Hail, Hail the Gang’s All Here

               “You can’t focus on that stuff. (breaking records).  You just go out and try to do what you can do.”---Jonathan Cheechoo

By Barbara Mason 3/20/05
Raiderdrive.com/BASD

While it may not be the entire population of Moose Factory, Ontario, a small contingent of those near and dear to the heart of ace Right Wing Jonathan Cheechoo were on hand to support as well as possibly witness history this pass week in San Jose at HP Pavilion.  At the start of last Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, Cheechoo had 41 goals and was in hot pursuit of the Rocket Richard Trophy  (most goals in a season) as well as shattering club records.  His consistent rise to the top of the NHL world has been one of leaps and bounds.  In the 2002-03 season, he had 9 goals followed by 28 the next season and after last Sunday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche he had reached the 42-goal mark scoring once in that game.

Brothers Lindy and Victor Linklater as well as Jonathan’s uncle Dave Cheechoo had traveled to Northern California to root for this home town hero during the Sharks recent 5 game home stand and to join in celebrating this banner year that Cheechoo has been having.  They haven’t come away disappointed by any stretch of the imagination.  Cheechoo scored 6 goals in the last five games, which included a hat trick on March 13 against the Los Angeles Kings. 

Victor Linklater has known Jonathan ever since he was knee high to a grasshopper.  “It’s quite a phenomenon coming out of a small remote northern community in Canada, and coming all the way down North America to California where he is doing extremely well” said Victor in regards to the rise of this young star.  “It’s a breakout year for him.  It just indicates his determination, his hard work and his commitment to a pursuit that he always had when he was a little boy.”  That’s Jonathan the athlete, but what about Jonathan as a person.  “Oh, he’s an incredibly genuine kind-hearted giving young man.  He’s the real deal.  He’s not egotistical in any sense of the word,” said Victor. 

One of the memories that Victor fondly remembers of times shared with Jonathan goes back a number of years.  He played alongside Jonathan in a local hockey tournament, the Michael Trapper Memorial Gathering.  “It’s just a local hockey tournament that’s the big one in the region.  I remember hitting him behind my own net and I thought that he was quite a solid young kid at that time,” he said laughing. 

It was when Jonathan made the AHL that Victor knew what the future held for Cheechoo.

“It’s a league of toughies, and a very hard-core league and it gives you a certain amount of thickness of your skin.  It was in this league that it proved to me this kid could make it.”

Having family and friends present at the past few games has been equally special to Jonathan as well.  “My dad was down for the first home stand and he had a friend of his and a few other friends from up there (Moose Factory) and it’s been pretty neat.  I enjoy it and it’s fun to see a familiar face,” said Cheechoo.  It’s been difficult to connect with family, distance playing the culprit, which makes times like these beyond special for Cheechoo.  His family has been able to attend games that are closer in proximity, games played in Toronto, Detroit and Buffalo. While broken records and the honors that go along it are all fine and dandy, the one thing that is foremost in Jonathan’s mind is his team and doing everything in his power to reach the post-season.  “You can’t focus on that stuff (breaking records).  You just go out and try to do what you can do.  If you start focusing on that stuff, you’ll spend too much time thinking and not enough time playing.”

Jonathan remembers well that hockey tournament that Victor spoke of, as well as that “hit.”  “My uncle always had a team and I always wanted to play with him.  I got the chance one year when my teams were all eliminated and they had the tournament back home and so I went and played.  It was a lot of fun.”

With sixteen games remaining to be played in the regulation 2005-06 season, there is lots of time for records and such.  Those issues will take care of themselves.  What is on the mind of every Shark is winning, points and hopefully playoffs.  Regardless of the outcome, Jonathan Cheechoo has made an indelible mark on the world of hockey, quite a feat for one coming from such a tiny remote town, the town with that magical and unforgettable name.

While who came out on top of that infamous “hit” may still be up for discussion, one thing that everyone is in agreement with is where Jonathan Cheechoo is headed.  The writing on the wall was evident a very long time ago, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the hockey world that isn’t thrilled with the emergence and success of this talented young man from Moose Factory, Ontario.