Where the passion started

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.

Skates. Bruises. Brotherhood.

What it Shaped. And Why It Never Really Left Me

My path never led to the NHL or major junior, but hockey shaped who I am. I started in Abbotsford in 1990 and moved to Vernon in 1994, where the game became bigger than just playing. My parents opened Sportstraders, and Vernon Vipers players were regulars. That connection made me a stickboy in the late ’90s, when the Vipers were royalty. Sellout crowds, loud barns, and the Royal Bank Cup win — to 10-year-old me, it felt like I had won it too.

 

We moved back to Abbotsford in 2000. I played rep hockey until 16 and joined the inaugural BC Major Midget League season with the Fraser Valley Flames. I was scouted by the Quesnel Millionaires but talked myself out of going. Homesickness and excuses. Instead, I spent three meaningful years with the Grandview Steelers. In 2008, what was supposed to be a rebuild year became a championship run — league title, provincial gold, and bronze at Nationals in Winnipeg. That ended my playing career.

 

What followed was harder. Five concussions, heavy partying, and drugs. I turned down a partial scholarship and leaned into chaos. I got sober in April 2015, and hockey became part of my recovery. I returned as a coach and, in 2017, won the same league title as an assistant with the Aldergrove Kodiaks.

 

I’m still a lifelong Canucks fan. My first game in 1993 with my dad — an 8–1 win where I met Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure — still lives in full colour. And despite my wife’s efforts, I’ll never be a Kings fan.