Hockey Legend Addresses Conference

Hockey Legend Addresses Conference

Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 15:19

 

 

A First Nations hockey legend says perseverance is key whether you are young or old.

 

Ted Nolan says he overcame his fear of public speaking so he could share his story of how he made it to the NHL.

 

Nolan told his story yesterday at the national IANE conference in Saskatoon.

 

He says when he moved from his reserve to Canora, Ontario when he was 16 to play hockey, he thought it would be like Disneyland, getting to play all the time and get drafted.

 

Instead, Nolan says it was the worst year of his life where he faced loneliness and racism.

 

Nolan says the easy thing would have been to give up and go home, but he knew he had to keep trying, so he did and good things happened.

 

Nolan, of course, went on to be drafted into the NHL and later coach and win the jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year.

 

After that, he couldn’t land a job, which he says was devastating, but he persevered again, and now finds himself the Vice-President of Operations for the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

 

He also started the Ted Nolan Foundation, which provides scholarships for first Nations women who want to return to school.