Ryan Malone is no stranger to long distance running.
The son of a former NHL player and head scout, Malone regularly drove long distances from Minnesota to Western Pennsylvania with his family as a child. As a retired former NHL player, Malone made another long trip from Tampa to his hometown of Pittsburgh earlier this week.
Just like the long drives, the long games mean something to a guy who has spent 11 seasons on and off the ice.
His goal as a hockey player was to win the Stanley Cup, and Malone came close to that. He was Evgeni Malkin's go-to winger on the Pittsburgh Penguins' second line in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final Six game loss to the Detroit Red Wings. His current goal is to demonstrate the mental health benefits of teaching to all NHL franchises. hockey.
“Serving others feels like it lights a fire in my soul,” Malone said. Malone is working toward that goal through Warrior Hockey Academy, a program focused on honorably discharged military veterans and first responders. “When you listen to our veterans, you know this is truly saving lives. That's no exaggeration.”
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Promoting the mental health and wellness of veterans and first responders is not a side project for Malone, who is passionate about it and says it goes “way beyond my job as an athlete.”
A soft-handed power forward, Malone seemed destined for big things despite starting late as an NHL regular in his mid-20s. He scored at least 20 goals in six of the first eight seasons of his career, including a career-best 27 goals in his final season with the Penguins. A big contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning is his reward, and with Steven Stamkos emerging as the face of Florida hockey, Malone is expected to play a central role on the next great Lightning team. Ta.
Despite playing a key role for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Malone admits the second half of his career didn't go as planned.
“There were some challenges, but I overcame them,” Malone said of drug abuse.
While struggling with substance abuse, Malone developed connections with veterans in Tampa. He purchased a luxury suite so the group could attend Lightning home games.
Malone and the veterans lived very different lives – he was a millionaire hockey player, and most of the veterans were wounded and bruised. Yet, their shared struggle in silence formed a fundamental bond.Malone realized that the bond was fostering for her and necessary for veterans and first responders because it brings attention to the mental health issues that they often experience.
After getting sober and retiring, Malone reflected on how hockey — “for better or worse, it's the only game my family has ever known” — shaped the lives of wounded warrior communities across the country. I began to wonder if it would make me rich. Through his family's philanthropic organization, the Malone Family Foundation, Malone's goal has become to bring the sport to groups of Americans who feel “left behind or forgotten.”
“These men and women are risking their lives, some to protect our freedom, some to protect our safety and our lives,” Malone said. “When you meet them and talk to them and hear their stories, the things they've seen and done stay with you and don't just go away. I'm talking about things that you or I could never have imagined.” That's what we don't want to do.
“Look, everyone has struggles. I've had them too. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, the color of your skin, it doesn't matter. What's going on in the world right now, especially with the Warriors, is the mental health part. But for me, it's like, “What are you doing?”
“I played hockey. I was able to bring hockey to these people and learn the skills necessary for the sport of hockey, which is scientifically proven to use parts of the brain that need stimulation. We've seen how giving can help and really help. That's our goal: to raise awareness for the Warriors, to be open about mental health, and to spread the word through hockey.”
To that end, Malone called on former teammates and others in their respective sports communities to participate in “Hockey Heals” events like the one his foundation is hosting this week in Pittsburgh. Knowing how important Pittsburgh's official colors are to its residents, Malone said Thursday night's “Black & Gold Breaking the Mold” will culminate in a celebrity game at the Morris College Island Sports Center. Built a week.
The choice of that day and date for the match was no coincidence. Thursday is MTV's Mental Health Action Day, and the Malone Family Foundation is one of 22 organizations selected by MTV and Paramount Veterans Network to receive grants to support positive mental health efforts. .
May is also Mental Health Awareness Month.
Malone was surprised that not every NHL franchise has a Warrior program, but he's not disillusioned. He said only eight NHL franchises are funding the Warriors' program. The Penguins did not, but they publicly supported Malone's efforts on social media and donated items to a silent auction.
Malone, an NHL alumnus, said the “second half of my hockey life” has been focused on things that make him happier than having his name etched on the Stanley Cup.
“My goal is for every NHL team to have a Warrior program that is supported by the NHL and the NHL team in that city, and hopefully utilize alumni to support the academy,” Malone said. “There was this idea of serving those in need through hockey. I feel like I just connected the dots from my own experiences.
“This is why I'm on this earth.”
(Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
