POSITION: Right Wing
HEIGHT: 5'9"
NICKNAME: Toots
WEIGHT: 182lbs
HOMETOWN: Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
BORN: Churchill, Manitoba
LAST YEAR'S TEAM: Brandon Wheat Kings
NHL STATUS: Drafted 98th Overall, Nashville Predators, 2001
FAMILY: Barney, Rose, Corrine, Terrence
MUSIC: Metallica
FAVORITE FOOD: Wild meat
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Hockey Night in Canada
HOBBIES:Working out, rollerblading, partying with friends, boxing
FAVORITE NHL PLAYER: Wendel Clark
FAVORITE NHL TEAM: Toronto Maple Leafs
BEST HOCKEY MEMORY: Representing Canada as team captain in the Under 18 Tournament, and being drafted into the NHL
FAVORITE PAST TIMES: Working out, rollerblading, boxing, spending time with brother Terrence
SCHOOL: Graduated from Crocus Plains High School, Brandon, 2001
FUTURE ASPITATIONS: NHL . Setting a good example for fellow native kids.
2000-01 Season
Personal Profile
Central Scouting Report
"Terence and Jordin Tootoo are a rare pair of hockey playing siblings from Canada's hinterland; Inuit linemates from Rankin Inlet, N.W.T., who have left home to turn heads in the Manitoba junior league - as members of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation Blizzard." - National Post, Dec. 29, 1998
"Tootoo has defied the odds, the little guy with the big dreams and even bigger heart. Growing up in an isolated northern town off the shores of Hudson Bay, Tootoo was raised in the traditional Inuit lifestyle of hunting and fishing, with a daily diet of raw fish, whale and caribou." - James Shewaga, Brandon Sun, Aug. 5, 2000
"He's a special player no matter where he came from. He can create so much offence and create so much havoc with his play and he has good all-around skills and that's exciting." - Barry Trapp, Director of Scouting, CHA
Statistics (season complete)
When Jordin Tootoo isn't playing hockey, he can be found back home in Nunavat, which is located north of Manitoba, relaxing with his father, Barney, and his brother, Terence, either hunting or fishing.
While this trek in the outdoors away from the rink may sound like it's fun and relaxing, it's anything but. You see, the 18-year old right wing prospect for the Nashville Predators and his family don't go out on the tundra looking to bring home a deer or a rabbit, they tend to hunt the bigger more dangerous animals like caribou and whales.
"I like to do a lot of hunting and fishing," Tootoo explained. "We do a lot of whale and caribou hunting. I love it because you can go out whenever you want. There're no trees up there. It's all tundra, which gives you freedom and makes you relax."
And while Tootoo enjoys the challenge of man against nature, he loves the catch even more.
In The System Info
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The beauty of hockey is there are great stories and players located all over the globe. The vast majority view the NHL as the ultimate destination to test their hockey skills. This season, NHL.com will profile young players taking their steps toward the NHL. Be it the junior ranks, international or college, we will check out who is "In The System."
Jordin Tootoo profile
Predators team stats
www.nashvillepredators.com
"Whatever we catch, everything is used up--right from the fur down to the meat," he said. "We don't waste nothing up there."
Another thing this youngster doesn't waste is opportunities. The highly talented forward has been skating ever since he was 4-years-old, but really didn't play organized hockey until he was a teenager.
"I started playing hockey at the age of about 4. My father got me playing," Tootoo said. "My whole life he's kind of been my guide and my mentor. Ever since I was a young kid he taught me pretty much everything growing up. We didn't have organized hockey up north. There were no leagues. We'd pretty much just play pickup hockey against our friends and my dad was there pretty much every time we were on the ice to help us out. I've only been playing organized hockey now for about four years."
His dad was a good guy to learn from, as he was a well-known player back in his day in the Thompson, Manitoba senior leagues. But believe it or not, Jordin didn't get his physical style of play from dad, but rather from playing against his older brother Terence and his friends. As a kid, whenever he laced his skates up to play hockey it was always against these older players, who would usually tower over him, and who would also make him earn his keep.
"Growing up I always played with older kids, especially my brother who's three years older than me," Tootoo said. "I always would play with him and his friends. They were always hard on me and I always had to fight my way back. They were all also bigger than me and me being only 5-foot-9 I learned to battle my way through.
"I always had to play above my size and I had to stick up for myself. My dad was the coach at the time, and he always told me that if you wanted to play with these guys, you have to stick up for yourself. I've been beaten up a few times by my brother and his friends, and my dad would stand there laughing at me. He told me that if you want to be a better player, you have to play hard, play with a big heart and have that passion. Just playing with older kids really helped me out. That's probably where I got my toughness from."
Tootoo toughed his way all the way to Florida last year, where he was chosen by the Predators with their sixth selection, 98th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
"Tootoo has defied the odds, the little guy with the big dreams and even bigger heart," James Shewaga said in the Brandon Sun this past August. "Growing up in an isolated northern town off the shores of Hudson Bay, Tootoo was raised in the traditional Inuit lifestyle of hunting and fishing, with a daily diet of raw fish, whale and caribou."
Tootoo was not only happy to be drafted by the Predators, but he was also excited to be the first hockey player of Inuit decent to have a chance to play in the National Hockey League.
"My heart really lightened up when I put that jersey on for the first time. Hopefully I'm the first of many Inuit kids growing up to put a jersey on in the NHL," he said. "I just want to be a role model for young kids and hopefully they can look up to me or other people and say hey if he could do it I can do it."
Tootoo notched 20 goals and 28 assists for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League last season.
The Preds' rookie got a chance to show he could compete with other players of his age and skill this past summer when he traveled to Traverse City, Mich., with all the other Nashville hopefuls to play in the Prospect Tournament against five other NHL freshman squads. He also was able to find out what he needed to work on after the tournament was done
"Coming here, you're playing against guys who are on top of the world in this game and it kind of gives you a sense on where you're at in your game" Tootoo said. "I kind of got an idea of what I had to work on in the season ahead."
Nashville General Manager David Poile likes what he saw in Tootoo in Michigan, as the first-year player notched one goal and one assist in the tourney for the Preds.
"This is a kid that's been selected to play for some high-level teams without a lot of hockey experience. He's only been in organized hockey for four years, so we think the learning curve - hockey-wise - is going to go up."
The Predators’ chief amateur scout, Craig Channell, is also amazed at what Tootoo can do on the ice, especially in the hitting department.
"It was his skating ability that caught my eye," Channell explained at the Draft. "He's played four years of organized hockey. He played with his uncles and his dad up until he was 14 - Triple AAA bantam, Tier Two at 15, WHL at 16. Under-17 team for Canada and will probably be their captain next year. He's just starting to absorb. He's got good hockey sense, he can skate, he can shoot. He's not afraid of anybody. He's the best hitter I've ever seen in my life. You're going to be amazed at how he hits."
And if he keeps working hard and progressing, there's no doubt that one day he'll make it to the NHL.
"This is a great story. It would be super for us, the National Hockey League and all the people and the culture that he represents if he made it in the National Hockey League," Poile said. "It would be like Scott Gomez being the first Hispanic player to play in the NHL."
Jordin's Hometown: Rankin Inlet
Back to The Western Hockey League
Number : 22
***Did you know: That Jordin's Inuk name is Kadluk, which was one of his grandfather Tootoo's names...Kadluk translated to english is simply "thunder".
BIRTHDATE: February 2, 1983 
Was rated 62nd among North American prospects on Central Scouting's final ranking, was rated 96th at mid-season ... performed for Team Orr at the 2001 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Calgary ... won the Hardest Shot event at the Top Prospects Skills Evaluation (96.1 mph) ... completed his second season with Brandon ... posted a seven-game scoring streak from Dec. 30-Jan. 13 (4-7-11) ... was nominated as Manitoba's Sportsman of the Year ... finished fourth in team scoring ... named Brandon's Most Popular Player for the second consecutive season and was recognized as the team's hardest worker ... posted a team-leading six points (2-4-6 in 6GP) in the playoffs as Brandon was defeated by Swift Current (4-2) in the first round.
Captained Canada's under-18 team at the 2000 Four Nations tournament in Slovakia, capturing a Gold medal ... performed for Team West in the under-17 2000 World Hockey Challenge in Timmins ... named Brandon's Most Popular Player in 1999-00 ... was selected by the Wheat Kings in the 1998 WHL bantam draft, 43rd overall ... played for the OCN Blizzard (MJHL) in 1998-99, earning Rookie of the Year and Scholastic Player of the Year honors.
A strong skater with good acceleration, agility and balance ... has good hockey sense and handles the puck well in tight situations ... has one of the hardest shots in the WHL and is often used at the point on the powerplay ... works very well in the corners and along the boards and drives hard to the net ... a very dedicated and competitive player and a very hard worker ... plays a very physical game and is one of the hardest bodycheckers in the league ... an effective antagonist who can take opponent's off their game ... will sacrifice himself to make the play ... a very tough player who is protective of his teammates.
Season Team League GP G A TP PIM
2000-01 Brandon WHL 60 20 28 48 173
1999-00 Brandon WHL 45 6 10 16 214
Randy Ponte
