HE HAD THE TROPHY BUT LOST EVERYTHING ELSE — GRANT FUHR

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hi, I'm Kim Alexis. Today in Paris, Patrick Kelly is showing his collection of spring clothes. Hi, I'm Kim Alexis with your ticket to adventures. I'm Kim Alexis, and I'm here in New York City. We got a great show coming up for you, so stay tuned. I am here with Grant Fuhrer. You are amazing. You are one of the most spectacular goaltenders, uh, Hall of Famer. I just love your story. So, and you are a good friend. So thank you for being

Adoption And Becoming A Goalie

SPEAKER_01 0:36

on today.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Oh, it's my pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

So, when you were growing up, you're Canadian. Um, I didn't realize you were adopted. Talk to me about that. Did you have parents that loved hockey?

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Uh you know what? I was adopted at 17 days old. So the only parents I really knew were the ones that raised me. And yeah, my dad played hockey, and I used to tag along as a little kid, and plus all my friends played. So that's what made it fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

And did you ever? I mean, so how did you get into goaltender? Did you naturally just gravitate towards the back by the net?

SPEAKER_00 1:13

You know what? Nobody else wanted to do it. So it we played outdoors back then, so it was a little chilly, and I thought the equipment looked kind of cool, and you got to play all the time. So I volunteered right out of the gate.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Wow. Yeah. I mean, but your personality is such that it's so solid, and you're known as being this uh unflappable type person. So it would have been interesting to watch you as a forward.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Yeah, no, better, definitely better suited as a goalie.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yeah. Yeah. So take me through those young years. When did you learn that you were really gonna be spectacular or right away? Was it just something that was ingrained in you? It was a natural thing, or did you really have to struggle and coaching and learn?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

And no, you know what? I just played because I enjoyed it more than anything. I mean, right up through junior, I played because I love playing the game. I mean, back then there wasn't as many rules, so I could play for two or three teams at a time. And I'd play with kids older than me, I'd play with kids my age, I'd play with my dad's team if they didn't have a goalies. So I just played because I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Well, so you could play with two or three teams. Like so when you were a teenager?

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Oh, yeah. A teenager growing up. It was one of those where I probably played more hockey than I did spend time in school. So I would play seven days a week, plus sprinkling a little bit of baseball, a little bit of football. So there wasn't, I didn't leave a lot of time for school. How's that?

unknown 2:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Probably a good thing that you became a uh athlete then. So, what did your early years of drafting or you so college no?

Leaving Home At Fifteen

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Nope, no, I left home at 15 to go play junior, played junior in Victoria for a couple of years and then moved back home to play pro at 18 years old.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

So, how did that feel at 15 to go off and leave your parents? Was that easy?

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Uh, it it sounded easy at the time, but I think most kids that leave home at that age, you end up getting homesick along the way. And if anything, it toughens you up a little bit. I mean, I was pretty lucky I had a really good host family, and I think at that age, you have to have a good host family just so things don't go off the rails. But it I thought it was great. I mean, I think that was the fun part about it is you learn a lot, you learn to basically survive on your own.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so then you go, you then as you're with the host family, you got drafted.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, I got drafted right out of my second year junior back to Edmonton. So I get to move back home for my first year of pro, which is kind of a nice transition, too. You're not fending for yourself, you get fed home cooked meals and such. So it's a good way to start my career.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Right. Oh, so interesting. Were there many people? There weren't many guys on your team that could live at home, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

No, I think I might have been the only one. I out of our cast of guys, I was probably the youngest to start with at 18. Most of the guys were 19, 20. And then uh everybody's from somewhere else. I mean, I was fortunate enough to be born and raised just outside Edmonton, and I think Mess was the only other one that was an Edmonton guy. So, other than the two of us, we pretty much had guys from everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

And Mess, for those who don't know, is Mark Messier. They we always called him Mess. Yeah, yeah. So, did your mom end up, because I'm a mother of boys, did your mother end up fixing meals for all your teammates, like you'd bring guys home?

SPEAKER_00 4:44

You know what? We became friends with a lot of the restaurateurs around town. So they made sure we were well fed, they took good care of us. I uh Yanni, the guy we call Yanni, owned a Greek place. He made sure we were always fed, a place called Coliseum Steak and Pizza. They made sure we were always looked after. So the city of Edmonton did a good job of making sure that we all got fed and looked after pretty

Starting In The NHL At Eighteen

SPEAKER_00 5:08

well.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah. So those early years, um, what were your thoughts about playing? And you were playing right away, or were you backup goaltender?

SPEAKER_00 5:18

No, I got pretty lucky. I get to start my first year. So I think I played 43, 45 games my first year, something like that. So for an 18-year-old, it was a little overwhelming, but at the same time, it was a lot of fun. And yeah, you learned your second year, obviously, mine didn't go very well. So there's growing pains there, but that's a lot of guys go through that. And then from there on, it was pretty much smooth sailing.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah. So what are your what's your thought process when you're 18 and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm playing all these games in the NHL?

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Well, you're just in the process of learning. I mean, back then we didn't have a goalie coach. So you've got your partner, which I had Ronnie Lowe my first year, and was able to talk to him, but you're on your own to kind of learn and figure out the game and figure out trying to be a professional.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

That's amazing that you really didn't have coaching back then, and that you literally ended up becoming this Hall of Famer down the road. So, did you ever have uh it did it? Was there a part where you finally did have a coach for your goaltending?

Learning Without Goalie Coaching

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah, I had my first goalie coach in when I got to Buffalo in 1992, which would have given me 11 years in the league already. So that's I got my first one, guy by the name of Mitch Korn, who's actually an extremely good goalie coach. So it was fun to sit and spend time and talk to him to see what a goalie coach actually thinks versus a guy that actually plays.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

So did you teach him stuff?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I think we both learned. I think that was the fun part is we both learned he had some really good stuff and he understood the game really well. So it's it gives you somebody to bounce the ideas off of to see if you're actually thinking the right way.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Right, right. Because I bet you there's not a lot of people, obviously, on your team that understand what you were going through or how you saw the game.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

No, goalies kind of get left alone. I think, and you look at today, even minor hockey and such, goalies still get left alone. They don't get the specialized treatment that a lot of the guys get. Practices aren't geared for goalies, they're geared for forwards. So you've got to find your own way to kind of get yourself prepared.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

So that's kind of your personality, though, I think. You're just a very um, you know who you are and what you want, and uh you're very peaceful, it seems. So were you always that way?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

I've always been pretty peaceful. I mean life's hard enough as it is without trying to complicate it. So I try and stay on an even keel and you don't get too high with the good things, you don't get too low with the things that don't go right, and just try and find your way around.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Yeah, no, I mean you are definitely very mellow. That's great.

Family Life Pranks And Team Culture

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Um, so take me through uh your early when did you have your first children and start your family, and how did that how did that look?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Oh I got married, been my third year pro, and the lady I married had a daughter, so ended up adopting her, my oldest. And then we had a second one in about 90, what, 84, 85? I shouldn't know that off the top of my head, but about 85, and then we eventually got divorced, and I married my second wife, and we had a son, and then from there I married next wife, and had a had my youngest daughter, so that that gradual progression. So now I've got kids that are pretty much what are we 45 down to 31 now?

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Wow, wow, and you're younger than I am. So you started to all this nice gray hair.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

I didn't have any gray hair when I played. It's all after I retired.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

So in those early years, uh, because I've hung around and was married to a hockey player myself. Can you tell me one prank that you felt? You guys used to prank each other all the time when you were traveling. Could you just give me one fun story?

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Um we used to do. Well, we flew commercial everywhere. So as you can imagine, you've got 18 guys that are bored in an airport. So we may have we may have brought fish line along and tie it to a $20 bill and watch people try and pick up the bill. And of course, there's somebody yanking on the fish line, so you watch people chase money through the airport.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Really?

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Oh, yeah. Well, things we do to abuse ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah. So I remember um my ex telling a story of the guys, some guys and they were asleep on the plane, and they had a brand new tie, and they literally cut the tie off.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Or if they took the shoes off, maybe take a shoe and send it through baggage claim. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

I love that stuff. So this is what hockey players do when they're off time.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Oh no, well, there's probably worse things we could tell you, but we'll keep it family-oriented.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some of you, you guys had inductions, right? Or the the rookies got put through the ringer back in the day.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Actually, ours were pretty good. Ours were pretty good in Edmonton, only because we were all young. I think you're older. I think Lee Fogland at the time was probably the oldest, and he wasn't even 30 yet. So the rookies got looked after pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Uh, that's good. Well, and that's that's amazing. Your Edmonton team, how so you were drafted in '88, correct?

Winning Cups And Handling Pressure

SPEAKER_01 10:50

81. Oh, 81. Okay, sorry. And so 81, and then you guys you guys literally had five Stanley Cups from that until 1990?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yep. Yeah. So we ended up my we had five cups in the seven-year total in a run during the 80s. So pretty fortunate to play with a group of guys that were that good.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Yeah. So you must, and for you, I mean, to be the goaltender, you see everything forming all around you and coming at you, of course. So did you in those games, or I mean, I'm sure there were many instances, but like, we're gonna get this? Like, this is ours, this is we're gonna win this.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

I think we all kind of believed that we would win at some point. I mean, we had too good a team not to. So, but you never really know until the final buzzer rings. Yeah, I've seen a lot of games where teams have had two or three goal leads with a couple minutes left and they've end up losing. So the great thing about sports is you have to wait till the final buzzer because you never know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

So, in that instance, as a goaltender, you never let up, right? Even unless you had to skate to the bench for the last minute.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Yeah, no, as a goalie, you gotta pay attention for the three and a half hours you're out there. I mean, yeah, you get little breaks in between when the play's in the other end, but you're pretty much on top of things for three, three and a half hours.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

And that's normal for you. I mean, that intensity and wearing like 40 pounds of equipment.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah, the equipment's changed a little bit now, but back then you used to lug around 25 or 30 pounds comfortably till it got wet, and it'd climb up around 40 pounds. So it was good exercise while you were playing.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

So I have this other question.

Simple Routines And Game Preparation

SPEAKER_01 12:32

So, watching so many hockey games, because I'm a hockey mom, you certain goaltenders would have these little superstitious things that they had to do, like touch the edges of the post. Or did you have any of those superstitious things that you had to do every game?

SPEAKER_00 12:46

No, I just played. I think less variables makes the game a lot easier. So you just get dressed, go out, play. The only thing I like to do is get to the rink about four hours before game time. For what? Just to hang out. It's peace, peace, and quiet, drink coffee. Bunch of us played ping pong before games, so it's just a way to relax a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Um interesting. Four hours before game.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, I mean, I even broadcasting now, I still go to the rink three hours before a game. It's just habit.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Right. So it kind of just prepares your mind, is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Yeah, it just it basically cleans everything out of your mind so that by the time the game starts, that's all you're thinking about. And for the next four hours, you worry about nothing but hockey.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Right. So take me through your first um leaving from

Trades Rebuilds And Fresh Starts

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Edmonton. So when you were traded to another team, how did that feel? What was that like to all of a sudden leave the you've got you've got five Stanley Cups? It's like, why am I leaving?

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Well, I think for me it was a lot easier than some guys because in Edmonton, when they traded Wayne, we all knew we were getting moved at some point. So for me, I got pretty lucky as a little kid growing up. You got to see Montreal, Toronto every Saturday night and hockey night in Canada. So if I couldn't be an Oiler, going to Toronto was the next best thing. And it happened that I got traded to Toronto, so I get to be a Maple Leaf and play for a team that I'd watch since I was three or four years old.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Right. Okay, so it that transition didn't bother you, all the new things you had to learn, and no, it's just another it's a new city you have to learn, new teammates you have to learn.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Went to a different kind of an organization at that time. They were just in the start of a rebuild. So you went from a successful team to a team that was just starting to rebuild, which that took a little bit of getting used to. But at the same time, the game doesn't change a whole lot, it's just everything around the game changes.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Right. Yeah. See, see how he's like a steady player. You're just nothing much flaps you, right? Or just um, all right. So then you went to St. Louis. What was what was it like? No, you where'd you go after Toronto?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

So we spent Buffalo for a couple of years. I went to LA for a cup of coffee, and then I signed to St. Louis.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Okay. And what was so great about St. Louis?

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Uh, you know what? It's at that time I was kind of at a crossroads whether I was gonna keep playing or figure out something else to do, and they offered me a nice chunk of money to go play in St. Louis, and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to keep playing. Mike Keenan gave me the opportunity to be the starting goalie there, so I thought I'd play a little bit. I didn't realize we were gonna play every day, but at the same time, it was a great chance for me to keep

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SPEAKER_00 15:34

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SPEAKER_01 15:34

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Suspension Rehab And A Wake Up Call

SPEAKER_01 16:04

So when was it that you it was early in your career that you were suspended, is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 16:10

It would have been 1989. Yeah, 89.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

So kind of partway through your career, halfway through?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Yeah, not even halfway through yet. Still in the first the end of the first quarter.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Okay. So tell us a little bit about that, what it was like. I mean, did you in a way want to get caught, or how did that transpire?

SPEAKER_00 16:34

No, actually, it was I had admitted it. And the bonus I got for admitting it was I got suspended for uh originally a year, but then they cut it back to 40 games. So for 40 games, you're not supposed to hang out with the team. So I ended up our team was actually pretty good. I'd see the guys after practice, I'd see them for dinner, but couldn't see them at the ranks. So I went to the gym twice a day, got to hang out, meet some new friends at the gym. But most most of the time the teammates always checked on you and such to make sure everything was good. And it was a long 40 games, but at the end of the day, for me, it was good for me. And it kind of reels everything back in and it just gives you a different perspective on life.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

But you also went to rehab, is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Yeah, during my little vacation, I managed to come down here to the Betty Ford Center, which is all of about 10 minutes from where I live right now, which is kind of ironic. But went there. I spent two and a half weeks there getting an evaluation, and it just so happened that the guys were down on their Palm Springs trip that Evanson always took. So I got a chance to see the guys while I was down here. And again, it's an it's a chance to look at yourself and see where you're at in life and reevaluate things. And it for me was a good wake-up call.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Yeah, but that took a lot of courage. Number one, it took a lot of courage for you to admit it, and then that you picked yourself back up and instead of using it as a victim or as an excuse, you literally transformed your life and got back into the same game.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, it's either you can look at it as an excuse and let life spiral away from you, or you just kind of regroup and try and make something positive out of it. And I think in life, if you can take something that's a negative and turn it into a positive, I think it's good for you.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Yeah. So then you went back into the game. So at that point you were still with Edmonton?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

I'm still with Edmonton at that point, and then got traded to Toronto a year and a half later.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Okay. So you got did you get a Stanley Cup after you came back? Did you win a cup?

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Uh in 1990 we won.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Yeah, so you had already gone through. Yeah. That's amazing. That's really amazing. Yeah. All right. So you then traveled to Toronto and then you went to Buffalo, which is where I'm from. I didn't see you there, but I was I wasn't back in Buffalo then. Um, so you went to a bunch of different teams and you dragged your family along too,

Moving A Family Through The Leagues

SPEAKER_01 19:09

right?

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Oh, yeah. And that's the unfortunate part of being an athlete is you get a phone call one day, you're moving cities, and you've got to pack up and away you go. So it for an athlete, it's hard to have just a home base. I mean, yeah, you wish you played in the same city for your whole career, but very rarely does that happen. So you get used to packing and moving and traveling, and uh for me, it hasn't really stopped. I still travel a ton and drag the family along.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yeah, yeah. Was that hard on your kids moving?

SPEAKER_00 19:42

I think it's always hard on the kids. I mean, I was pretty lucky. My kids are pretty resilient and made friends fast. So I but as they get a little older, the friends get a little closer, but it definitely makes it tougher.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah. Well, it seemed like you handled that. And your kids are they as mellow and non-dramatic as you are?

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Well, three out of the four are. My old my oldest is a little more high strung.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

So then take me through after all these teams. Your last team was St. Louis. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 20:14

No, I played one more year in Calgary. Oh, okay. Finished my last year back in Alberta. I mean, you get to go to the home province. My mom was originally from Calgary, so it gave me a chance to finish back in Alberta and finished that and then started coaching right after I finished playing. So the routine didn't change any, so the transition was easy. And then coached there for three years, then decided to take a year off, and then Wayne asked if I'd be interested in coaching in Phoenix and ended up wandering down to Phoenix to coach for seven years with Wayne.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Yeah, I wish you'd stayed here.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

It would have been good to stay in Phoenix, but I left there for part of a year, went back to Edmonton, and then ended up marrying Lisa and moved to the desert where it's golf heaven, and we now have hockey.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah. Yeah. And he's an amazing golfer. We just play a little bit. Very good golfer. Yeah, you play great. You play less than I do because your ball goes farther and better. Um, so when let's go back to the retirement

Retirement Surgeries And Coaching Next

SPEAKER_01 21:18

again. When you were up in Calgary, did you know that was going to be your last year? Were you already thinking ahead?

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yeah, I pretty much knew it was my last year. I'd had 14 surgeries by that time on my right knee. So the mind was still good, but the body had given up the ghost by that point.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Right. So so you were you while you were playing thinking about coaching, or did you already have a job lined up, or did you just trust in the process?

SPEAKER_00 21:44

I didn't even thought about it. I mean, it was one of those where I was going to take some time just to see what I wanted to do. And the following year, Calgary offered me the job to coach, and I was like, I could try it and see if I like it or not. So I ended up spending three years there coaching.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

And you liked coaching, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:03

I enjoyed it. I mean, I still fiddle around in the summertime now and coach in a three-on-three league. So I enjoy the coaching side of things.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

And then how did you transition into broadcasting? What did that look like?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

I were down here. Lisa and I were out having lunch one day, and I ran into Gino Lamont, who's my co-host on the show, and he asked if I'd be interested in doing something with the hockey team here, because they were just talking about bringing the team here, and I was like, Yeah, I'd love to do something with the team. He says, Anything in particular? I'm like, no, whatever they need or want. And he convinced me that I should probably become a media person and do the TV and radio with them.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

So you didn't have any experience, right? You didn't have broadcast coaching or experience beforehand.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

I did, I think I worked four games for HDNet when they were just starting, when Mark Cuban started HDNet. I worked on four or five broadcasts there with uh oh Jack Edwards, who's now Boston's announcer. So I had four games of experience going into it. So yeah, I'm still trying to figure it all out.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Well, I just love it that you trust the process and that you are just available and you're willing to say yes to new situations. I think that's what's amazing and what people really need to hear nowadays.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Well, you don't know what you can and can't do until you try it. I mean, it's easy to say no if you're uncomfortable, but to put yourself in a position where you're uncomfortable, you either learn and adjust, or it's just not for you, but you never know until you try it.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

Yeah. So then take me through what it was like.

Broadcasting Then The Hall Of Fame Call

SPEAKER_01 23:39

How did you hear that you were up for Hall of Fame or that you were going to be? Did somebody call you?

SPEAKER_00 23:45

Yeah, you get a phone call from the Hall of Fame. I think that's that was the fun part. I was surprised out golfing when I got the phone call. So the first time we left. Yeah, you kind of you're a little more in shock at the start than it's a celebration, but it becomes a celebration after that. And then because it's there's a whole bunch of planning that has to go on, so you I found out in what would have been July-ish, somewhere in there, and the inductions in that November, but now you've got to go, you've got to do all this planning, you've got to figure out who you're inviting, you've got to write a speech, you've got all these different things you've got to do in a matter of three months. Plus, they want you to go down, do some videos, photos, all that fun stuff. So it gets real busy after that.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

Yeah. When your thought process when they called you, was it, oh wow, I don't feel like I deserved this, or was it, hey, you finally found me?

SPEAKER_00 24:44

No, it's just exciting. I mean, that's kind of the whipped cream on top of your career. I obviously I was fortunate enough to have a long career and have some success, but that's kind of the whipped cream on top of it. So it's a nice way to cap off your career.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Yeah. So I I just um I could imagine you being there, and you're just still so steady that for you, excited is probably the same look as uh is your everyday. You're you're not a huge celebration guy.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

So now it was more about the panic of having to make a speech. I think that oh there was more panic in that than there was anything else.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Right. So that probably overshadowed. You must have been very happy then when your speech was over.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

I was because I had written out a speech and handed it to my son, and he forgot to give it back to me, so I had to do it off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

So that made it a little more exciting. So was it did it end up being shorter? I don't know if it was shorter or longer because you're trying to remember everybody you have to thank. You've kind of cover all the different bases of your career and such, and you're trying not to forget anything. So I forget what they give you. They give you six or seven minutes to speak. Well, I didn't think that was that long, but six or seven minutes in front of a camera's forever. So that made it a little bit tough.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Yeah. That was probably harder for you than final minutes of a Stanley Cup playoff, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:07

By miles.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

That's amazing. Um, okay, so now you've got all these great things that you're doing.

Charity Work And Defining Legacy

SPEAKER_01 26:16

You're broadcasting, but you also have your own charity that I've been to your golf tournament. Talk about that a little bit of why you want to give back.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Well, I think as an athlete, you get a platform where we're kind of blessed that people look at us a little bit differently and we're able to give back. So Lisa and I started a foundation where we're able to give back to some of the different charities around the Coachella Valley here. I think wherever you're living, playing, you want to get back to where you live more than anything. You want to because then you get to see the benefit of it. And for us, the first couple of years, we worked with the Betty Ford Center here in their children's program up until last year, actually, when they put this children's program on pause. So we're now raising money for different kids' programs around the valley. So you spread out a little bit more, but at the same time, you get to see the benefit. But it goes to benefit kids. And I've always been a big fan of if you can do something for kids that maybe aren't able to have that opportunity and you can give them that opportunity, then it's worthwhile.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

Yeah. Well, I think that's a wonderful way to look at things as that whole idea of responsibility, then when we're handed a certain platform, as you said, to be able to give back.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Yeah. I mean, I think being an athlete's great and the games and everything are fun, but it's what do you do afterwards? And I think you get a legacy for playing, but your real legacy is what do you do for life afterwards? What are you doing to give back? That's where your real legacy becomes.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Yeah, that was the question I was gonna ask you because that I mean, the name of our podcast is Unexpired. And when you do give back and you do have that ongoing charity and feeding into children that live maybe past us, that's part of your legacy.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Yeah, I think it's the bigger part of your legacy than when you played. I mean, eventually they're gonna forget that you played. Unfortunately, Father Time seems to win when it comes to that. But if you leave a lasting impression in the community, they have a tendency not to forget that.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yeah. Oh, that's a wonderful way to live. And uh, you also travel for other people's charities, like as do I, feeding into different communities around the country.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Yeah, and that's the fun part is you meet so many great people and they have so many worthwhile causes that we're able to bounce around. And before I got into the broadcast thing, I know Lisa and I were traveling about 180 days a year, going to different charity events and doing different things, and we enjoyed it, but at the same time, the broadcasting kind of slowed the travel down a little bit, but we still managed to sneak in probably 10 or 15 events a year, and we enjoy going around the country giving back.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

Yeah. So what's

Growing Hockey In New Markets

SPEAKER_01 29:00

next for you? You've uh you've done so many things, and I forgot to celebrate that you were the first black goaltender to be in the Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

Yeah, kind of fortunate that way. And it's kind of a carry-on from Willie when he started, Willie O'Reilly, he was the first black player in the NHL. So I kind of get to build off of his legacy where he opened the door, and now you've got more players coming in behind. You've got Angela James, the first black lady to play hockey. She's now in the Hall of Fame. Jerome McGinla, who was my bat boy when I played baseball. He's now in the Hall of Fame. So it's it's a nice progression in life.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Yeah, that must be really cool to be able to see people that you've fed into or been around over the years. And it's so great watching other people be successful, your friends and your different people.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Well, you like to see the game grow. And I think for me, that's what I still enjoy is I want to see the game grow. I want to, I like the fact that it's in non-traditional markets. Like the market here is definitely not a traditional hockey market. Same as Phoenix. Phoenix wasn't, yeah, Palm Springs. Phoenix wasn't traditional. So it was fun to see the game grow and you like to see it grow. And you'd like to find eventually some kids that come out of either Phoenix, you look at Austin Matthews. So you're kind of looking for that same kind of story here in Palm Springs.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Do you ever think you'll leave your broadcasting and go off into mentorship or finding young players for teams?

SPEAKER_00 30:28

I don't know if I'll leave broadcasting to do it, but I kind of try and do it while I'm broadcasting. I think that's the other thing is I still enjoy being around the game. And as long as the where the body holds up enough, I'll still travel and follow the game and be around the game. I enjoy watching kids play, so that part I don't think will ever change.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Yeah. Yeah. Are your parents still around?

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Nope. Dad passed in 86, mom left in 2000.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

And they must have been so proud to see you come from that little 17-day-old baby into what you turned into.

SPEAKER_00 31:04

I think they were. I mean, yeah, at a young age, I thought I'd play in the National Hockey League and probably shouldn't have thought that way. School should have been a little more of a priority, but it all worked out. And I think if you put your mind to things, you can make things happen. And fortunately for me, it did happen that way.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

So you when you were young, you were dreaming of being in the NHL.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

I think every Canadian kid does. I think that's one of the first dreams you have is once you start playing hockey, yeah, you want to play in the National Hockey League. Everybody wants to win a Stanley Cup. And I think by the time I was 22, I accomplished all the above. So I think that's that's the fun part of living your dreams is yeah, you set a dream for yourself, but how do you go find it?

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Right. But then you accomplished all those dreams at 22. What's interesting is that you continued to carry on and you continued to better yourself instead of just sitting back and just resting.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

You just set new goals. I mean, life's kind of a series of goals. You set different goals that you want to accomplish through life, and the fun part's chasing them. Whether you get to the goal or not, that's the excitement of life.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Yeah.

New Goals And Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 32:15

So what's your goal now that you have that you haven't reached yet?

SPEAKER_00 32:18

Well, we're still figuring out this broadcasting thing. Eventually I'm hoping to be comfortable doing that. But what else? I don't know. I haven't really got past that. Once I get through the broadcasting, and once I'm too old for that, then I might take some time, travel a little bit, and enjoy a little bit of life.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

Yeah. Yeah. Well, you have a great wife. You have a great life, you have a great legacy. And I thank you very much. Thank you for being on Unexpired.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

It's my pleasure, Kim.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Thanks for watching the show. If you have any questions for me or you want any more information, go to Kim Alexis.com.