When Jamie Huscroft was drafted as a pro hockey player, he knew there were more talented players, but no one worked harder than Jamie.
He’d been playing the game since he was a kid on frozen ponds in the small town of Creston, British Columbia.
When Jamie was called up to the National Hockey League, he faced a punishing reality. You had to fight, literally fight, if you wanted to keep your job.
As Jamie’s career progressed, he played for iconic teams like the Boston Bruins. He was known as an enforcer on the ice, but it came at a considerable cost. Jamie suffered more than a dozen concussions, which eventually ended his career, but there was a time when playing hockey didn’t feel like work, and that’s what he remembers most.
Today, Jamie is director of operations for Sno-King Ice Sports in the greater Seattle area—inspiring his employees and the next generation of hockey players. He says the values that led to success in professional hockey are what sustain him today—faith, integrity, trust, and his marriage.
Resources from the episode:
- Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn.
- Learn more about Sno-King Ice Arenas and the programs they offer here.
- Follow Sno-King Ice Arenas on Facebook and Instagram.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Speakers: Jamie Huscroft and Mark Wright
JAMIE HUSCROFT 00:00
Tommy’s gotta be 88. He lives a couple hours south of here in Vancouver, Washington. I call him probably every other night, and he’s got that deep voice. Hey, kid. He calls me son. Hey, son, how you doing? You know, and then, and he says, I love you, son. You know, and back in the day, if I would have told my buddies that, hey, I’m going to call Tommy up and he’s going to say, hey, I love you, son. They would have thrown me into the shower, right? But, um, you know, it’s, uh, what did they say? A good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life. And, uh, I never forgot that, and Tommy changed my life.
MARK WRIGHT 00:44
This is the BEATS WORKING show. We’re on a mission to redeem work – the word, the place, and the way. I’m your host, Mark Wright. Join us at winning the game of work. Welcome to BEATS WORKING. On the show this week, when you have to fight to succeed at work. When Jamie Huscroft got drafted as a pro hockey player, he knew there were more talented players. But no one worked harder than Jamie. He’d been playing the game since he was a kid on frozen ponds in the small town of Creston, British Columbia. But when Jamie got called up to the National Hockey League, he faced a punishing reality. You had to fight, literally fight, if you wanted to keep your job. As Jamie’s career progressed, he played for some iconic teams like the Boston Bruins. And he was known as an enforcer on the ice. But it came at a huge cost. Jamie suffered more than a dozen concussions, which eventually ended his career. But there was a time when playing hockey didn’t feel like work. And that’s what he remembers most. Today, Jamie is Director of Operations for Sno-ing Ice Sports in the greater Seattle area, inspiring his employees and the next generation of hockey players. He says the values that led to success in professional hockey are what sustain him today. Faith, integrity, trust, and his marriage. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jamie Huscroft. Jamie Huscroft, welcome to the BEATS WORKING podcast. It’s so great to have you here. Welcome.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 02:19
Thanks, Mark. I’m looking forward to it.
MARK WRIGHT 02:21
So, Jamie, when we did a little search on the internet, most of the videos that came up were videos of you fighting as a professional hockey player. And it just dawned on me, Jamie, that what other job? Well, there are basically, there are only two or three jobs on earth where you can punch someone in the face at work and not get arrested. And that would be professional hockey, MMA fighting and probably boxing would be the third one, but, um, we have a lot of ground to cover. You’re, you’re kind of a hockey legend in the Seattle and, uh, Snohomish County to the North area. This is going to be such a fun conversation. So, I’d love to start Jamie about how you fell in love with hockey. You grew up in a little town called Creston, British Columbia, just North of the Idaho panhandle was, was Creston, was it big enough to have its own hockey team or how did you get. How did you fall in love with hockey?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 03:16
You know, that’s a great question. And being north of the border, right? That’s all you did was play hockey, right? If I had 20 boys or 20 kids in my class, let’s say if I had 15 boys in my class, 14 of them played hockey, right? Where in the States here, you probably have, you know, a bunch of basketball and football and baseball and maybe one hockey player. Well, when we were growing up, just everybody played. Your dad’s played, your mom’s played, your grandma played, right? It was, um, that’s just, that’s what we, we did. Um, now, you know, I, um, so in, in Creston, my, my brothers played, so my dad coached, my dad played in the, uh, we had a, you know, kind of the, the number one adult, uh, men’s, uh, team in town. My dad, I remember as a kid watching him. And, um, so it was just, it was in our blood right here. Um, so that’s just what we did on the weekends. And, and when we weren’t at the rink playing hockey, um, you know, we were, it was that era, there was a cold snap for probably, I don’t know, 8, 10, 12 years where you could skate outside all winter long. So, during the weekends, or we weren’t at the rink, we’d be at the, you know, on the lakes, on the rivers, and we’d be skating with our friends there, or get a snowmobile and, you know, head to the closest pond, and off we’d go with a group. That’s just what we did.
MARK WRIGHT 04:47
That’s awesome. I spent about 10 years of my broadcasting career in Spokane, so I had a chance to watch some minor league hockey there. Um, do you know, do you know Bobby Brett by chance? The owner of the Spokane Chiefs?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 04:58
I, um, coached in Spokane when I finished my career, so right around 2000, 2001. I, um, I worked here for Sno-King for a year and then I head over with Bobby, uh, his team in, uh, the Junior A team over there, the Chiefs. And I lived at Bobby’s place. I, I lived in Fonzie’s garage. So, Bobby had a, what was that? His place must have been 10,000, if, if, if anything, at a minimum, he had a 10,000 square foot home. And I, and then right across the way, um, the parking lot there, he had a four-car garage and above the garage, we called it Fonzie’s apartment. And I was living for free, uh, free room and board. And I would go over there because Kathy, his wife, is a wonderful person. And so, Kath would, would, I’d go over there and have coffee and she’d made me some breakfast. And then Bobby would come down in his jamas and, and, uh, uh, just an amazing experience. I love Spokane. And I played a lot of minor hockey, um, in Spokane, too, because it was so close to Creston, and they have a great hockey program there. So, yeah, that’s a, uh, uh, interesting, uh, um, you know, we know the right or the same people with Bobby is. He’s an amazing guy.
MARK WRIGHT 06:18
Yeah. Small world. And, and I could, as a journalist, I could always count on a lively soundbite from Bobby Brett. He was never, he never disappointed, uh, in an interview. He, he knew how to play the game and, and just a, just a good guy. And just, gosh, from a dynasty family, the Brett family in terms of baseball, uh, was just, uh, is, is pretty amazing family.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 06:37
I remember one of the highlights of my, um, tenure over there, I was only there two years, but George would come over. And he’d be over at Bobby and Kathy’s place, and he’d be in there and he’s just grizzled, right? He’s just, he’s just a man’s man, right? And I asked him, I’m like, what do you do, you know, what do you do for a living now, right? I mean, you’ve done everything. And he goes, I’m a high-priced taxi driver right now for his kids, right? That’s all I just show for my kids around. I’m a high price taxi driver. And that was it. And at the time he was on the, uh, the payroll Kansas City, I think, right? He was on the Kansas City, payroll for the front office staff or whatever, he goes, but they, they never called me, and no one ever calls me. He says, so I just get paid to do nothing. And he goes, I’m okay with that. I’m like, do I have that job? Where do I find that?
MARK WRIGHT 07:33
So, you are the director of facilities at Sno-King hockey arenas. And we’re going to get into that a little bit later in the interview, but I’d love to know more, uh, Jamie, about how you got into hockey. Um, did Creston have its own team or where was the nearest professional team from Creston?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 07:49
Yeah, they did. Their professional team is what we call, um, uh, Junior B, right? It goes Junior B and then it hop up to Junior A, which is Spokane, what we were just talking about. But in now Seattle, we have, you know, um, a team there with the T Birds and up north and Everett and Portland and Spokane, right? City’s all over the place. But, uh, um, So I played as a 14 and a 15-year-old in, uh, in Creston, um, and which was pretty young. And most of the guys were 19, 20, 21. So that was in a, um, a little bit of a shock, uh, you know, when I’m just a little kid playing with a bunch of men, I wouldn’t even, you know, I wouldn’t even shower with everybody. I’d just go home and shower or something. Right. But anyways, um, uh, and then at 16, I was, um, Seattle picked me up. Um, I was drafted by Seattle and then I played here in Seattle. Um, you know, met my wife when, uh, my first year here, my girl, you know, girlfriend, wife. And we, you know, with, um, just, we laid roots down, uh, right, you know, um, right off the bat. And we’ve always considered this my home, home away from home, but home now. Um, so yeah, it’s, so yeah, after I, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but yeah, that’s, that’s how I came here to Seattle.
MARK WRIGHT 09:10
So, you played minor league hockey in Seattle, then when, when did you know, Jamie, that you had the skills and the mindset and, and everything to make it in the bigs.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 09:19
Well, uh, you know, that’s a great question. So, when I played, there were nine rounds, um, in the, uh, draft and I was drafted in the ninth round, and so I was 182nd overall, I think. Um, so was I, did I think at that time I was a good player? No. No, I, I, I was, you know, I figured I’d get drafted, but I knew I’d get drafted low because I just wasn’t that good. Um, uh, at least I didn’t think I was, and then I, um, so after four years of junior hockey, so I was a 19 year old and I got traded to, on the trade deadline, I asked to tet traded to another team just because we were out of the playoffs and I wanted to win what we call the Stanley Cup for juniors called Memorial Cup. And as, as you know, or you might know that Seattle here just last year, um, ended up losing, um, to the Quebec league, their Patrick was team in the Memorial Cup final. And so that was me, you know, 30 years ago, but, uh, so I got traded to a town called Medicine Hat, Alberta. On the deadline, and we went on to win Memorial Cup that year kind of catapulted me up in the standings a little bit for, uh, up in the depth chart thinking, you know, if one of your defensemen can play in the top, you know, two pairings for the best team in the country, you know, let’s take another look at them. So that kind of got me in the door. And then the next year, um, when I turned pro, uh, turning pro doesn’t mean you play in the NHL. There’s multiple leagues you can go below the NHL and, and the number one league below the NHL is what they call the American Hockey League. Still to this day, it’s the, it’s the feeder program for the NHL. So I was, uh, sent to, uh, New Jersey’s farm team. I was drafted by New Jersey. It was sent to their farm team and, um, in the late 80s, like 89 or 90. And then I played there a few years and, and then from there, you’re just hoping for a, for a call up. Uh, I think my contract was 24, 000 a year, uh, in the minors back then. So, they make a little bit more than that now, but, and I was happy to make it too.
MARK WRIGHT 11:37
Oh, man, just to be playing pro, but I’m, I’m guessing a lot of long bus rides to get to games, huh?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 11:42
Oh, I don’t miss that one. Nobody, right? Uh, whether you’re baiting, no, no matter what sport you are, but those bus rides, I can still smell. I might come home off of those road trips. My wife would be like, get in that shower. You stink, you stink like bus. Um, but yeah, the, just the chicken wings and the beer and not when you get in, but those bus rides in quickly when you get, when you’re playing in the national hockey league.
MARK WRIGHT 12:07
Yes. So where did you first start playing pro, uh, in, in the NHL?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 12:12
In New Jersey. I ended up playing a hundred or so games with New Jersey over five years. So, I spent the first probably year and a half in the minors. And then the next year and a half or so in the NHL. And then, uh, and then the, the next year, year next, the last year, year five there in a, when I played pro, I spent in the minors, um, in New Jersey again, and then I got traded to, um, Boston. And then I, that’s when I took that, that jump. I’ve played one year in the minors in Boston, and then I got called up and never looked back. I think I spent the next seven years jumping around the NHL. But I, I finally made it, um, at year, I guess at year six, uh, was when I made that jump. But at that time, um, the, the expansion as we know was Seattle, right? They expanded, but at that time they expanded like five teams in three years. So, it really diluted the league. They don’t do that now. They’re smart enough now that they’re not going to make that mistake again. But thank goodness because it allowed the top, um, American league, the minor league guys to take that jump and offer it up a couple of hundred jobs over five years. And I was one of those, uh, recipients, uh, good fate recipients and, and never looked back.
MARK WRIGHT 13:37
To get signed by Boston must’ve been thrilling because you and your dad were both huge Boston fans. How did that affinity for that team? Where did that come from?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 13:46
Johnny music. Uh, great question. So, Johnny music, married a gal and music. And she was, uh, her aunt, she was from Creston, and they had a place out and they, uh, he still does to this day, but out in Kootenay Lake, it’s just on the outskirts of Creston. Um, so he would have a hockey school every summer in Creston, and he’d bring in Bobby Orr and some other people. They’d go golfing and go on the ice for an hour and right, and off they would go. But I, so my dad um, just loved him. We’d go over to his place in the summer and go for a swim out in the lake and, um, he always had a keg in his house. I never forget that because I’ve never seen that. How can you have a keg in your house? But, um, anyways, I just admired him and, and, and, you know, always my dad would always watch the Bruins. So, I just loved him. Never thought I would ever put a Bruins jersey on. So, when I got called up, uh, in 93, I think 1993, um, you know, to wear that Burns jersey for a first time is you know, I’ll never forget that. And that’s my, you know, it’s still, uh, to this day is, is it’s my team. They are Cam Neely there as a president. Donnie Sweeney is the, uh, GM and they both played when I was there. And just, it’s just a great team and it’s a great city. My God, it’s, um, you know, they, you don’t pay for any food. Do you go to a restaurant? No, it’s, uh, it’s, you don’t pay and they’re just, they’re good people. So,
MARK WRIGHT 15:17
Jamie, I’ve always been, uh, curious as professional athletes develop, so much is out of your control in terms of circumstances and whether coaches decide to play you or not. But as you developed as a player, what do you think was the key to your success? Was it more mental than learning physical abilities or what would you say was the key?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 15:39
You know, for me, it was, uh, you know, I didn’t have the, the talent, um, uh, to, you know, to, I never was a, I was usually the, the, the least talented, uh, player on the team, but it’s typically the hardest worker. Um, and I think that just coming from that, the farm, um, mentality. You know, I never, you know, I always, always had to work, um, you know, for everything. Um, you know, it doesn’t mean that I wasn’t a gifted, you know, my parents were great. We always, you know, had a great childhood, but for sports, especially hockey, it was nothing seemed to go easy. Just had to work, work for it. I always played up a couple of years. So, if I was 9, you know, I played on my brother’s team who was 11. If I was, you know, 12, I’d play, you know, up a couple of years. So, I always kind of struggled to make the line up, but you know, when I, when I went to the minors, I remember there was eight defensemen in Utica and I was number eight, right? And then over time, these guys would play themselves out of position, you know, a year and a half later, I get called up. I’m the, you know, seventh defenseman in the NHL two years later, you know, I’m the fifth or sixth, right? And you work your way up to it. But it’s at that time, you know, it was, it was a different era. It was a lot of fighting. Like you said, you look, uh, you know, unfortunately all you could find on YouTube was fights. But that was just the era we played in, right? If, hey, if there’s a job, when I got called up to Boston, uh, they, they sent a guy down who wasn’t fighting and they called me up and the office and they said, hey, you know, do you know why you’re here? Yes, sir. You know, are we ever gonna have this conversation again? No, sir. So, you know what to do. And they couldn’t say it. I’d say, yes, sir. And they say, okay. And I never, you know, when you went on the ice and you knew it had to happen, you made it happen. And now did I win most of them? No. Did I lose most of them? Yep. But I hung in there and, and you do it again, right? Just because if you didn’t, someone else would be there the next day to take on the job. Now, you know, it its they don’t do that, or they don’t do that as much, and I’m glad they don’t, they’ve cleaned the game up, um, and to where I really enjoy watching it now, there’s four good lines, but when I played, there was a fourth line, and four knuckleheads like myself would, you know, or three or four knuckleheads would go out in the ice, and you would, you know, fight, and it just, it slowed the game down, and, and, uh, they just don’t have that, the luck, you know, now I’m happy for the kids that are playing. They don’t have to worry about that intimidation part.
MARK WRIGHT 18:27
Yeah. You mentioned, you know, another Boston team, the Celtics. I mean, even if you look back at old footage of the Celtics back in the day, it was brutal. I mean, there were, there were, you know, fist fights every once in a while at a basketball game for Pete’s sake. But so, I think Boston is, uh, Boston has never been afraid to embrace its, its rough side, right?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 18:47
Oh. And that was back then we had the, um, the old garden. 14,000 people, right? 14,700, I think people. And, uh, you know, my, my, I have an, uh, oh, uh, one of the playbooks or, you know, the, oh, I don’t even know one of the books, the yearly magazines that came out and they said, what was the highlight of your career? And I said, it was Cam Neely’s uh, scored first one in the NHL to hit 50 and he did it in 48 games in the garden and the whole garden was just shaking and I sat on the bench and it was just, I’ve never felt anything like that hurt or felt a building actually shake and, uh, but that old garden was so nostalgic that, uh, I loved it and they ripped it down the next year and now they got the, whatever the fleet center or whatever it’s called. So not as personal.
MARK WRIGHT 19:40
What, so what did Cam Neely do again? What was the milestone?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 19:43
It was in the, it was in the lockout in 94, and, uh, he was the first NHL player to hit 50 goals, and he did it in 48 games, so it was a shortened season. They squeezed, uh, 50 games in, in about a half a year. They had to, right, because of the lockout. And so, Cam Neely, who was on our team, um, was, you know, Cam was big and tough and mean and, but he also was the first one to hit 50 goals. So that was quite a feat for a guy of that size. And it was just, I kind of, you know, I didn’t idolize the guy, right? That’s, uh, but I just, I really thought the world of, of him and how he played the game and approached the game and, and, uh, respected the game. So that was for me. I’ll never forget that.
MARK WRIGHT 20:30
Yeah. Do you have a favorite memory, Jamie, of you on the ice in terms of a game that, that stands out? Cause I know that guys like you, you remember every amazing moment in, in your entire career, I’m guessing, right?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 20:44
Yeah, you don’t forget much. Um, you know, for me, I, um, for me it was probably my first game up. Oh, I was still in New Jersey, so it would’ve been year four, three or four. And, um, uh, I, I remember in the minors, uh, that Detroit or New Jersey went into Toronto and got beat up and the next two nights later they’re going into Detroit. It was even tougher. And so, they it was in practice and the miners and my coach, Tom McVee came to me and he says, hey kid. He talked in that deep voice, hey, kid, you’re going up. And I was like, I was almost like sheet. And he’s like, well, he couldn’t, he couldn’t understand. He goes, well, why aren’t you excited? I’m like, well, in two nights, I’m going to either get beat up by Bob Probert or Joey kosher, you know, or both of I says, and I’m supposed to be excited and he kind of laughed. So, I, I got called up and, or I went up there that, that day and the next night I’m in there in Joe Louis arena, Joey Kocur, who was the toughest guy in the league came right after me for a shift, he hit me so hard, but I can still feel it. I think my mom was crying after he hit me, but it was, uh, uh, the hardest I’ve ever been hit, ever. You know, um, and he just got me with one and then I hugged on to him. I, I bear hugged him, um, to make sure that he wouldn’t hit me again. And 10 years later, I think, or about seven years later, he came up to me again in New York. And he says, and this time he was very respectful. And he said, Husky, and he put his head down so that no one could see, and he says, hey, you want to go again? And I looked at him with my head down and I was like, hell no, my face still hurts from seven years ago. And he thought that was hilarious and he left me alone. So that was the only time I’ve ever turned down a fight because you can’t, right? If, if he looks at, if he looks in the eye and says, hey, you know, let’s go. And they’re in there, everybody in the building sees it. Well, you have to, or you won’t have a job. So anyways, I think the world of Joey Kocur, but that was something I’ll never forget.
MARK WRIGHT 22:49
Is there, and I’ve wondered this about baseball too. There seems to be, there’s some real judgment that has to go into whether this is the time I charge the mound, or this is the time I take a guy’s jersey over his head and start punching him. During the game, when do you know it’s time to be the enforcer?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 23:05
That’s a good question. It’s a, uh, it’s kind of a built in, uh, it’s an innate, not feeling, but it’s an, you just know, right? It’s either at the beginning of the game, you look at their lineup, we’ll look at our lineup. That, you know, they put their starting five, the visiting has to put their starting five on the lineup. And you look at that, and we used to call it a fight card. And if they, if their fight card is loaded up, then you just know that, hey, you’re going out there and, and you, you know, you’re going to have to do it against probably this person. But, um, that’s the beginning of the game, but typically that doesn’t happen until there’s a moment you need a momentum swing. So, if your team’s down, like just it’s, they’re in your hand or they’re running your star player. Your star players are intimidated. Um, that’s when you, you, you go do it. Or if you’re down more than a couple of goals with five minutes left in the game, you’re not going to come back. You’re like, okay, boys, that’s like going into Philadelphia. Back in the day, they had, you know, their version of the broad street bullies. But, you know, a couple, a couple of years later, we’d go in there and we’d tell our goal scores. If we’re up two goals, we will say no more, no more. You cannot score another goal. Or if we’re down a couple goals, we’d say, guys, you better score a couple goals here or score a goal or they’re sending their fourth line out. And it’s not going to be pretty. So, you always want to keep the game within reach a goal or at least a goal or two. That’s when you kind of knew you had to do your job. But at that point, you didn’t mind. You’re just like, hey, that’s how I can contribute. Like, I’m not going to score. So, if you could, you know, end the game in a fight, you’re like, okay, you know, I did my job and I’m safe for another day.
MARK WRIGHT 24:55
Jamie, did it feel like work when you went to work as a hockey player, or did it just feel like fun?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 25:01
You know, it’s a great question that, that very, uh, that it’s rarely asked, but I would say my first couple of years. Yes, it was. Work is not a term I would use. It would be, oh, you know, remember the, you remember gladiator the movie when he’s coming up the, uh, coming up the ramp going into the Coliseum and, um, yeah, and it was just like, you got that feeling like, oh, I’m going into war here. That’s how we felt. It’d be like going up to Chicago or Detroit. The Chicago at 13 steps going up, uh, you know, felt like the, um, the stadium, the Coliseum and you get there and there’s 18, 19,000 people screaming and wanting to see blood. That was almost every night, right? And that went on for years until, um, until I did the circuit a couple times. In other words, you had to fight most of the guys. And I, there’s some, there’s some heavyweights that I never went up against. But, um, but for the most part, you had to fight everybody at least a couple times. And then they left you alone. So, it took a couple of years. So, by that time I was probably about 28. And I was in Calgary at that time. And then I was like, okay, this is fun. Cause I’m not fighting as much. Uh, we’ve got a real tough team, and I enjoyed every game, right? I just knew that like I, that was fun. Um, and so I had about 28 years old until I was about 32. Uh, it was never a job. It was just I get to go, you know, put on my skates and play in the NHL. Um, you know, that was, that was good, but it takes a long time, at least for me, that took a long time to get to the point where you’re like, okay, this is fun.
MARK WRIGHT 26:51
So, as a hockey player, your boss is your coach. I’m guessing that’s your most immediate, you know, supervisor, right? Well, do you, who was your favorite coach over the years, Jamie? And why?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 27:02
Well, to this day, well, it was a gentleman named Tommy McVie. Tommy was a, um, uh, we called him Sarge, like a drill sergeant and there was no, you know, there was just no compromise, right? If you were Tommy’s, um, you know, thing was, if you’re five minutes early, you’re 10 minutes late. In other words, you know, if you’re not there 15 minutes early, don’t even, don’t even show up. And, but he would never compromise if you’re the best player in the team and you, you know, you’re late, you’re overweight, you’re not producing. You know, you’re out and, uh, you know, if, if you’re the worst player like myself, he would try to build you up and teach you to, you know, to, to how, what you needed to do to make the lineup or make the next level. And he did that with me. So, I played with him five years in New Jersey Program and three in Boston. So, I know for, I know for eight, my first eight years pro and that’s one of the reasons I went to Boston because he was there and he’s the one, the problem. I think that called me up and said, hey, you know, Husky can do this job. Just trust, trust me, you know, call this guy up. So, um, so to this day, Tommy’s gonna be 88. He lives a couple hours south of here and, um, Vancouver, Washington, like call him probably every other night and, uh, he’s got that deep voice. Hey kid, he calls me son. Hey son, how you doing? You know, and then, and, and he says, I love you son. You know, and back in the day, if I would’ve told my buddies that, hey, I’m going to call Tommy up and he’s going to say, hey, I love you son. They would have thrown me into the shower, right? But, um, you know, it’s, uh, what did they say? Uh, a good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life. And, uh, I never forgot that. And, and Tommy changed my life and, right? And, and, um, he, it’s, you know, there’s, and there’s a lot of coaches like that out there, right? That’s just one, that’s just me. And, and, uh, you know, and there’s, you know, for every one good coach, you know, there’s a, there’s a bad coach out there on, you know, what not to, you know, I never really liked or got along with and that’s fine. Um, but yeah, I was very fortunate to, um to have a great coach on the way in who kind of took care of me and, and, uh, and helped me to be the man I am today.
MARK WRIGHT 29:25
So, in today’s professional sports landscape, it seems like salaries and contracts are, are quite a bit different in just about every other sport. It’s just a much more sophisticated business model now in terms of how much money players make. Was hockey good to you financially, Jamie?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 29:42
Well, yes, I mean, yes and no. I mean, I played, uh, you know, in the 90s and early 2000s and we didn’t really have a pension per se, right? It’s you know, nothing art, but good now. Who was our executive director for the, uh, union back then said, if you, uh, you can expect your, um, pension to be enough for grocery money when you get to that age, and he was spot on, right? And but they’ve, uh, they’ve done a good job of, um you know, through the CBAs of implementing a new program or a new, uh, uh, pension plan for these kids and, and they’re so much, uh, better off now, but, uh, you know, I, like I said, I didn’t make much money when I played, but I’m smart enough to, I have one wife, um, and, uh, yeah, and I’ve always, I’ve had this job for 23 years now, um, so it’s, you know, it’s just, I’ve been very fortunate. Um, do I have a lot? Probably not. But, uh, I have, I’m rich spiritually. Um, you know, I, I could, uh, you know, uh, yeah, I mean, I, I’m very, very lucky.
MARK WRIGHT 30:59
So, let’s talk about snoking, but one more hockey question first. Your last game in the NHL, did you know it was your last game and what was that like?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 31:07
Oh man. That’s a great question. That’s going to take me a second. My last game, I knew it was, they called me up. I was 30, you know, in my 33, 34, and I have had a lot of concussion problems at that time and I was just, I wasn’t feeling good and it wasn’t what they call as a glass jaw. I mean, it wouldn’t take hardly anything to knock me out. So, at that point I knew uh, I’ve had 13 concussions at that time or 12 at that time and it just, they were just getting, you know, even a good hit, a body check was knocking me out. So, and I was 33 at the time and I was, you know, I was ready to exit and move on. But, um, so I got called up to the Washington capitals and this, uh, guy that got called up for his name’s Brendan Witt. And he, he came to me, uh, before they have my last game. And he says, Hey Husky, he says, I’m just to let you know that I’m, I’m feeling better, and I’ll probably be in next line and a very respectful, um, thing to do, and I’m like, okay, thanks. So, I went out and played against my old team, my, uh, New Jersey. And they had some guys out there, they had a lot of tough guys, but the only guy that never fought was a guy named Scott Stevens. And you remember Eric Lenderos when he was coming across the middle of the ice at one, one, uh, time and almost ended his career. But, uh, Scott Stevens caught him with his head down, coming across the middle and, and did that to a lot of guys. But he’s arguably one of the meanest guys that ever played the game. And, uh, and he’s just a massive strong man. And I’m like, you know, I’m skinny little buggy with me. So, but I didn’t chair as my last game. I’m going out, you know, I’m telling all my buddies back home. Look what I did. So, he’s out there and Adam Oates, a player in our team is, uh, he goes and, and, and Scott Stevens just runs them over, right? And kind of cross checks. And so, I, my eyes went in the back of my head, and I went screeching over it, not screeching. I went running over to him and cross-checked him. And I said, let’s go. And, uh, I didn’t even give him a chance, I dropped my gloves and, and grabbed him, and I tried so hard to hit him, and I did everything in the book to try to hit him, and he just, he held onto me with a death grip, that, and he just looked at me. And, and I’m not being conceited when I say this, but, you know, I was yelling at him saying, let me go. Cause I said, you gotta let me go. I said, and he wouldn’t and, and he would have beat the crap out of me if he would have let me go, right? Because and, but he didn’t, and he just kind of looked at me and he was like, you’re a loser. And, uh, without saying it in his eyes, he’s like, you’re a nobody, get out of here. So anyways, I tried to throw him down and the, he was so strong that, that I couldn’t move him. He didn’t move. And my rib popped right out of my, right in the cartilage, right out of the socket. And it just went, boing, and you can see it. I couldn’t see the rib. It wasn’t a compound, but you could see the rib um, sticking out and I was like, yeah, I thought someone hit me, you know, I thought someone kicked me in the, in the testicles cause it hurts so much. And so, it, and it took the wind out of me and now he’s really looking at me saying you’re not only a loser and you’re a sissy, but they take me off the ice, they, and I got an instigator fight I think too. So, I’m in the room, I get my, the doctor sticks some needles in me to numbs it up, puts a Cortisone and some, uh, Novocain in there, whatever. And I go back out on the ice and, and, uh, after I served the penalty and I’m skating around and I could just feel my rib pop and, you know, in and out, and I’m like, oh, this is crazy. So I milked it for about three more weeks. And then to the, finally, they said, you’re, you’re okay to play. And then they, um, they sent me to the minors and, uh, and um, you know, and that was my last NHL game. And, but in the minors, um, the, uh, I ended up playing the rest of the season, which I think we’re, wasn’t that long. And then the next year I, um, I played in the minors and I, we were like four games in and I took a couple, uh, I got, I got in a fight and then, uh, and then another, uh, a body check all in the same period. And I felt like, um, it was, uh, I felt like it was, uh, it’s hard to explain, but it was such a dark thing. My, I just went down like a ton of bricks and, uh, every day I tried to, I thought I was getting over it. I, I just went worse and worse to the point where I, you know, I just couldn’t think. I, I couldn’t be in a, a, um, a room with anybody or, um, I had to be dark. And so anyways, I knew right there that, that was the end of my career and I, I got some outside, uh, you know, a neuros, a neurologist, some people that, you know, said, you’re, he’ll never play again. And, and, uh, and at that time I was fine with it. And so that was the last game. Uh, but my last game was in the minors and but there, I was 34 years old and the average kid on the minor league team was 24. So, you know, when a bunch of guys are calling your grandpa out there, you knew it was time to pack it in.
MARK WRIGHT 36:29
Is that something that still bothers you today, Jamie, the traumatic brain injuries?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 36:33
Yeah, I, um, yes and no. Um, uh, yes, I have to be really careful. I still skate two to three times a week, but I get to pick the players for the most part, and they’re all real good guys, and, um, and there’s no body checking, there’s no bumping, there’s no back checking, um, it’s just a very sedated, uh, you know, one of my groups is, I think, golly, 50 and over. And the other one is, you know, kind of around 30- to 40-year-olds. But there is no, you just, it’s, um, nobody hits each other. And so, it’s a very safe and controlled atmosphere. And, um, and, and that’s the extent of it. I just can’t overdo it, but if that’s the worst of my problem, I mean, that’s a I’m very fortunate. I’ve seen a lot of guys. Um, you know, the proverbial fighters are and they don’t do well, right? Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, a loss of, uh you know, uh, you know, uh, where they get divorced. We just had a gentleman there, Blaine Locker, took his life or lost his life. Um, um, rookie goaltender when I was in Boston in 93, 94. Just last week, I see that he, uh you know, he, he left us, he was 50, I think 56, 55, 56, but anyways, it’s, you know, it’s, it’s, there’s, you know, there’s, I’m very fortunate, uh, to be in the position I am.
MARK WRIGHT 38:01
So, on our questionnaire, one of the questions we ask is what’s your area of expertise and what do you specialize in? I love your answer. I’m not an expert on anything, just an old hockey player who loves working with people and kids. So, once you left the game professionally, Jamie, how, how soon was it that you connected with Sno-King and the program here?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 38:23
Yeah. I, within six months, it took me six months. Uh, once I got out of the league. I was in a, uh, it took me six months to actually get to the point where I could even talk to people. I was, uh, kind of, um, oh, I was kind of locked up in the house. And, and, and, but I, like I said, I have my wife and my kids and I don’t really drink care, you know? Um, so I, you know, I was in good shape and, uh, in my family, a real strong family, and I’m, you know, very, um, spiritual. So, it was in a good place and, um, my family stuck with me. And then when I started to come out of that, uh, proverbial dip, and I started to feel better, um, Sno-King approached me and said, well, I’m still working for today. Offered me to, to, um, be their, uh, like a program, uh, hockey director. And I remember when I took the job, I could type with two fingers. I came in there and they were like, and I’m trying to, I didn’t know what a computer was and I’m typing. And, and I had a couple volunteers from Microsoft helping me and just shaking their heads and going, man, you are so right. Um, but you know, here I am 23 or 24 years later, and I’m still I can type with four fingers now, so I’m twice twice as good, right? Anyways, um, yeah, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s been great. So, I work for a company Sno-King. I am Dir Hockey Association Sno-King Ice Arenas. We’re in Seattle on the east side. And, uh, so I, uh, I, and we’re a nonprofit, um, association, we’re having our 60th anniversary here this year, um, but I run the rinks, we have three rinks, uh, we have one in Kirkland, a twin sheet in Renton, and a brand new twin sheet of, uh, in Snoqualmie, so I am the operations or facilities, uh, In charge of facilities. So, I just go around and make sure that everybody’s doing what they should be doing and, and making sure that they can skate lunch hockey with me. Um, so anyways, it’s it’s a great job. It’s we’ve, uh, surround ourselves with really good people that love to be you know, working in an atmosphere like this, most of the managers that I hire all skate with me and, uh, we work out together and it’s, it’s just a, uh, um, great environment. Even my boss, uh, uh, excuse me, who, uh, uh, this Larry, um, Mana’o, Mana’o, um, who’s just joined us a couple of years ago. He’s a professional soccer player. Ex Olympic, um, player and coach. So, we’ve got, uh, you know, college basketball players here. We got a pro soccer player, a couple pro hockey players. So, we, we’re surrounding ourselves with some great, great athletes. That’s kind of the atmosphere we work in.
MARK WRIGHT 41:15
So basically, anything to do with ice. Um, so you’ve got three ice arenas, right? On the East side.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 41:23
Yes.
MARK WRIGHT 41:24
And so, you’ve got over a adult skaters, 900 youth and 1100 figure skaters. And you employ over 90 people. And I was surprised to learn that you guys have been in business for 60 years. So basically, it’s, you know, Ice sports, it’s not like soccer or baseball where you can find a field anywhere, but managing the pressure. What’s that like, Jamie, when you have to manage so many interests all trying to get ice time?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 41:54
It is, it is an interesting, uh, dynamic and, uh, and puzzle, but at the end of the day, you know, you, you, we do, we have close to, like I said, eight, nine hundred youth, right? And they typically take that five till eight o’clock P.M. slot, slots. And then a lot of the weekend, I see adults take from eight 30 till midnight. And the figure skaters will, for the most part, you know, grab anything before that. You know, they’re typically from noon till, you know, almost five o’clock. So, and that’s any, you can, that’s a blueprint for any program around the country. It’s just, that’s the ice that you have, but here we, um, it is hard. We just built this brand-new twin sheet arena here in Snoqualmie and right. They’re not cheap. That’s a 22 to 23 million sheet of our, um, building and, you know, uh, selling ice for um, uh, selling nice to try to meet that is is, uh, it’s not easy, but we have a good team. Um, uh, and with the crack and coming into town, it’s made it a lot easier, right? The, uh, the, uh, hockey, um, boom or the wave, um, just started when we built this rink and thank goodness, they made the playoffs last year and we see those gains are the, um peaks in our adult and youth leagues and even figure skating, even publics, right? People are like, hey, I want to come out and have a birthday party or I want to come, um, you know, for a public skate or a stick and tuck or, you know, or adults here just this last year, we, uh, our adult leagues, uh, we probably have 90 some new people in our, um, learned hockey or learned to skate programs for the adults, which is, you know, probably about triple what we had last year. So, yeah uh, we just, you know, we like to ride that, uh, crack and wave and hopefully they can make the playoffs everybody’s there, you know, a lot of people are like, hey, I want to try that. I love the sport and, and because I don’t know if you’ve ever skated or once you skate or once you put on that equipment and, and you get out there, it is amazing. Um, if you can you know, it’s like anything, I guess, but once you’re playing hockey, it is just an amazing sport, right? It’s not a physical sport for the most part, right? It’s, it’s very graceful. And but man, you try to skate on those quarter inch blades while you’re stick handling with your, you know, and trying to avoid, you know, nine other people on the ice, it’s not easy. But when you can yeah. When you can finally get it, um, it is just, it’s so addicting. And I would play it every day, If, uh, if, if I could. I almost, I almost do it.
MARK WRIGHT 44:54
I love it. Jamie, when you look at sports like soccer and hockey, um, the U.S. has kind of had to play catch up just because like you said, in Canada, everybody plays hockey and in Europe and South America and other parts of the world, everybody plays soccer. So, the LeBron James would be playing soccer, not, not basketball. What, what, what do you think about the current state of professional hockey? You know, where are we in that growth arc in this country for pro hockey? And, and let’s face it, it takes, it takes feeder teams too, right? To grow the fan base and the player base.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 45:30
Yeah. USA hockey is I would say in the last, you know, a few years of probably equal or surpassed what the Canada hockey has done and, you know, I’m, I’m not being biased. I mean, I’m, right? I’m half Canadian. I’m American. I root for both, but I think the U. S. is It’s finally gotten to that point now where, uh, I think they’re, they’re just as good of not better than, uh, what you see coming out of Canada, uh, just because of the, obviously the size. And, um, I think per capita, obviously Canada is going to, and even Europe, they’re going to put, um, you know, far more players in per capita than we would here, but, but there I just look at our program, you know, we’ve tripled in size over the last, you know, since I’ve been here and we’re starting to, um, you know, get some good players.Um, but I think for, for, for producing players and then you look at, you know, Austin Matthews, right? He’s out of, uh, Scottsdale or out of Phoenix, right? You’ve got some of the best players in the world coming from the States now, and, and you’re only going to see that more and more. You look at, uh, Columbus now they’ve been in I think over 20 years they’ve been in the league and they’re starting to be a hockey hop out of the north or the Midwest and you will see that in the next 10, 15 years. You’ll probably see Seattle produce some good players, right? But it takes that long to, to get the players to say, hey, the six-year-olds, like my granddaughter or, you know, granddaughter would be like, hey, no, I don’t want to play soccer. I want to play hockey. You know, hey, grandpa, you know, let’s go play hockey because, you know, she watches it on TV so that that that takes a long time for that to happen. But it’s it’s happened in the states, and they have, uh, the, uh, their training, um, uh, the way they train these kids. The American development model has changed. Happened about 10 years ago. So, these kids are starting to develop more kids and, um, you know, had a better pace, better coaches. So, so that’s a long way to answer that question. But, um, I think USA hockey is, is, is every bit of what Canadian hockey is now. And I think it’s only going to get, I think it’s only going to get better just with the, with expansion and the quality of training they’re getting here.
MARK WRIGHT 47:56
You know, our mission on this podcast is to redeem work and that is to make work better for everyone and to show that, you know, you can succeed from a business standpoint and still honor human beings at the same time. And in the questionnaire that you filled out, Jamie, I was really struck by your answer when we asked how you are redeeming work. And you talked about your commitment to producing employees of great character, courage and consideration. And you said something that I want to, I want to dig deeper on and that is you try to build an emotional bank account with the people you work with to, to ensure trust and accountability. Tell me more about where that idea came from and what that looks like on a practical basis.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 48:38
Yeah, it’s, it came from sports, right? You, right? You, you had to, you got to gain the trust, right? And the trust has to come from hard work and commitment. And, and for me, it was, I look at that with my boss right now. And, you know, number one, right? I’m, I’m, you know, I don’t cheat, don’t steal and don’t lie. And, and working for a nonprofit like us, it’s like, you know, you can stick to those three qualities, you’re probably going to be here for a long time, right? Or you just, you know, you come to work every day and you just you know, do everything you can work harder than you did the day before and, uh, and, and just, you know, but that emotional bank account for me is, uh, is something that, you know, I try to try to install or at least have those values for myself. So when I do have to say something to an employee, they can tell that it hurts. Like, I’m just like, come on, you know, like, you know, like we’ve, we’ve worked, we’ve talked about this and, and, and they trust me and, um, you know, if they don’t trust me, I’m done, right? Um, and, um, so I never want to do or say or be that person that say, you know, that guy’s not a good character guy, right? And that, that would be devastating for me. So, it’s you know, all you have is your, you know, is integrity and character, right? And, and it only takes a second, uh, to throw it all away, right? One, one stupid thing or a bad move and, and, uh, you know, you could lose your employees. But anyways, I’ve, I’ve been here for a long time because you know, I’m a, I have those values and I’ve surrounded myself with good, good people and, and, and people of character like yourself. And so, it’s, um, it’s just not a problem and the employees, they love to work here. Um, we’ve hired all good, uh, at Sno-King, you know, with, with Larry, our boss and, and right, you know, our, our program directors and managers are all people of character, right? And, uh, and, and that’s why, you know, I love coming to work every day. It’s just, uh, it’s fun and invigorating and, and,
MARK WRIGHT 50:58
Maybe we should say it together, Jamie. It’s BEATS WORKING.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 51:02
It’s BEATS WORKING. Amen. It’s my wife kind of just giggles. She goes, oh, you’re going to go play lunch hockey again today. Are you? Yes, I am. I might even get a little work in while I’m there, but you know, for me, uh, Mark, I think the most gratifying thing for me is what I try to do at the end of the day is on before I leave. Um, right now you can’t see it, but I’m in my upstairs office in Snoqualmie. And if I look down, uh, there’s, um, you know, there’s probably 50 kids skating here in the next hour. And that’s what I’ll try to do is go down on the ice, and I’ve been here long enough. I know the kids’ parents and I know the coaches. So, I’ll go stand on the ice for a minute and just say hi to the coaches. And I was out there last week. And, um, some little kid, probably six years old, looked up at me and he goes, are you a grandpa? And I looked at him and I said, I’m your coach, you know. Don’t you remember me from hockey school? But he’s like, you look like a grandpa. And I was like, oh my god, you guys are so honest and so truthful. But uh, it’s uh, yeah, it is. Uh, it’s something else. But if you know, when I go downstairs to talk to the front office that is just to spend each day and just talk to him and ask him how they’re doing, you know, how was their weekend and, um, how’s the family doing? And, and, you know, and you obviously, you know, I care. And, um, you know, because you can show that that you care that they care about you, and they want to do the right thing. And, and, uh, yeah. And they enjoy coming to work every day because that’s the atmosphere, um, that we instill here. It’s just good people and a great job.
MARK WRIGHT 52:44
You know, that mention of the emotional bank account and how important that is. Um, about a month ago in my job here, I dropped the ball on something pretty serious, um, not a good thing. Um, and my manager had to come to me, and we had a really hard talk and yeah, it hurt because I knew I was wrong and I owned it and, uh, and, but the fact that I had built up that.
MARK WRIGHT 53:09
Emotional trust with her, that conversation, uh, wasn’t a disaster. It was, it was very helpful. It was painful, but it allowed us to, to get past it and to move forward with a solution. And I, there’s just such wisdom there that it takes a lot of time to build that up as a manager, but when you need to call in those chips, it, it, it, there’s nothing better than to have that emotional trust between two people because then they know it’s coming from a good spot, right?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 53:41
Yeah, no, you’re you’re absolutely right and and, and my boss right now is he’s got the exactly same oh a very similar background um but uh, you know our managing style is very similar to uh, you know, just you know, just tell me the truth, right? Just, and we’re both that way. Just, you know, don’t, you know, don’t talk behind anybody’s back and tell me the truth. And, uh, and it just, it’s, it’s, uh, wonderful when you have a team. Um, or you, you build a team of trust and character that it’s just It makes, it just makes things so much easier because there are problems every day, right? We all know that there’s, you know, there’s, there’s problems that come at you, but when you, you know, and, uh, but you just know that it’s okay, right? At the end of the day, you know, uh, I got a great God and, uh, I got a great wife and great kids and grandkids. You know, what more can I ask for? I’m just, I’m living, uh, I’m living a life that I never dreamed I could, you know, I could live and, and I’m in Seattle and, um, and, and playing hockey, right? I’m still playing hockey and, and making money at it. So, I, I, I picture myself doing this for a long time. There’s a YouTube, that one guy who’s 90, I think he’s over 90 years old. He’s got a handlebar mustache and yeah, he’s over 90 years old. He plays lunch hockey four times a week. I want to be that guy, right? I want to jump over the bench when I’m 90 and go try to score a couple of goals and, and have that camaraderie in the locker room. hat’s me.
MARK WRIGHT 55:23
One thing I wanted to ask you about Jamie and just about ready to wrap up, but I realized early on as a news anchor that people were really affected by the words that I said, and it wasn’t because I was some great person, but by default, the job makes what you say seem more important to, to people who don’t have those highly visible jobs. And it, and it really made me be careful at an early age of, of the words I used and how I said them to people, because I knew that if I had a good if I had a good interaction with somebody they might talk about that for years to come uh after they talk to that quote unquote famous person um, and if I had a bad Interaction with someone I was pretty sure that they would talk about that for years to come and what a jerk that Mark, right was but I wanted to ask you You’ve got some capital built up as a former professional player. I’m guessing that when you talk to a little kid, I mean I, I, I can’t remember ever talking to a professional athlete when I was a kid, but that’s gotta be some, some capital that is, that you’ve learned how to use over the years, right?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 56:31
Yeah. Great question, Mark. Um, yeah, it’s funny. Like I’ll, I was on the ice, um, the other day and, and, uh, a kid was like, hey, you know, kind of like, who are you? Right? And like, did you play? And I said, well, yeah, I played for a couple NHL teams. And they’re like, no way. Like, you know, and so part of me is like, well, I’ve been here 20 years, you know, what do you mean? You don’t know who I am. Right. But they don’t, and they don’t care. But for the older kids and the adults, it is, It’s, you know, it’s, it allows me to, you know, to kind of get into the room and kind of talk to them and, and, uh, tell them what we’re all about and who we are and, you know, who I am and what I’m all about. Um, but yeah, it is, it is something, you know, that has allowed me to get into it, you know, to this position, which I don’t think to this day, I don’t think they should have given me this job. Like I said, I’m, you know, two, two, two fingered Tony. I can’t, I couldn’t, you know, I couldn’t do, uh, my job like, you know, I would want my manners to do a job now. But anyways, it, it, it allowed me, um, some leeway to, to get in and to learn and, and surround myself with good people, and, and sports does that. I think, um, I just hired a manager for, uh, one of my ranks and, and he’s a, College basketball player, right? But it’s, that’s who we, we like that. We like these athletes that have to, you know, they, they, they you know, they’re part of a team, right? They’ve had adversity. They they’ve fought through it. They had to perform at a high level, um, every day, right? And, and, um, and that’s who I like, right. I just know what I’m going to get. And cause that’s who I am and that’s who we are. And so, yeah, that’s, you know, having that pedigree, uh, is amazing, but it’s also amazing that I think there’s only I think there’s only what they say, or maybe 3 or 4000. Um, there’s like our alumni right now strong. There’s only 3 or 4000 people, uh, in the in the world that are still. Still around that have played the game and another stat that I, I heard the other day and they said that they 50 percent of the people that played in the NHL played 40 games or less. In other words, a lot of these kids that are getting called up, they get called up for 10 games, and they’re back down, right? They are called up for 20, you know, for 5, for 2, and then they’re down. So, they’ll rife, they’ll, you know, they’ll shuffle the kids up and down. But very few of them, um, you know, it’s hard enough to get there. And when you get there, it’s, it’s a whole different levels to try to stay there. So, it’s a, um
MARK WRIGHT 59:21
And how many games did you play in your career?
JAMIE HUSCROFT 59:24
I got 470, I think I got credit for about 550, but I played, um, like 460, 470 ish. So, I was very, yeah, I got really lucky. Um, just right place at the right time with the right people. But I tell you, if, if I wouldn’t have got called up, you know. You know, and I’m just a minor league player, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now. I’d be doing something different. I don’t think I would have got that, you know, foot in the door, um, if I wouldn’t have played in the NHL as long as I did but God is good, right? It’s, uh, I’ve been very fortunate and, uh, yeah. But, you know, I’m very thankful.
MARK WRIGHT 01:00:05
Well, Jamie Huscroft, thank you for what you’re doing to redeem work. And I love the idea that you’re able to take that love of hockey that started when you were a little kid skating on frozen ponds up in, up in Canada. And you’re still tapping into that love today and sharing it with so many other people. So, this has been a real treat to spend time with you, Jamie, and keep up the great work.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 01:00:26
Well, thanks, Mark. I really appreciate it.0
MARK WRIGHT 01:00:27
And maybe we’ll get out on the ice sometime. I’m a terrible skater, and I could use some, some lessons.
JAMIE HUSCROFT 01:00:33
Hey, I’d love to have you anytime. You come on over.
MARK WRIGHT 01:00:36
All right. Deal. Thanks, Jamie. I’m Mark Wright. Thanks for listening to BEATS WORKING, part of the WORKP2P family. New episodes drop every Monday. And if you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Special thanks to show producer and web editor Tamar Medford. In the coming weeks, you’ll hear from our Contributors Corner and Sidekick Sessions. Join us next week for another episode of BEATS WORKING, where we are winning the game of work.