Speaker 1: Charges. That's created by Portalais and Control Media. It's produced
Speaker 1: by dB Podcasts in association with I Heart Radio. This
Speaker 1: time a former Son's player who you might remember as
Speaker 1: t Rex. More video in just a moment, but this
Speaker 1: is Rex Chapman's mug Shaun, and we are learning a
Speaker 1: lot more about the charge up and charge what's the
Speaker 1: drinking culture? Like in the NHL, I was a partier.
Speaker 1: I had to be in the action. I wasn't a
Speaker 1: guy that just sat at home and drank. It's got
Speaker 1: a hold of me again. Please God, take this obsession away.
Speaker 1: I was all alone in a crowded room, if that
Speaker 1: makes sense. Can you're an alcoholic? You need help. You
Speaker 1: can't do it alone. You're not invincible anymore. Welcome to Charges.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Rex Chapman. Today on the show, we
Speaker 1: have a pioneer, but not in the way you might think.
Speaker 1: Ken Danko is a llegend in New Jersey and the
Speaker 1: n A jail, a three time Stanley Cup champ, and
Speaker 1: is affectionately known as Mr Devil. He's all time career
Speaker 1: leader in games played for the New Jersey Devils. Ken
Speaker 1: was a hard nosed defenseman who was always ready to
Speaker 1: get physical. But I did say he was a pioneer,
Speaker 1: just not on the ice. Ken was the first NHL
Speaker 1: player to publicly take advantage of a program the league
Speaker 1: and the Players Association bargained for where players could step
Speaker 1: away from the game of hockey even during the season,
Speaker 1: to get treatment for drugs and alcohol during the season.
Speaker 1: Ken utilized that program for his problem with alcohol. This
Speaker 1: his charges, Ken, thank you so much for being on
Speaker 1: the show today. How are you, my buddy. I'm doing good, Rex,
Speaker 1: and thank you for the warm, warm welcome. Yes, I
Speaker 1: was first, uh publicly in the program, but I think
Speaker 1: I talked to the guys now and I think I'm
Speaker 1: number five on the all time list. The other four
Speaker 1: went privately and that was their their choice. You could
Speaker 1: do that as well, So I've got that going for me,
Speaker 1: truly brave. I mean, you know, I played I was
Speaker 1: playing ball in the nineties, and you know that was
Speaker 1: something that you know not I know people in basketball
Speaker 1: weren't doing that, So that that was a brave step,
Speaker 1: my friend. Well, and you know what, Rex, at the time,
Speaker 1: I had such great support from the Devil's organization and
Speaker 1: that was important because obviously you're very scared that what's
Speaker 1: it gonna do to my career? Are they going to
Speaker 1: just throw me by the wayside after because I'm going
Speaker 1: through some problems. And it was in season, early in
Speaker 1: the year. I think I had played oh a handful
Speaker 1: of games and I was playing well, and I just
Speaker 1: for whatever reason, I wasn't right. And I knew long
Speaker 1: ago I probably had some problems with alcohol, but it's
Speaker 1: hard to admit it. It's hard to get humble and
Speaker 1: understand that something's got me and I need help. And uh,
Speaker 1: the game was so important to me, my team, the Devils.
Speaker 1: I'd been there my entire career, so I had already
Speaker 1: been there fourteen years as a player before I had
Speaker 1: walked into Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamarello, who
Speaker 1: had been always in my corner, and he was tough
Speaker 1: on me at times, rightfully so. But having said that,
Speaker 1: he knew exactly what I was coming in for. And
Speaker 1: I said, Lou, you know, if I'm going to take
Speaker 1: this seriously and get my life together, I have to
Speaker 1: step away from the game for a little bit. And
Speaker 1: you know, without hesitation, Lamarillo goes ken, You've got our
Speaker 1: total support. I'm not blind I've seen what's going on
Speaker 1: in your life. You and I have been had a
Speaker 1: lot of talks and I've been in the office a
Speaker 1: lot with you. But to take your time as long
Speaker 1: as you need, the team will be here for you.
Speaker 1: And that was real comforting to me. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: an ally right there. I mean, that's just huge and beautiful.
Speaker 1: You grew up in Canada in the seventies, Ken, What
Speaker 1: was that like and where did you grow up? I
Speaker 1: grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Western Canada. I was born
Speaker 1: in Windsor, Ontario, but I always say I'm from out
Speaker 1: west because we moved very young. My father transferred out
Speaker 1: to Edmonton from Windsor, Ontario, where I was born. And
Speaker 1: what was it like, rex Well, when you came out
Speaker 1: of your mother's womb, if you didn't put a pair
Speaker 1: of skates on, you had nothing else to do. That's
Speaker 1: what it was like. And I was no different than
Speaker 1: a lot of kids on the block. I love the
Speaker 1: game of hockey and I would go out and ten
Speaker 1: fifteen twenty degree below zero weather and skate on the rinks,
Speaker 1: the ponds, whatever it was. It didn't matter how cold
Speaker 1: it was. I had a passion for the game at
Speaker 1: oh gosh, six seven years old and loved it. And
Speaker 1: I grew up in a neighborhood with friends that all
Speaker 1: were hockey players. If we weren't playing street hockey, we
Speaker 1: were going to the pond, we were going to the
Speaker 1: outdoor ice rinks and and playing some shinny and I
Speaker 1: just fell in love with the game like a lot
Speaker 1: of Canadians do over the years. Did you like the skating,
Speaker 1: did you like the camaraderie, did you like all of it?
Speaker 1: What was it about the hockey that you just you
Speaker 1: had it? I think the best way I can describe it.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously you love all the those aspects of
Speaker 1: skating and pock handling, And it was the competition for me.
Speaker 1: I like to compete, and obviously growing up it was
Speaker 1: about winning for me. It always was. I wanted to
Speaker 1: be part of a team. I wanted to be part
Speaker 1: of a foundation. It didn't matter what level, even at
Speaker 1: a young age. And I tell people, you know, I
Speaker 1: told my mother a handful of times a day from
Speaker 1: seven years old on, I'm gonna play in the National
Speaker 1: Hockey League. That was my dream as a little kid.
Speaker 1: That was it. We watch hockey night in Canada together,
Speaker 1: get around the TV after a spaghetti and meat sauce
Speaker 1: dinner ever Saturday day night and watch Hockey Night in
Speaker 1: Canada as a family and families throughout the country. That's
Speaker 1: what you did. And right from there, I said, I'm
Speaker 1: going to play the National Hockey League. Mom, and God
Speaker 1: rest her soul. She passed about eight years ago. She
Speaker 1: used to always passify me and go, yeah, yeah, Kenny.
Speaker 1: I know, But I think she thought I was dreaming
Speaker 1: a little bit high because there was ten Ken Donicos
Speaker 1: on every corner where I grew up, in every corner
Speaker 1: through Canada and obviously the United States, where the game
Speaker 1: has grown tremendously. Back when I came in the league,
Speaker 1: when I was drafting eighty two, was more Canadians and
Speaker 1: the majority were Canadian hockey players, regardless of the teams
Speaker 1: being in the United States at the time. But but
Speaker 1: I just had a dream and my mother and I
Speaker 1: wasn't so sure I was maybe reaching a little bit high.
Speaker 1: I've I heard those same conversations. I had those same
Speaker 1: conversations with my folks. What were your hobbies as a teenager?
Speaker 1: For better or worse? Was fighting and drinking a part
Speaker 1: of that or was that acquired baby. Yeah. When I
Speaker 1: was a teenager, I mean obviously hockey was a team
Speaker 1: sport in camaraderie. I left home real young rex I mean,
Speaker 1: playing minor hockey, and I was obviously a pretty good player.
Speaker 1: But like I said, there was so much talent. But
Speaker 1: I was a good player. And when I turned fourteen,
Speaker 1: you get put on a list to play junior hockey.
Speaker 1: And if I was going to fulfill my dream, I
Speaker 1: wanted to take whatever steps necessary. And by around fifteen
Speaker 1: years old, I knew, well, maybe there's a chance here,
Speaker 1: Maybe I have an opportunity to keep climbing the ladder.
Speaker 1: So I have to go play and advance my career
Speaker 1: at at whatever level. And junior was the next step.
Speaker 1: And I had to leave home at fifteen years old.
Speaker 1: And it was a tough, tough decision from the standpoint
Speaker 1: that my father's born in Germany, raised in Germany, was
Speaker 1: a soccer guy, not as much a hockey guy, but
Speaker 1: he learned to love it moving to Canada. He moved
Speaker 1: at twenty two and didn't I didn't speak a word
Speaker 1: of English un till about twenty three or twenty before.
Speaker 1: But he supported me and and met my mom in Canada, obviously,
Speaker 1: and so my mother said, over my dead body, you're
Speaker 1: leaving at fifteen years old. Now, I know the dynamic
Speaker 1: was a little bit different back then today's day and age.
Speaker 1: I would never let my kid leave at fifteen. I
Speaker 1: have a twenty two year old so right now, the
Speaker 1: six year old daughter. So my dad took me aside.
Speaker 1: Old school guy didn't say a whole lot. He was
Speaker 1: just a solid support system. And he says, Kenny, is
Speaker 1: this what you want? And I said, Dad, this is
Speaker 1: gonna help my career. They're asking me to go to
Speaker 1: York to Saskatchewan to play Tier two junior hockey. The
Speaker 1: Western Hockey League team the originally Great Falls Americans that
Speaker 1: had put me on the protective list and said, we
Speaker 1: think you're ready to jump right from Bannams to junior hockey,
Speaker 1: but you're gonna have to move five dred miles away
Speaker 1: because we're affiliated with his Tier two team in the
Speaker 1: Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and mid Midwest Canada. So my
Speaker 1: dad says, look, and this is a true story. He
Speaker 1: goes I had two days to decide, and the coach
Speaker 1: of the York and Terrace was gonna pick me up
Speaker 1: a gas station outside Edmonton, Alberta, and drive me back
Speaker 1: to Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I said, Dad, this is what I
Speaker 1: want to do. I said, uh, you know, it's a
Speaker 1: big step. But he goes, we're not gonna tell your mother.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna drive you there. I will handle her. She'll
Speaker 1: get over it in a couple of weeks because we
Speaker 1: don't want to have that house. And that's that's a
Speaker 1: true story. So I went to the gas station, got
Speaker 1: picked up by a coach named Jerry Bullets at the time,
Speaker 1: and went off to Yorkton, Saskatchewan to play for the
Speaker 1: Yorkton Terrors. I was one of two fifteen year olds
Speaker 1: in the league Rex and I was young. I was
Speaker 1: physically mature because I was big, I was strong. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was physical, and that's where probably it was good
Speaker 1: for me. But on the flip side, from my life standpoint,
Speaker 1: I was still a kid and I'm playing with seventeen eighteen,
Speaker 1: nineteen year old guys. Drinking. Drinking became a big part
Speaker 1: of it. It was play hard, party hard, right from
Speaker 1: a young a age. And you know, you look back,
Speaker 1: you reflect all the extracurricular activity and the partying, and
Speaker 1: the drinking was always there. But again I had one
Speaker 1: goal and one thing I will say, humblia. I had
Speaker 1: the discipline in the work ethic and the heart to
Speaker 1: always just pull my bootstraps up and and understand what
Speaker 1: comes first until later on. And we'll get into that
Speaker 1: after and you can ask me some questions when the
Speaker 1: drinking really took hold of me. So you're drafted, and
Speaker 1: at what point, though you're still a teenager, at what
Speaker 1: point do you know that this sport is gonna take
Speaker 1: you places? M hm, Well, I'll tell you a nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty two. I'm eighteen years old, and that's when there
Speaker 1: was no internet, obviously no cell phones, and and you
Speaker 1: go back in your day, the same idea. Now they
Speaker 1: know everything about you, when you eat, sleep, go to
Speaker 1: the bathroom. But back then they relied on one scout
Speaker 1: that would follow you around, or or a guy and
Speaker 1: they would take recommendations. Now, I was not ranked to
Speaker 1: go in the first round. There was twenty one teams.
Speaker 1: At the time. I was cautiously optimistic I was going
Speaker 1: to be drafted, but I still was uncertain because I
Speaker 1: always had that in the back of my mind. I
Speaker 1: don't know how good am I am? I any good?
Speaker 1: I know? I played pretty well in junior and had
Speaker 1: a pretty good playoffs my draft year. So the summer
Speaker 1: of eighty two, the drafts in Montreal, two hour time difference.
Speaker 1: So I go out the night before my brother who's
Speaker 1: five years older, to take a little edge off, had
Speaker 1: a few pops, you know, knowing the drafts. The next day,
Speaker 1: I'm very nervous and just praying I get drafted, you know,
Speaker 1: just pray I get drafted somewhere, anywhere, it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: what round. So about forty minutes into the draft, I'm sleeping.
Speaker 1: I'm out like a light. My mom walks up to
Speaker 1: my bedroom and says, Kenny, wake up, you gotta take
Speaker 1: this call. I go, mom, I look. I take a
Speaker 1: peek at the clock with one I go, mom, it's
Speaker 1: eight too early. I know what time it is in Montreal.
Speaker 1: There's no way I'm drafted yet. And I was serious.
Speaker 1: She goes, Kenny. Just my mom was a petite lady
Speaker 1: of five ft one, very quiet, comes just come downstairs
Speaker 1: and take this call. I go, I thought it was
Speaker 1: a friend playing a prank. I said, it's probably friends
Speaker 1: playing a prank, you know, Hey, Kenny, you know, congratulations
Speaker 1: You've been drafted by the Montreal Canadians, and I really
Speaker 1: believe that. I go down there, I pick up the phone.
Speaker 1: Groggy voice go hello. Uh, he goes, Hi, can this
Speaker 1: is Marshall Johnson. Congratulations, We've just picked you eighteenth overall.
Speaker 1: And I still get goose bump saying it and almost
Speaker 1: tears because I dropped the phone. I never asked who
Speaker 1: it was. I dropped the phone. Swear to God, I
Speaker 1: I'm going to my mom. I turned to my mother
Speaker 1: and I go, you're not gonna believe this, And it
Speaker 1: still brings me me tears like it goes, I just
Speaker 1: got drafted eighteenth overall. My mother, who has never sworn
Speaker 1: her life a little calt games, You've got to be
Speaker 1: bleeping me like she was just dumbfounded beside her. So
Speaker 1: she goes, we'll ask who it is. I picked the
Speaker 1: phone up. I go, oh, yeah, who is this? He goes,
Speaker 1: It's Marshall Johnson from New Jersey. Didn't have a team
Speaker 1: name yet, no team name. They had just moved from
Speaker 1: the Colorado Rockies and became New Jersey. The late grade
Speaker 1: owner who was so in my corner to Dr John McMullin,
Speaker 1: who haven't known the Houston Astors at the time as well,
Speaker 1: bought the team from Colorado moved them to New Jersey.
Speaker 1: So this was a big risk for him. And I
Speaker 1: was one of his two picks in the first round
Speaker 1: and there was no team name. They were voting in
Speaker 1: the Star Ledger, the Newark Star Ledger papers still on
Speaker 1: what the team name was gonna be and let the
Speaker 1: fans vote. And we didn't have a ton of fans
Speaker 1: at the time, really, but it ended up being the
Speaker 1: New Jersey Devils. But I will tell you Rex, I
Speaker 1: would have ran the two thousand miles from Edmonton, Alberta.
Speaker 1: I don't care if they were sending me to Siberia.
Speaker 1: I wanted my opportunity uh to play. This was my
Speaker 1: dream as a young kid. This was the first step
Speaker 1: getting drafted. I went way higher than I expected. And
Speaker 1: it was one one scout, Bert Marshall was his name,
Speaker 1: and he had followed me around and a beat up
Speaker 1: Winnebago for about ten days. He had told me, and
Speaker 1: I talked to him in two thousand twelve about this
Speaker 1: because I didn't know the real story. But this is true,
Speaker 1: he says. Kenny. I told the New Jersey Devils at eighteen,
Speaker 1: you've got to take this kid, Ken Danico. They didn't
Speaker 1: really know who I was much. They you know, obviously scout,
Speaker 1: but there just wasn't as much information and access. And
Speaker 1: they go Bert, he's not ranked there, we're not taking him.
Speaker 1: Bert Marshall said, I'm putting my job line. He says, Bert,
Speaker 1: if he doesn't pan out, you are putting your job
Speaker 1: on the line. He says, because we really don't. They
Speaker 1: were not going to take me, from what I understand,
Speaker 1: and Bert confirmed this in two thousand twelve to me
Speaker 1: because I gave him a big hug. Two thousand twelve,
Speaker 1: the draft was in New Jersey. I happened to see
Speaker 1: him because he's still scouting at the time for Caroline.
Speaker 1: And then I go Bert, I, I I just want to
Speaker 1: come up. I heard a story that you know, the
Speaker 1: Devils didn't want to take me. And I gave him
Speaker 1: a big hug, and I said, you know, it never
Speaker 1: goes unnoticed. Thank you for believing in me, Thank you
Speaker 1: for But he goes, Kenny, you don't know half the story.
Speaker 1: He goes, I begged them. They right up till the
Speaker 1: draft they were not going to take you, I said,
Speaker 1: I will put my job in line, he says, And
Speaker 1: I thank you because I'm still scouting because of that pick.
Speaker 1: Because the eighth overall pick was Brian Tracy's brother. Wonderful guy,
Speaker 1: but he only ended up playing games in the nash
Speaker 1: Hock League. I was eighteenth overall and and then play
Speaker 1: three regular season games hundred seventy five more in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But that's kind of what Burt says. He said to them,
Speaker 1: I am telling you this kid will play ten fifteen
Speaker 1: years for you. I followed him for two weeks. I
Speaker 1: know his heart, I know his character, and uh, nobody
Speaker 1: wants to win more. And that made me feel It
Speaker 1: makes you feel good, you know. And when we laughed
Speaker 1: about it, hug, but I just wanted to make sure
Speaker 1: he understood. This was one guy putting all his eggs
Speaker 1: in one basket at the draft, believing in in a
Speaker 1: person and a player. And back then they had to
Speaker 1: because they had to trust their scouts and they weren't
Speaker 1: going to but they did. Man, it's so true. I mean,
Speaker 1: kudos to him because you know, and you've been around
Speaker 1: the sport a long time in round front offices and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and a lot of times guys just want to keep
Speaker 1: their job and to put your neck on the line
Speaker 1: and say no, look, I believe in this. That's what
Speaker 1: separates the good ones, are the bad ones from the
Speaker 1: great ones. As we've explored in previous episodes with Chris
Speaker 1: Knuckles Nyland on the NHL and Jim Laerts on The
Speaker 1: Big Apple, the party when you're a drinker and in
Speaker 1: the pros finds you. The ferociousness and tenacity that Kim
Speaker 1: Daniko played with on the ice would be the same
Speaker 1: for his alcohol consumption. Work, hard, party, heart. That would
Speaker 1: be his calling for twenty seasons and even into retirement.
Speaker 1: Rents and repeat. It's enough to bring even the biggest
Speaker 1: bruiser to their knees. Little did young kid know what
Speaker 1: lay ahead for him on his road to hockey immortality.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this bird from our sponsors.
Speaker 1: So you're called up? How did you celebrate when you're
Speaker 1: called up to the called up to the NHL? You
Speaker 1: know what, It's all a blur back then. But I'm
Speaker 1: sure I went out, and I know I went with
Speaker 1: some friends and we all got together at a house
Speaker 1: and what do we do? We drank, We drank, we
Speaker 1: have fun, We have a good time, and you know
Speaker 1: that's all I knew. It was play hard, party hard,
Speaker 1: really back then. But but I was excited and I
Speaker 1: was over the moon, and and boy did I train
Speaker 1: hard that summer going into my first camp. And and obviously, uh,
Speaker 1: I got into exhibition games as an eighteen year. It
Speaker 1: doesn't mean you're gonna make the team right away, because
Speaker 1: they can still send you back to junior. I went
Speaker 1: back to junior my first year. So I have to
Speaker 1: tell you this quick story, and this is a good one. Rex.
Speaker 1: So my second exhibition game is against the Gray New
Speaker 1: York Islanders. They were a dynasty at the time. They
Speaker 1: just finished winning four straight Stanley Cups. I had such
Speaker 1: admiration for their team, and I was a student of
Speaker 1: the fighters and of players and even as a young kid.
Speaker 1: And they had the likes of some of the toughest
Speaker 1: customers in the league. Bobby Nice from Clark Gillies, guys
Speaker 1: that I'm friends with. Today we're playing golf charities together.
Speaker 1: I love those guys, just the wonderful people. So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get noticed. It's game two of my exhibition career
Speaker 1: for the Devil's in eighteen year old So John Tonelli,
Speaker 1: a great hero over the playoffs for the Islanders, goes
Speaker 1: in the corner and I come across full bore and
Speaker 1: absolutely jump into him, knock him feet go up in
Speaker 1: the air. He goes flying, head hits the ice, and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden there's a big scrum and I
Speaker 1: get grabbed around the neck and I turn around and
Speaker 1: elbow this guy right in the head, you know, just
Speaker 1: because it's a big melee and and it's a big scrum.
Speaker 1: I turn around. It's Bobby nice from and I'm on,
Speaker 1: oh my good god, I think I've been off a
Speaker 1: lot more than I could chew for my first National
Speaker 1: Hockey League fight. So I'm going I'm in deep trouble here,
Speaker 1: because Bobby Nystrom was known to be one of the
Speaker 1: best fighters in Nish hockey and he was a wild man,
Speaker 1: and I'm going I'm dead here, and I'm going to
Speaker 1: do whatever I can to stay on. So Bobby turns
Speaker 1: and looks at me. We have gloves off. He holds
Speaker 1: me and goes, kid, I respect what you're doing out here,
Speaker 1: because I was that young guy once too. He says,
Speaker 1: we're not going to fight on this opportunity, he says,
Speaker 1: but just take it easy out there. I looked him
Speaker 1: in the I said, thank you, Mr Nystrom. And to
Speaker 1: this day, we playing charity outings, I see him in
Speaker 1: the offseason. And about three years ago we told the
Speaker 1: story when we were at Clark Gillis has a big
Speaker 1: golf charity and Long Island. We told the story and
Speaker 1: Bobby was just on the on the ground rolling and
Speaker 1: he says, yeah, I vaguely remember that, Kenny. And I said, Bobby,
Speaker 1: you don't know how appreciative I was at the time.
Speaker 1: I was eighteen years old. I was not ready to
Speaker 1: fight you just yet. And he was so respectful, kind
Speaker 1: of that guy that he says, just go easy, kid.
Speaker 1: I know, I understand you're trying to make a name
Speaker 1: for yourself. That is just beautiful. That is just beautiful,
Speaker 1: good greeting like old Stanley St. Josey. Teams are called
Speaker 1: and he has all the right stuff. They all have
Speaker 1: the right stuff. Because now that Aspies I love. The
Speaker 1: Rangers famously win the Stanley Cup in four and the
Speaker 1: New York City loved it course, But then the very
Speaker 1: next season your Devil's winning in of all the trophies
Speaker 1: and sports, the Stanley Cup. Tell me about the moment
Speaker 1: you win it and the first moment you got to
Speaker 1: hoist that trophy. Well, I'll tell you Rex four was
Speaker 1: the step for our team, and a devastating step because
Speaker 1: we lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the New York
Speaker 1: Rangers and double overtime in Game seven and had a
Speaker 1: lead in Game six to close up the series to nothing.
Speaker 1: So all these things come into play as far as
Speaker 1: when you you hear you gotta lose before you win,
Speaker 1: you gotta understand what it takes. And they had a
Speaker 1: great leader who I grew up with, Mark Messier, one
Speaker 1: of the best leaders in sports. So I grew up
Speaker 1: with an Edmonton Alberta by the way, a little older
Speaker 1: than me. He was a mentor of mine. But all
Speaker 1: the friendships stopped when he got traded the Rangers because
Speaker 1: it was such a big rivalry, and you know, he
Speaker 1: guaranteed a winning Game six. We had them down to
Speaker 1: nothing and we just didn't know how to close the deal.
Speaker 1: Mark took over, but obviously we tightened up and that
Speaker 1: was our lesson to be learned and we were more
Speaker 1: prepared for We're able to turn the switch on the
Speaker 1: plasts we were the two best teams in ninety four
Speaker 1: in the regular season, and if we beat the Rangers,
Speaker 1: we felt no disrespect to Vancouver Canucks. We were gonna
Speaker 1: win the Cup as well. So as devastating as that was,
Speaker 1: the pain was eased by winning the Cup in and
Speaker 1: that was my second dream playing road hockey. As a
Speaker 1: ten year old, I'd carry a silver garbage can over
Speaker 1: my head pretending it was the Stanley Cup. But right, so,
Speaker 1: you've worked your way up. Your mainstay in Jersey at
Speaker 1: this point the New York metropolitan area, and they love hockey.
Speaker 1: What was it like on and off the ice around
Speaker 1: this time New York I'll put it this way in summarize,
Speaker 1: New York City chewed me up and spit me out
Speaker 1: many a night. I was a kid from a small
Speaker 1: Western Canada town for the most part going to New
Speaker 1: York City and a kid that liked to have fun.
Speaker 1: And I'm going out to the China Club, different clubs,
Speaker 1: and they treated me like royalty because they loved athletes
Speaker 1: and love love me and I'm seeing celebrities and actors
Speaker 1: and actresses and I'm having the time of my life.
Speaker 1: Reckx So it chewed me up and spit me out.
Speaker 1: And obviously, twelve years later, we win the Stanley Cup. Uh,
Speaker 1: and the party began. I mean, uh, this is something
Speaker 1: that's really was kind of planted the seeds where I
Speaker 1: knew I had a problem. And boy, it's it's so
Speaker 1: long ago, but it brings back good and bad memories.
Speaker 1: From the standpoint, I had just won the Stanley Cup,
Speaker 1: the ultimate goal. After going on some vendors party in
Speaker 1: New York, New Jersey, the Jersey Shore or everywhere you
Speaker 1: name it. I brought the cup everywhere. I partied everywhere
Speaker 1: with the fans. I was one of those blue collar guys,
Speaker 1: like the state of New Jersey are great fans. They
Speaker 1: they loved me. I love them. We're nothing, well the fans.
Speaker 1: I still believe that today and have time for them.
Speaker 1: Anytime they asked me for the fiftie picture. It goes
Speaker 1: without fans were nothing, and I'll always believe that. So
Speaker 1: I had partied my you know what, off, my butt off,
Speaker 1: and two months in I'm empty, completely empty, and I'm
Speaker 1: I'm going what is wrong with me? I really had
Speaker 1: to sit down and and do uh, you know, some
Speaker 1: soul searching, and I knew it was wrong. With me.
Speaker 1: I didn't want a minute. I had a drinking problem.
Speaker 1: I drank too much. I party too much, and it
Speaker 1: hurt and I and I had guilt and shame and
Speaker 1: and I had a ton of fun and did things
Speaker 1: that we need a five hour podcast. What was your
Speaker 1: What was your age here? What how old were you?
Speaker 1: I was so ninety five? Jeez, I have to do
Speaker 1: the math. But I was about thirty two years old,
Speaker 1: and we want our cup. And you know, that's when
Speaker 1: I really started to recognize I gotta take care of
Speaker 1: myself so privately. And nine before I went public and
Speaker 1: ninety seven to my second rehab, I went to a
Speaker 1: rehab in Canada on my own. I didn't even tell
Speaker 1: the team anybody, because that's when I was real scared
Speaker 1: that if I tell them I I need help. If
Speaker 1: I tell them I've got a drinking problem, you know,
Speaker 1: couldn't end my career. Are they going to, you know,
Speaker 1: stick by me? And so I talked to family and
Speaker 1: supportive of my family around around here, and and went
Speaker 1: to rehab it and I gave an earnest effort. I
Speaker 1: was there for thirty days. I I was like that
Speaker 1: models school student. I really took it serious the time,
Speaker 1: and went into the season strong and felt good, stayed
Speaker 1: sober for about five months at the time. But it
Speaker 1: planted the seeds. And if they anybody thinks, uh, you're
Speaker 1: gonna be a first time winner, it just doesn't happen
Speaker 1: that often. I'm sure you know a little bit about that, Rich,
Speaker 1: But I was there for the right reasons and obviously
Speaker 1: still had to do some more experiment and didn't believe,
Speaker 1: you know, to believe that you are an alcoholic, because
Speaker 1: somebody once told me, once you're a pickle can, you
Speaker 1: can't become a cucumber. Will I kept trying to become
Speaker 1: a cucumber. I wanted to be that fun guy that
Speaker 1: it was a heavy drinker, but just didn't cross the line.
Speaker 1: But I was playing Russian roulettein the season came and
Speaker 1: I was still discipline enough to keep in line and
Speaker 1: my career going hard, and I had a god given
Speaker 1: ability and body that could be put through a lot.
Speaker 1: At the time, something that Ken just said resonated with me.
Speaker 1: I was playing Russian Roulette. That is how he categorizes
Speaker 1: his addiction. For those unfamiliar with this spectacle, that's the
Speaker 1: game of suicidal tendency where the rules include putting one
Speaker 1: bullet into the chamber that holds six, spinning it, placing
Speaker 1: it to your temple, pulling the trigger, and hoping your
Speaker 1: number is not called unless that is what you want.
Speaker 1: Not all addicts are fortunate like Ken to be able
Speaker 1: to recognize a problem but still keep the party going.
Speaker 1: That's what many professional athletes from his air of dealt with,
Speaker 1: especially in the NHL. What's the drinking culture like in
Speaker 1: the NHL? And did you have a drink of choice?
Speaker 1: Do you have your what was your beverage? And whatever
Speaker 1: was put in front of me. But I hockey guys
Speaker 1: back then, and and and it's changed dramatically since my day.
Speaker 1: Kids take care of themselves so much better because they
Speaker 1: are they are corporations now, the money they're making and
Speaker 1: the teams are on top of them. These kids are
Speaker 1: so well prepared. You know, back then, it was more acceptable. Obviously,
Speaker 1: play hard, party hard, the mentality, but beer shots, you
Speaker 1: name it. I was a big beer drinker obviously, but
Speaker 1: anything to get me feeling uh, you know, get me
Speaker 1: out of my comfort zone. You know, a lot of
Speaker 1: it was I was this life of the party type guy.
Speaker 1: But but I I found out later after rehabs and
Speaker 1: and you know, some therapy along the way that you know,
Speaker 1: I had insecurities. You know, I was as I'm a
Speaker 1: pro athlete, I have the world by the tail and
Speaker 1: making good money, and I had insecurities. I was a
Speaker 1: guy that you know, as much as I believe in
Speaker 1: myself and as much as I thought for the most part,
Speaker 1: I was a good guy and people liked me. You know,
Speaker 1: it was did I like myself enough? You know, nothing
Speaker 1: was enough rex I win the Stanley Cup Championship, and
Speaker 1: then I was empty two months later. So I was
Speaker 1: always searching for more. I couldn't couldn't get that high
Speaker 1: high enough. It was, if that makes sense to you,
Speaker 1: I just needed more all the time, and I found
Speaker 1: it through alcohol. And I couldn't quite understand what what
Speaker 1: I was doing to myself and affecting my body and
Speaker 1: people around me, as in particular family, because you heard
Speaker 1: a lot of people around you. I know when I
Speaker 1: struggled when I finally went to rehab to try to
Speaker 1: get serious about it, you know, it was just I realized, man,
Speaker 1: you don't even know who you are, you don't know
Speaker 1: what you like. You've the only thing you've ever done
Speaker 1: is play basket ball. You know you don't that is
Speaker 1: your identity, and it was I'm gonna ask this. This
Speaker 1: is kind of a long two parter, but when was
Speaker 1: the first time you can remember thinking, you know, while
Speaker 1: I'm not in control or might not fully be in
Speaker 1: control of myself while drinking. I asked that because you know,
Speaker 1: I've got that sort of personality addictive. I know what
Speaker 1: it's like when I first got opioids and how that felt.
Speaker 1: I knew, wow, okay, this is different. I like this,
Speaker 1: but I really, I really like it. So I'm always
Speaker 1: curious with someone who's main issue, you know that I
Speaker 1: know of was drinking since that wasn't my thing. Uh,
Speaker 1: and it's available everywhere every store, on ice all of that.
Speaker 1: What was that process like for you realizing or not realizing, hey,
Speaker 1: maybe I'm not in control of this. Well, first off, Rex,
Speaker 1: I will say, I mean, yeah, you talk about addiction.
Speaker 1: I anything put in front of me. Obviously, I always
Speaker 1: had to be aware of it. And if you can
Speaker 1: believe this or not, I know former players and guys
Speaker 1: that I speak to, and uh, if I can help
Speaker 1: anyway and give back, and that's what you try to
Speaker 1: do along the way former players or teammates. I have
Speaker 1: had teammates called me up out of the blue and said, Kenny,
Speaker 1: how the hell did you do it? Guys that watched
Speaker 1: me be the wildest man on the team and be
Speaker 1: the craziest guy, and I could drink more than most
Speaker 1: people in the bar on a nightly basis. I have
Speaker 1: had problems with old piods. I never took one pill
Speaker 1: in my life, so which it scared me. It was
Speaker 1: the subconscious thing, even when I was getting hurt and
Speaker 1: there was very accessible pills, and I kind of shunned
Speaker 1: away from it. Always said, now I'll just take advil.
Speaker 1: Whether it was my teeth knock though, whether it was institute,
Speaker 1: whether it was a shoulder separation or that knee when
Speaker 1: I hurt my knee and ninety four and tore my
Speaker 1: knee him, I stayed away from it. I numbed it
Speaker 1: with drinking, obviously, But there was something that scared me
Speaker 1: because I know I would have grabbed it, would have
Speaker 1: grabbed hold of me, and I know that how difficult
Speaker 1: that is. I've never like I've been through the opiates.
Speaker 1: But it's all relative, it's all the same addictions, addictions, addiction.
Speaker 1: That's exactly how I felt about cocaine. You know the
Speaker 1: other stuff. All right, let me try it whatever, But
Speaker 1: I've I really felt I don't know why. I think
Speaker 1: because of the way it was described to me. Always
Speaker 1: that and I knew guys who played on it who
Speaker 1: never got tired, and it had to be difficult. But
Speaker 1: I had some late nights. I always had a rule,
Speaker 1: try not to drink night before a game, and I
Speaker 1: stuck to it, probably about not I'm trying, but I'm
Speaker 1: telling your X. Probably the time that was kind of
Speaker 1: that was my discipline because night before a game, I
Speaker 1: can't do it. But now if I went out two
Speaker 1: nights before, as I got older, it's it still would
Speaker 1: affect me two nights later. So going back to your
Speaker 1: in a roundabout way, your question is when when did
Speaker 1: I notice, look, the seeds have been planted. If I
Speaker 1: reflected after everything was all send done, I knew I
Speaker 1: was overboard. Back in back in when I was twenty
Speaker 1: years old. It was a problem because I couldn't control
Speaker 1: my drinking. It was Russian or lette. I had the discipline,
Speaker 1: like I had mentioned um, but had to be kind
Speaker 1: of terrifying though at early twenties, you know, you look
Speaker 1: around and you go, I'm not gonna you're telling me
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna party and drink with my friends ever again.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's uh, that's almost you can't even fathom that.
Speaker 1: And that's why I never went for help back the
Speaker 1: inner thought because I juggled it, obviously, but when it
Speaker 1: really took call was the real year where I knew
Speaker 1: something was wrong and still didn't quite get it. In
Speaker 1: to nineties seven, I go away during the season, so
Speaker 1: obviously everybody knew. When I was the first guy to
Speaker 1: go public. Let's talk about that for a second, real quick.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about that moment in nine seven when you
Speaker 1: go to the general manager's office, the devil general manager.
Speaker 1: What do you remember about that day? Did you have
Speaker 1: a plan? How did the conversation go? I was scared
Speaker 1: to death, rex Um go on, what's he gonna think
Speaker 1: of me? Look? When I went in there, Louis like,
Speaker 1: and look, we'd had talks. He told me I had
Speaker 1: to curb my lifestyle for many years prior. So it's
Speaker 1: not like he was aware. He he was so aware.
Speaker 1: But he said to me, he says, Kenny. A few
Speaker 1: times he goes, Damn, he says, I should trade you.
Speaker 1: You know, sometimes I hear what you're doing. I hear
Speaker 1: how late you're out. He goes, but damn, do you
Speaker 1: come to play at seven thirty? He says, I don't
Speaker 1: know how you do it at times, but he would
Speaker 1: always say, imagine if you get it, put your your
Speaker 1: life together. So he knew all along. So when I
Speaker 1: went in there, I'd been there. He's a loyal man.
Speaker 1: I'd been there a long time. And I throw in
Speaker 1: Mr Dr mamal And who was my biggest supporter. I
Speaker 1: was his first pick. I wore the crest with pride.
Speaker 1: I you know, do anything to be a devil and
Speaker 1: against support our team whatever way I could. So he
Speaker 1: was always going to be in my corner. To a fault.
Speaker 1: He almost enabled me at times, but I love the man,
Speaker 1: God rest his soul, and and both those guys were
Speaker 1: just right behind me, and Lou knew. So when I
Speaker 1: went in there, initially I was scared. But I'll tell
Speaker 1: you the day after X you get second thoughts. I
Speaker 1: was getting cold feet and gonna run out, run away,
Speaker 1: but lu said, no, you committed. You have to now
Speaker 1: he had already called the the NHLP a behavioral and
Speaker 1: subset abuse, and so you know that the guys that
Speaker 1: were gonna help me, so I was already committed. Now
Speaker 1: I had to go and get on that plane. And
Speaker 1: I went to California to rehab. And I went away
Speaker 1: for about two and a half months. This wasn't a month,
Speaker 1: and they were gonna tell me when I was ready
Speaker 1: to come back. So I missed half a season that
Speaker 1: year and came back and was so anxious to play.
Speaker 1: And I played and stayed sober about sixteen months at
Speaker 1: that time, rex for a year, and and I went
Speaker 1: back again a little bit gingerly, you know, because I
Speaker 1: did have that discipline, but because at times I felt stronger,
Speaker 1: felt better, but I didn't feel when I went into
Speaker 1: a rut, I used it as a crutch. I wasn't
Speaker 1: playing very well. I go, screw it. I've got to
Speaker 1: be me. This isn't me. I'm not having fun in sobriety.
Speaker 1: I'm not having fun out of it. You know that
Speaker 1: one ft in, one foot out again. I was just
Speaker 1: holding on again. And like I said, there hasn't been
Speaker 1: many first time winners. But again, all the seeds planted.
Speaker 1: And then when it really took hold, you know, I
Speaker 1: played in we won the Cup in two thousand. We
Speaker 1: went in two thousand three and that was my gonna
Speaker 1: be my last year, and I went out on top
Speaker 1: in a game seven. And during that time I had
Speaker 1: a good sobriety off and on, but I was still relapsing,
Speaker 1: going out being me, being can being the fun, crazy
Speaker 1: guy because I was. I was a party er. I
Speaker 1: had to be in the action. I wasn't a guy
Speaker 1: that just sat at home and drank and drank like.
Speaker 1: I wasn't this depressed guy I And it's all relative,
Speaker 1: I say, because everybody goes through the same the bottom line,
Speaker 1: it's addiction. But I had to be in the action.
Speaker 1: I was all alone in a crowded room, if that
Speaker 1: makes sense. That's somebody lou Lamail used to tell him.
Speaker 1: He says, you're out there, you're the life of the party,
Speaker 1: but you're all alone in the crowd of room because
Speaker 1: you're dealing with your demons, yourself and your insecurities. And
Speaker 1: that's what was transpiring. And then two thousand three comes Rex.
Speaker 1: I go out on top game seven, my roles diminishing,
Speaker 1: what a way to go out. I was just so
Speaker 1: humbled and so grateful. I was in and out of
Speaker 1: the lineup during the playoffs and knew it was over.
Speaker 1: I said to go out on top every athlete's dream.
Speaker 1: I go out on top two thousands of three. But ah,
Speaker 1: now I don't have to be in shape. Now I
Speaker 1: don't have as much responsibility, and let the party begin again.
Speaker 1: And it began and began and went, and then I'd
Speaker 1: stop again, feeling real bad, feeling guilty because I'd I'd
Speaker 1: had the discipline to go two months, and then I'd
Speaker 1: go back, and then now I'm going back and forth
Speaker 1: and going what am I doing. I'm still with the
Speaker 1: Devil's Organization. I'm doing some broadcasting, I'm doing stuff in
Speaker 1: the community. They've been so supportive and in two thousand
Speaker 1: nine Rex and I'll fast track because I know this
Speaker 1: could go on for everybody with with battling this sobriety
Speaker 1: and and just the recognition that Ken, you're an alcoholic,
Speaker 1: you need help, you can't do it alone, You're not
Speaker 1: invincible anymore. Those were the hardest things to deal with.
Speaker 1: And anybody that's uh an alcoholic addict can relate because
Speaker 1: I just I was this big, strong, tough hockey guy.
Speaker 1: No way this thing has me. So I kept trying,
Speaker 1: I'm going all right, and then I'd have a success
Speaker 1: what I considered a successful night of drinking where I
Speaker 1: got home at one of the morning and I wasn't
Speaker 1: that bombed. That was successful, but I was playing Russian
Speaker 1: let because the next time would be ten am, I'd
Speaker 1: be out. I could drink that long. I'd be out
Speaker 1: that long, and and just crazy nights, and you know,
Speaker 1: people not knowing where I am, and then curling up
Speaker 1: in bed to press go on, what am I doing
Speaker 1: with my life? And and the Devil's once you know,
Speaker 1: I got in trouble a couple of times. I'm going
Speaker 1: They always stood by me, but you know, grow up here,
Speaker 1: I have to mature. They're not gonna stand by me forever,
Speaker 1: you know. And I had that aha moment, the spiritual awakening,
Speaker 1: and yeah, I got my knees and prayed to the
Speaker 1: Big Fellow. I said, it's got a hold of me again.
Speaker 1: Please God take this obsession away. I'm not having fun
Speaker 1: with it, I'm not having fun without it. But I
Speaker 1: need to be comfortable in my own skin. Got on
Speaker 1: my knees and I will tell you my It was
Speaker 1: my girlfriend now my wife, Margaret, uh, my second wife, Margaret,
Speaker 1: you know. Looked at her two days later and I
Speaker 1: was depressed for a couple of days and and I
Speaker 1: said to her, it's over. And she says to me,
Speaker 1: I've heard this before, Kenny, and I'm telling you it's
Speaker 1: it's gonna be tough for me to stick around. I
Speaker 1: get emotional with it because she goes. She says, Kenny,
Speaker 1: you are a wonderful guy, and you are a guy
Speaker 1: that you wear your heart on your sleeve and you
Speaker 1: help people, and you're great to the fans, but you're
Speaker 1: not helping yourself. You are a mess. And I'm going, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: don't worry. I said, I'm playing Russian. This is just me.
Speaker 1: But at that moment, two days after my last bender,
Speaker 1: I said to her I'm done. And she didn't believe me.
Speaker 1: I said, I won't say it again. And time kept going,
Speaker 1: and I had the obsession had left. I had asked
Speaker 1: God and he answered my prayer and I said, a
Speaker 1: year comes. She goes, you weren't you weren't kidding about this,
Speaker 1: You're seriously said nope. I said, I'm done on something
Speaker 1: happened to me. Something happened to me. Yes, I'd been
Speaker 1: to a lot of meetings. Yes, I had some great
Speaker 1: guys and other athletes that have had some sobriety called
Speaker 1: me and talked to me, helped me, and I did
Speaker 1: some took some steps. But all the season Planet I'd
Speaker 1: gone to three rehabs, I had some sobriety. She'd asked
Speaker 1: me after I'd said I'm done, she goes, do you
Speaker 1: want to go to rehab again? I said, I'm not
Speaker 1: going to rehab again. I said, if I don't get
Speaker 1: this now and I don't take control of my life
Speaker 1: with help from everybody that's been through it before me,
Speaker 1: then you know, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 1: And and I knew that moment, I'm not invincible anymore.
Speaker 1: You know, they a jail's institution and death, and now
Speaker 1: I believed it, and I didn't want to lose everything.
Speaker 1: I had young kids. I wanted to straighten my life out,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to imagine the person I can be
Speaker 1: sober and I'm still I'm not I'm still fun, I
Speaker 1: still have a great time. But the obsession left me
Speaker 1: August nine, this year's going to be ten years rex
Speaker 1: and I probably as proud as that is my three
Speaker 1: Stanley Cup championships, one day at a time. But but
Speaker 1: again I say, have a little faith to anybody's struggling,
Speaker 1: believing yourself, because if I can do it, anybody can.
Speaker 1: But you can't do it alone. And there's no anybody
Speaker 1: that asked me what you do. I said, there's no
Speaker 1: magic potion, there's no magic wand being waived, I had
Speaker 1: to get humble. I had to have humility. I had
Speaker 1: to say I need help. This thing has beaten me.
Speaker 1: I can't beat it. Beautiful. Did you love yourself? Have
Speaker 1: you learned to love yourself? Did I love myself? No?
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. There was I was running, I was hiding.
Speaker 1: I is not comfortable in my skin, as I said,
Speaker 1: So I believed in myself, which I think is an
Speaker 1: attribute I love all young athletes have. But you've got
Speaker 1: to love yourself and today, yeah, I absolutely do. But
Speaker 1: uh I love myself because I can help other people.
Speaker 1: I love myself because I'm there for my family. Uh yeah.
Speaker 1: We all want accolades and we all want Patson back.
Speaker 1: I'd had enough of those, you know, and we all
Speaker 1: want success that's natural and rightfully. So you work hard,
Speaker 1: you have some success in all walks of life. But
Speaker 1: now you know, I've always been a guy that likes
Speaker 1: to get back and do charitable things, But now it
Speaker 1: has more meaning. I didn't understand why I was doing
Speaker 1: I was doing it because I was a pretty good guy.
Speaker 1: Now it I feel the impact because I love myself
Speaker 1: first now and I'm sober and and I'm responsible. And
Speaker 1: if somebody asked me, are you gonna be there at
Speaker 1: ten o'clock tomorrow, I'll be there. It's not guessing. You
Speaker 1: know what I mean. When I make a commitment, I commit,
Speaker 1: you know. So those things are what's important to me
Speaker 1: now in my life. To have a reckoning and a
Speaker 1: rebound from self inflicted addiction and alcoholism is now a
Speaker 1: badge that Ken wears proudly on his sweater sleeve. One
Speaker 1: sour moment that we touched upon but did not cross
Speaker 1: in depth, was how on July two thousand six, Mr
Speaker 1: Devil was arrested on a d u I charge in Sparta,
Speaker 1: New Jersey at age forty two, three years after his
Speaker 1: playing career ended. This left a mark on his criminal
Speaker 1: record and added another smudge on himself in the court
Speaker 1: of public opinion. Not long after was when his depression deepened.
Speaker 1: Ken chose to overcome, which is not the story for
Speaker 1: many with his afflictions. Unfortunately, today he's amongst the most
Speaker 1: celebrated and respected voices in the NHL who still broadcasts
Speaker 1: or the Devils and gets to see his number three
Speaker 1: hanging in the rafters. We'll right bat after this word
Speaker 1: from our sponsors. Ken, You're known as Mr Devil? What
Speaker 1: does that mean to you? Yeah, I'm so humbled by it.
Speaker 1: It's amazing. And I go back to when I told
Speaker 1: you I was that blue collar guy I think the
Speaker 1: fans could relate to. I was that in the trenches guy.
Speaker 1: I wasn't the star guy. I played with greats who
Speaker 1: I loved to this day because team was everything to me.
Speaker 1: Marty Broder Hall of Fame, Greatest goaltender all time, Scott Stevens,
Speaker 1: a fur Ocean defenseman, Hall of Fame, Scott Niedermeyer one
Speaker 1: of the best, the best player I've ever played with,
Speaker 1: and the game was effortless. I could go on on
Speaker 1: Patrick Keller's These guys were the stars of our organization,
Speaker 1: UH and the main cogs and winning Stanley Cup Championships
Speaker 1: what it was all about. But for me, I was that,
Speaker 1: you know, in the trenches, blue collar type of guy.
Speaker 1: Like I said, the fans could relate to me and
Speaker 1: they respected. I guess over the years the fact that
Speaker 1: I wanted to play for one team team. I wanted
Speaker 1: to be a New Jersey Devil, the Devil's Organization where
Speaker 1: my family. I've been here thirty eight years in the organization,
Speaker 1: whether as a player with all the problems we have discussed,
Speaker 1: whether as a player or in the community relations or
Speaker 1: the broadcast. I broadcast all the games now on MSG,
Speaker 1: which I love because I'm involved in the game and
Speaker 1: I root for the success. But when the fans aptly
Speaker 1: or whatever name me Mr Devil, I was, I was
Speaker 1: kind of taking it back because I'm going really like
Speaker 1: and now I embrace it, you know, I embrace it
Speaker 1: because it means something to me. It touches my heart
Speaker 1: and when I see it on social media or when
Speaker 1: I see fans at the game a Mr. Devil and
Speaker 1: you wave and you know it kind of it brings
Speaker 1: me goose bumps and oh really, I'm Mr Devil. That's
Speaker 1: pretty pretty wild, and I'm proud of it now, you know,
Speaker 1: the old days out because though the guilt and shame,
Speaker 1: if I was drinking everything, i'd be you know, I
Speaker 1: don't deserve that. I don't want that. My number was
Speaker 1: retired in two thousand six, and there's five guys numbers retired.
Speaker 1: I was second behind our great captain Scott Stevens. And
Speaker 1: I'll joke to people and say, which one of these
Speaker 1: doesn't belong that Sesame Street kind of song. And I
Speaker 1: do believe that because from a talent standpoint, But what
Speaker 1: it shows, I go, I just you know, I scratched,
Speaker 1: I claude, I did whatever took to help our team,
Speaker 1: and might do my little part. But it shows if
Speaker 1: you work hard and believing yourself and have heart, that
Speaker 1: you can get those same accolades as star guys like
Speaker 1: the Stevens, and rightfully so in the Nida Mers and
Speaker 1: brothers like I said, and guys that I still love
Speaker 1: today and are great friends. We have a bond because
Speaker 1: we won three cups together, and Sergey Brelan and we
Speaker 1: walked together forever, whether we see each other for a
Speaker 1: year or not. And the Devil's like I said, and
Speaker 1: no did I think I'd be named Mr devil. Absolutely not, Rex,
Speaker 1: but I'm very proud of it. You should be. What's
Speaker 1: next for you? Can? Uh? And what are you hoping
Speaker 1: for in continuing to share your story on this type
Speaker 1: of platform? Well, what's next? I mean, we're hoping to
Speaker 1: go back to normal from a sports standpoint. It looks
Speaker 1: like our season will start in time. I hope my
Speaker 1: Devils get better. But what's next? Really, Rex? And the
Speaker 1: important things in life is just staying sober one day
Speaker 1: at a time, which I'm in a wonderful place, helping
Speaker 1: others when I can, and obviously, Uh, there's one story
Speaker 1: I wanted to tell you for young athletes about lou
Speaker 1: lam Morello when I said understanding your roles, so so
Speaker 1: he takes me in okay, N nine, He's only a
Speaker 1: year in his ten year as general manager. He was
Speaker 1: an unknown coming from Providence College as the a D
Speaker 1: and um. He just commanded that respect. Certain people have that.
Speaker 1: So he had that aura about him, and he was
Speaker 1: an intimidating man. And I'm a defensive guy. I'm a
Speaker 1: physical guy. I have to fight sometimes after protect teammates.
Speaker 1: So I get four games on the power play because
Speaker 1: one of our power play guys Bruce Drivers injured. I
Speaker 1: have four points in those four games on the second
Speaker 1: power play unit, so I want to do it all.
Speaker 1: All us young athletes think we can do it all.
Speaker 1: Now I can get oh great, I'm gonna get a
Speaker 1: little more notoriety. I can pick up some points along
Speaker 1: the way, because what everybody loves scoring? Right, So I'm disgruntled.
Speaker 1: After Bruce comes back, I'm not getting any power play time.
Speaker 1: And I wear my emotion on my sleeve. Lou Armor
Speaker 1: l after practice, goes Kenny, coming to my office after practice.
Speaker 1: We need to talk. He goes, sits me down. What's
Speaker 1: troubling you? He knew exactly what was bothering me, exactly
Speaker 1: what was bothered. And I said, well, Lou, and I'm
Speaker 1: really fired up, and I'm going I have four points
Speaker 1: in four games on the power play and all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, I'm taking off the power play. What's up?
Speaker 1: I mean? You know? I produced? He goes Kenny. He says,
Speaker 1: Bruce Drivers back, he's the power play guy. It's pretty simple,
Speaker 1: he says. I liken my team to an orchestra, and
Speaker 1: in order to make beautiful music, everybody has to play
Speaker 1: their instrument. There's drummers, there's penis, there's violinists. What category
Speaker 1: do you think you fall in? There? Out a word
Speaker 1: of a lie exactly how he put it, and I go,
Speaker 1: I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer,
Speaker 1: but I knew where he was going. I'm a drummer,
Speaker 1: he goes. And Kenny, by the way, he says, if
Speaker 1: you master that drum, your physical you're a penalty killer.
Speaker 1: You get plenty of ice. I want you to keep
Speaker 1: the puck out of it that. I want you to
Speaker 1: protect teammates. I want you to protect your goaltender and
Speaker 1: block shots and do your thing, he says, because that
Speaker 1: is what's gonna help us have team success. You understanding
Speaker 1: your role. You try to do too much and things
Speaker 1: that you're not capable, then it takes away from what
Speaker 1: you're really good at. And if you master that drum,
Speaker 1: you're gonna play in this league for fifteen years. If
Speaker 1: you want to be a violinist, I will call fifteen
Speaker 1: teams and see if they need a violinist. Exactly Ezac words,
Speaker 1: I get, I get out of the chair and throw
Speaker 1: the chair. Not many guys would would challenge lou Emerald
Speaker 1: because he just was an intimidating guy. I had that fire,
Speaker 1: and lou actually respected that, even though he would back
Speaker 1: you down and you always thought he was going to
Speaker 1: discipline you order. I threw the chair, was ready to
Speaker 1: slam the door, and and he that's when he said,
Speaker 1: excuse me. He goes, oh, by very calmly, arms crossed.
Speaker 1: By the way, Kenny, if you master that drum, you're
Speaker 1: gonna play fifteen years in this league. So I slammed
Speaker 1: the door. I'm angry, I'm I'm pissed. I can't believe
Speaker 1: this because I want to do more. I want to
Speaker 1: be jack of all trades. I want to do it all.
Speaker 1: But I listened to him that day because I saw
Speaker 1: so many players better than me, guys from junior that
Speaker 1: I go had a cup of coffee nationally. Two years later,
Speaker 1: I go, what happened to him? He was so good.
Speaker 1: They didn't find their role. I found a role on
Speaker 1: the team, and I stuck to it. He didn't care
Speaker 1: if I scored. I was like an defensive lineman. My
Speaker 1: job wasn't score touchdowns. Yeah it's nice once in a
Speaker 1: while when you're chipping. But I had a specific role,
Speaker 1: and that's why our team had success, and then when
Speaker 1: I retired in two thousand three, we had a press conference,
Speaker 1: sat beside lout Armrow. I turned to him and I said,
Speaker 1: just to piss you off, lou I played twenty years,
Speaker 1: and he started a laughing. He knew exactly what I
Speaker 1: was talking about. I will see lu Lamorello. He'd go
Speaker 1: to me, says Kenny. I still tell young guys the
Speaker 1: Ken Danico story, says, I hope you don't mind me
Speaker 1: using it. He says, I still, I said, I love it, Louke,
Speaker 1: because he says, you were kind of the first guy
Speaker 1: I really had to have a serious heart to heart with,
Speaker 1: and and a lot of guys it sounds simplistic, right.
Speaker 1: The GM tells you what you need to do, the
Speaker 1: coach tells you what need to do. But we don't
Speaker 1: always want to do that. And I was angry. I
Speaker 1: was an emotional guy. I was an intense guy. But
Speaker 1: I took the tart and said, lu just wants me
Speaker 1: to do my part and be part of something and
Speaker 1: I will help the team win. And that was a
Speaker 1: big reason why I went on to have a long career.
Speaker 1: I probably would have been out of the league in
Speaker 1: five years with my abilities. That's coaching. That's teaching, and leadershiphip.
Speaker 1: That's leadership. You know, he could have said it to
Speaker 1: you any old way. He could have said it in
Speaker 1: front of the team, which you definitely wouldn't have been
Speaker 1: I would have been embarrassed everything I brought you in there.
Speaker 1: He told you a whole story, and it's so so
Speaker 1: much so stuck with you your whole life. You were
Speaker 1: humbled by it. You took that information and even as
Speaker 1: emotional and immature and and everything as you were, it
Speaker 1: made sense to you. And that's that's leadership. Ken. It's
Speaker 1: been my pleasure, buddy. Please know you're my brother in recovery,
Speaker 1: and if you ever need anything, I'm always here for
Speaker 1: you and my door is always open. Thanks so much
Speaker 1: for doing this, buddy, real honor to be on with you.
Speaker 1: And we'll have to do it again some time because
Speaker 1: I got more. I can't wait. I'm in. But I'm
Speaker 1: grateful man, grateful where I am out in life, and
Speaker 1: gratefully add me on. Thanks buddy. Seving no runs with
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