Nashville's new face: rookie Jordin Tootoo, the first native Inuit to play in the NHL, is winning over the Music City faithful

Hockey Digest, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Anthony Stoeckert

If Nashville doesn't offer many chances for participating in winter sports, it does offer something his home doesn't. "By this being my ultimate goal, to play in the National Hockey League, it's the best situation for me."

According to Murray, Tootoo is balancing his NHL duties with the pride he feels for his homeland very well. "He has a lot of weight to carry because he's representing a lot of people and he's very proud of where he Comes from," Murray says. "But I think he just wants to be treated like any other hockey player.

Tootoo is a big part of the Predators' plan to reach their goal of being a playoff contender. In the franchise's sixth season in the league, management is hoping its mix of young players and veterans is ready to claim the its first postseason appearance. Young players like Tootoo, who was selected in the fourth round by Nashville in 2001, are key to those hopes.

"We don't have the luxury of much free agency because we don't have to funds to do that," Trotz says. "So we have to develop young players. We've done that and we've done it well, and I think Tootoo's going to be one of our mainstays."

Regardless, of where hockey takes him, Tootoo says his home will always be a part of him. His family is also of Utmost importance to him. In a small community, people tend to get close to each other, and perhaps families get closer.

And that's why another major aspect of Tootoo's unique story is such a sad one. In the summer of 2002, Tootoo's brother, Terence, who was also a hockey player, killed himself.

When asked about how that tragedy has affected him during his rookie season, he answers with a quick "no comment." But he does later say that he and his brother had dreams of playing in the NHL together. Tootoo is confident his brother would have made it one day.

"Oh, absolutely," Tootoo says. "He was a guy who has a big heart. And I know deep down that he could have played here."

While Tootoo understandably says little about the tragedy, it seems certain that his close family relations helped him get through the toughest time of his life. His parents and sister, Colleen, still live in Rankin Inlet and while they and other people from his home have made the long trek to see him play in the NHL, he says his family is what his misses the most about his home. "They support me through thick and think and I'm never going to forget where I come from"

Luckily, Tootoo has been able to find a little taste of Rankin Inlet even in Nashville. A large part of the Inuit diet is raw fish, so when Tootoo is looking for a little home "cooking," he just seeks out the nearest sushi bar.