Growing The Game With Bryan Trottier

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome to another edition of the Our Kids Play Hockey Podcast. Special edition this week. We're revisiting a documentary that I did in 2019 with Brian Traccier, the Hall of Famer, the man who won many cups as a player and as a coach. Brian asked us to travel with him up to British Columbia, northern British Columbia, close to Alaska, to share the game of hockey through floorball with the Heisla Nation and neighboring communities of Kidamat. And when I say we were up in northern northwest British Columbia, we really were. That was one of the longest trips I've ever taken. Three planes, one of them had a propeller. It was an amazing journey. And the the podcast you're about to hear is actually a supplemental to a documentary that we filmed. You're going to hear Brian in this podcast talk about his legacy and how it's not defined by his many Stanley Cups and his time on the ice, but really what he's doing to share the game today. It's a really great and short uh little podcast for you to listen to. And if you like it, uh we want you to watch the documentary. It's just under 20 minutes. We're putting it up on ourkidsplayhockey.com. It's also going to be on our YouTube page and the Facebook group uh for you to witness. Uh we had an amazing time filming this, to say the least. And I'll be honest with you, we went up there with that mission of sharing the game. Uh and the documentary came back with something much, much deeper than that. Uh, it is it is uh one of the most in-depth stories that I've ever had the privilege to tell. And it was it was an honor to be along on that journey. So make sure to check that out. Enjoy this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey about Brian Tracey's legacy. And again, if you love this, go check out the full documentary. It's 20 minutes long on our pages, our kidsplayhockey.com or YouTube or Facebook. Let us know what you think. And as always, if you love our podcast, if you like it, share it with a friend, give us those five-star reviews on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, wherever you listen, it does a lot. It helps for us. If you want to stop right now and do that, we won't blame you. But without further ado, enjoy this special edition of the Our Kids Play Hockey Podcast with Brian Traccier. What do you think of when you hear the word legacy? For Brian Traccier, you may think that his seven Stanley Cups, Hall of Fame induction, inclusion in the top 100 NHL players of all time, among many other awards from professional hockey, might serve as an appropriate answer. And while all of his accomplishments on the ice are something he is proud of, it's not what he refers to as his legacy. In August of 2019, my team and I were privileged to be able to sit down with Brian in Kidamat, British Columbia, an area pretty far removed from our home here in Philadelphia, approximately 3,245 miles. Brian was there to launch a new initiative across Canada to bring ball hockey to First Nation communities to both introduce newcomers to the game in addition to using the game as a vehicle for growth, both personally and throughout communities in Canada. It was through this experience that we got a peek at how Brian views his legacy and more important, the shared legacy of those around him.

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When we get into the schools or we're talking to young athletes or we're talking to um students, we want them to uh you know make healthy choices and obviously have a dream, um, continue education, and and uh so that's what I try to do now. When I get into the First Nations communities and I talk about my my um upbringing and my heritage and all the the fun stuff that happened in my life, that's what I try to do now. And uh I try to do it through sport. Obviously, hockey is a wonderful vehicle to get into the schools and and tell the story about winning Stanley Cups and and growing up in the wilds of Saskatchewan, making it all the way to New York City and and that dream of uh scoring your first goal in NHL. There just just there's just highlights, you know, that happen in your life. And when you're going through your NHL career, people are like, oh, what's gonna be your legacy? What's gonna be your legacy? And you don't even think about it. You say, hey, you know what, I'm just living for the minute, living for the moment, trying to win hockey games, trying to win championships, you know, like trying to be a winner, basically. And uh, you know, through hard work or just, you know, dedications, all those wonderful things of practice, practice, practice. But I find that uh as I grow older, the world legacy means a lot more to me because it's more about my grandparents, it's more about my parents, it's more about the history of our family. And uh I just want to make everybody proud, you know, and I think we all do when we look back at our our our lives and say, God, you know, like yeah, I made a few mistakes and blundered this, but you know, I recovered. And uh that's part of life. And uh so our legacy is kind of like uh some accomplishments, a few failures, and how you overcome some of those failures. And we like talking about that. And uh, you know, it doesn't just happen, you know, you just gotta stick with it and you gotta maintain a certain um discipline and attitude and recovery mode and all those wonderful things. And uh you can't can't doubt yourself. There might be moments where you do, but you surround yourself with with good people and kind of where I'm at in life is uh you know, is is again is just recognizing and and helping the next generation understand those those same things. It's not about just you know uh doing well. I I can remember my mom and dad say, Oh, you don't want to fail in class. Well, sometimes you know you're gonna you're gonna trip up, you're gonna, you know, bump into something, but what you do, you know, your next choice that you make uh is gonna, you know, be a decision or uh decide your next step in life. And uh not every step I made was uh was a popular one with my mom and dad because I can remember when I told my mom and dad at uh 15, 16 years old, you know, I I I can't go to school right now, but I'll go back to school if I don't make it in hockey. And I broke my mom's heart and to watch her cry. I was like, Mom, mom, honestly, I'll go back to school. I can only play junior hockey here for like three years of my life, and I can go back to school when I'm 50, 60 years old. And she thought, wow, okay, okay, yeah, okay. Um maybe we can do this. And I can remember almost quitting hockey because I was just getting beat up all the time. Tiger Williams drags me back into the game and says he's gonna play left wing with me, and no one's gonna touch me for the rest of the year, and hockey was fun again. So having a big brother like Tiger Williams come along at the right time and and influence me in a good positive way. And dad's saying, you know, you can always come home every time I was homesick, you know, you can always come home, but you should just stick it out so you don't have no regrets and all those little life lessons, and we want to share that now. That becomes part of my legacy, and that becomes part of uh who I am. Some of those little hiccups, those little failures, they're part of my my my legacy as much as some of the accomplishments. Some are a little bit uh scary at times, but you know, you overcome and you battle through and you find a way, and uh you don't get defined by some of the failures. You get define, well, some of them define you, but at the same time you overcome it. And then they, you know, you define them and say, hey, hey, I didn't give in. And uh those are special moments when you uh when you can achieve and feel good, and your confidence grows, and um, you know, you see your peers, you know, like, wow, look what Brian did. And and it's wonderful. I share these stories now with all my hockey buddies from my youth, and and they're like, Wow, you made it all the way to the NHL. Like, yeah, you know, I yeah, you were a better player. You probably as good as me or better. And uh, but yeah, you just find a way and you just kind of stick with it. Umcks, uh, you know, you have to take you have to jump through that door when the door opens a little bit. Um so yeah, there is some uh some fun things that you have to do. Um at the same time, I found I find sometimes like kids get stuck, and I say, you know what, there's lots of options. There's just so many options. All you gotta do is ask some people for for ideas, look around. Your parents are there, your your elders are there, your grandparents, you have uh teachers, guidance counselors, your friends, there's coaches. Somebody will have a solution or options for you. And um, I tried to find you know those those things with through teammates, even. And uh, so there's opportunity out there for everybody, and uh so my story and my legacy is just one of those things. And uh, you know, I embrace my dad's legacy, I embrace my grandparents' legacy on both sides of my mom and dad mom and dad's. So those things are important to me, and uh I want them to be important for uh for my children, my grandchildren too.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

The origin of hockey is something that is often debated. Many countries have their own beliefs on where the game came from, but most acknowledge that Canada is the country that truly brought the game to prominence in its current form. Brian describes it as Canada's gift to the world. Brian is hoping to continue that tradition in Canada through his work with the First Nation communities. While in Kidamat, we had the privilege to meet members of Hisla Nation, a First Nation community that has held residence in the province, some say for as long as 9,000 years. It was with that group, along with the local residents of Kitamat on a rare sunny day in the area, that Brian launched his first ball hockey tournament as part of his initiative. In order to make it a reality, Brian brought everything that would be needed to create a ball hockey tournament, including three customized ball hockey sticks for every player, training aids, and over 400 balls. More important than equipment was the people. As part of the initiative is making sure that the game is introduced in a way that anyone, regardless of age, gender, or physical ability, can participate and experience the game.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Did Indians invent um lacrosse and hockey and all that stuff? Was it first game played in Newfoundland or was it played in Delaney, Northwest Territories? I mean, don't know. You know, was it was it over in Russia? Was it somewhere in Finland or you know, nobody knows. I don't know if it's disputed, but I think it's a there's lots of conversation about it. But I just think for us as Canada, you know, it's it it's our gift to the world, hockey. So if ball hockey can be, you know, recognized as First Nations gift to the world, uh in a sense that uh it's all inclusive, it's not just a sport at the highest level that the best can play. Anybody can play. Um I think that's that that that'll be a nice little reflection in First Nations. These kind of sticks and the right kind of ball, uh ball hockey ball that the kids can enjoy and have fun with and really enjoy the sport, not just it and enjoy it at another level. So uh getting together with uh Mike Benelli and the Extreme and uh this this great product and understanding that um Pavel Barber does some incredible things with this thing and and talking to my grandson and my son who uses these things and said, Dad, these are awesome. Grandpa, these things are great. Um I thought the uh response of the kids was fantastic, you know, the fact that they get to go home with something. So um again, we we talked to Heistler and we said, you know, this is the way to do it. This is the way that the program is gonna really wow people, and everybody's gonna want to be a part of this. And uh so we think we've got something here that is uh very special, uh extremely unique. Um, and I think it's gonna grow, it's gonna be recognized uh as a First Nations sport because it's all inclusive, uh, it's gender-friendly, girls, boys, um, anybody can play. We saw, you know, gazelles out there, these skinny little kids that run like gazelles. We saw, you know, the well we call them the heavier lumbering um kids that were just all in, and it's really um contagious. And uh I think it's it's special in that regard because it's you don't have to be a great skater, you have to be a great shooter, you don't have to, but you can play the game and you can participate. So it was uh it was wonderful to see that reaction and uh and get the feel that the parents were involved, the grandparents were involved. We had the local men's hockey team come down and referee and encourage the kids. Everybody wanted to be a part of it. So I think it's got uh traction, and uh the hockey sticks were a big part of it. And so I can't uh I can't thank Heisel enough for making that commitment to bring the hockey sticks in and uh and build the program through these hockey sticks because these hockey sticks are spectacular. Uh I was talking to some parents that were watching, and uh they want to get a father stons game going. I'm like, we can do that. Uh we saw some elders there. We said this game's too fast for us, but I can play against guys of my own age. I said, we can do that. Um we can just make the the um surface play area just a little tighter, a little smaller. You have to run around, you walk around, who cares? But you can play the game, you can play the sport. You're a hockey fan, you would love the game of hockey. Again, the female, male, any age, uh you have to be a great skater, but I'll tell you the sticks, the ball, the whole atmosphere of ball hockey is extremely healthy. You're part of a team, you're part of a uh uh a game plan, you're part of uh attack, you're part of the defense, you're part of it. So uh participate, have a great time, but uh I really enjoyed yesterday, it was fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

The day was a total success. There was a large turnout of kids and parents and smiles all around. At the conclusion of the event, the winning team was awarded a full-size inflatable Stanley Cup as their prize. Watching the children lift and pass the cup, you would have thought it was the real thing. We asked Brian, who has won the Stanley Cup seven times, how the aura of Lord Stanley, regardless of it being an inflatable replica or the actual silver trophy, transcends the game itself.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

So the Stanley Cup has uh has a wonderful presence, so um it's a celebrity all by itself. When we walk into schools with the Stanley Cup or we walk into events with the Stanley Cup, the hierarchy of Stanley of the Stanley Cup and uh hockey players pretty funny because Lendy McDonald and I chuckle because we'll walk in with the Stanley Cup, uh, a mascot, Stanley Cup rings, and a bunch of hockey players. That's basically the hierarchy. The Stanley Cup is up here, the uh mascots are right here, then the Stanley Cup rings, and that's lowly hockey players are at the bottom. And that's the the hierarchy of celebrity uh when we walk into schools or whatever event, it makes us all chuckle. Um but we love the Stanley Cup, we recognize that it is a celebrity, and it is the number one celebrity. So when kids get an opportunity to grab the Stanley Cup and we tell our story about the Stanley Cup and how we grab it for the first time, we feel the names that are engraved on it, how cool it is to touch, and how actually how heavy it is. It's not a piece of tin, and you feel like a weightlifter pumping it up over your head. And we tell these stories to the kids, and it's the moment we all dream about. It's uh it's that moment, you know, the the moment when you're a kid and you can pump that stand like up over your head just like Jean Bellabo did, or Gordy Howe, or Bobby Orr, or anybody who was your your boyhood idol did. And that's I think what the kids want to do. They want to uh duplicate what their idols they see their NHL idols do on TV. They want to do the same thing. And uh I was no different. And uh, you know, so uh again, influence is a wonderful thing, but that Stanley Cup is a powerful, powerful object.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

All right, everybody, hope you enjoyed that edition of Our Kids Play Hockey again with Brian Traccier talking about our travels up to Kidamat, British Columbia in 2019. Uh, if you want to see more, make sure you check out that documentary. It's available now on our kidsplayhockey.com on our YouTube channel and on our Facebook group, Our Kids Play Hockey, for you to view. Uh, it's about 20 minutes long. It is a life-changing uh uh documentary. I'm not gonna lie to you, changed my life. Definitely after I got back from those travels. Uh, and if you enjoyed this podcast, let us know uh by commenting below or letting using an email at team at our kidsplayhockey.com. And make sure, as always, to give us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, wherever you listen to this show. We appreciate it. But that uh said, you guys have a wonderful, wonderful week, and we'll see you next week on the Our Kids Play Hockey Podcast. Take care, everybody.