The reason why we came forward was to help those younger players coming up. We want to see.... I think you can ask all players who have been through this. We love hockey. It's not that. We still love hockey, but we want to make sure these kids.... That's what they are. They are teenagers. I think we sometimes forget that, because it's a professional sport. It's big business, but they are kids. They are trying to go to school. They are on the bus for these long road trips.
My son said he would get to the parking lot at 6 a.m. You're exhausted and they would make you go to school for public appearances. He also had a broken wrist. The educational adviser came in during the day. He was in a lot of pain. He had asked the coach whether he could stay home. They said, “Go to school.” The educational adviser at school came in, checked on him and sent him home.
I feel they do a lot for good publicity, but there's a lot of abuse going on behind closed doors.