Juan Strickland is shown in this undated photo.
Strickland, a native of Isle aux Morts on the province’s southwest coast, is among the 2016 inductees for the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame in the player category.
Strickland, who retired in 2002 with the Port aux Basques Mariners the last jersey worn, has heard his name thrown around for years as a possible inductee with people telling him his day would come, but he wasn’t sure if it would happen or not.
When it does, he now knows it’s an exciting time for sure.
“You had an opportunity to play the game with some fantastic hockey players and great individuals, and the fact that you could compete at that level and have some accomplishments is quite flattering,” Strickland said Tuesday from Halifax where he was visiting his brother.
Strickland was a scoring star in the minor hockey ranks in Port aux Basques before spending five years with Acadia University in the varsity college hockey ranks where he played every game for his team and eventually was rewarded with induction into the Acadia University Acadia University Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.
Strickland won his first Herder as a member of the Stephenville Jets in 1983 and four years later he won it with his hometown Port aux Basques Mariners on a team bolstered by a handful of guys who would go on to skate in the National Hockey League and a few more who would have successful careers overseas.
He won his last Herder in 1994 when he was a player/coach with the La Scie Jets and this particular ride always stands out because a tiny community celebrated the victory in a big way and felt a part of it all.
“The motorcade they had for the championship in La Scie was unbelievable. I never witnessed anything like that in my life,” he said.
He still feels fortunate to have had the chance to rub shoulders with some guys who were inducted into the Hall before him and learned a lot about what it takes to be a good player and a good teammate from being surrounded by so many great players during his career.
His days of filling the opposition’s net are far removed, but his passion for the game remains as strong as ever so he fuels that passion by coaching minor hockey these days.
He has played a key role in the development of a lot of budding players from all over the island and Labrador and it’s something he loves to do. He wants players to chase their dreams just like he did, but he also cautions them to be realistic in their expectations so they won’t be devastated if it doesn’t work out like they planned.
“It’s not all about winning and losing,” he said. “It’s about doing your best and developing your skills. At the end of the day you’re only going to take the game as far as you want to take it.”
He’s in a comfort zone when he’s on the ice helping someone in becoming a better player and a good person who brings a level of professionalism to the ice.
Coaching is actually giving him more satisfaction than playing and that’s pretty interesting considering Strickland was known in hockey circles as a man who played hard every game from start to finish and left it all on the ice.
He sees players loving the game the way he did so he gets motivated to give them a helping hand.
“Coaching and helping to mould young hockey players is probably one of the greatest things I admire about this game now more so than when I was playing it because you have such an impact on these kids,” he said.
He did have one thing to pass on to young players and their parents.
“Because you don’t become a pro player don’t mean you can’t behave like the pros,” he said.
