his new team in the Swiss league this season, was having a strong season after scoring eight times and adding 15 assists in 44 games last campaign.

He was among a large number of potential players identified by U.S.A. Hockey and saw his odds improve in November when he was invited to play on the American team in the Deutschland Cup. The U.S. finished fourth.

He’s been a nervous wreck for much of the past month waiting to see if his leap of faith paid off.

“Obviously getting drafted in the NHL is big. The other thing off the top of my head is scoring my first NHL goal,” Slater said of where this ranks in his career.

He said being in Michigan on a holiday break last week and watching his three-year-old daughter, Wyn, call his parents on FaceTime to break the news might just be the best moment of all.

“Daddy’s going to be an Olympian,” she said repeatedly, according to Slater.

As a hockey lifer, Slater admits he was initially disappointed the world’s best players wouldn’t be competing in the Olympics — even if it would have denied him a dream opportunity.

“It’d be great to see the best on the best. That’s what the Olympics are all about. But that’s not going to happen,” said Slater.

However, he believes the level of hockey is going to open many eyes.

“Every nation has a chance. It’s a mystery. There isn’t a clear-cut favourite. Every game is going to be a battle. We feel we have just as good a chance as every one else to win gold, or win a medal. I think it’s going to be great hockey, and great hockey watching for fans,” said Slater. “These are real good hockey players over here. A lot of these guys could play in the NHL, or have played in the NHL.”

Slater said he’s been overwhelmed with warm wishes from former teammates and fans on social media, including many in Winnipeg. He knows he’ll have a cheering section of sorts from north of the border.

“Winnipeg was absolutely a fantastic place, not only for hockey but for quality of life, for living. I loved it there. It was my type of city. I still have some really close friendships and people that I care for tremendously who live in the community,” said Slater, who has continued to keep tabs on his former team as they make noise in the NHL this season.

“I’m excited that they’re doing so well and the fans are getting a taste of this. I think it’s going to be like that for a long time,” said Slater. “I’m just excited for everybody in Winnipeg.”

The feeling from many Winnipeggers towards Slater is no doubt mutual.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg