I retired from playing professional hockey in 2021.   I started playing professionally in 2011 after I signed a contract with the Florida Panthers and decided to leave the University of Denver after only three seasons.   I felt completely “burnt out” when I decided to stop playing and could not understand why, after playing professionally for only 10 seasons. I always thought I was going to be the guy who played until he was 40. Recently, I had a conversation with a friend of mine, Derek Armstrong, who helped me crystallize my thoughts on why this occurred. Derek and I had very similar skill sets and talent levels.   Let’s begin by comparing our careers: Derek: 17 years pro, 477 NHL games, 1,015 pro games, retired at 37. Drew: 10 years pro, 99 NHL games, 322 pro games (a million healthy scratches), retired at 30.   From the time I was three years old, I shot pucks every day. I did this because I thought I had to in order to make the NHL. Derek shot pucks every day because he thought it was fun and genuinely enjoyed it.   I moved away from home when I was 13 to play hockey in Vancouver, and that was the year I mentally made hockey a job. I never once felt any pressure from either of my parents; this was simply the way I was wired at an early age. Derek played with his buddies every day on a pond until he turned 18. He didn’t think hockey was a job until his first NHL game at 20 years old.   This is an important lesson for both players and parents. I now realize that when I retired at 30, I felt exhausted because I had been treating the game like a profession for 17 seasons.   It is impossible to reach the pinnacle of any profession without years of hard work. The best players love their work. They enjoy every part of the game, which enables them to sustain energy and be successful for many years.   You have to find a way to fall in love with the daily grind, or else long-term success is impossible. This applies to sports and everything else in life.

The Christian McCaffrey Lowe's commercials just constantly mocking my 1-4 fantasy football team all Sunday long

Your best players step up in the most important moments. What a moment for David Pastrnak. x.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1786…

This is amazing. Goosebumps. So perfect. The way it always will sound in my mind.

The stunning view of the umbra from the International Space Station. From NASA live. #Eclipse2024

Call me old school, but I preferred it when the world's largest sports media company wasn't referring to sports gambling as a "risk-free investment."

“There’s doctors who have jobs because people being so injured from Crossfit.” Get your tin foil hats out. Is big ortho in charge of crossfit!? 📺: youtu.be/yr4tOCq3YmU?si=LHs6…

Josh Allen got a whole damn highlight reel of him flopping

Grocer Empire reports quarterly profits up almost 40% compared with a year ago trib.al/Lnv2BYy

Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Citizen Recognition Awards, Forbes Kennedy Volunteer Award, David ‘Eli’ MacEachern Bursary! You make #Charlottetown proud! See the full list of recipients here: charlottetown.ca/news/curren… Photo credit: Brian McInnis.

Congratulations to Troy Lajeunesse of Dokis First Nation for signing with the Fife Flyers of the EIHL(UK)!

Wow

PGA Tour agrees to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf. Golf’s newest longest day. cnbc.com/2023/06/06/pga-tour…

Jim Carrey improvised the “Big Gulps, huh?” line in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ (1994) Also, the Big Gulpers weren’t even extras. They were hanging out watching the filming and director Peter Farrelly put them in a scene

It’s the only game on Sunday, a weekend day. The Western Conference’s top two teams are playing. It’s probably been the most entertaining series of the second round. It features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Start time: 10 p.m. ET. Just baffling.

Hear from @pdxwinterhawks education advisor Sue Johnson upon the Winterhawks being named the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year! #WHLAwards

lmao greatest Jack Edwards call of all time

This is embarrassing @NHL

From ESPN’s The Point… The Pierre-Édouard Bellemare story. Not an exaggeration, one of the most improbable journeys in the 100-plus year history of the NHL.

🎥 Why this isn’t a penalty and certainly can’t be called in OT @ThatsHockeyTalk