Whoever thinks professional hockey players are too tough to talk about their feelings should have seen St. Paul RiverCentre on Jan. 4, between games at the World Junior Championship.
Paul Martin, Paul Broten and Jamie Langenbrunner — three former Minnesota high school stars who went on to NHL careers — were on a panel at the convention hall, discussing mental health and addiction.
“As a hockey player,” Martin said, “the ability to say you need help, or you’re struggling or going through something is not something people often talk about.”
Said Broten: “You see a lot of professional athletes that once they’re done playing, they try to go back to their normal life. It’s not always as easy, and they struggle, and they use things like alcohol and drugs.”
St. Louis Blues right wing Jamie Langenbrunner celebrates after scoring the tying goal against the San Jose Sharks, on an assist from teammate Scott Nichol (foreground), in the third period of Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday, April 21, 2012. The Blues beat the Sharks, 3-1, and closed out the series, four games to one game. (Chris Lee/St, Louis Post-Dispatch)
“You can’t force somebody to get help,” Langenbrunner added. “I couldn’t be forced. I had to hit my own rock bottom, and probably more than once.”
Today’s high school athletes have broader access to mental health resources than those players did. Students, coaches and administrators are passing along educated advice, and there is more of an open dialogue at a time when social media can complicate the whole picture.
With Mental Health Awareness Month coming in May, here is advice and examples of how teenage athletes can manage stress caused by sports, but also use sports as a mechanism to heal.
St. Cloud Tech swimmer Micah Davis, an Olympic hopeful, swims laps during practice on Feb. 5, 2025 at Tech High School in St. Cloud. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)Focus on the fun
St. Cloud Crush senior Micah Davis is heading to the University of Virginia with a goal to swim in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.