Nice guys don’t finish last.
Marian Hossa is proof of that.
“He’s as humble and relaxed and laid-back as they come off the ice. He’s one of the nicest guys to be around. He treats everyone with respect,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “He’s all around a great guy and great teammate.”
Chicago hockey fans know just how great the winger is in the rink. Approaching 500 career goals, Hossa will kick off his 18th regular season in the NHL – and his seventh with the Blackhawks – on Wednesday at the United Center, where the championship banner will be raised to commemorate the Hawks winning the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years.
Although he’s not the captain or the flashiest Hawks player, fans have mad respect for someone considered a potential future Hall of Famer. They have called Hossa a class act. A true gentleman of the sport. A demigod.
“It’s his work ethic. He comes in, shift in and shift out, and just works to get the puck, the goal,” said fan Lucas Wittwer, 20, who lives in Lakeview. “Whatever the team needs, he’s there to do it.”
In the locker room, teammates said he can be quiet, but when he talks, they listen. Beyond that, he can crack a subtle joke and a smile (like he did when asked about his love of Kit Kats – more on that later).
Kim MacNeill found him to be genuine when Hawks legend Stan Mikita brought Hossa to her Wheaton home in December 2012 to meet her 10-year-old son, Ross, who had a brain tumor. Her family had a black Sharpie marker ready, expecting a 20-minute visit with Ross’ favorite player. But Hossa stayed at her home for more than two hours talking about hockey and laughing about how short Ross’ hockey stick was compared with how tall Hossa’s was.
“He could not have been more polite, humble and patient and so pleasant to get to know and visit with,” MacNeill said. “It was like we truly had a friend in our home.”
After the visit, Hossa called to see how Ross was doing, she said. In March 2013, Ross celebrated his 11th birthday and went to a Hawks game, the last game his family attended together. She said they got to spend some time before the game with Hossa, who told Ross he’d net a goal for him. Sure enough, he delivered in the 6-5 loss to Edmonton.
Two months later, on May 13, Ross lost his battle with brain cancer. Between the first two games of the Hawks’ playoff series against the Red Wings, Hossa went to the 11-year-old’s wake and waited in a line that was several blocks long to pay his respects, MacNeill said.
Since then, she said, Hossa has called around the anniversary of her son’s death to check in on the family and let them know he was thinking of them. He also surprised her with a video to promote the youth hockey tournament hosted by the Ross K. MacNeill Foundation to end pediatric brain cancer. She said Hossa has never sought any publicity or wanted anything in return.
“I can’t imagine anybody in the NHL that could be a better player and a better person. We cheer loudly for Number 81,” MacNeill said.
That number is the only one Hawks fan Lee Julen, 24, is willing to wear. When Hossa speeds toward the puck, Julen often says, “He’s got wheels.”
Although Hossa is not the leading scorer on the team – that was Toews in the last regular season by six goals – when Hossa makes a pass, deflects one or attacks the net, he makes it look so easy and effortless.
“He’s a strong veteran presence, a great leader and a strong set-up guy,” said Julen, who lives in North Park.
Blackhawks analyst Eddie Olczyk wouldn’t judge Hossa on offense alone. “His pursuing of the puck and forcing turnovers and limiting options of opponents is something a lot of people don’t realize how great he is in doing that,” he said.
A prime example of that was when Hossa chased after the puck against former teammate Pavel Datsyuk,Detroit’s center and three-time winner as best defensive forward in the league, in a game last February, NBC’s play-by-play NHL announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick said.
“These are two [of the] best defensive skill set players in the whole sport and they’re against one another and they robbed each other on the same play,” Emrick said. “What he’s able to do is fascinating to watch.”
Playing for the Ottawa Senators after getting drafted in 1997, Hossa tallied a career-high 45 goals in the 2002-2003 season. After a stint in Atlanta, he went to the Pittsburgh and then Detroit in pursuit of the Stanley Cup and was on the losing team twice. He made it to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals before winning with the Hawks in 2010. He hoisted the Cup again in 2013 and 2015.
More than 1,000 games later, Hossa said it doesn’t feel like he’s been in the NHL this long. The big question is how much longer he’ll want to play the game. He’ll be 42 when his contract is up in 2021.
“I’m thinking of an extension in another six years,” he said jokingly after practice. “I’ve still got many years left here. I would like to go as far as I can. It all depends on my health.”
He was injury-free last year, a feat he wants to repeat this season.
To be clear, 36 is not that old. Hossa’s not the oldest in the league (that title goes to the Florida Panthers’ Jaromir Jagr, who is 43) or even in the Hawks locker room (that’s defenseman Michal Rozsival at 37).
Talk about his age all you want. It doesn’t bother him. “I like to prove that you’re as old as you feel, and I don’t feel like I’ll be 37,” Hossa said. “I used to have teammates when they were 37 and they had a tough time to tie the skates, and you can feel for them. But so far, I feel pretty good.”
So what’s his secret? Maybe Kit Kats? Defenseman Duncan Keith said, “I don’t know what they put in those Kit Kat bars, but he eats a lot of them and he’s in great shape and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon.”
When asked about the candy bars, he laughed. “My weakness is the sweets. The chocolate Kit Kats definitely – I love those!”
