The Victoria Grizzlies announced they will retire Jordie and Jamie Benn’s jerseys this fall.
The Stelly’s Secondary grads will become only the third and fourth players to have their jerseys retired by the franchise. Jordie’s number 8 and Jamie’s number 16 will hang alongside Kyle Greentree and Jason Gow’s retired jerseys.
“The people behind us have a big part in this day as well and we couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone in the organization,” Jamie said. “It’s definitely an honour to be up in the rafters with a couple other great hockey players and Jordie as well.”
Special announcement: @BCHLGrizzlies are retiring the jerseys of @jamiebenn14 and Jordie Benn September 15. #16 and #8 will hang in the rafters at The Q Centre. #BCHL #Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/RHWHv4bevN
— Lindsey Horsting (@lindseyhorsting) July 25, 2018
Jamie is the captain of the Dallas Stars and Jordie plays for the Montreal Canadiens.
Jordie spent three years with the Grizzlies and he and Jamie played together for one year in Victoria. Jordie said they didn’t know if they’d ever get the chance to play together again so it was special.
“It was awesome, we were two young kids just playing hockey, we played baseball together but we never had the chance to play hockey, and to do it here for the first time it was fun,” he said.
Grizzlies president Lance Black texted Jordie asking him if he was going to be in town and if he could come down to The Q Centre in Colwood for the announcement. Jordie said he was surprised when Black presented the idea of retiring their jerseys.
“I thought he just wanted [us] to come in and chat, but it’s pretty cool … this is where our so-called real hockey started so we have a lot of memories here and it’s just a cool experience,” he said.
Jordie said he gained a lot of confidence playing in the British Columbia Hockey League and it built the foundation for developing his pro game in the AHL, ECHL and eventually the NHL. He credited the coaching staff Rylan Ferster and Jackson Penny, Geoff Courtnall and Reza Binab, when he was on the squad to learning about life on and off the ice.
“I owe a lot to those guys that taught me how to be an adult and a pro hockey player,” he said.
The jersey retirement will take place September 15 at The Q Centre before the Grizzlies game against the Penticton Vees at 7 p.m.
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lindsey.horsting@goldstreamgazette.com
