Book Review: J.R. Jeremy Roenick's Autobiography

Jeremy Roenick, one of the premier hockey players of his generation and one of the greatest American stars the NHL has ever known, shares his life story in this frank and unflinching autobiography - J.R.

 Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

After making his debut as an 18-year-old with the Chicago Blackhawks, Roenick thrilled fans with his flashy style, take-no-prisoners approach, and jaw-dropping skills. A native of Boston, Roenick went on to play for four more franchises—including the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings—during his incredible 18-season career. By the time he was through, Roenick had racked up 513 goals—the second most of any American-born player—and 703 assists.

Now a tells-it-like-it-is commentator for NBC and the NHL, Roenick takes readers on a behind-the-scenes, warts-and-all tour through his illustrious career, both on and off the ice. Written with Kevin Allen.

My take - Oh good ol' J.R. Either you love him or hate him. If you love him, you'll love this book. I'll admit I was always impressed with Jeremy Roenick the hockey player, but the ego I've never cared for. Since that personality is front and center in his book, I wanted to be open about that before presenting my review.

Essentially Roenick is the American version of Don Cherry. Hey, it works for Grapes - he has bestselling books as part of his hockey empire. Roenick is following in the footsteps, trading the colorful suits for bold shirts.

Roenick is sure to present his stereotypical self in his book. I think he is genuine in everything says, though he probably exaggerates for effect. He openly admits he is obnoxious  I would use the term unnecessarily controversial. He looks to rock the boat with this book - ask Patrick Marleau and Wayne Gretzky. Why? Book sales. Controversy sells everything, even hockey books. And in 2012 we've seen very little controversy on the hockey bookshelves, so J.R. gets lots of the headlines.

“The modern athlete has become too worried about saying anything that is going to rile up the other team,” Roenick writes. “Modern stars worry too much about being diplomatic. F— diplomacy.”

He uses locker room language whenever possible (parents beware) and that not to my liking personally. It screams typical jock book, which is perfectly fine because that's how many people like their hockey books.

Through all of the filibuster and other F-words are some good hockey stories. I especially enjoyed his comments on Mike Keenan ("the last great asshole coach") and his early days in the league. He is a fiercely proud American and some his stuff about the rivalry with Canada and the Olympics are great. And of course his endless clashes with rivals and teammates. He is still not holding back on some of these guys. Why he feels the need to call them out all over again is a moot point. Ultimately it is both interesting and disappointing at the same time. Too much of that though and it becomes tiring.

J.R.'s autobiography subtitle is "The Fast Crazy Life Of Hockey's Most Outspoken And Most Colorful Personality." The book definitely lives up to that billing. Love him or loathe him, Jeremy Roenick has a bestseller on his hands here.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Roenick, Hatcher Brothers Inducted

There they stood side by side, seemingly as if nothing had ever happened.

Jeremy Roenick and Derian Hatcher were both inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Famer, along with Derian's brother Kevin, Art Berglund and Dr. V. George Nagobads.

There was a time not so long ago when Roenick and Hatcher were not so friendly to one another:



Roenick's jawa was broken in four places on that hit. But it seems the two have patched up their on-ice differences.

Good Ol' J.R.

Jeremy Roenick looks like a television natural. His inclusion is the best decision NBC has made in a while, or so I hear.

But J.R. is not just conquering television, but new media as well. He has just introduced his video blog, where he rants and raves and just tells you the way it is. Check it out today.

Jeremy Roenick

Ever since Jeremy Roenick retired, the media, who loved the always quotable JR, began campaigning for his inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

So the question is simple - was Jeremy Roenick's career good enough to get him in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Roenick was a face of the game for a long time, both in the United States and in Canada. Fans loved him, almost as much as the media. He was wildly popular, and his ritzy personality generally good for the game.

And make no mistake, he was a very good hockey player. For a short window of time he was even a great hockey player. At his peak he was as good as, or even better than, many of the players in the Hall of Fame right now.

On top of that, he was one of the greatest American players of all time. Top ten? Probably. Top 5. Possibly. Not that citizenship should enter into the equation, but it seems to for top American players.

The question that lingers though is this: Was Jeremy Roenick's career great enough to enshrine him in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Was he a winner? As Patrick Roy would be quick to point out, Roenick has zero Stanley Cup championships on his resume. He was part of two Olympics, picking up the silver medal in 2002. He participated in the 1991 Canada Cup, but he was not a member of the victorious 1996 World Cup of Hockey American squad. He never won a major NHL award, either.

Was he one of the truly elite players of his era? From 1990 through 1994, most definitely. Otherwise he was a very good player. Is four years at the elite level good enough? Does Roenick's longevity make up for that enough?

Are his career numbers good enough? 500 goals was once basically a guarantee of inclusion, but that has changed and the new benchmark is still trying to be established. Roenick's 513 are impressive, the 36th most in NHL history at the time of his retirement. But Dave Andreychuk has 640, and Dino Ciccarelli has 608, and they waited a long time.

Roenick's 1216 career points ranked him 39th all time at the time of his retirement. Among the players ahead of him are quite a few players who do not get a lot of Hall of Fame mention: Adam Oates, Dave Andreychuk, Pierre Turgeon and defenseman Phil Housley all have more.


Most people want to see the popular Jeremy Roenick in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day. If you take out the emotional attachment people seem to have for JR and just look at his career by crunching numbers against his peers, he would be placed among a group of Pierre Turgeon, Phil Housley, Pat Verbeek, Vincent Damphousse and Rod Brind'Amour.

But hockey is not a game that can be measured by statistics. It is a game of emotion. Roenick was one of the best blends of skill and mayhem the game has seen, bringing more to the table than goals, assists and plus/minus. Perhaps his intangibles will raise him above others.

Numminen, Roenick To Retire

We can add the names of two more NHL veterans who have played their last games.

Teppo Numminen

• Numminen To Retire - James Mirtle
  
• Sabres' Numminen walks away as all-time great - NHL.com
• Numminen Retires After 20 Years - The Hockey News

I think anyone who has watched Numminen over his NHL career has a great respect for his ability and competitiveness. He did not get a lot of press or accolades, but he really has been one of the top defensemen in hockey over the past couple of decades.

Even though I can not read most of it, I find the chatter amongst Finnish websites impressive. The Finns definitely held Numminen in the highest of regards, and well they should have.

Jeremy Roenick

• Shark's Roenick Will Retire - SJ Mercury News
• A Lifetime of Memories - Mike Chen
  

This one is not quite official. Given that Roenick has been reportedly close to retiring before, perhaps we should wait for the official news.

I'm glad Roenick did not retire before he joined San Jose. Had he retired at that point I would have remembered him as a washed up, publicity seeking side show. He really impressed me in SJ, especially in 2007-08 when he dumped sweater #97 and returned to #27, and when he scored 14 goals, an amazing 10 of them being game winners.

Just for fun, The Hockey News listed the Top Ten Jeremy Roenick quotes.

Jeremy Roenick: Hockey's Video Game Legend

From the Vancouver Province

"It may be 12 years since Jeremy Roenick cold-cocked Wayne Gretzky in a famous scene in the movie Swingers, but J.R. looked like he’s still got the chops to be a video-game marquee figure on Tuesday at Burnaby 8-Rinks. Just to be clear, Roenick didn’t actually knock the Great One senseless—it was in a scene in the 1996 buddy movie where a youthful Vince Vaughn is using his Roenick character in NHL 94 to wreak havoc on his opponent. Roenick was in Burnaby along with five other NHL players to go through some moves for Electronic Arts, in part to mark its launch of the 2009 version of the popular NHL video game franchise. Although he’s 38 and has logged lots of miles over 19 NHL seasons, Roenick was the most entertaining character on and off the ice. 'I get more people asking about my [NHL 94 for Sega],' laughed Roenick of his legendary status in that version of the game. 'I’m holding onto that.'"

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