Hated by opponents, beloved by teammates

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This article was published 07/02/2020 (2270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jimmy Roy wasn’t one of the flashiest skaters or most gifted scorers during his 14-year pro career but he had an almost supernatural ability to irritate his opponents.

He yapped constantly and wielded his stick in ways that flouted the rulebook, but as a player, he was one of the hungriest for success and that was something that played out on a nightly basis during his nine seasons as a left-winger with the Manitoba Moose.

Did that abrasiveness come naturally?

“No, that was kinda survival mode,” said Roy, prior to his No. 21 being retired during a banner-raising ceremony prior to Manitoba’s 20th Season Game against the Chicago Wolves at Bell MTS Place Friday night.

“In college, I think I had 17 goals (with Michigan Tech in 1995-96), which nowadays would get you a million bucks, right? I had to adapt when I went to the Canadian national team — I moved from centre to the wing and I was put in more of a checking role and I had to adapt to that. When I turned pro, it was like, ‘Hey, if you want to play pro and you want to play at this level, we’ve already got good centremen. You have to know how to play the wing.”

The 44-year-old Roy, who travelled from his home in Costa Mesa, Calif., with his wife Laura and daughters Brooklyn, Summer and Savanna for the retirement celebration, got emotional when he thought about how far he has come. 

He credits his parents Nancy and Jack Roy, who made the trip this week to Winnipeg from their home in Sioux Lookout, Ont., for instilling a fierce work ethic.

“Every time I think about it I kinda get choked up — it’s cool for me but it’s going to be cool for me to see my kids’ and parents’ faces and it’s going to cool to see everybody else,” said Roy. “I have a bunch of friends coming from California who don’t know much about hockey or what we did up there with the Moose, so it’ll be nice to see their experience.”

Roy joined the Moose in 1997-98 and swiftly made an impression on and off the ice.

“I don’t think the Moose would’ve had any face in the city if it wasn’t for Jimmy Roy,” former Manitoba head coach Randy Carlyle told Moose Productions recently. “Jimmy Roy was hated by every other player that he played against in the league but he was adored by his own teammates and the hockey fans here because he gave everything he possibly could, day in, day out. Wasn’t the most talented guy but one of the grittiest and hardest working you’ll ever see.”

One old rival, former Chicago Wolves defenceman and current NHL player agent, Dan Plante, congratulated Roy last fall when it was announced Roy’s number would be retired. 

“We’ve had numerous conversations — joked around and had fun,” said Roy, admitting he usually lost when he fought Plante during their playing days. “When he heard they were retiring my number, he sent me a text and said, ‘Hey, do you want me to come up there for old times’ (sake)?’ I said, ‘You can come up but we’ll only have a beer this time, that’s it.’”

Roy’s departure from the Moose after the 2004-05 season was bittersweet.

Facing a reduced role under the AHL’s veteran restrictions, he spent the last five seasons of his playing career with Germany’s Iserlohn but he remains Manitoba’s all-time leader in games played (603), penalty minutes (1,434) and is second in career goals (101), short-handed goals (10) and game-winners (17).

He was back in Winnipeg in 2011 when True North Sports & Entertainment purchased and relocated the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg.

Since retiring from playing, Roy has served as the Jets’ director of player development for the last nine years. He remains loyal to True North and the people that helped him along the way, including Jets development colleague Mike Keane, whose No. 12 was the only previous number retired by the Moose.

“You know, it’s my number and my name that’s going up there but it’s my parents, it’s (Truth North chairman) Mark and Patti (Chipman), it’s my family, it’s my friends that I’ll be thinking of,” said Roy.

“That number to me represents the city of Winnipeg, and I’m not just trying to say the right thing. It’s legitimately they way I feel about the city. It represents way more than me or the number.”

Roy doesn’t agonize about missing out on the NHL. His closest call came in 2000-01 when he signed with the Dallas Stars only to be reassigned to the Moose just before start of the regular season.

“I get that question and I get a little emotional about that one, too, because I know it’s a bad answer for some people,” he said. “I don’t regret it. My time in Winnipeg, what I learned there, the friendships that I made — I mean, if I hadn’t have played there, I wouldn’t have met my wife and had my family. I loved every second of it.”

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14