Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
In June, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2024, which included Chicago Blackhawks All-Star Jeremy Roenick after a lengthy wait.
On Monday, Roenick publicly shared his thoughts about the honor for the first time.
"What a treat for me," Roenick said. "Being back here in Chicago is obviously a very important place for me. It's where it all started for me. Being amongst a lot of friends and have this bestowed upon me, it's a dream come true. Amazed it took so long, that I had to wait, but they say everything you have to wait for is worth it, right? Everything good comes to those who wait."
Though it’s been four months since the announcement, Roenick is still coming to terms with the reality of his induction.
"I can honestly say coming up here and talking to everybody here, I can feel myself getting very emotional just in this atmosphere," Roenick said. "When I got the call, I couldn't speak. I was taken by surprise. I'm never at a loss for words but I was. And I can say that I was very, very happy with the way that the call hit me and how I felt about it.
Chicago Blackhawks
"When you wait for a long time, you don't know how it's going to hit you and I thought maybe before that it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it was but it hit me like a train and I was really, really happy with my emotions and the fact that I couldn't speak. I was crying in front of a barista at Starbucks, which was pretty interesting."
Roenick had been vocal about his frustration over not being inducted sooner. But any bitterness faded "right away" after getting the call.
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"I've made it very public that the frustration of me getting this call and having my dad miss it, my dad passed in '21, and he was my biggest fan," Roenick said. "Here's a guy who never missed a professional game, whether it was on television or in person. My dad was the one who was literally engulfed and embedded the most in my career, so for me it wasn't so much for me, I would've liked my dad to see it and he missed it by a couple years. But that's really the main thing. It was amazing how 12 years had been literally erased with one phone call."
Roenick also revealed some of the memorabilia he plans to donate to the Hall of Fame, including his Blackhawks 75th anniversary jersey, worn when he scored his first 50-goal season, his 2002 Team USA Olympic jacket, his bantam national championship jacket, and the stick he used to score his second 50-goal season at Chicago Stadium.
He was "tempted" to donate the puck from his 500th goal but ultimately decided to keep it because it was too special to his family.
"I wanted to give it, my wife didn't want to give it, so we went to the tiebreaker which was my son and my son said he wanted to have it, so we kept it," Roenick said when talking about the process on what to give. "But it was a great feeling, but also a very nervous feeling because you don't want to give up something that means a lot to you or you want your kids to have."
Roenick will officially be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. He admitted the long wait for the honor has given him an even greater appreciation for it.
"The barrage of phone calls, texts, emails, social media direct messages, whatever the case may be, was mind-boggling," Roenick said. "I got the call at 11, they told me not to say anything until 12:30, by 1:00 I had 2,500 messages on my phone. Without question, I can look at my phone and just watch it click over.
"I think you lose perspective or lose sight of a lot of things when you're separated and not in the thick of things or you forget about things but a lot of people came out of the woodwork. A lot of people that I had forgotten, people I never expected to call. I got some pretty amazing texts and messages and emails. Getting a call from Wayne Gretzky is spectacular. Getting texts from high-end political officials, very cool. A lot of teammates, a lot of friends.
"I've been very, very lucky to have a great fan base and great friendship base, I think a lot of teammates that helped me along the way, not many didn't recognize it and it really humbled me a lot. A real lot. And the thankfulness and the gratitude, I can't be out of words."
