Wayne "Gino" Odjick was born on September 7th, 1970 on the Algonquin Reserve Kitigan Zibi just outside the town of Maniwaki, Quebec. While he started playing hockey at an early age, it was only at the age of 11 that he joined an organized team led by his father Joe. At the age of 15, he was thinking of giving up hockey to pursue other avenues when he was invited to try out with the Hawkesbury Hawks, a junior team in Ontario. Until that moment, he had always played on the blue line advocating a defensive style. With the Hawks, however, he realized he did not have the skills to be successful if he continued down that path. It was then that he decided to convert to an enforcer. It was in Hawkesbury that he earned his first nickname, "The Algonquin Assassin". According to him, his need to defend his teammates and his fighting skills are due, in part, to the tensions that existed between the inhabitants of the reserve and the surrounding villagers.
Drafted in the fifth round, 86th overall, in 1990 by the Vancouver Canucks, Odjick played on the 1st line with Pavel Bure. In 1993-94, he reached a personal high of 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists). Not bad for a player known know more for his fists than his offensive prowess. In six of the eight seasons he spent with the Canucks, the last having been shared with the Islanders, he had amassed more than 200 PIMs, while receiving more than 300 minutes the other two years. After making a stop in Philadelphia, Odjick moved to Montreal in 2001-2002. Unfortunately, a puck to the back of the head during pre-season training resulted in a concussion that kept him out of the game for the majority of the 2002-2003 season. After being suspended by the Canadiens in February 2003 for refusing to report to their club in the AHL, he finally decided to retire to Vancouver, where he still resides. He had played 605 games in the NHL, totalling 137 points (64 goals, 73 assists), but most of all an impressive total of 2567 minutes in the penalty box, including three seasons of more than 300 penalty minutes.
On June 26th of 2014, however, his world completely changed when doctors told him that he was suffering from AL amyloidosis. According to the Montreal Heart Institute, this rare and deadly disease causes your bone marrow to produce abnormal antibodies that can't be broken down, eventually infiltrating your organs. When it attacks the heart, as is the case for Odjick, the abnormal antibodies are deposited on its surface surrounding it with a film which hardens, causing a rigidity that prevents the heart from relaxing and contracting properly. This condition eventually leads to heart failure. It's a terminal condition since there is no treatment to reverse or even delay the process.
"They (the doctors) told me that I had a few weeks, at most a few months, to live," said Odjick when asked about it this week by François Gagnon of RDS. "They told me to prepare for my death, to go back home, to Maniwaki, to be close to my family because there was nothing they could do," he recalled.
The enforcer now had to face his most difficult opponent, promising a fatal knockout. Odjick had always benefited from the support of the fans, regardless of which team colours he had been wearing, but if he had ever doubted it, he had solid proof when his illness was announced in 2014. This news gave rise to a huge wave of sympathy in both Canada and the United States. On June 29, hundreds of Canucks fans gathered at Vancouver General Hospital to greet and cheer for him. Weakened and in a wheelchair, Odjick, escorted by friends and family, had gone out to meet then and to say goodbye.
Unfortunately, the showing of support and encouragement could not slow the disease, much less heal it. In the face of imminent death, Odjick, on the advice of his doctors, had finally resolved to return "home" to die surrounded by his family. Before arriving there, however, he made a stop at the Ottawa General Hospital where, unexpectedly, the doctors offered him an experimental treatment to try.
"I was not ready to die," he said in the interview with RDS. "My children were too young. I had to take care of them. I had to stay close to them longer. And since I never felt that I was going to die, I accepted the treatments in question and I have been in remission for two years already. The doctors tell me that the disease might come back someday. I just hope it will be 20 years from now," he added.
"I won this battle," Odjick added. "Like others I've done in my life".
But the last fight left its mark. Odjick took on a lot of weight, reaching a total of 280 pounds; good news in a sense since it he had lost a lot during his battle against the disease. However, He can not play hockey anymore because "I do not think I'd be able to tie up my skates," he confessed, tongue-in-cheek with the sense of humor that has always characterized him.
His condition is far from optimal. In March, during an interview with the CBC network, the brawler revealed that his heart was only working at 60% of its capacity, but was still recovering strength. The swelling in the legs had disappeared. Despite the improvements, he is still short of breath, another sign of the precariousness of his condition.
Odjick is the father of seven children who all live in Quebec except one, Patrick, who lives in Vancouver. One of his sons (Joey) is a police officer in Laval. His daughter Chynna continues her studies in the Montreal area while the others reside in Maniwaki.
"If all goes well, I plan to go for a walk (to Maniwaki and Quebec) to see my children and the rest of the family next month," he said, adding that he would take the opportunity to visit his friend Donald Audette, who is part of the scouting team with the Montreal Canadiens, a friend he considers more like a brother. Audette had visited him in Vancouver five years ago when Odjick had received his horrible news. He went there with Michel Therrien, the former head coach of the Canadiens and current assistant coach to Alain Vigneault in Philadelphia, and both were stunned to see him in this state. "It did not make sense that a solid guy like Gino could suddenly be so weak. I was convinced that it was the last time I would see him alive," said Audette. "He was really weak."
The former enforcer is in remission and his condition is no longer considered terminal. This is an incredible but, above all, inspiring story, which proves that, no matter the opponent, you have to face it and give your best shot. This is what Odjick has done throughout his career and it is certainly what he will continue to do until his last breath.
Sources: le Journal de Montreal and RDS
