Cam Janssen Retires, Comes Back to St. Louis

After helping his team win the Challenge Cup, Nottingham Panthers forward and Eureka native Cam Janssen has decided to hang up his skates.

Yes, Cam Janssen was on a team that won a championship.

Yes, Cam Janssen’s retirement is being called a “bombshell.” This article from The Cat’s Whiskers, which is a Panthers blog, writes about Janssen’s retirement in words best reserved for players like Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, and the greats of the game. I can’t tell if they just really loved Cam that much or if the quality of play in that league is so questionable that CamSmash really is their Super Mario, but it’s surreal no matter how you slice it:

You can replace his goals and assists quite easily, you can probably replace the penalty minutes with an enforcer of a similar ilk. What will be extremely difficult to replace is the drive and energy he brought to the ice which lifted the team around him and the supporters in the stands. There are numerous examples of him doing this with a well timed hit or a fight, but I think the best example I can think of was against Belfast Giants in the home leg of the play-off quarter final. With Giants 3-2 up and Panthers looking very flat, Janssen scored an equaliser that lifted the team. His joy in scoring obvious to the NIC crowd as he punched the plexiglass in front of block 7. Of course Panthers went on to win the game 4-3, won 3-1 in Belfast and ultimately lifted the EIHL Play-Off title.

Janssen will be joining St. Louis sports radio and, according to KMOV, will be assuming a yet to be determined role with the St. Louis Blues.

Janssen was a fan favorite here for his on-ice antics and hometown player status. It’s nice to have him back in an off-ice capacity. It’s hard not to love a guy who can manage to do this:

Maybe I can get where Panthers fans are coming from after all.