IMAGE INFORMATION
EditJordin John Kudluk Tootoo - Born February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba is a Canadian Indigenous (Inuk) retired ice Hockey right winger and current author/speaker.
- Turnbull Memorial Trophy / Turnbull Cup Champion 1999 with OCN Blizzard.
- Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament / 2000 Nations Cup) Champion 2000 with Team Canada.
Tootoo was team captain.
- 2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Silver Medal Winner.
Tootoo played his 1st year of junior Hockey with Opaskwayak Cree Nation / OCN Blizzard as a 15-16 year old, helping them win the 1999 Turnbull Cup as junior champions of Manitoba.
Tootoo then joined the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he would play for the next four seasons, leading them in penalty minutes and was also 2nd in team scoring. Tootoo helped the Wheat Kings to first place in WHL East Division in both 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons , then reaching the playoff semi-finals of Western Hockey League in 2002 and 2003.
Tootoo made his NHL debut with Nashville Predators on October 9, 2003 vs Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at Gaylord Entertainment Center in a 3-1 Nashville win.
Tootoo scored his 1st NHL goal vs Pasi Nurminen of Atlanta Thrashers at 5:28 of 1st period on October 23, 2003 at Philips Arena in a 4-2 Atlanta win.
Tootoo became a fan favourite quickly in Nashville with his electric play, almost reckless abandon on the ice, as he would hit anyone with the puck who wasn't in a Nashville jersey. Soon he was known as the Tootoo Train.
Tootoo could also fight, and very good. Despite his size 5' 9" and 195 lbs, Tootoo took on the some of the NHL's biggest and toughest players.
Not many NHL players get fans to raise out of their seats, well Tootoo did it in every NHL arena he played in.
Tootoo had a dark side with alcoholism, he also lost his brother to suicide, and would enter the NHL Substance Abuse Program in late December 2010.
Tootoo played for Nashville until 2012, then Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks until 2017.
Tootoo played in 723 regular season NHL games, scoring 65 goals (7 GWG), 96 assists with 1010 penalty minutes and 42 NHL playoff games, scoring 3 goals, 7 assists with 65 penalty minutes.
Tootoo has 2 books he authored as a player and after retiring.
- All the Way - My Life on Ice 2014
- Mind Over Matter - Hard Won Battles on the Road to Hope 2023.
NOTE
Tootoo is the 1st Inuk / Inuit player in NHL history.
