SAN JOSE, Ca -After 20 years of battling it out in the trenches and defending his zone against the other team’s top line Rob Blake has decided to hang up the blades. Forwards in the NHL will now have a little more space to maneuver on the ice because the games best hip checker has delivered his last blow. Sharks captain Rob Blake made it official on Friday and announced his retirement at the HP Pavilion.
The 6’4, 220-pound defenseman was drafted 70th overall in the 1988 NHL entry draft when he was a student at Bowling Green University and from there suited up for the LA Kings (1989-2001 & 2006-2008), Colorado (2001-2006) Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks (2008-2010.)
From there his career made you wonder why he wasn’t taken earlier in the draft but University hockey players were not regarded the same way they are today. If not for the opportunity to play NCAA hockey this Simcoe, Ontario, Canada native says he would have ended up being a farmer.
The fans and the National Hockey League are benefactors of Rob’s decision to apply his skills to the frozen pond.
“Blakey” as he is often referred to as, played in 1270 games and retires with 777 points good enough for 18th on the all time scorer’s list for defensemen but finished 10th in goals and 3rd on the power play goals list by a defenseman behind Ray Bourque and Al MacInnis.
His career accomplishments are numerous but the highlights go like this
– named to the NHL All Rookie in 1991
– won the Norris Trophy for best defenseman in 1998 (2000, 2002 finalist)
– scored a hat trick Dec.14 2000 vs. N.Y Rangers (with Los Angeles)
– scored 5 points Dec. 14 2000 vs. N.Y rangers (with Los Angeles)
– played in 7 All Star games (1994, 1999 through 2004)
– played in Olympic Games in 1998, 2002, 2006 (won Gold in 2002)
– won the Stanley Cup in 2001 (with Colorado)
– named captain of the San Jose Sharks 2009
Many feel, and Rob himself is one of them that his career made a turn for the better in 1998 when he married his wife, Brandy. All you have to do is look at his accomplishments to realize that. Behind most great people is supporting family. Rob’s wife Brandy along with son Jack and daughter Brook’s contributions to Blake’s success did not go unnoticed at the press conference.
For Blake’s highlight reel, the song Big Gun by AC/DC is playing in the background and I thought this to be appropriate. You don’t score 240 goals from the point without a blistering shot, or a Big Gun. Many of his body checks left his opponents lying on the ice feeling like they had been shot by a Big Gun, or a Mack truck and at 6’4 and 220 pounds players were tentative to venture in front of his net.
Although he played the game with a physical edge that kept forwards head’s up Rob Blake has always had the respect of his opponents. He earned their respect by dishing out clean body checks but within the rules of the game. When you think of Rob Blake such words as class, integrity, leadership and drive come to mind.
GM Wilson said it best when he described his former captain as “an elite player with a blue collar heartbeat.” The ultimate compliment to this retiring athlete from Doug Wilson had to be “We are going to reap the benefits of Rob Blake being here for years to come.”
“He knew that no one is bigger than the team and no one is bigger than the game.” For anybody who is involved in sports on any level these are words to live by, and to be described that way on your way out of hockey puts you in a class with few others.
With Blake’s accomplishments, we will no doubt see him enter the ranks of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Whether he is a first ballot or not remains to be seen. He has the supporting numbers, his trophy case is not lacking, he has always made time for the press even after the tough losses, he has been a leader where ever he goes and he has kept his nose clean off the ice.
When asked, Rob was emphatic about not pulling a Brett Favre. So the question remains why not one more season to try and earn a second Stanley Cup ring with a team that has a real good shot at winning it all next year. So many professional athletes have had to leave the game due to circumstances out of their control. He is leaving while he still has plenty left in the tank.
In 70 games this year, Blake had 7 goals, 23 assists for 30 points and finished + 14 in the plus/minus category. He credited the Sharks training staff for a body that felt as good as it has in years at season’s end. In this case, here is a 41-year old hockey player who has given 20 years to the NHL and is able to leave the game under his own circumstances. He is not forced out due to an injury that will plague him for the rest of his life like so many of his peers.
His kids are coming into a fun age and one of Rob’s hobbies outside of hockey is surfing, so he probably hears a wave or two calling his name.
Not to worry though hockey fans this is not the last we will hear about Rob Blake around the game. He is already signed on to be a coach with his son’s team and he figures by the end of 2010 he will be ready to get more involved with the game, perhaps in a broadcasting position. We can only hope someone picks up the hip checking torch that Blakey is leaving behind because nobody did it better.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Contact Cam.Gore@prohockeynews.com
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