Kraig Nienhuis: From Hockey Star To Rock Star
When he was captain of the Detroit Red Wings and one of the most popular players in franchise history, current Wings general manager Steve Yzerman went out of his way to maintain a low profile away from the rink. “I don’t want to be a rock star,” Yzerman explained. “I want to be a hockey player.”
In Kraig Nienhuis’s case, he sought to be both and has achieved his goal in each instance. The NHL betting odds might’ve favoured Nienhuis making the show as he did, playing alongside future Hall of Famers Raymond Bourque and Cam Neely for the Boston Bruins. After all, Nienhuis was part of an NCAA national championship squad at RPI.
That he would launch a second career fronting the band 9 House, opening for such acts as the Beach Boys, ZZ Top, Tom Cochrane, The Tragically Hip, Nickelback and the B 52’s, well that was most certainly a longshot. But it’s a wager that’s come in handsomely for Nienhaus.
Music was always in Nienhuis’ genes. His parents Jake and Dianne, were gospel singers at Sarnia’s Temple Baptist Church and Nienhuis sang with the church choir as a youngster.
“Music was something that I was always into,” Nienhuis, known as Neener to his friends, told the Windsor Star. “I kind of played for years as a hobby and sort of knew in the back of my mind that it was always there as an option when hockey was done for me.”
Self-Taught Talent
Perhaps the most amazing part of both of the success stories written by Nienhuis is that he didn’t do either in the traditional manner.
On the ice, Nienhuis never played for a travel team. He participated in house league and church recreational league hockey until he was 19. Taking in the atmosphere of a local junior game in his hometown of Sarnia, Ont. was the key to launching Nienhuis into hockey’s elite levels.
“I went to a Sarnia Bees (junior B) playoff game that spring, and when I saw the action, the excitement and the fans chanting, I said to myself, ‘This is incredible. I want to be part of it,'” Nienhuis recalled.
After befriending the Zamboni driver at a local arena, Nienhaus was able to spend all of his free time that summer skating to hone his skills, attending an open tryout for the Bees late in the summer. “I played a lot of pond hockey, so I could skate and had pretty good puck skills,” Nienhuis said. “Ken Maczko was Sarnia’s coach-GM, and I think he saw some raw ability in me and kept me around.”
By the next season, Nienhuis was taking regular shifts with the Bees. He scored 25 goals as Sarnia reached Game 7 of the Ontario Junior B finals before falling to Toronto St. Michael’s.
Several American colleges were looking to get him to come to their school. Nienhuis accepted a scholarship to RPI. In 1984-85, playing alongside future NHLers like Adam Oates and Daren Puppa, he helped the Engineers capture the NCAA title at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
Eleven NHL teams sought his signature on a contract. Nienhuis eventually decided to sign with the Bruins. “In five years, I went from house-league hockey to the NHL,” Nienhuis said. “It’s a pretty incredible story.”
A Musical Natural
Nienhuis also defied the odds to make it big in music. He’s done so without a second of formal training. “Music is just one of those things where I’m gifted,” Nienhuis said. “It comes naturally to me.”
It was hockey that brought him back to his love of music. While playing in Germany for the Berlin Ice Bears, Nienhuis wrote a team song. “The fans started singing it at games, it became a hit on the radio, and they still play it at their home games today,” Nienhuis said.
Nienhuis understands that hockey has opened musical doors for him. He still plays with the NHL Alumni and Red Wings Alumni, often combining games with gigs.
He’s performed at the NHL All-Star Game and the Winter Classic.
“I definitely get some of the opportunities I do because of hockey,” Nienhuis said. “I don’t ever take it for granted. I realize I’m lucky.”
Two times lucky, you might say.
