'All the way' now means giving back for the NHL's 1st Inuk player

Announcing his retirement from professional hockey in Brandon, Man., on Friday was like "coming full circle" for Jordin Tootoo.

• 'I owe my life to this game': Jordin Tootoo retiring from NHL

"It was an unbelievable experience to see how much the fans appreciated my time in Brandon," he said in an interview with CBC North. "I had the opportunity to wave one last time to the great fans of Brandon and the hockey world."

My out was hockey, my happy place was hockey.- Jordin Tootoo

For the right-winger with a hard-hitting reputation, coming full circle has also meant facing tragedy, battling addiction and finding sobriety.

A turning point

Tootoo was playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings in theWestern Hockey League when he was drafted by the Nashville Predators in 2001. He would become the first Inuk player in the NHL.

He says leaving his small home town of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, for Brandonin 1999 was a "no-brainer."

"To leave home under the circumstances I was in with alcohol and drugs being present. My out was hockey. My happy place was hockey," he said.

But it was also while he was with the Wheat Kingsthat Tootoo lost his older brother and teammate Terence, to suicide.

Terence had always been Tootoo's role model and best friend. His death was one of the hurdles inTootoo's journeyfrom a kid who just wanted to make the NHL, to an advocate for mental health, suicide prevention and sobriety.

At the time, however, being a role model wasn't even on his radar.

• From the archives: Jordin Tootoo sits down with CBC before his NHL debut

"Being that young 19, 20 years old all that was on my mind was to fight for everything I had to do in order make it to the NHL," he said.

"I could either leave the game and, you know, stop pursuing our dream to play in the NHL, or like my brother said, go all the way."

That reference is a riff on the title of Tootoo's2014 book, which draws on a note Terence left his younger brother before he died, encouraging him to go "all the way."

"All the way" meant playing 12 years with Nashville and Detroit, where Tootoo made his name as an enforcer and a fighter.

But Tootoo also turned to alcohol to deal withthe pressure of the game, the loss of his brother and his family's history with substance abuse.

By 2010, Tootoo's bosses gave him an ultimatum and he voluntarily entered the NHL's substance abuse program.

"For me it was either my hockey career or am I going to let the battle with alcohol win," he said.

A second chance

Tootoo went on to play eightmore years in the NHL, moving on to the New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks.

I can only hope I've done my brother proud.- JordinTootoo

He says he's grateful he was able to fulfil the dream he and Terence shared.

"I got to play 13 years in the NHL and I can only hope I've done my brother proud," said Tootoo.

Family and the future

Even at the height of his career, and despite his complicated home life, Tootoo often came back toRankin Inlet, where anyone walking into the community arena passes under a larger-than-life painting of the hockey player in action.

The biggest gift that's ever been given to me is my two kids and sobriety.- Jordin Tootoo

"To me, home is always going to be home," he said, adding that it's also anopportunity to hunt, fish and spend time with family.

"They've been by my side since day one," he said."Didn't matter what issues we faced. We stuck together and that's what family's all about."

Tootoo's now been sober now for eightyears

"I'm feeling fantastic," he said. "I have two healthy baby girls, a beautiful wife that I get to spend more time with and ultimately the biggest gift that's ever been given to me is my two kids and sobriety."

WATCH: JordinTootoospeaks with Northbeat host Juanita Taylor about his plans to work with Indigenous youth.

Jordin Tootoo on his retirement plans

6 years ago

Duration 4:27

Jordin Tootoo, the first Inuk player in the NHL, speaks with Northbeat host Juanita Taylor about his plans now that he's retired from the league. He says he wants to work with Indigenous youth on mental health and suicide prevention.