NHL

Need for Courage increases

Corey Hirsch is among the honorees of this year’s Courage to Come Back Awards. (photo from Courage to Come Back)

“Believe me when I say that the stories we share are true journeys of bravery, resilience and strength in the face of adversity. They will leave you inspired and optimistic – a weekly dose of courage that I believe we need now, more than ever,” Lorne Segal, longtime chair of the Courage to Come Back Awards, told the Independent.

While the annual gala event had to be canceled because of COVID-19, every week this month, one of the five award recipients is being announced, and a video of their stories shared.

“We’re also sharing videos highlighting some of the incredible work of Coast Mental Health’s frontline workers during COVID-19,” said Segal. These can be viewed at couragetocomeback.ca.

“Every year,” said Segal, “the Courage to Come Back Awards raise critical funds that support over 40 of Coast Mental Health’s programs, which provide food security, mental health support for youth, peer support services and so much more. They are vital to the recovery of vulnerable people living with mental illness.

“In community mental health, the only way to meet this crisis is to increase capacity – that’s where Coast Mental Health comes in. Coast provides shelter, a roof overhead, a support system of caring individuals, and the dignity of a job and training through employment opportunities, all for individuals, young and old, dealing with mental health challenges.

“This life-saving work would simply not be possible without the generous support we receive during the Courage to Come Back Awards,” he stressed. “I invite people to watch, and share these incredible videos of courage. Then, if you can, I’m asking you to join me in supporting Coast Mental Health as they prepare for the second wave of this pandemic, a mental health crisis potentially as devastating as the first wave of COVID-19.”

At press time, three of the award recipients had been announced: Corey Hirsch in the mental health category, Amanda Staller in the addiction category and Rumana Monzur in the physical rehabilitation category; the youth and medical categories are still to come.

Hirsch was the first honoree announced. While not Jewish, he said, his surname is and, that “[t]here is very much the possibility that I have Jewish ancestry; it’s just never been investigated.”

A former NHL goaltender and goaltending coach, Hirsch is a commentator with Sportsnet, as well as being a public speaker and an advocate for mental health and wellness. Born and raised in Alberta, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in 1991 and was a member of the team when they won the 1994 Stanley Cup. Also in 1994, he won a silver medal with the Canadian men’s hockey team in the Olympics at Lillehammer. In 1995, he was traded to Vancouver, where he began losing his struggle with mental illness, but eventually reached out for help, and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Of the Courage to Come Back Award, he said, “It was very humbling to realize that I was in that category of people. And it was probably the first time it opened my eyes to realizing that what had happened – with coming out with my story in the Players Tribune [in 2017] – made a colossal impact on the world of mental health.

“There were people that came before me,” he acknowledged, pointing to Sheldon Kennedy, Theo Fleury and Clint Malarchuk. “Their stories helped me get my story out and made me feel safe,” he said.

Kennedy and Fleury were both abused by a coach when they were in junior hockey. Malarchuk, a fellow goalie and a friend, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after his jugular vein was accidentally severed by another player’s skate, as well as with obsessive-compulsive disorder, even attempting suicide.

Hirsch also mentioned sports journalist Michael Landsberg. “I met with Michael and Clint before my story came out because I was just terrified. Those two guys really helped me,” he said. (For coverage of talks by Landsberg in Vancouver, see jewishindependent.ca/lets-talk-mental-health and jewishindependent.ca/illness-not-weakness.)

“OCD, typically, doesn’t start from childhood trauma,” explained Hirsch, adding, “Most people I know can tell you the time, place, where they were at when their brains just kind of broke. There could be childhood trauma with people, but, for me, [there wasn’t any]. I was on my way to the NHL, I had athletic talent as a kid, lots of friends, no real signs of mental health [issues]. I had anxiety issues, [but] a lot of kids do.”

Hirsch grew up in Calgary, with parents he described as loving, and an older brother. Sports were encouraged. “Hockey was something that, you know, it’s a religion in Canada,” said Hirsch who, at age 16, moved to Kamloops to play the sport. “I had a really good junior career, won a national championship. From there, I went on to the Olympics. Things were looking like I was going to make millions playing in the NHL. I was on the road.”

Hirsch describes in detail the type of OCD with which he struggles in his article on the Players Tribune media platform.

“I think that what people thought OCD was, was the hand-washers, someone that’s organized and all that. There was a misconception, through stigma and other things, about OCD and people thought it was that,” he told the Independent. “So, how bad is that? You wash your hands too much. They didn’t take it very seriously … because that’s how OCD was portrayed.”

Hirsch is concerned about overall mental health, not only OCD. “I want to change the stigma to all of it,” he said.

As to why the stigma remains, he said, “Well, people don’t like to look inside, afraid of what they might find out. But, what you find out is that there’s a better life out there and you learn things…. Fear keeps people from getting help, stigma keeps people from getting help. It’s a great built-in excuse to say that you’re a man and men don’t get help; it’s a great built-in excuse if you don’t want to look internally. I get a lot of that.

“I got help, I live a great life. I’m not perfect – I’ll never say I am – but I still play hockey. I can still drink beer, I can still fix cars, I can still do all those things that are considered manly – I haven’t lost any of that. And the people around me are better for it. It’s tough to look inside and a lot of people don’t want to, but I know now it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

One of the reasons Hirsch decided to open up about his experiences is that, back when he was at his worst, in the mid-1990s, there was no readily available information on what he was experiencing.

“I scoured bookstores,” he said. “I did everything I could to try and find some hope, or even self-diagnose or [determine] that I wasn’t going to be like this the rest of my life. I felt so alone. I found nothing…. Part of it was because I didn’t even know what to look for, and I always said to myself, if I got better, that, one day, I would tell my story.

“I didn’t tell anybody anything, other than people close to me, for 20 years. I kept it in my chest. [But then] I met another NHL player who was active, in my retirement, and I met him, and he was in rehab for drugs. We got to talking, and I know now that mental health and addiction go hand in hand, so I spilled my story to him. And he looked at me and he said, that’s exactly what I’m going through.”

That was when Hirsch realized his story could help others who are suffering. “I need to let them know that they’re not alone,” he said.

Vancouver-based Hirsch is waiting out the pandemic in Toronto with his girlfriend. He is writing a memoir about his life with OCD, he plays golf, and spends time playing his guitar. “I’m terrible,” he said. “But I love it,” he said. “It’s been incredibly freeing. Music is so powerful and great for mental health. Any kind of art, it’s a great way to express, therapeutically, yourself.”

He is continuing his work in mental health and would like to see it become part of the curriculum in schools.

“If I could have known what I had when it happened to me and I could have gotten help the next day, I would have never ended up making an attempt on my life,” he said. “I don’t know what my NHL career would have looked like, but I would have never suffered and gone through what I went through for all those years, because early diagnosis is crucial with mental health.

“It’s not hard to teach our kids in high school, middle school, about anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar, those things. They need that information. Why are we withholding it from them?”

Hirsch pointed to a U.S. Centre for Disease Control study finding that the suicide rate among people aged 10 to 24 increased 56% from 2007 to 2017 (see cdc.gov/nchs/ data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf).

“It’s like anything – teach our kids in school and then give them the tools and then hopefully we can put a dent in it,” he said, citing a need for a countrywide curriculum in health class. “That’s where we’re going to end the stigma … and suicide needs to stop being a taboo topic, it really does. It’s real and it’s happening and pretending it isn’t happening doesn’t make it go away.”

Hockey career recognized

Jeff Buller at the induction ceremony for his father, the late Hy Buller, into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Netanya, Israel. (photo by Diane Buller)

These remarks were delivered on July 4 as part of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Wingate Institute, in Netanya, Israel, for my late uncle, Hy Buller, who played for the New York Rangers hockey team from 1950 to 1954.

Ihave a photo hanging in my office of a curious little boy playing outdoors – a photo of me at 3 years old. In this photo, I’m proudly wearing a New York Rangers cardigan sweater, a loving gift from my Uncle Hy.

My Uncle Hy died in 1968, when I was still a teenager and, for much of my youth, he and his family lived in Cleveland, far from my hometown of Vancouver. I really got to know him best while penning an article about him for The Scribe, the journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. This article, aptly titled “A mensch on defence,” was published in 2002.

In writing “A mensch on defence,” I reconnected with Hy’s three sons, Bob, Bruce and Jeff, who provided valuable information about their father. My cousins also put me in touch with legendary hockey players who had shared the ice with Hy: “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe, “Terrible” Ted Lindsay and goalie Johnny Bower. Each had warm memories of Hy and spoke highly of his abilities.

Winters in Saskatoon were devoted to hockey. Like many boys his age, Hy spent most of his time outside of school hours vying to be king of the ice on his uncle’s vacant lot, flooded and frozen each year.

A natural athlete, Hy quickly rose up the ranks and caught the eye of local coaches and scouts. When it was too warm for hockey, Hy never stopped moving, and was active year-round in football, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming and track and field, earning many awards.

In the 1940s and 1950s, there were only six teams in the National Hockey League. Most of the players on these teams came from the Canadian Prairies, with the majority coming from the small towns of Saskatchewan. From the time they were old enough to hold a hockey stick, youngsters in these hinterlands developed a fierce love for the game and a burning desire to be one of the 120 favoured players that made up the six NHL teams.

After an illustrious eight-year stint in the American Hockey League, Hy was traded to the New York Rangers at the close of the 1950-51 season, where he played with distinction until retirement in 1954.

A newspaper commented that, in street clothes, Hy Buller, with his mild, scholarly appearance, glasses and receding hairline, looked like someone who spent a lot of time in a library and knew from which end to read a book. But, once on ice with a hockey stick in his hand, something happened to Hy – a kind of Clark Kent into Superman transformation in which he changed from a studious-appearing bookworm to a formidable, hard-checking defenceman who seemed to be everywhere at once. He was admired not only for his solid plays but also for his good sportsmanship.

Hy’s type of playing in many respects resembled the kind of hockey played in Europe, depending more on clever stick-handling and skating than on the rough-and-tumble brand played in North America. His style and ability earned him the admiration of his fellow players.

I’m honoured to be accepting this award on behalf of my uncle and my family, 23 of whom have traveled from far and wide to share in this special moment. It’s a tribute to how well loved and respected he was that so many have journeyed to be here. I’d specifically like to note Hy’s sons Jeff and Bob, who have come with their wives, Diane and Sandie, and children.

On behalf of the family, I’m pleased to express our gratitude to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame for their induction of Hy Buller. My sincerest thanks.

To read David Schwartz’s 2002 article “A mensch on defence,” visit jewishmuseum.ca/publication/scribe-volume-22-mensch-defense. For more information on Hy Buller, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hy_buller.

Celebrating Canadian teams

In 2012, Avi Dunkelman and his business partner, Joseph Gault, won a five-year contract from Canada Post to create a postage stamp series celebrating 100 years of the National Hockey League. (image from Avi Dunkelman)

It was as if he had come full circle, when Israeli-born Avi Dunkelman won a five-year contract from Canada Post in 2012 to create a postage stamp series celebrating 100 years of the NHL, focusing on the seven Canadian teams in the league.

Dunkelman was born in Haifa in 1954 and, at an early age, started collecting the stamps from the postcards his father sent him on his travels in Europe. The stamps gave Dunkelman a great appreciation for graphic design, so much so that he opted to go to art school.

“After I finished my military service, I decided to see if I could get some work in graphic design,” he told the Independent. “I soon realized that what I had learned in high school was not enough. I needed to study this very seriously in order to make a career out of it.”

photo - Avi Dunkelman — Avi Dunkelman *(photo from Avi Dunkelman)*

Dunkelman first thought to pursue his studies in the United States but, as all of his mother’s family lived in Toronto, he chose to go there to study for a year. During this time, he also worked on improving his English language skills, with the intention of continuing his studies in the States.

Three weeks after he arrived, in 1977, he was attending Ontario College of Art and Design. He then pursued a post-graduate degree in Switzerland, at one of the top graphic design schools in the world at the time – they only accepted eight students per year.

In 1984, he made his way back to Toronto and got married, opening his own graphic design firm in 1986, called Avi Dunkelman Design Group. In 1987, he began teaching at Ontario College of Art and Design, where he has worked ever since – he’ll be celebrating 30 years there this spring.

“In 2010, I formed a partnership with my business partner, Joseph Gault, who studied with me in Switzerland,” said Dunkelman. “We’ve known each other for 37 years, and decided to form a creative partnership under the brand of Mix Design Group.

“We were invited to compete in designing the stamp for the Year of the Snake in 2011 – we won four design awards for it. In 2012, we were asked to compete on a five-year project celebrating or commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NHL. We submitted our design concept and we won the competition.”

Over the five years, Dunkelman and Gault designed 69 stamps, 32 first editions, about 15 booklets, and all kinds of other materials. It is the largest program that Canada Post has ever tasked.

Dunkelman did not grow up with hockey in Haifa. Instead, soccer was the sport of choice. He recalled, “I saw a glimpse of hockey, but never got to really understand the game like some Canadians do. I don’t know how to skate.

“My business partner is a hockey buff. His father was actually a professional hockey player in Scotland. He’s Canadian-born and grew up playing hockey with his father coaching him. He knows a lot more than I do.

“I think that the fact that I look at it from a layman’s perspective gives us an advantage … looking at things in a different way. And this is what my contribution to this project is.

image - One of the biggest challenges for Dunkelman was working with six different player photos at a time, editing them so that they work seamlessly together — One of the biggest challenges for Dunkelman was working with six different player photos at a time, editing them so that they work seamlessly together. *(image from Avi Dunkelman)*

“The way we work is we sit and brainstorm some ideas,” he said. “Then, we work independently on some ideas, designs, get together, analyze them, and decide what works and what doesn’t.”

One of the biggest challenges for Dunkelman was working with six different player photos at a time, editing them so that they work seamlessly together.

“That’s a challenging process,” he said. “If you look at the photograph on the stamp and the original, they sometimes look totally different.”

Over his more than 30-year career, Dunkelman has had to learn how to incorporate computers into the design process. The first computers came onto the scene as he graduated from the school in Switzerland and Dunkelman recalled that one of his teachers received four computers from Steve Jobs as a gift. While not so useful at the time – it was the mid-1980s – as software and computers developed further, Dunkelman began using them in his design process.

“Obviously, I had to adapt to computers, as the technology was growing, too, and going through its own growing pains,” he said. “I’d say I’m not unique in that. I think most designers had to do the same thing. When I was starting out on computers, Photoshop wasn’t around … wasn’t as complex and sophisticated as it is now. So, there were a few things I was integrating at the same time … taking an image, doing something, printing it, re-photographing it, re-modifying it, going back and forth between the computer and the work table.

“By the way, that’s part of the way I teach at school now … because my message to the younger generation is that the computer is not the answer for everything. The idea is not to develop a dependency on it. Depending on the nature of the project and what the opportunities present you with, even today, there are certain things to do in an analogue way.”

Dunkelman works with a production person. “I don’t have the time to get the ins and outs of every little update of software coming my way,” he said. “I try to keep up, but, to do this effectively, I’d need to devote my entire time to it. It’s not feasible for me.”

According to Dunkelman, graphic design has changed a lot in the computer era, opening up opportunities for more people to be in the industry. However, he said, “It’s a little disappointing to me how graphic design in general is going back. A lot of things look the same because people are using the same software, the same tools, fonts and colours. Especially with website design being template-oriented … it’s becoming more about information management and data management, as opposed to creating.”

Dunkelman has a long list of clients, including the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Royal Canadian Mint, the University of Toronto and many private companies.

“Right now, I split my time between teaching and working,” he said. “Going forward, the professional work I’m doing is probably going to slowly diminish by choice, while still teaching and being a mentor for the next generation.

“This is one of the things I’m focusing on for my students – mentoring them to a point where I still keep a strong connection with former students who seek advice. They know I’m always available, open and willing to help. This is what I really enjoy seeing – the next generation and my former students getting ahead in their own careers and taking charge of the industry … hopefully, to become leaders.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Potential to change kids’ lives

Potential Apparel co-founder Shane Golden. (photo from Shane Golden)

There’s one thing on the mind of Vancouverite Shane Golden, 24, and that’s tikkun olam. The Richmond native is co-founder of Potential Apparel, a sports clothing company that donates a portion of sales from each of its garments to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and has contributed $20,000 to the charity over the last three years.

“Since my earliest days at Jewish elementary school, even when I was a toddler at Beth Tikvah preschool in Richmond, I was taught the ideology of repairing the world,” Golden told the Independent. “It was reinforced through my family’s actions in the Jewish community. From my earliest memories, I grew up knowing that every action I take has an opposite and equal reaction. I’ve always asked myself, how can I use these physics to help the world around me, to help repair the lives of individuals I’ve never met, and faces I’ll never see?”

Golden and David Dotan founded Potential Apparel three years ago, while Golden was studying engineering at Simon Fraser University. He switched to marketing management at B.C. Institute of Technology but left 18 months ago to work on Potential Apparel full-time. The concept behind the company was Dotan’s, he said. “David used to play professional hockey in the NHL, and we thought we could use his connections and network to start developing the brand.” Those connections include professional athletes Brendan Gallagher, Martin Jones and Ryan Johansen of the Nashville Predators.

photo in Jewish Independent - The concept behind Potential Apparel came from company co-founder David Dotan — The concept behind Potential Apparel came from company co-founder David Dotan. *(photo from Shane Golden)*

“We develop the shirts with them to create a product that they want to wear,” Golden explained. “Sure, they might have deals with Nike to wear clothes, but they’re wearing Potential Apparel when they want to be comfortable – and they’re definitely influencers.”

To date, Potential Apparel has sold more than 200,000 shirts, most of them in Canada. The clothing, which includes hats and hoodies, is made in Burnaby – which costs more, he conceded. “It’s interesting having to spend a bit more money to manufacture locally but we find people really appreciate locally made products,” he said. “Between local manufacturing and donating a portion of sales to charity, our business has been an interesting challenge, but we’ve figured it out, and we’re making money.”

One thing that’s helped is the charitable golf tournament the pair began last summer in Whistler (whistlerinvitational.com). They matched participants with NHL players for a round of golf and raised $16,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This summer, the tournament will be held Aug. 5-7 in Whistler, hosted by Johansen and fellow NHLer Brenden Dillon of the San Jose Sharks. “This year, we’re hoping to double last year’s donation,” Golden said.

Asked why he and Dotan selected Make-A-Wish as their charity of choice, Golden said, “At one time, I asked Ryan Johansen why he chose to spend so much of his free time working with charities. He told me that were it not for the privileged lifestyle in which he was raised, with parents who could drive him to the rink every morning and buy him new gear every couple of years, he wouldn’t be where he was today. Make-A-Wish grants terminally ill children the ability to achieve their dreams, and that ability to empower a child is what resonates with us. Whether we choose to stay with Make-A-Wish or, down the road, swap over to helping another charitable organization, it will always be to help kids.”

Golden’s hopes are that Potential Apparel will become a household name that makes a statement. “The statement is that you’ve chosen to reach your potential and help others achieve theirs as well,” he said. “Potential Apparel, since day one, has always been more than just clothing. We are a movement empowering people to take a leap of faith and inspire others while doing so.”

Golden said he’s always looked up to entrepreneurs and philanthropists Mark Cuban and Elon Musk, but that it’s his parents and grandparents who have shaped his character. “My grandmother Marie and late grandfather Sidney Doduck created a legacy called the Marsid Family Foundation, which actively contributes to the Jewish community and causes which they deem important,” he said. “I plan on following suit in a similar manner.”

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.