I think as a Canadian hockey player, you go through it in your mind so many times, being able to stand on that blue line and hear your national anthem play and being a gold medal champion, you dream of that. And then to be able to accomplish that and actually win a gold medal and represent your country its an amazing feeling.
You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast.
Since the beginning, I always loved the game. When you grow up in Montreal, one day you want to be a professional hockey player. When I was six or seven, I knew that was what I wanted.
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.
After I started to understand the spiritual dimension of life, I understood the responsibilities you have as a husband, a father, a friend and a hockey player.
I have six brothers and one sister. I grew up playing ice hockey, a total tomboy, and that's what I thought I was going to do - be an ice-hockey player.
Whether you're trying to learn in hockey or trying to learn in life, I've always tried to be observant and tried to learn more, tried to evolve, whether it's as a hockey player or as a person. With each year, I try to do that.
I find that I've tried to become a better hockey player every year and not just hold on. At the same time, I've also made it a point to increase or grow in some other area of my life. If I were just playing hockey, I would probably be done with the sport.
For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a professional hockey player.
I still love hockey. It's just I'm at a different stage of my life and I think I'm just ready to grow in other ways outside of just being a hockey player.