I’ll never forget it.
My first year at UMass Lowell, Division 1 college hockey…
I was a healthy scratch for the first six games.
No glory. No spotlight. Just frustration and doubt.
But then something shifted. I made a quiet vow to myself:
“I’m going all in.”
Every lift in the gym, every rep in practice, every battle drill —
I gave it everything. No shortcuts. No excuses.
And slowly, things changed.
I earned power play time. Big minutes.
Then came a breakout junior year…
Then a magical senior season — captain, team scoring leader, MVP, Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
That led to my first AHL contract.
Then came the dream — signing my first NHL deal.
But here's where it gets real.
That summer I got a fat signing bonus… and I partied. Hard.
Yeah, I still trained — but I also gave myself to the distractions.
I felt like I’d already made it.
That illusion shattered at Ottawa Senators training camp.
I realized fast: I was still a boy going up against men.
And I got cut.
Sent down to the minors. Drifted off to Europe.
Life was good — but something inside me wasn’t right.
Halfway through my pro career, I looked in the mirror…
And what I saw was regret.
Shame. The pain of knowing I had held something back.
That’s when the real shift came.
Not just in how I trained — but in how I believed.
No more half-measures. No more distractions. No more excuses.
I went ALL IN. For real this time.
And that changed everything.