There Goes Our Hero

This one is going to be tough. Heck, even getting through this piece is going to be tough. Ryan Smyth, the best Oiler of my generation and the icon through very tough times, is going to hang up his skates, his cherished number 94 jersey, and that old wooden blade one last time on Saturday night. On the national stage no less, against the Vancouver Canucks, at Rexall Place. It should be quite the night.

Ryan Smyth was drafted by the team in 1994 with the sixth overall pick, and made his NHL debut on January 22nd, 1995 in a game Edmonton would win. Smyth would have to wait until November 24th of 1995 to score his first goal however, which would be a power-play marker on Calgary’s Trevor Kidd.

From that point on, the legend of the mighty mullet was born. Smyth would score 39 goals in his first full 82 game NHL season in 1996-97, and would score thirty or more three more times in his decorated Oilers career. He was a major part of big time playoff upsets over Dallas and Colorado in the late 1990’s, and of course was a big factor in the miracle run to the finals in the spring of 2006.

There was that teary goodbye on trade deadline day in 2007, the return the following fall as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, and of course the requested trade back home at the 2011 NHL draft. His return to Rexall as an Oiler that fall, and that power-play goal that tied the record earlier this season.

Enough of the time-line however, this man was more than a bunch of stats. Ryan Smyth will be known as one of the star players of his era, right up there with guys like Jarome Iginla, Joe Sakic and Mike Modano. It’s quite the feat for Smyth to even be mentioned with those guys, because let’s be honest, they all have hall of fame talent, something Smyth was never gifted with.

That’s what makes 94 such a fan favorite, and such an awesome figure. He literally willed his way to where he is now. He was the poster child for “name on the front, not the back” and paid a price few other players have. Look at a majority of his career goals, they weren’t pretty, and the likely wouldn’t have a combined distance of a football field.

In a hard working, blue-collar city like Edmonton, Ryan Smyth was the home-town kid with that work ethic no one could really stop. He willed his way to being one of the better power-forwards in the early and mid-2000’s. If that isn’t impressive, then I’m not sure what is.

I’ll never forget the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, second round against the San Jose Sharks. Chris Pronger fired a puck that struck Smyth in the face, and knocked a few teeth out. I think he missed maybe half a period, then came back out and helped set up the Shawn Horcoff winning goal in triple OT. That’s the kind of warrior that Ryan Smyth was, he literally bled for the Oilers and city of Edmonton.

I’m from Boston, but the biggest reason I fell in love with the Oilers in the early 2000’s as a young kid was the team’s identity. They were a hard-working, lunch pail group that wasn’t very talented, but had a lot of pride and worked very hard every night. The leader in that charge was Ryan Smyth, and I credit him with making me an Edmonton Oilers fan.

He might not know it, but Ryan Smyth helped create a number of Oilers fans through his sheer hard work and determination. It caught me before I hit the age of ten, and I can only imagine how many it caught in Western Canada.

Ryan Smyth is a class act as well. This is a guy that has made countless young fans’ days by tossing those pucks during the warm-ups, three a game to be exact, and a guy that seemingly is always involved in community projects. To me, that’s a true professional, someone who gives back to his community and does the right things. That’s what Ryan Smyth did for a long time in Edmonton.

Throughout his years in Edmonton, there have been some terrific memories. The 2006 Cup run was the best spring of my short life, his fastest hat-trick in franchise history was jaw dropping, his goodbye broke my heart as a 12-year old kid, and on and on it goes. When I think Ryan Smyth, there are too many memories to recount, he was that kind of player.

For the younger generation of Oilers fans, 2006 is all we really have, and we don’t have the heroes of past glory like Gretzky, Messier, and so on. We have Ryan Smyth, the hometown kid that made it on hard work, determination, sheer will, and a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and bruises.

Saturday night at Rexall will be the final go around for Ryan Smyth. It will be emotional, tears will be shed by many, and tissues will be in short supply. We knew it was coming, but it doesn’t make it any easier to see a true Oilers’ legend hang it up.

It won’t be easy for the fans or for number 94, but the time is here. The send off at Rexall Place is going to tremendous, and we can only hope the record setting power-play goal finds the back of the net tomorrow night, giving Ryan a record he so badly deserves.

After nearly 20 years in the NHL, it’s here. There goes our hero, watch him as he goes, he’s ordinary. That’s what made Ryan Smyth so special as a player, he was just like everyone else, and he lived the dream as an Edmonton Oiler.

Thank you Ryan, and best of luck in the future, hopefully we see the number 94 hanging from the roof at Rexall Place soon.