Where it all started.
Skates. Bruises. Brotherhood.
What it Shaped. And Why it never really left me.
This section of my website is for the hockey and sports lovers, and for anyone who has ever felt the pull toward something but hesitated to jump all in. It is for the people who wonder what would happen if they followed an interest fully, without holding back, and what that kind of commitment can give you in return. Living with no regrets often starts with saying yes before you feel ready.
I first laced up skates when I was four years old. My dad took me to MSA Arena in Abbotsford, British Columbia. I remember gripping those plastic gliders while he held me upright from behind. I hated it at first, frustrated and unsure. Then, about thirty minutes in, something clicked. I let go, found my balance, and never looked back.
Hockey became more than a sport. It taught me how to show up early, fall down, get back up, and keep going when things were uncomfortable. It gave me confidence, structure, and a place to put my energy and ambition. Saying yes to that early passion shaped how I approach everything else in my life. Looking back, I have no regrets about going all in.
My journey never led to the NHL or even a cup of coffee in major junior, but hockey helped shape who I am and remains a defining part of my life.
I started playing in Abbotsford in 1990 and moved to Vernon in 1994. I was already obsessed with hockey, but Vernon took it to another level. My parents opened Sportstraders, one of the city’s first sporting goods stores. Vernon Vipers players were regulars, getting their skates sharpened by my dad and occasionally working part-time in the shop. That connection led to me becoming one of the team’s stickboys.
In the late 90s, the Vipers were royalty in Vernon. Sellout crowds at the Civic Arena, loud music, packed barns. Walking into the rink as a stickboy felt like stepping into the coolest place on earth. The 1997 to 1999 teams, coached by Troy Mick, were dynasties in my eyes. Scott Krahn, Kori Davison, Garth Gardner, Lenny Rampone, Kenny McGowan, Ryan Bayda, Tyler Knight. When they won the Royal Bank Cup, ten-year-old me felt like I had won it too.
We moved back to Abbotsford in 2000, and I played rep hockey until I was 16. That year, I joined the inaugural season of the BC Major Midget Hockey League with the Fraser Valley Flames. It was a travel team made up of the top players in the Valley, and it opened doors. I was scouted and offered a spot with the Quesnel Millionaires of the BCHL. I wanted it badly, but homesickness and concerns about ice time held me back. In truth, I found every excuse not to go. Self-sabotage has always been my specialty. Instead, I spent three unforgettable years with the Grandview Steelers in the Pacific Junior Hockey League.
My final season in 2008 was meant to be a rebuild year. Instead, we built a championship team. The culture was simple: unity, accountability, no passengers. If you were not all in, you were out. We played with edge, confidence, and purpose. We won the league title in my hometown of Abbotsford, captured provincial gold in Kimberley, and advanced to Nationals in Winnipeg. By then, we were battered. Our captain was playing on one leg. No excuses. We lost a 1–0 heartbreaker to a goalie who stole our shot at gold. We came home with bronze, and that marked the end of my playing career.
What followed was not a highlight reel. I had five concussions, only two documented. At the time, you did not admit weakness. I was barely getting fourth-line minutes and focused on pumping the boys up, but that mindset caught up with me. Then came the partying, the drinking, the drugs. I turned down a partial scholarship to the University of Utah because I was more committed to chaos than to my future.
I got sober in April 2015, and hockey found its way back into my life as part of that healing. I started coaching Atom Rep, then became head coach of a Midget Rep team in Abbotsford. I later created a junior spring league team, recruiting top talent from the Fraser Valley, which led to scouting for the Aldergrove Kodiaks. I eventually joined the bench as an assistant coach, and in 2017, with a 36–7 record, we won the same league title I had won as a player in 2008.
These days, I am simply a diehard Vancouver Canucks fan and have been since 1990. I watched my first game with my dad and attended my first live game on April 21, 1993, when the Canucks beat the Lightning 8–1. I met Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Dave Babych, and others that night, a memory that still lives in full colour.
And while I bleed Canucks blue, my SoCal wife keeps trying to turn me into a Los Angeles Kings fan. Nice try. Not happening.
