05/28/2026
Someone asked me the other day if it was true that I had played in the NHL. I reluctantly said "yes"… they said "no way!"… then I followed with something self deprecating like "I used to be a lot cooler" sort of thing...
To be honest, I don’t really talk about my hockey background much. The reason being, for a long time after my hockey career ended, I had very complicated feelings about it.
By most standards, I was incredibly fortunate. I got drafted, played professional hockey for years, wore NHL jerseys, and lived a dream (albeit for a brief period of time) that millions of kids chase. But athletes are wired a little differently...
When you spend your entire life chasing a goal at the highest level, your standard becomes the version of the career you envisioned for yourself — not necessarily the version most people would celebrate.
My goal was never just to “make it” to the NHL and play a few games, it was to become a longtime NHL goalie. And when that didn’t fully happen the way I imagined, I spent years viewing my career more through the lens of what I fell short of opposed to what I actually accomplished.
At 40 years old with the benefit of some maturity and hindsight, I do see it differently now. While I fell short of my goal of a lengthy NHL career, I am genuinely proud of the career I had. More importantly, I’m grateful for everything hockey gave me — the pressure, the setbacks, the discipline, the teammates, the travel, the competition, and the perspective that comes from BOTH success and disappointment.
Ironically, many of the lessons I learned trying to survive professional hockey are similar lessons I rely on today as a wealth advisor.
Professional sports taught me:
◾how to stay composed under pressure
◾how to be prepared
◾how to handle adversity without losing confidence
◾how to focus on consistency instead of emotion
◾how important trust and relationships are
◾how success is usually built quietly long before anyone notices publicly
Those lessons apply to investing and wealth management...Markets don’t move in straight lines. Careers don’t either! Plans change. Expectations evolve. Setbacks will happen.
The people who usually succeed long term — in sports, business, and investing — are often the ones who can stay disciplined, adaptable, and committed to the process when things aren’t going perfectly.
Hockey shaped a huge part of who I am, and I carry those lessons with me every day in business and life. I’m grateful for that now in a way I probably couldn’t fully appreciate when I was younger.
