6 Great Non-Hockey Quotes From Retired Anaheim Ducks Captain Scott Niedermayer

​You really can't blame Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer for hanging up his skates. What is there left to accomplish in hockey? He led Canada to the gold medal in the last Olympics and alongside his brother Rob helped Anaheim win its first Stanley Cup in 2006-07 (the franchise's first so far). Scott previously played on three Stanley Cup-winning teams in New Jersey (including that franchise's first), and he's a lock for the NHL Hall of Fame.

But Ducks fans will remember Niedermayer (who is not dead yet!) as more than a hockey player, as these non-hockey quotes show.

Flickr user pointnshoot

During Scott Niedermayer's first season with the Ducks, the defenseman battles the Sharks' Scott Hannan for the puck.

​"As an Anaheim Duck, I hate to see real ducks tortured so that a handful of wealthy chefs can serve their diseased organs."
-From his August 2007 letter asking all 50 members of the Chicago City Council to uphold a ban on on foie gras, which was in danger of being repealed. (PETA.org)

"Being away from there for a long time, you realize exactly how lucky you were to grow up and experience what you can back there, being in the outdoors. That was a big part of how my interest got started."
-Explaining how he became an environmentalist, in light of his public opposition a few years ago to a proposed a hotel in his hometown of Cranbrook, a picturesque small city in British Columbia. (Orange County Register)

"It was a gradual thing. I think being an athlete you're always trying to eat right, stay healthy. I think the other part was living where we did--hiking, fishing and then moving to New York, New Jersey. It was so different. The air had color.I thought you weren't supposed to see the air.It just didn't seem good. It just gradually started that way. I think because I like to do so much outside, it would be nice to keep it as natural and pristine as we can."
-Further expounding on his environmental consciousness, during a visit to Oakley headquarters in Lake Forest. (Oakley.com)

"My love for nature and the outdoors developed while growing up in Canada and I hope the generations after me get to experience nature as I have."
-From American Honda Motor Co.'s official announcement that it was delivering him a zero emissions hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle to replace his Prius hybrid. (FuelCellWorks.com)

"The environment, a healthy planet, all these things have been fairly important to me. It's a passion I have."
-Speaking to a crowd outside the Honda Center watching him receive that fuel-cell car. (Ducks.NHL.com)

"At least they know what they are."
-His answer to whether he convinced any Ducks teammates to ditch their SUVs for hybrids. (Orange County Register)