‘It’s time to party’: Joe Thornton’s emotional week wraps up with Hall of Fame Induction

Joe Thornton’s emotional homecoming week wrapped up with a Hall of Fame speech that provided laughs, smiles, and a sincere thank you to everyone who helped.

Everyone knew there would be tears.

Joe Thornton’s emotional homecoming week wrapped up Monday with a Hall of Fame speech that provided laughs, smiles, and a sweet and sincere thank you to everyone who helped him along the way.

He said for him, there was only one season growing up: “hockey season.”

He’d pretend to be NHL legends like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and many others.

“I want to thank all those greats for setting the bar and creating a dream inside of me,” said Thornton.

His path to the NHL started playing knee hockey in the basement of his St. Thomas, Ont. home with his brothers Alex and John and watching Don Cherry hockey videos.

“A dream was made on Crescent Ave. in a 1,200 square house that my mom and dad built and they still live in today. Wayne and Mary, my parents. You were the beginning, the middle and the end of my story,” said Thornton.

Two days before his induction, Thornton returned to his hometown as the St. Thomas Stars GOHL team hosted a tribute game.

“I’m in the Joe Thornton Community Centre and I’m dropping the puck and it’s just so nice to be back,” Thornton told CTV News. “I see so many faces that I’ve known for so many years, it’s just good to be back.”

With players wearing throwback jerseys from the two seasons Thornton played for the Stars 30 years ago, Jumbo Joe got them fired up by reading the pregame lineup card in the dressing room.

Then it was on to the ice for a pregame interview and ceremonial puck drop.

More tears were shed.

“I have to thank so many people in the city where it all started,” said Thornton on the mic. “I left here at 16 years old and really never came back. This is where home is.”

His wife and children, along with his parents, accompanied him onto the red carpet. His parents, smiling from ear to ear.

“It’s just so wonderful that they’ve all come to see Joe,” said his mother, Mary.

His father joked that this will be one of his easiest times ever on the ice.

“There’s no pressure because he doesn’t have to score a goal or get an assist to win the game so there’s nothing to it,” laughed Wayne.

There were hundreds of children and fans in attendance at the game. It felt like every one of them got an autograph in the one hour he spent on the concourse and in his seat. He didn’t even get to watch any of the Stars four-goal first period.

Fans were seen wearing San Jose, Boston, and Toronto jerseys.

“There’s no way we were not coming to see him,” said Tom Vannus, wearing a Bruins #19 jersey. “Great guy and he’s spending all kinds of time with the kids and families. That’s a wonderful job.”

Thornton comes home from San Jose more often than people know. He slips in an out of town with no fan fare, spending time with his family on his farm just southwest of the city.

“We come back here as much as we can in summers and a little bit in the winters now that I’m retired,” said Thornton. “We try to get back here as much as we can because we just love it.”

After inspiring his former GOHL club to a 7-3 win over London, it was back to Toronto to drop the puck at the Maple Leafs game Sunday and Induction Day Monday.

“I’ve been crying a lot because I’ve been writing speeches and I’ve had to do interviews and talk about the past and all these people,” said Thornton. “It’s emotional because there’s so many people that go into making things like this happen.”

At the podium Monday night, he said he was lucky enough to play Junior B in his hometown and remembered Memorial Arena packed with fans. Fast forward years later, he now skates at an arena that bears his name.

“I go there with my son, and I get to skate with his buddies at an arena called the Joe Thornton Community Centre,” Thornton said. “Locals just call it ‘The Joe.’ And River, it’s pretty darn cool.”

He cried some more, when talking about how the NHL lockout changed his life when he met his wife in Switzerland.

He then wrapped up by thanking everyone for “this honour of a lifetime” and then turned to host James Duthie with a joke, “James, bring on the bagpipes it’s time to party. Thank you everyone. I love you.”