'I don't want another kid to feel the way I do' - Stanley Cup winner and dyslexia-awareness crusader Brent Sopel (Episode 197) - a podcast by James VanOsdol

from 2018-11-20T03:55:08

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This week's guest is hockey star Brent Sopel, who most notably won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. His amazing hockey career included time on 7 NHL teams and playing in over 1000 games.

As a defenseman, Sopel's a tough-as-nails, block-all-shots machine. Outside the rink, however, things slowly fell apart as his undiagnosed dyslexia contributed to a decline in self-worth and eventually led to extreme alcohol abuse.

Discussed outside the Willowbrook Portillo's on this week's show:

  • Coach Q's firing: Was he scapegoated?
  • The impact of dyslexia on Brent's hockey career and his self esteem.
  • Starting the Brent Sopel Foundation (brentsopel.com) to help people with dyslexia.
  • 1 in 5 people have dyslexia: A stunning statistic many don't realize.
  • Brent's period of numbing his discomfort from dyslexia with alcohol.
  • When you can't read, it's pretty tough to pass any classes.
  • Entering the working world after hockey.
  • The intervention given to Brent and his subsequent time in rehab (Brent's proudly sober over two years, as of this recording).
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: "It was a childhood dream."
  • Brent's discovery that he has dyslexia, and how it connects to his daughter's diagnosis.
  • Cold does not faze Canadians from "God's country."
  • Why did Brent choose to "drop anchor" in the Chicago area?
  • Have Brent's kids taken up sports?
  • Brent's most memorable sports injuries.
  • Canada's national sport is not what you think.
  • Memories of Chicago's Stanley Cup parade: "I've got goosebumps just thinking about it."
  • What it felt like when Brent got traded after the Stanley Cup win.
  • How loud is the United Center, compared to other arenas?
  • Brent's time playing in Siberia.
  • Brent was "lost" when he was no longer playing hockey.
  • The real world's "not a friendly place."

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