Underway in Briancon

Now that I have the internet, I can get some good updates going here from Briancon. Training camp officially started on August 10th with 2 practices per day and 1 gym session and we have been rolling along with that plan everyday since. Most of the guys arrived the week before and with optional ice sessions, most players made it out there for a few skates before the official first day of camp.

For a change in the routine, yesterday instead of an afternoon practice, we took a hike way up into the mountains of Briancon. Prior to this hike, the longest hike I had ever done was probably in Vancouver on the Grouse Grind or the Chief, both being under an hour, maybe even 35minutes 50 secs if I was lucky ;) Needles to say, I was not anticipating a 4 hour roundtrip hike!





I am a big believer in team building and working together with physical activities outside of hockey, but this was a bit extreme! Now that I am finished, I must say it was a great experience and I think every player on our team would say the same thing, but about 1 hour 45 minutes in to this mental battle, most guys were cursing in French, English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Hungarian and I may have heard a few slovanian curse words haha. In the end, we climbed to an Altitude of 2377m.


I am feeling pretty good about our team and our work ethic and as we are set to open our exhibition season, I believe we have a team that can do some damage this year. Our first goal is September 12th as we will head to Mulhouse to face Grenoble for the Trophy of Champions. We want that title!!!

Preparations for Departure

While I am enjoying my last week and a half in Canada before heading to Briancon, it is still pretty tough not to think about my next adventure and what needs to be done before my departure. I started compiling a list of essential items I will need to bring with me to France. These are things that I cannot get in France and must find a way to squeeze it into my luggage.

Heading up the top of the list is Gatorade! This beverage is consumed by millions in North America and beyond, but searching through the isles of Carrefour and Géant Casino, this item is nowhere to be found. Gatorade crystals are the key, light weight and makes up to 21L. This is essential for recovery after hard practices and games as it provides the body with electrolytes and helps you avoid dehydration.



Another popular item is GU Energy Gel! Some of you may be familiar with Powergel, but I find GU to be a great way to replenish my energy stores that I use up during a game. I usually have 2 GU Energy Gels per game. A few boxes of GU will be packed away for sure!




It is not easy to bring over food, and with France being pretty solid in that department already, I don't really have to. Though one item I enjoy that I have still not been able to find is Oatmeal. I usually bring over the instant packets and just add water to it. I enjoy this for breakfast as it provides me with some carbohydrates to give me energy for the days workouts.



Now, an item that you cannot consume is the Roller. This is a tool used before or after a workout or practice to help relieve some tight muscles and you roll over them with this tool. This is great for myofascial release which is a form of soft tissue therapy, intended for pain relief, increasing range of motion and balancing the body. Essential for hockey players for their hips, legs and back!


Well, there are just a few things of what I will be bringing with me on August 2nd when I leave. I am very excited to get started with my new team and start winning some games!

Bike Sprints

As the summer is slowly coming to a close before embarking on yet another journey to France, I thought it would be nice to share a part of my workout from the other day. Spending at least 5 days in the gym doing hockey specific training, one of the aspects used for conditioning purposes to complement a hard lift is bike sprints.

My brother and I have done many different bike sprint routines, but on this particular day we did a series of sprints in different time intervals, with the mental image of being on the ice, ranging from exploding out of the zone for a loose puck (10 second sprint) or trying to keep our feet moving on a long shift (45 seconds).

Sprint Routine was as follows:

Find a good tension on the spin bike where it is difficult to pedal, then during the sprint, turn it up a few notches.

5 minute spinning
10 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
20 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
30 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
45 second sprint (x3) 1 minute recovery
30 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
20 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
10 second sprint (x2) 30 second recovery
5 minute light spinning


This was completed after a Chest/Back (Push/Pull) workout. I will see if I can bring my camera into the gym on one of our lifting days to give you a closer look at the hockey specific exercises we do!

Shooting Pucks in the Backyard

Yesterday, my brother Gabe and I spent a few hours outside in our backyard firing some shots. You are never too old to work on your shot and like I mentioned in my last blog, we went to Canadian Tire to buy a big tarp, so that we avoid breaking any windows or the fence, or worst case scenario would be sending a puck over the fence and hitting the neighbours house, or simply landing in their pool for evidence.

Last week, after shooting about 200 pucks, I developed a few blisters, so in a way to be more game like, and prevent these blisters again, I put on my hockey gloves. All I was missing was....well everything else. I might toss a pair of skates on next time to at least be at the proper height, though I'm sure while standing in the grass, I would eventually sink down a few inches, making me at the same height I started at with my shoes on.


Well, all this talk about shooting pucks here, I think I might have to head outside while it is still light out and fire a few more.

3 Weeks Away!

In just over 3 weeks I will be boarding the plane in Detroit, MI and headed back to France. As per the past 2 seasons, I landed in Paris and too the TGV Train to Epinal. This year will be different, as I will be headed to the French Alps to Briancon!

At home in Windsor, Ontario I have been training with my younger brother Gabe as we have been battling those early morning gym workouts together, then finding some ice session in the evening a few times a week. He is also preparing for his season as he plays junior hockey in Ontario and aspires to have his own professional hockey career in a few years.

For the month of June, Marion made her first visit to Canada from France and enjoying the luxuries of being a border city with Detroit, allowing us to frequent the USA for shopping, baseball games and Cedar Point Amusement park. The highlight of her trip though must have been our trip to Toronto, where she had the privilege of visiting The Hockey Hall of Fame, with nephews. I had to show her the shrine of hockey and just how passionate we Canadians are about hockey (I'm sure she had not figured that out yet haha).




Always trying to improve my game in someway, last week Gabe and I went to Canadian Tire to buy a big tarp. A big tarp? How is this going to make us better hockey players??? Well, since we have been able to raise the puck and shoot fairly hard, the fence in our backyard has gotten beat up pretty bad and sometimes our shots even hit the crossbar and slam into the neighbour's house, so for protection and prevention, we bought a tarp that we have tied to the trees so that any errant shots will be blocked. We lose less pucks this way too!

Well it feels good to start writing again and I hope my followers from Epinal will continue follow along the way this season!

My First Day in Epinal (aug 16th, 2007)

At this time I would like to thank everyone that I have come into contact with over the past two seasons in Epinal. When I first arrived on August 16th, 2007, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was at the train station in Paris, speaking broken french and trying to buy a ticket to Epinal. I bought a first class ticket and ended up sitting in 2nd class, having no idea to check the car number or anything. As I lugged around two giant hockey bags, a back pack and my hockey sticks, I barely made it on the train.

Being from another country, we hear that the people in France are all snobs and very unhelpful in situations like that, but I have to say that is totally false. As I struggled to get on the train with all of my stuff, a very nice man helped me out and we got talking (in English). He spoke very well and ended up being from Epinal. As he saw how much I struggled and knowing that I had to switch trains in Nancy (where he had his car parked), he offered to give me a ride to Epinal and get me to the rink in time for practice. I am not sure if I would have made it without him, it was almost as if he was sent from God. Funny I say that, because he name was Mr. Dieudonné. Which means "God Given."

As he got me to the rink, I had now been travelling for roughly 24hours straight as I flew in from Vancouver. From there I was in the good hands of Thibaut, who is now a good friend of mine. He took my bags, escorted me to the dressing room as the players were going out for practice. Coming down the stairs was my new coach Shawn Allard, the first thing he says "Hey nice to meet you, get your hockey gear on!" I was thinking that he couldn't be serious I was travelling for a full day, with flights, trains and cars! I was on the ice 10mins later.

After the practice I went with my new roommates, the Finns! At this time however, we were living in a vacation home in Aydoilles about 20mins away. We get there and I have no bedroom, nor do I have a bed. Then a tiny mattress shows up for me and I find a cozy spot on the floor for the next two weeks. The reason for this was because we had 10 guys living in the house at the time.

I put my bags away quickly then was taken back into the city to eat at the Capitainerie, finally my first meal, I was so hungry. Unable to understand 3/4 of the menu, I noticed "poulet." CHICKEN!!!!! Yes I'll take it. It was pretty good, so I was going to give the waitress a good tip but apparently the tip is already included in the prices here in France? Even better :)

With a time zone change from Vancouver to France being 9 hours, I was pretty messed up but if you end up travelling for a full day without sleeping and surviving off a bunch of Snickers Bars, you should have no trouble sleeping that first night!

After that everything started to fall into place, I got a bedroom finally when Petrak found his own place, a few of the young guys moved out and then our tournament gave me a taste of Pro Hockey with 3 games in 3 days. So I was right into the swing of things quickly and I have not missed a step since then, taking my job as a professional hockey player very serious and living everyday being grateful that I can go to work knowing that I love my job!

Epinal gave me my start and for that I am extremely thankful and will never forget my first day of pro hockey in France!

Verbal Agreement Reached

It seems lots of information has been swirling around as of late, some accurate and some far fetched. Either way I am very flattered as people have been announcing my signing with many different teams in France. It feels good to be wanted :)

To update everyone, an agreement has been reached with one of the top teams in Ligue Magnus and though it has not been made official yet by signing the contract, everything will be official this weekend. I look forward to sharing more details in a few days. Thank you everyone for your support during this time, especially the very understanding Epinal fans!!!