THUNDER BAY -- Karl Subban had some words of encouragement for Grade 9 students at Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute on Thursday.
The long-time educator, author and father - whose two daughters got into education and three sons were drafted into the National Hockey League - emphasized the importance of loving yourself and focusing on your goals.
“A good dream with a weak focus is not good for anyone,” Subban said following the presentation on Thursday.
“Sometimes you have to break something down to build something back up. I told them about the lesson PK learned at a very young age.
"A coach noticed that PK wasn't paying attention and wasn’t focusing so she called him over and asked him three questions: ‘PK do you want to go far in hockey?’
"He said yes. ‘Do you want to go far in school?’ He said yes. And she finally asked him ‘Do you want to go far in life?’ and he responded with yes. The lesson for PK at that time was if you want to do those three things, you better learn to look, listen and focus.”
Subban used the word focus as an acronym during the presentation. F stood for Future. O for Ownership. C for Challenges. U for Understanding. And S for Strength.
He is a retired principal, but he still works with Everest Academy, which features student-athletes.
Subban admitted that his eldest son played a part in him becoming a public speaker.
“PK went on to his hockey journey, and then I had to explain to people how we did it. I say that real success is when you use your success to help others to be successful. Being an educator, it's not just learning to teach, it's also learning to connect through the words you speak. I have worked on my messaging and connecting with young people," he said.
“Can you imagine going home and eating the same supper every day? If every day, the young people come to school and I'm saying the same things to them in the same way, then they become tired and they tune you out. So, in order to help them to reach their potential, I had to find ways to inspire them.”
Subban is no stranger to Thunder Bay. He came here to chase a dream of playing in the National Basketball Association.
“The beautiful thing about a dream is you might not reach it, but there are branches to it. I discovered something about myself because of that basketball dream and that is I love working with children,” Subban said.
“I graduated from Lakehead University with a teaching degree. I have spent my entire life teaching young people and helping them to reach their potential. Thunder Bay is where the seed for my education journey was planted.”
“I knew a bit of history about the Subban family,” said Westgate student Matthew Simelow. “I’d heard about him and how he was the father of PK Subban, but not a lot of detail compared to what I know now.”
PK is the eldest son, selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2007 Entry Draft. Now an analyst with ESPN, he played 13 seasons with the Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils.
Malcolm was picked in the 2012 draft by the Boston Bruins, but now plays goal in the St. Louis Blues organization.
Jordan, who is currently a free agent, was picked by the Vancouver Canucks one year later.
"My biggest take away was just seeing how much effort PK had to put in and how much just all of his family had invested into trying to get him into the NHL," Simelow said.
"It makes me think about how much effort that I have to put in, and how much commitment that I need to make my dreams come true.”
Fellow student Ava Hrubeniuk feels the focus was on continuing to work to realize your potential.
“I think a lot of kids would be really inspired about having good focus, and making sure you're very coachable, and show up on time. Just make sure you're there, and put your best effort forward.”
Subban is also in town to hold a fireside chat with Lakehead Public School parents on Thursday night to discuss his latest book, The Hockey Skates.
