Former National Hockey League forward Joel Ward announced his retirement from the sport of hockey in the form of an essay published on The Players’ Tribune on Monday.
Ward spent eleven seasons playing in the league for the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks from 2007 until 2018.
The right winger, a native of Ontario, was not selected in the NHL Draft and was not a highly-regarded prospect coming out of the amateur ranks. However, he impressed Wild management with his work ethic and was given a shot with the club while spending most of his time with the team’s minor league affiliate.
Ward broke into the league permanently after signing a deal with the Predators in 2008, where he scored 17 goals in his debut season with the team.
After spending three years with Nashville, Ward moved to Washington for four seasons, setting a career scoring mark with 24 goals in the 2013-14 season.
Ward finished his career as a regular with the San Jose Sharks between 2015 and 2018. He took the 2018-19 season off and decided in recent months that he would not pursue another contract.
The right-winger finishes his career with 133 goals and 171 assists in 726 games played.
