From a trade in junior hockey, to being drafted to the NHL and playing hockey in Germany, it's been one heck of a ride for Bobby House.

After three years playing professional hockey for the Hamburg Freezers in Hamburg, Germany, one of the most successful and certainly most popular hockey players from the Yukon is officially calling it quits.

'It's not a decision I made in a span of a couple of days,' said House in an interview from Hamburg, following the end of his season. 'It comes down to a few different variables. One is, I have to spend eight months apart from my wife every year. We want to start a family and we can't start a family when we have the Atlantic Ocean as birth control.

'And I always thought 10 years would be a good pro career. I've had so much fun here that I actually extended that by a couple of years.'

While it may have been an easy decision for House, it wasn't that easy on the Freezers, who have been trying to convince the forward to stay since the start of the season. In fact, House had a meeting with the general manager (GM) of the team on Sunday, where he was asked one last time to consider another year.

It's easy to understand why, since House was the team's leading scorer in his first two years in Hamburg he was second in the league in the first year.

This year, the Freezers had what could be called a tumultuous season, once which included the firing of head coach Dave King the former Team Canada bench boss with just four games left in the regular season.

'It was definitely one of the toughest I've ever had in my career. We dealt with a lot of injuries and had a lot of internal problems as far as coaching staff and players. We played with three lines or less some nights. It was one of the most trying seasons I've ever had.'

The firing of King was actually one of the positives in a long season, if the reactions of the players are any indication.

There are rumours the media in Hamburg celebrated his dismissal with the players in the locker room, and while House can't confirm that, he will say King's exit was 'like a breath of fresh air.

'Everybody was excited to play hockey again. Dave King is a great hockey guy but it just didn't work for him in Germany. It was definitely not the right situation for him and it was tough on the guys. There were a lot of guys that were not sad when Dave got fired, but you never wish bad things on anybody.

'The last two years (under King) were the toughest I've ever had, as far as having fun, getting up and being excited to go to the rink everyday. I never really had a problem with Dave, he was great to me. But the way I saw him treating some of my teammates ... it just wasn't a fun situation here.'

With King out of the way, the Freezers made one last push for the playoffs, finishing the regular season in eighth spot and facing off against the number-one seeded Frankfurt Lions in the first round. The Freezers weren't expected to win even one game against the Lions, but they did win one, and House believes they really could have won the series.

'If we had some luck, or a few injured players back, we would have won. We held them to one goal in two games. It was a good season for us in the end. We lost being able to hold out heads high.'

The Freezers recruited NHL goaltender and former Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the march to the playoffs, but he played just eight games in the last month and a half after suffering an injury.

'He tried hard and he played as well as he could,' said House. 'He ended up being second-string in the playoffs because our other guy (Boris Rousson) was so hot.'

The only perfect ending to any player's career would be a championship, but House said with the way things played out in his final season, he feels good just ending it on a positive note.

Besides, he always has the Calder Cup championship he won with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Albany River Rats to look back on, although his all-time favourite moment in hockey will always be the day he got drafted to the NHL.

'My agent told me I shouldn't go to the draft because he didn't think I would get drafted. But I ended up going in the third round (to the Chicago Blackhawks).'

One thing House will always remember fondly about Germany is the fans, who have a great relationship with the Freezers. The entire team sticks around for an extra week after every season to participate in fan appreciation events, and the fans return the dedication, selling-out the hockey arena every game.

'I was pretty emotional after the last game in the playoffs,' said House. 'The fans have treated me like a superstar my last three years here. All three years over here have been just awesome.'

House's wife, Gerri, and his parents were able to spend some of his last season with him in Hamburg. While his parents visited the city for a couple of weeks, Gerri was in Germany for the last four months of his career. Now that he's retired, House will join Gerri in Denver, where she works as a lawyer. But first, the couple will be taking a month-long tour of Europe.

The athlete plans to return home to the Yukon this summer and spend some time hunting moose and caribou. He's also planning to spend some time hunting and fishing with former Yukon hockey player Jarrett Dueling this summer.

House isn't sure exactly what he's going to do after that, although he would like to take at least six months off to just enjoy having free time with his family and friends.

'It's the normalcy I'm looking forward to the most. Everybody always asks what I'm going to do next.

'I'd like to get my first-aid certificate and also some mountain rescue and survival courses. I eventually want to get involved in search and rescue, just because I love the outdoors so much.'

While House may eventually play some recreational hockey in Denver, he plans on staying away from the sport for the first little while.

The Freezers GM does want him to do some scouting for the squad around Colorado, Utah and Texas though, where they have several AHL and ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) teams. House said he's considering the offer.

'I'm excited about the next chapter in my book. My body's starting to feel older than I am.

'Hockey's treated me very well. I've had a great 12 years and I'm definitely not being forced out. I've really had enough. It's been fun, it's been great. I will always cherish my time as a professional hockey player. It's every kid's dream.'

And House said he will always be thankful to his sisters, who helped him achieve his success, making money playing a kid's game.

'Every time I've ever done an interview, I've never, ever thanked my sisters for playing hockey with me when I was a kid.

' So if I could, I would really like to thank them for taking tennis balls in the face and playing hockey on the street with me in 40 below weather.'