“Walking around the guys today, yeah, I felt a little old,” the five-time NHL All-Star admitted. “I can’t believe it’s been 20 years, and how fast it goes.”

Then again, Oates shouldn’t be too surprised his career has flown by; after all, as the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. And Oates—whose 1079 assists and 1420 points rank him sixth and 13th on the NHL All-Time assists and points list, respectively—certainly has, distributing the puck in a fashion the members of the 2004 Rensselaer men’s hockey team hope to mimic.

The future NHL Hall of Famer has certainly seen his fair share of success over the past 20 seasons: a NCAA National Championship in 1985, All-Star selections, and trips to the Stanley Cup Finals with Anaheim in 2003 and Washington in 1998. And after his induction into the RPI Athletic Hall of Fame, and becoming the first Rensselaer player to have his number 12 jersey honored in the Ring of Honor at the Engineers’ Black Friday 5-3 win over Clarkson November, 5, Oates can another accomplishment to the sprouting list.

“Those memories are vivid,” Oates, who announced his retirement immediately after the Edmonton Oilers’ final game, recalled at a press conference prior to his induction. “It’s a tremendous honor. I really am honored.”

During Oates induction between the second and third period of Friday’s game, the 4,980 fans in attendance that proved they were as honored as Oates to be part of this historic occasion. Oates, who promised before his speech that he would not “break down,” stumbled through an emotional speech that was constantly being interrupted by cheers from the standing crowd.

“I was really nervous when I was out there,” Oates later admitted after the game. “But it was very touching. I was a little moved.”

Of course, Oates didn’t mind the crowd noise. He was just happy to be back home, in the same arena he made the top nearly fly off of many times in the ‘80s.

“The Field House looks exactly the same—which is great—it’s like when I played in the Boston Garden, it was—the tradition was fantastic, and I’m a big believer in it,” Oates commented. “I love the atmosphere; it’s a great facility, with a great ice surface. There’s a good feeling in here.”

Oates also said the fans’ proximity to the ice and players gives the home team an extra advantage that could be seen not only in the Engineers’ win over Clarkson, but also in the 1985 squad’s home record as well.

“We had a fantastic record here,” Oates recalled. “It was great playing in front of our own fans.”

Amazingly, it was not the 1985 NCAA National Championship, the single season assists and points records, the All-American and All-ECAC selections, the RPI Athletic Hall of Fame, or the Ring of Honor that Oates considers his greatest achievement at Rensselaer. Oates contends his finest hour was not on the ice, but off it, when he finally received his diploma.

Graduation was a struggle for the hockey star. It took eight years with the help of tutors to finally earn the coveted degree. Oates joked about his academic hardships saying his finest day was “when they [RPI] finally gave it [the diploma] to me.”

“It was very rewarding,” Oates said. “The school is so hard for the Canadian kids. It’s hard; it’s overwhelming, and talking to the guys today… being an athlete at a school of this caliber is very hard, and to play at a top level. It’s very demanding.”

“I came back five summers to finish one year, with tutors, and when it was all said and done, it was very rewarding.”

Attending college paid off for Oates in more ways than one, as he came to Rensselaer after being passed on in the 1982-1983 entry draft. Oates, who confesses he would not have attended college had he been drafted, proceeded to light up the growing game of college hockey, eventually signing a four-year, million dollar contract, the largest ever awarded to a rookie at the time.

In hindsight, Oates says it gave him the time he needed to grow and mature as a person and player.

With most players leaving earlier for the pros in all sports, Oates is skeptical of Rensselaer’s ability to regain its past hockey glory. The hockey star acknowledged the strenuousness of Rensselaer has possibly hampered the school’s ability to recapture that championship form it held in the mid-’80s. Oates, who admitted he had not seen an RPI squad play in some years, said balancing the academic and hockey requirements could toughen the process.

“I would say that it’s so hard at RPI because of the academic standards to get the student athlete, and they’ve done a fantastic job bringing guys in who have that brain power,” Oates said. “I was saying today, that I’m getting a banner from a school I wouldn’t get into today. It’s pretty ironic.”