It’s been quite a couple of weeks for former NHL star Jeremy Roeninck: Last week, the former Blackhawk and Coyote was let go by NBC. This week, he got a shout-out from the most powerful man in the world.

On Wednesday night, during a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, President Trump gave Roenick a special acknowledgment.

“He’s an Arizona hockey great, a friend of mine,” Trump said. “He’s a great golfer, too. He’s a tough golfer. He’s tough to beat. He’s tough as hell. And if you beat him in golf, he’ll beat you physically. He doesn’t care.”

As Breitbart Sports reported, NBC “had already taken the step of suspending the former NHL player at the end of December for comments made during a podcast earlier that month.

“Roenick, who has been with NBC since 2010, appeared on the Spittin Chiclets podcast from Barstool Sports on December 19, where he made remarks about co-workers Kathryn Tappen, Anson Carter, and Patrick Sharp that his network bosses deemed untoward.”

NBC initially suspended Roenick for the remarks in December, but announced that they had decided to part ways with the hockey analyst last Wednesday.

President Trump pointing at former Arizona Coyotes player Jeremy Roenick who is in the crowd tonight at his rally. Crowd outside gave a loud cheer #12News pic.twitter.com/hQsxNdHReY — Bianca Buono (@BiancaBuono) February 20, 2020

“He was the toughest hockey player,” Trump said. “He was one of those guys who could beat you one way, and if he couldn’t, he’d just beat them up.”

As the crowd cheered, Trump said: “Thank you, Jeremy. He’s a winner.”

Roenick began his 20-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, he would eventually play for the Phoenix Coyotes and three other franchises before wrapping up his career after the 2008-2009 season.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn