UTICA — Jaime Sifers isn’t one to make big announcements.

That’s not the style of the selfless Sifers, who is known more for his passion and strong leadership qualities as well as a dedicated, hard-working mentality that has helped guide him through an impressive professional hockey career spanning 13 seasons and more than 800 games.

Instead, the 36-year-old defenseman gradually let a significant decision about his future slip to his Utica Comets teammates over the last few months.

The emotional decision: Sifers plans to retire from pro hockey after the Comets’ final three games this weekend. It feels “like the right time to call it a day,” he said.

“I probably thought about it every day for about six months, from last summer’s training until all the way to Christmas time. It just seemed like the right thing to do,” Sifers said Wednesday, acknowledging he wanted to be open with his teammates. “I still love playing. It is just time to move on. …

“One of my proudest achievements is leaving everything on the ice. That’s what you want to be: a player who your teammates know you played your heart out for them.”

The Comets plan to honor Sifers this weekend as he finishes his career, which includes nearly 650 AHL games – and a Calder Cup title with Lake Erie in 2016 – as well as 37 NHL games and three seasons in Germany’s top pro league. The Comets will be giving out a bobblehead depicting the defenseman to the first 1,000 fans at Sunday’s finale. Sifers’ bobblehead is part of a four-figure set this season.

“There have been some stressful and emotional days,” said Sifers, who has played 104 games with Utica. “The last couple of weeks have been a little bit of a rollercoaster emotionally. But I look at the guys that I’ve been playing with and it all just kind of made sense. When you look back, you want to be proud of the team that you’re on and I am very much proud of the guys I’ve been playing with.”

Comets head coach Trent Cull and associate coach Gary Agnew praised Sifers’ leadership and competitive drive. His experience has been beneficial for younger players, they said.

“He’s a guy who is always trying his best. He does a lot of things really well and he works really hard at those things,” Cull said. “You pretty much know exactly that is the effort and game you’re going to get from Jaime every night.”

Wacey Hamilton said the team has been lucky to have Sifers, who he considers “a lifelong friend.”

“To (play) with so much passion, desire and fire like he has and last 13 years, that is quite an accomplishment,” Hamilton said. “You’re not going to fully replace a guy like ‘Sifes.’ He just brings so much leadership and character to our room. Those shoes are going to be hard to fill.”

Sifers, who has been heavily involved in the community and was named the Comets’ Man of the Year for the second time, said he enjoyed his time in the Mohawk Valley. The son of a Marine, Sifers said he won’t forget the team’s Purple Heart game when the team also honored military veterans and rallied to win.

“We love living in tight-knit communities and this is definitely one of them,” Sifers said, referring to his wife and two girls. “It provides a lot of closure to be able to end in a place like this and know we used to call this home. It will always be a special place for us.

“It holds so many great memories on and off the ice with our kids and the milestones they’ve reached growing up and just the support we’ve gotten. It goes so far with players and when you’re at a stage like me you start to really look back on that.”

Sifers said he has talked with his wife about enjoying his last games, which are expected to have family and friends in attendance. It will be bittersweet as he knows he’ll miss aspects of his hockey life.

“I love competing with a group of guys that are all pulling in the same direction,” he said. “The emotion of the games, the emotion of the buildings you play in, especially (Utica). I’m definitely going to miss that energy and getting your heart racing, your chills down your body. Things like that you can’t find really anywhere else.”