Current members and alumni alike recently seized the opportunity to take a Sport Leadership course at Royal Roads University earlier this year as the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) Players’ Guild continues to provide resources to prepare its members for life after sport.

“You may be still three or four years out, who knows when your playing days are going to be done, and leadership of self is a big thing,” Scott Armstrong, co-Manager of the PHPA’s Player Guild, explained, adding, “It’s not just leadership of others, but leadership of self in terms of how you think and the habits that you develop.”

The course, led by former Canadian Olympian Jennifer Walinga, provided PHPA members with tools for developing their own personal leadership plan – whether that’s in the locker room or away from rink in life after hockey.

Among those who took the course were current Atlanta Gladiators defenseman Ryan Conroy and PHPA alumni Louis Leblanc.

Conroy, 25, is a second-year pro with the Gladiators this year and after three years at Yale University – with degrees in political science and economics – an educational course is certainly not an unfamiliar setting.

“I’m always looking to learn something new, or better myself, I guess. And this course came up, and for me I’m fascinated by leadership and read lots of books before, and I’ve been in leadership capacities on past teams. I’m an assistant captain here in Atlanta right now,” Conroy explained of his decision to take the course.

“And so again, just another venue for me to get better and learn what kind of tools and tactics and strategies other people use to create good environments and team settings to be a stronger leader and a better person and all those things. So, it was kind of a no brainer for me.”

All in all, Conroy was thankful for the opportunity to continue broadening his horizons.

“We’re very blessed to have that, just understanding that the union has a priority of ensuring that we have a high quality of standard for hockey, but also a high standard in other avenues in life,” Conroy said, adding, “Being able to develop our career attributes and just our social skills and having those avenues is so important, and, yeah, it’s fantastic to have those resources and be able to utilize them.”

For Leblanc, 35, the Sport Leadership course at Royal Roads University was applied in a different way.

“It really had good activities to think about what type of leader you are and where you potentially needed to improve and how to lead teams,” Leblanc said of the course. “And for me specifically, it was more the transition between hockey and business and how the leadership skills from the ice may or may not translate into a boardroom or a business setting.”

Leblanc is certainly a prime example of someone who has used the resources available to him through the PHPA to aid him in his post-playing career, especially his start with an internship at BFL Canada shortly after he retired from playing professionally in 2016.

“I remember emailing (the PHPA), and they had put me in touch with BFL Canada, the insurance broker. They gave me my first opportunity, really, to work,” Leblanc said, adding he maintains a good relationship to this day with BFL Canada and still participates in their annual charity game at the Bell Centre.

“So, yeah, the PHPA has great resources. Players have to use them and kind of figure out what works for them.”

Leblanc returned to school at Harvard and later took work at Fiera Capital in asset management before landing in capital investment and later launching an educational platform.

As for his message to current players, Leblanc says it’s never too early to start thinking about and working toward a future outside of hockey even while you’re still playing.

“I think the number one is networking. Keep building a strong network. As hockey players, you’re fortunate to meet a lot of interesting people in the business world and sports world, so keep a tab on who you’re meeting and what they’re doing. Stay in touch with these people when you’re playing, because when you stop playing, you might meet someone and you never know who that person might be,” Leblanc said of his advice for current players, while also being proactive. 

“And then two is, learn a skill. I know while I was playing, I was also guilty of it. You’re just focused on training and having a good life with training and sleeping and eating well. There’s a lot of downtime during the day that athletes kind of waste sometimes, I think. So learning a different skill, whether that is taking an investment course or real estate course or public speaking course, whatever it may be, I think would go a long way for some of these guys when they stop playing and have a limited skill set beyond shooting and passing a puck around.”