Fruitvale native Barret Jackman returned to St. Louis on Thursday for his first visit to the rink he called home for 13 NHL season.
Now a member of the Nashville Predators, Jackman got a warm welcome from the St. Louis Blues fans were he played 803 games with the franchise.
That ranks second all time for the club.
The former Beaver Valley Nitehawk was drafted by the Blues in the first round of the 1999 NHL draft and won the 2003 Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.
During a first period break in the action, a tribute to Jackman’s career in St. Louis was played on the video screen.
Jackman admitted to reporters after the game that it was an emotional moment.
“It was pretty emotional. I kind of felt something was coming, and I tried to prepare myself,” Jackman said on the Blues website. “It was very nice of the Blues to do that and recognize my family as well. They’ve lived through this Blues experience as I did, and they take a lot of pride in the Blues family.”
St. Louis won the game 2-1.
Watch the video at http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=793406
