Q: Coming out of Junior hockey you were a 50 goal scorer but you were converted to an enforcer. How difficult was this transition?
Mann: Winnipeg Jet G.M. John Ferguson told me I would be the team tough guy. When you're 20 years old and you're thrilled to be in the NHL, you do what you're told. I accepted the role but later in my career it was difficult; your hands are mangled from fighting and your basic scoring skills are eroded from lack of use.
Q: What was your greatest thrill in hockey?
There is no doubt to be drafted and then to be drafted in the first round was something I never dreamed would happen. Then to be able to play with Bobby Hull, Serge Savard and against Gordie Howe was awesome. I can recall sitting in the dressing room beside Bobby Hull and he turned to me and said, "Jimmy, I played six years in the NHL before you were born." That comment made me feel lucky.
Q: Jimmy, on the NHL Tour you look after travel, equipment, sharpen skates and occasionally drive the bus, not to mention play! Why?
I have been on the tour for ten years and worked closely with team manager, Marc Verreault and road manager, Sylvie Gladu. They taught me a lot, but when I see something that needs to be done, I do it and it became a full time job. My wife has a travel business and she acquired the Oldtimers' travel contract so it has become a great fit. I also do the baseball tour. My wife has always been supportive and we make certain we spend a lot of quality time with each other and our children.
Q: I know you love hockey, but I understand you have a hobby you love just as much!
Eighteen years ago, while living in Sherbrooke, I started hunting big game with a "bow and arrow". Quebec has great hunting, but every year I go with friends to Colorado and Wyoming or some rugged area. No one can believe that someone like myself, who is talking all the time and can't sit still, can perch quietly in a tree for four hours waiting for my prey. To me though, it's like meditation.
Q: The future of Canadian Pro Hockey has really hit home as far as you're concerned?
It hit a "bulls eye" when two of the NHL teams I played with fell apart and had to move to the United States to survive. I'm referring to Winnipeg, now Phoenix and Quebec, now Colorado. It left a great gap in both cities. But when Mom and Dad have to work two jobs to pay the mortgage and the kids' education how can you rationalize paying a couple of hundred bucks to go to an NHL game played by millionaires? That is why our tour is so well received. It's played by players who built the game and provided so much of its tradition and still have the skills and love of the game to show their adoring public. The game is still fun and the best game in the world!
