Jonathan Cheechoo (;
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
: ; born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian former
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
right winger
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
who played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL).
During the
2005–06 season, he led the NHL with 56 goals and won the
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, also known as the Rocket Richard Trophy, is awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens in and is named in honour of le ...
. He was the first
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player to win the "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL player with the most goals in a season.
Playing career
Drafted by the
Belleville Bulls
The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...
of the
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
(OHL) in the 1997 OHL priority selection, Cheechoo had a reasonably strong rookie year in 1997–98 with 76 points (31 goals and 45 assists) in 64 games, good for third place on his team. In the
1998 NHL Entry Draft, the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
traded the second overall pick (used to select
David Legwand) to the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
for the third overall pick (used to select
Brad Stuart) and the 29th overall pick, which they used to select Cheechoo. Most had predicted that Cheechoo would be a later-round pick, and San Jose was criticized for picking a lackluster forward who "skated slower forwards than most players skated backwards" instead of the highly touted Legwand.
Cheechoo joined the Bulls for the 1998–99 season and finished with 82 points (35 goals and 47 assists) in 63 games. Taking off in the playoffs, Cheechoo scored 30 points (15 goals and 15 assists) in 21 games. Five of those goals were scored during Game 7 of the OHL Final against the
London Knights
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
, a game the Bulls would win 9–2 to secure their first OHL Championship. Although he was now eligible for
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL) assignment, San Jose chose to leave him unsigned, knowing he still had room to improve in the OHL. In the following season, Cheechoo had his best year, tallying a team-high 91 points (45 goals and 46 assists) in 66 games. Cheechoo added 17 points (5 goals and 12 assists) in 16 games during the playoffs. Notably, Cheechoo never played a full season while in juniors because of minor injuries he gained from his crash-and-bang style of play. For development, Cheechoo joined San Jose's AHL affiliate, the
Kentucky Thoroughblades
The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena. The Thoroughblades were ...
, in the 2000–01 season before deciding to give the NHL another try and retaining hockey agent Thayne Campbell.
San Jose Sharks
Cheechoo had a strong rookie season with Kentucky in the AHL, scoring 66 points in 75 games. After going scoreless in the playoffs (in which he was a healthy scratch for two games), Cheechoo rebounded with 46 points (21 goals and 25 assists) in 53 games (he missed games due to a leg injury).
In
2002–03, after scoring seven points (three goals and four assists) in nine games with the
Cleveland Barons (the relocated Kentucky Thoroughblades franchise), Cheechoo was recalled to San Jose to help revitalize the struggling team. Playing mostly on the third and fourth lines, Cheechoo had a modest 16 points (9 goals and 7 assists) in 66 games.
His hard work paid off, as Cheechoo had 47 points in 81 games in
2003–04. Playing alongside
Mike Ricci and
Scott Thornton, Cheechoo had two mentors who taught Cheechoo how to be defensively responsible. Before the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
eliminated San Jose in the
2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003–04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary F ...
, Cheechoo had 10 points in 17 games. During the
NHL lock-out, Cheechoo played with
HV71 of the Swedish
Elitserien and scored 5 goals in 20 games.
In the
2005–06 season, Cheechoo's offensive statistics exploded, with him netting a franchise record 56 goals and 93 points. Much of Cheechoo's success was augmented by the Sharks acquisition of his new linemate, superstar center
Joe Thornton in late November. Before the trade, Cheechoo had 15 points (7 goals and 8 assists) in 24 games. In the 57 games after the trade, Cheechoo had 78 points (49 goals and 29 assists). Due to his uptick in goal scoring, Cheechoo became the first Sharks player to win the
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, also known as the Rocket Richard Trophy, is awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens in and is named in honour of le ...
and the second aboriginal player to score more than 50 goals in a season. Thornton would go on to win the Hart trophy (league MVP) that season.
In 2006, Cheechoo signed a five-year contract extension worth
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
15 million, paying him US$2.5 million the first two years, US$3 million the third year and US$3.5 million the last two years.
In the
2006–07 season, Cheechoo got off to a slow start as he, Joe Thornton and newly acquired
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...
Mark Bell failed to click. However, after a struggling Bell was demoted to the
press box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the ...
in favour of young speedster
Milan Michalek, Cheechoo picked it up, finishing the season with 37 goals and 69 points in 76 games. During the 2007 off-season, Cheechoo required double hernia surgery to repair injuries he suffered during the Sharks'
playoff run.
During the
2007–08 season, Cheechoo's production dropped to 23 goals. Cheechoo's production dropped further the following season, where he scored just 12 goals.
Ottawa Senators
On September 12, 2009, Cheechoo was traded by the Sharks (along with Michalek and a second-round draft pick) to the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...
in exchange for
Dany Heatley and a fifth-round pick. On February 12, 2010, Cheechoo was placed on waivers by the Senators after they acquired
Matt Cullen from the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...
.
On February 13, 2010, he cleared waivers and was reassigned to the
Binghamton Senators
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
, Ottawa's AHL affiliate. He was recalled in the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
and played one game against the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
. On June 28, he was again placed on waivers by the Senators. Cheechoo, who was heading into the final year of a five-year contract signed with San Jose in 2006, was reportedly owed $3.5 million for the
2010–11 season. On June 29, the Senators bought out the final year of his contract, making him a free agent.
Later career
Following his buy out, Cheechoo was invited to the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...
training camp on September 4, 2010. He was released from the tryout 22 days later, on September 26, following his appearance in two pre-season games where he failed to register a point and posted a −2 rating. Despite his efforts, Dallas felt Cheechoo could not out perform their current players and therefore released him so he would have the opportunity to join another team.
On October 5, 2010, Cheechoo returned to the Sharks organization, signing a professional try-out contract with their AHL affiliate, the
Worcester Sharks
The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachu ...
, to re-unite with his first professional head coach
Roy Sommer
Roy A. Sommer (born April 5, 1957) is an American ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player, who currently serves as the head coach for the Wenatchee Wild of the Western Hockey League. Sommer played three games for the Edmonto ...
, who previously coached him with the Kentucky Thoroughblades.
On July 12, 2011, Cheechoo was signed by the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
to a one-year, two-way contract. While playing with the Blues' AHL affiliate, the
Peoria Rivermen, Cheechoo earned his 500th career professional point on November 27 against the
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...
.
A free agent upon the
2012–13 NHL lockout
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...
, Cheechoo was belatedly signed to a professional try-out contract with the
Oklahoma City Barons
The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
...
of the AHL during the midpoint of the
2012–13 season on January 20, 2013.
On July 10, 2013, Cheechoo left North America and signed a one-year contract with Croatian club,
Medveščak Zagreb of the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs.
It was considered in ...
(KHL).
In May 2014, Cheechoo signed a two-year deal with KHL club
Dinamo Minsk from Belarus. In 2016, he signed a one-year deal with
Slovan Bratislava. Cheechoo was selected for the 2017 KHL All-Star game.
Retirement
On March 6, 2018, Cheechoo officially announced his retirement. He was recognized at the
SAP Center in San Jose prior to the Sharks' game against the Calgary Flames on March 24, 2018. After Cheechoo announced his retirement, Sharks general manager
Doug Wilson commented about Cheechoo's background; Wilson talked about the fact that he was a player who was able to have great success from a remote area of Canada.
Personal life
Cheechoo is a member of the
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
First Nations tribe from
Moose Factory, Ontario.
When he was young, Cheechoo did not believe he would play in the NHL; instead, he believed that he would follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and would become a trapper and hunter for the Cree.
Over time, Cheechoo developed into a strong hockey player and, at age 14, left his home after being told he would need to in order to develop his hockey skills.
Cheechoo moved to
Timmins
Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...
, Ontario, around 300 kilometres away from his home, to play bantam hockey. Living so far from home, Cheechoo was homesick and found it very difficult to have to leave his close family at such a young age. Cheechoo has said he had a very strong support system when he was deciding to pursue hockey. His success was a highlight for Moose Factory, as shown by the 120 individuals who left Moose Factory to support him when he went 29th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
Growing up in a small town, Cheechoo enjoyed the tight-knit nature of the town and expressed thanks for the high level of support he had from the people he grew up with.
Cheechoo's childhood was very reminiscent of a traditional Cree upbringing and he has said his favourite things to do when he was young were to hunt and fish with his grandfather, George Cheechoo.
In his youth, Cheechoo was involved in the
Little Native Hockey League, a tournament which gives aboriginal youth an outlet to play hockey.
During the 25th Little Native Hockey Tournament, Cheechoo sat as the captain of the team and won the tournament.
Cheechoo has described his involvement with the organization as being a positive aspect of his hockey career. Cheechoo sat as the Honorary Chair during the 46th annual event which took place in March 2017.
Cheechoo has been known to go out of his way to talk to children and interact with those who admire him. Cheechoo is seen as a role model for aboriginal youth in hockey, with his involvement in the Little Native Hockey League being a source of inspiration for those currently competing in the tournament and wishing to achieve the same level of success.
Records
* San Jose Sharks' franchise record for goals in a season (56) –
2005–06
* San Jose Sharks' franchise record for power-play goals in a season (24) – 2005–06
* San Jose Sharks' franchise record for hat-tricks in a season (5) – 2005–06
* San Jose Sharks' franchise record for hat-tricks in a career (9)
Career statistics
Bold indicates led league
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheechoo, Jonathan
1980 births
Living people
Belleville Bulls players
Binghamton Senators players
Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players
Cree sportsmen
HC Dinamo Minsk players
HC Slovan Bratislava players
HV71 players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Kentucky Thoroughblades players
KHL Medveščak Zagreb players
National Hockey League All-Stars
Oklahoma City Barons players
Ottawa Senators players
People from Cochrane District
Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players
Rocket Richard Trophy winners
San Jose Sharks draft picks
San Jose Sharks players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Worcester Sharks players
21st-century Canadian sportsmen