Prince George has lost one of its greatest athletes.
Joey Potskin died Friday near his home in Horse Lake, Alta., after an extended illness. He was 53.
Referred to as the “Native Gretzky,” Potskin excelled in every sport he tried and his knack for playing the game made him the envy of his peers.
Off the playing field and away from the rinks, Potskin’s magnetic personality and sense of humour drew people to him, as childhood friend Scott Cunningham recalled, “like Elvis.”
Potskin made his mark in junior hockey as a scoring star with the Hobbema Hawks, Chilliwack Chiefs and Prince George Spruce Kings. For decades he was the dominant infielderand top hitter in the Spruce City Men’s Fastball Association and the Prince George Senior Baseball League and his baseball skills earned him a tryout with Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves.
“We were like brothers and I loved him, for sure, but very jealous in a lot of ways because, naturally, he could play anything,” said Randy Potskin, who was a year older than Joey, his first cousin and constant companion growing up in the VLA neighbourhood of inner-city Prince George. “I played tennis a little bit and he picks up a racquet and kicks my ass. Badminton was the same thing, kicked my ass, golf, he picked it up so easily.”
Randy was 16 and Joey was 15 when they attended their first junior A hockey camp in Hobbema. Both realized early on they weren’t ready to play against guys with beards who used their size and physical style to intimidate. After one day on the ice, they asked Joey’s dad Joe to come and bring them back to Prince George.
The following season they returned to Hobbema and Joey went on to be the team’s rookie of the year, while Randy played for the junior B team. Joey returned to the Hawks for his 17-year-old season but after that he got homesick and chose to stay in Prince George. The Hawks didn’t want to give up his playing rights and he had to sit out half of the 1988-89 season before he was allowed to suit up for the Spruce Kings.
That half-season with the Kings was brief but productive. Playing centre on the “Bannock Line” with Randy and his cousin Chad Ghostkeeper, Joey put up 17 goals and 38 points in 27 regular season games and led the team with five playoff points.
“It didn’t matter if you were on a cardboard box on the ice or the ball field, you were the best at whatever it was and we all wanted to be as good as you,” said Ghostkeeper, in his Facebook tribute to Joey.
“Because of you I got into sports late at a young age playing hockey downstairs in the basement and going to watch you play rep hockey. Who knows where I’d be today without you. On the ice watching you not even moving your feet just doing some breakdancing moves with your head and shoulders making those D-men look so stupid, we just shook our heads.”
As a 19-year-old, Joey attended the Kings’ training camp but the offer of a salary and his own apartment in Hobbema convinced him to leave Prince George suddenly and he turned in an MVP season in the AJHL with the Hawks, totalling 59 goals and 59 assists for 108 points in just 47 games as well as 16 playoff points.
When he was 20, Potskin jumped at the chance to play for the Chilliwack Chiefs in their inaugural B.C. Junior Hockey season, knowing the league’s reputation for attracting NHL scouts, and it turned out a good move. Playing on a line with his good friend Marc Gagnon, Potskin won the BCJHL scoring title with 60 goals and 86 assists for 146 points, one point more than Gagnon. The Chiefs finished first in their division and lost in the 1991 league semifinals.
In 2022, Potskin was one of 12 forwards named to the BCHL’s 60th anniversary team.
“Joey was an electrifying player to watch who had fans on their feet every time he was on the ice,” said former Chiefs president Barry Douglas.
After he was cut from his Prince George 15U Babe Ruth baseball team, Joey never played minor baseball again, sticking to softball. But his ability to throw a baseball 90 miles per hour caught the eye of Atlanta Braves scout Bill Clark at a tryout camp in Prince George in the summer of 1990. Before leaving to play hockey in Chilliwack, Potskin signed a pro contract with the Braves, committing him to a season of rookie ball with their Gulf Coast League affiliate.
He joined the Braves instructional team the following April in Bradenton, Fla., as soon as his hockey season ended. Joey had plenty of raw skill for baseball but just needed more practice time and he was out of his comfort zone in the searing Florida heat.
“I’m learning so much about playing shortstop I can’t believe it,” Joey told Citizen sports reporter Lee Anderson. “They’re teaching me how to grab the ball, bring it to my belt, pop it into my throwing hand and release it. It’s one, two, three. I had a little trouble with it at first but I’m doing alright now. I didn’t realize it, but I didn’t know anything about playing shortstop.”
Joey played just one game in the Gulf Coast League, had three at-bats – all line drives hit to second base - and batted in one run. After two months he was released.
“If he stuck with ball seriously, who knows, he might have played triple-A, he was that skilled,” said Randy.
“I’ve seen things that just made me wonder, what did you just do, like some the catches, throwing from his knees, throwing across his body - you only see that at the elite level. Guys trying out for our team at first base would quit because he threw too hard.”
Joey came back to Prince George and for years was an integral part of the Lumber/River Kings Softball Club, helping them bring home the Canadian Native Fastball Championship six times. On some weekends he’d earn $2,000 as a hired gun playing for other teams in big fastball tournaments. In 1996, competing against teams from Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver, Potskin won the Nor-West Major Fastball League batting crown ahead of national team players, playing for his hometown Prince George River Kings.
After a nine-game stint in the ECHL with the Roanoke Valley Rebels, Potskin moved to Horse Lake, Alta., and played senior hockey with the Peace River Stampeders, Horse Lake Thunder, Fort St. John Flyers and High Prairie Regals. He stayed close to minor hockey rinks and loved to share his secrets with kids. Prince George hockey parent Alex Schmeisser was there that day he put on his skates as a guest coach of a team his cousin Randy was coaching.
“Joey was teaching the kids how to shoot the puck and he had the kids point to different parts of the net,” said Schmeisser. “Amazing thing was Joey never missed where the kids pointed to. Crossbars, posts, top corners, low corners, five hole. He could hit them all. As a parent watching, it was amazing. Never seen anything like it before or since. The kids were in awe and learned a lot about shooting the puck that day.”
Predeceased by his mother Patsy and sister Marlene, Joey is survived by his wife Denise Horseman, son Tre, daughters Cree and Krysandra, his father Joe, and sisters Angela and Mailyn.
His family in Horse Lake is planning a private service and a celebration of Joey’s life will follow sometime this summer in Prince George.
