Jeremy’s story starts a little differently from most kids. In fact, his starts from living his purpose even at the young age of four. To have an impact and leave a lasting legacy. His friend living next door to him was going to a learn to skate class and his friend’s Mom asked if Jeremy could attend to support his friend. She thought he would enjoy it more if he wasn’t there all on his own. So, Jeremy joined the class with him and when his Mom put him on the ice… he never left.

JR was a very good soccer player. Even won the state championships. And in baseball, he never struck out once as a little league player. His team was one game away from attending the Little League World Series. But he gave all of that up to play hockey.

A team in New Jersey asked him to come and play there and every Friday after school, he would get on the people’s express plane and sit all the way in the back. You could still smoke on airlines back then and he remembers choking on cigarette smoke at the back of the plane every single weekend to get to Newark. One of the parents on the team would pick him up and he would stay there every weekend. This team won the national championship that year and he assisted the final OT goal. “We are the Champions” came on by Queen, and that was Jeremy’s first taste at being a champion.

His parents wanted him to stay close with them, so his dad gave up a 6-figure paying job to move to Boston so Jeremy could play in the independent school league in New England. He joined Thayer Academy. It was there that he and Tony Amonte took this league by storm. Winning championships and having every pro scout follow them for two years. What was also special about Thayer Academy, was that he met his now wife, Tracy, there. Tracy was the popular girl in school and she really noticed Jeremy. She gave Jeremy a photo after winning a big game one Friday night and on the back it said “I think we should be boyfriend and girlfriend.” They’ve never looked back. Over 30 years of marriage strong, and they met when they were just 13 years old. Tracy is Jeremy’s biggest fan and support.

The NHL draft was approaching that following year and he was one of the two highest ranked players in the country, even though he was still just a small kid at 150 pounds. He and his agent were at a pre-draft meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks in their hotel room. His agent told him if they asked him to remove his clothes to get on the scale, not to do it. They don’t draft high school kids. If they knew how small he was, he was certain he wouldn’t get drafted in the first round. Of course, they asked him to get on the scale, and Jeremy said now. When the then Coach Mike Keenan asked him why, he said “Well I don’t know about you guys but I’ve never seen a scale score a goal or win a hockey game, have you? It doesn’t matter how much I weigh… because I score goals and win hockey games.” This was just the start of his long and confident career.

Jeremy was drafted 8th overall in 1988 to the Chicago Blackhawks and the first time in history a high school kid was selected in the top 10 of the NHL draft. But he and his agent weren’t happy with the first offer the Blackhawks made. They thought he deserved more, so he was going to continue to work hard in what would have been his senior year of high school. But they both thought he needed more than high school hockey. So the Headmaster at school said he could enroll in four classes at Boston College over the summer and if he passed them, he would give him his high school diploma. Thanks to his now wife, Tracy (who did most of his work), he passed all of his classes and got his high school diploma and he decided to enroll at Boston College alongside his girlfriend, Tracy.

His first weekend there he had all of the wonderful feelings of a college freshman. Settling into his dorm, putting up his posters, meeting all of his new friends. Monday rolled around, and the Athletic Director at Boston College called him in for a meeting before his very first class. They expressed they were so happy for him to be there but they weren’t anticipating he would be available this year as he was supposed to be a senior in high school, and they had given away all of their hockey scholarships at this point. They asked him if he wouldn’t mind being a walk-on for the BC hockey team. It wasn’t a good look having been the highest-ranked, highest touted high school kid to ever walk onto a college hockey team. So instead, they gave him a scholarship to kick field goals for their football team. He was a great kicker in high school, so he agreed to do it. He thought it was pretty cool that he would get to kick field goals for BC and then go play hockey in his spare time.

He arrived at his first class. Sat on the aisle in the middle next to a lovely girl. The professor started the class by announcing he was handing out the syllabus for the year. Jeremy had never heard of a syllabus before so he asked the girl next to him if they were being tested in the first class. She replied “no, this is all of the course requirements for the year.” Jeremy received the syllabus and it was 50 pages long. He thought… no way… they want us to do all of this in one semester? I’m outta here! He dropped the book, left his backpack full of books, called his agent and told him he wanted to take the Chicago Blackhawks deal. His agent replied in shock since they had been turning it down for months. Jeremy replied “well I didn’t want to take this deal until I learned what a syllabus was!” And that was the start of Jeremy’s professional hockey career.

Jeremy showed up at the Blackhawks training camp the next day still 158 pounds soaking wet. He had no idea what he was about to skate into here. The trainers thought he was the new stick boy. The Blackhawks were the strongest and toughest team in the NHL. He skated onto the ice for the first time with his helmet and mouth guard in. His agent was yelling at him from the stands “Take that helmet and mouth guard off!” Jeremy skated over… his agent said you don’t wear a face mask or mouthpiece for this team and this coach. He demanded he take it all off and get to work. Jeremy thought he was going to get killed out there.

He was really scared now, but he went out and started playing. He scored two goals in the first period. He stole the puck from Rick Vaive, their veteran and first player to ever score 50 goals. Rick slashed him in the ankles. Jeremy remembers his agent telling him to never back down, so Jeremy turned around and two handed him across the back. Everyone was shocked. Back in the locker room, Jeremy apologized to Rick. Rick said “I get it kid, but don’t ever do it again. Good game. Good luck out there.”

Jeremy was not used to the physicality of this league. In fact, he wasn’t checking at all in his first few games. Mike Keenan grabbed him by the neck and yelled into his face that if he ever skated by a check again, he would never play another game for this team. Jeremy was confronted with a decision and his reality was doing something he wasn’t comfortable with. This would risk his hockey career. So, at 158 pounds, he decided to start hitting. He used his speed as leverage. He could wind up, throw his shoulders in and absolutely break guys just using his speed. He became that player that was unpredictable because he was so skilled. He had a mental edge over everyone else. This was the start of his long and successful 21 year NHL career.

Jeremy went on to play in the Olympics, receive awards, and was inducted into the 2010 US Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a two-time 50 goal scorer. He was the last Chicago Blackhawk to score 50 goals in the organization’s history. He did it twice. He recorded 3 x 100 point seasons and was only the 3rd American to ever score 500 goals. He was the only player in NHL history to lead his team in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes in back-to-back seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes. He made nine NHL All-Star appearances.

1,363 NHL Games Played  |  513 Goals Scored  |  703 Assists  |  1,216 Points

And while doing all of that, he had two beautiful kids, Brandi and Brett who have grown to become very successful and amazing adults.

His career was really special. Legendary. Hall of Fame worthy. He’s an icon in the sport of hockey. Fans still flock to see him, meet him, and know him. He continues to have a lasting impact on others, just like he did when he was four years old.

He also faced a lot of adversity, both personally and professionally. What makes Jeremy special, is he never gave up. No matter what he faced. He has completely transformed himself, coming out of the darkness a totally different human being. He looks at life differently now and knows there are great powers guiding him, supporting him, and loving him. He sees more clearly and feels much deeper than ever before. His family and those closest to him are everything. And he continues to live his purpose by making a positive impact on others and leaving an incredible legacy. He will always give people his time. The Jeremy that has been portrayed in the media is not the Jeremy that exists to everyone that knows him. He’s kind, caring, thoughtful, and giving. He’s the guy that will approach you at a coffee shop if he notices you recognizing him to have a memorable interaction. He’s full of love, grace, and growth.

And that is the Jeremy of today. Now.