Jeremy Roenick says the NHL could benefit from having more personalities like Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban.
“The NHL does a lot of different things. You’re almost like connected to strings. They want you to act a certain way, they want you to play a certain way, they want you to say certain things, which is good, because I think the NHL has one of the best reputations of any of the other sports but you need characters.” Roenick said in a Q&A with Yahoo! Sports.
“You need Ovechkin, guys like P.K. They bring that out. We just need more of it. And you can be outlandish and still be respectful. The NHL doesn’t like when someone rises above the head count. And guys are really respectful, too. You just have idiots like myself, because we knew it’s an entertainment sport.”
Roenick, who was known for his big personality during a 20-year NHL career, sees similarities between himself and Subban and said it would have been fun to compete against him if they ever played one another – Subban made his NHL debut during the 2009-10 campaign, one season after Roenick retired.
“It would have been a great image to have me go against P.K. Subban. Who would have the bigger mouth? Who would be the bigger showboat? He resembles me. Reminds me of myself as a young player,” Roenick said.
For Roenick, the one thing that sticks out most about Subban is how much he cares about what he does whether it’s playing the game, promoting the league or helping with charity events.
“He’s so passionate about the game. He wears his heart on his sleeve, every night. He really cares,” Roenick added. “There are some guys in this league that don’t care. They have all the talent in the world but they really don’t care. P.K. really cares. About his teammates, even though he gets in their face. What you hear from P.K. is what you get from P.K. He’s not going to stab you in the back and I love that aspect about him. He can balance that, and not many guys can.”
