RANKIN INLET
Barney Tootoo of Rankin Inlet knows his son, Jordin, might never have a better chance to bring the Stanley Cup home to the Kivalliq.

Jordin Tootoo lands a left against Tom Sestito of the Pittsburgh Penguins during NHL action in October - photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Jordin signed a one-year deal with the always dangerous Chicago Black Hawks during the off-season.

The Hawks are a team many experts see as being right in the thick of the chase for hockey's holy grail come this April and May.

Barney said it's another exciting year of hockey for he and his wife, Rose, watching their son play in the windy city.

He said Jordin told him it was a no-brainer signing with Chicago, and having his son playing on an Original Six team makes this season even that much more exciting.

"Jordin seemed to be pretty happy signing with them, so, hopefully, everything will go well there," said Barney.

"Being signed by a contender perks everyone up.

"Jordin was pretty excited about being a Black Hawk when I was talking to him, and who knows what could happen this year."

Barney said he would never have believed, not in a million years, that Jordin would last more than a decade in the NHL.

He said for awhile he thought his son's stint with the Nashville Predators would be his last in the league.

"You look at Jordin's size and, back in the day when he first made the show, it was still a rough-and-tumble, Bruins versus Philly, style of hockey being played.

"Jordin's played a rough style of hockey his whole life, because everybody always thought he was too small.

"But, when he gets on the ice, it seems like he's just as big as anybody else out there.

"He thinks that way, too, when he's out there, and I was always such an angel on the ice, so he must get his toughness from his momma's side."

Barney said he tries not to think about Chicago winning the Cup too much, in case he jinxes it, but anything's possible for a team with that much talent.

He says one thing he's pretty sure of, it's going to be an interesting spring when playoff hockey rolls around.

"It would definitely be nice to have that Cup sitting in the garage at home there, then everybody in town could come by and have a few sips of pop out of it.

"That would be a huge day for Rankin.

"It would be some kind of show for all the people who know Jordin.

"Yes it sure would be nice if he could bring it all the way home to Rankin for a visit, especially with his name on it."

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