Talk about a fair ytale ending.
After 18 years, 187 games, 90 goals and 57 assists, SkyCity Stampede ice hockey stalwart Braden Lee officially retired in front of a home crowd last Saturday night after scoring a hat-trick against Auckland development side Mako.
After the Stampede won 9-4 on Friday night, Lee laced up his skates for one last time on Saturday, helping his team net a 10-3 win.
To his surprise, after the game, his no.12 jersey was also retired.
‘‘She was a fairly emotional night, really.’’
It’s just the second Stampede number to be hung from the rafters at the Queenstown Ice Arena, and now takes pride of place beside no.10, worn by former team-mate Simon Glass.
Lee, 39, says the number can only come out of retirement if his son, Brooklyn, 3, ends up playing for the team and wants to wear it.
‘‘I’ve got to focus on [my] kids and, being president of the club, I’ve got to focus on the direction of the whole club.
‘‘I’ve got to give back, somehow, and this is how I can start.’’
The Queenstowner’s name first appeared on Stampede’s team list in 2005, when the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) was formed.
Making his official debut in ’06, he’s been part of five of the seven championship-winning teams and was also named NZIHL Finals MVP in 2016.
PICTURE: JAMES ALLAN PHOTOGRAPHY
He’s also got the dubious honour of having 500 minutes in the penalty box, believed to be the second highest in the league.
‘‘It’s just the way I play,’’ he quips.
‘‘I was probably more passionate than anything … they would always offer me captain and assistant captain roles, but I never wanted to take them because I didn’t want the responsibility, I wanted to be able to play and act the way I act as a player.’’
He represented the NZ Ice Blacks for several years, making the call to retire from international hockey in 2011.
He says he was convinced to play a ‘‘retirement game’’ by team-mate Jaden Skipper, and it confirmed his decision was the right one.
‘‘It’s just a lot more professional nowadays, guys are in the gym a lot more, players are bigger, the game’s faster … which is probably the other part [for] me.
‘‘I’m nearly 40, so it was going to be hard to keep the body in nick to keep playing — I’m already sore after that one game I played,’’ he laughs.
Looking back on his career, Lee, who owns Industrial Fitness Gym and Fight Club, says the team culture sets Stampede aside, and it is also their secret weapon.
Along with the best fan base in the country, Lee says the team’s got great management and an epic group of vollies who make the games ‘‘so much more special’’.
And he’s had the privilege of playing alongside some of the greats, which he says has made his life in hockey ‘‘a lot more fun and better for it’’.
Stampede next play Auckland’s Botany Swarm in Queenstown next Friday and Saturday.
- Additional reporting: Philip Chandler
