WESTLOCK - Georges Laraque is deeply proud of the fact that he’s part of a small, but growing list of black men to play in the National Hockey League, spending eight of his 14 years in the league with the Edmonton Oilers, but said it came at a cost as he struggled with his mental health for years and it took a heavy toll on him on and off the ice.
Laraque, an imposing 6’4” right winger who played 695 games on four NHL teams and tallied 53 goals, 100 assists and a whopping 1,126 penalty minutes, was the featured speaker at this year’s Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation’s Sports Night held at the Westlock and District Community Hall Feb. 24, while the night’s special guest was Ryan Straschnitzki, a former Humbolt Bronco who suffered a spinal cord injury in the infamous bus crash of April 6, 2018.
That crash claimed the lives of 16, including 10 of his teammates, two coaches, an athletic therapist, statistician, radio announcer and the bus driver after it collided with a transport truck at a rural intersection in Saskatchewan. Straschnitzki was unable to attend in person but appeared from Calgary via Zoom and shared the story of his journey back to a more normal life as he’s determined to eventually walk again and is encouraged by his father’s words several years ago “when one door closes, another one opens.”
Another highlight from the night was the announcement that Ted Dul, who at 82 continues to play defence with the Fawcett Funtimers hockey team, will be inducted into the 80-plus Hockey Hall of Fame later this year and is the first Albertan to receive the honour.
Laraque’s story
Laraque, now 46, was born in Montreal, Que., the eldest of three kids of immigrant parents from Haiti.
During his introduction, MC Rod Kaliel, a member of the Westlock Senior Warriors hockey team, recalled being at an Oilers game in 2000 when Laraque scored a hat trick against the L.A. Kings and noted his joy and enthusiasm.
“And after his NHL career was over he has continued to impact people in a number of different ways, as a humanitarian, campaigned to help with the Haitian Relief and rebuilding of the Grace Children’s Hospital in Port Au Prince, an animal rights activist and spokesman for PETA, a conscientious environmentalist, a member of the Green Party, and man who hosts his own radio sports talk show in Montreal,” said Kaliel.
Laraque, who had been at R.F. Staples School earlier in the day speaking to 700 students and posing with many for photos and signing autographs, said that while “a lot of you know me as a tough guy” who was known as “The Rock, the fighter and one of the best ones that did that job” also admitted that “when you talk about mental health, there were so many challenges that I had to face.”
Laraque said people see the success he had and think it was easy, but it wasn’t. He said he now hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams, be persistent, and not be afraid to seek help.
A big part of his story, as he related, begins with his parents. His dad was raised in Haiti with the belt used as discipline and Laraque and his siblings received the same treatment and were expected to perform well in school.
If they didn’t get an ‘A’, it was the belt, or if they did something wrong, his dad didn’t send them to the corner or yell at them, he just went after them with the belt. He recalled in Grade 1 his dad went to the school and asked the teacher how he would be disciplined, and told them to use the belt on Georges, as it would work “really good.” Of course, that didn’t happen at school.
Laraque wanted to play hockey, and make the NHL, but his dad didn’t know anything about the sport and only cared about his success in school and as long as he maintained a 90 per cent average, he could play.
At the age of seven and the only black player on the ice, he said he got called the “N” word all the time and his dad wanted him to stop playing hockey. But he wouldn’t. He went to the rink on his own and even took to riding his bike.
When he reached high school, his dad wanted him to go to a high-end private school in Montreal but after two years of butting heads, his dad finally relented, and allowed him to go back to a normal school and play ‘AA’ hockey so long as he maintained a 95 per cent average and paid for his own hockey equipment.
The next step
At the time his coach told him that his only chance to make the bigs was if he’d fight. He figured he’d give it a try and took on a big guy and ended up getting his nose broken.
His dad came to the dressing room after and asked: “What are you going to do now, hide behind your mama’s skirt, or become a man?” He said that comment made him so mad, he wanted to kill his dad. Laraque related that in every fight after that he saw his dad’s face.
He got no support from his father on the ice or at home and it all created more pressure in his mind.
But he said, at that time, you didn’t seek any help as you’re a hockey player and “you’re not supposed to seek help or show you are weak.”
Being drafted 31st overall by the Oilers in 1995 was “awesome” as by that point his dad realized Georges was serious about hockey and that he could make a living at it.
Having to fight to stay in the NHL as a tough guy though was mentally hard, he related, as it’s the worst job in professional sports.
“It drives you crazy. Mentally, fighting is the hardest thing ever. It’s so dangerous.”
Probably the hardest part was not to show anyone before the game, even his teammates, that he was nervous, which led to even more mental pressure. He said he could understand why some of his peers took to drinking and drugs as “it’s only when you fight for a living that you understand the pressure that it gives you.”
Luckily, he found another way to cope and turned to doing charity work to show the kind of person he really is. There, he would see kids fighting for their lives and they would ask him “in the next fight, do it for me.” That encouraged him with the thought the kid would rather be on the ice fighting like him, rather than fighting for their life.
Life after hockey
After he retired from the NHL in 2010, he decided to write a book to inspire others.
He talked to his mom about growing up, and how as kids, they were beaten by their dad. His mom told him about how he was not just physical with them, but with her too. He said when she told him that, he went nuts and wanted to kill his dad and cut off communications with him for nearly a decade.
At that point he decided to seek counselling because he had too much on his mind from all the obstacles that he had gone through as despite being rich, his mind was not in a good state. His first counsellor prescribed pills, but those didn’t help and said it took two years to find the right one. After six years of counselling, he said he’s now OK and can cope with everything that happened in the past and has since reconciled with his father.
“Hating someone takes so much energy. It’s way harder to hate someone than just to love someone,” he said. “It’s a workout to hate someone. You have to think about it all the time.”
Laraque added that it’s easy for him to say that now because of the counselling and encouraged others to get help if they need it.
“It’s OK to ask for help. It’s just going to help you move mountains, achieve your dreams and with that, you can accomplish anything you want.,” he said. “You guys are so lucky, because I’ve been to so many small towns, and having the Soul Sisters here that can help other people is amazing and makes such a huge difference. You guys are very lucky. I wish back then I’d had a resource like that, it wouldn’t have made me wait for so long to cope with all my problems.”
