Roenick has more fun than anyone Jeremy Roenick, the colorful center of the Philadelphia Flyers, is the NHL's 800-pound gorilla: You just can't ignore him. Roenick is talented, physically imposing, successful, rich and funny. During the warmup for the Flyers' Oct. 31 game against the Phoenix Coyotes, Roenick skated onto the ice wearing a blonde wig, blacked-out front teeth, long black Flyers pants from the 1980s and a No. 16 Flyers sweater bearing the name "Clarke." Was he worried about the reaction from his general manager? Not a bit. "It's Halloween, man," said Roenick. "And Clarkie enjoyed it. You know, he always has a smile on his face and is cracking a joke in the locker room. I figured he'd be the one guy in the arena to appreciate that the most. I think the world of Clarkie, you know, and that was a lot of fun." "I always have more fun than anyone," Roenick said. He drives a Harley Davidson, golfs to a four handicap and has appeared on One Life to Live, and Arliss. His Phoenix home has been featured on television and the dapper gentleman has modeled in GQ.
"You have to take pride, being a professional athlete, in being a productive player and someone to be counted on," Roenick said. "I don't actually think about it too much. I do my job to the best of my ability and with hard work that's what has happened." Two years ago, he was the only player to lead his team (the Phoenix Coyotes) in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes. That made him the first player since World War II to twice lead his team in those categories because he also did it the year before. Those two standout seasons -- while playing for a team that failed to make the playoffs -- made Roenick the most attractive member of the 2000 free-agent class. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and in a memorable press conference, threw a bear hug on owner Ed Snider and promised a Stanley Cup. Roenick is coming off an odd season in which he scored 21 goals, the lowest total of his career with the exception of the abbreviated 1994-95 season. Still, Roenick led the Flyers with 67 points in 75 games. Roenick battled a strange scoring slump at the beginning of the season. At one point, he had two goals and 19 assists. He was playing his best hockey when he suffered a knee injury in late March. He valiantly returned to play against the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs but clearly wasn't at his best as the Flyers fell in five low-scoring games.
"You have to try different things," Roenick said. "I'm hoping that down the line it will work out well for me, a positive thing. I seem to start out really well then fade later in the year. I'm hoping that with a little more strength and working on my endurance through the year in the gym that I'll be able to last the whole season." Roenick is comfortable with his stardom and uses his fame for good purposes as the folks at the Special Olympics will testify. He is a ball of energy who stirs up a room with his presence, good humor and light-hearted teasing. But on the ice, he is the consummate professional, a top goal-scorer who is equally adept at playmaking and who doesn't shy from throwing bone-crushing checks. He only knows one way to play -- all out with heart -- as evidenced by the check he threw on a surprised Alexei Zhitnik in last year's NHL All-Star Game.
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