Veteran defenseman Pernell Karl Subban announced his retirement from hockey on Tuesday after 13 seasons in the NHL.

He is one of five children of Jamaican immigrants Karl and Maria Subban.

His brothers –Malcolm and Jordan – are professional hockey players.

Malcom is a goaltender with the Sabres and Jordan, who has played in the AHL and ECH, is currently a free agent.

“I never looked at myself or ever felt I was ‘just a hockey player,'” P.K. Subban said in a statement. “I always looked at myself as a person who happened to play hockey.

“Having that perspective allowed me to enjoy every shift like it was my last, celebrate every goal with emotion, and play every game as if someone paid to watch me play who had never seen me play before.”

He did not specifically give a reason for his retirement. In his statement he did mention, however, that he is looking forward “to the road ahead, and the many exciting opportunities to come.”

In a brief interview, Karl Subban, his father said he believes that he (Pernell) has many options ahead of him and that hockey has not changed him or his personality.

P.K. Subban,33, spent 13 seasons in the NHL, beginning with the Canadiens for seven years before he was traded to the Predators. After three years in Nashville, he was moved again, this time to New Jersey for three years with the Devils.

He is well known for his philanthropic activities. The P.K. Subban Foundation has pledged a minimum of $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the largest philanthropic commitment ever made by a professional athlete in Canada.