The hockey season is in limbo but one memory is now cemented in the legacy of Sioux Lookout’s Jimmy Roy.
This season the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League retired his #21, joining Mike Keane as the only players to be in the elite class.
In an earlier interview with CKDR News, Roy talked about the moment.
“Unbelievable experience. I can’t really put it into words. It’s so hard to describe something like this. It’s not something you think about when you are a kid. You know you dream about playing in the NHL or scoring a goal, you don’t really dream about something like this happening but it was really amazing.”
Roy stresses he was in shock when he received the call, stating he was grocery shopping in July with his oldest daughter, and he immediately started to choke up.
Roy adds when he saw his jersey raised to the rafters, it reaffirmed the fact that the special moment wasn’t about him.
“There are so many people that have a piece of that that don’t know it, or maybe they do know it. Like my parents. That’s our name and our number up their. That’s my wife and our kids. That’s their name and their number up there.”
He spent nine seasons with the Moose from 1997 to 2006 and owns the franchise records for games played and penalty minutes.
Roy won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award during the 2002-2003 year for the AHL player who best represents the spirit of Yanick Dupre with his involvement in the community.
He ended up playing hockey in Germany for five years after leaving Winnipeg and he has spent the past nine seasons in Player Development with the NHL’s Jets.
To hear the full interview with Jimmy Roy, visit the Audio link below.
(Picture Credit: Manitoba Moose)
