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036 - Preparing for Life After Hockey with Joaquin Gage
107 Plays4 months ago
Show notes can be found at https://thediygoalie.com/pod036
Improve your cognitive and visual function with Vizual Edge at https://vizualedge.com and use DIYPOD for 20% off
This week we have former NHL goaltender Joaquin Gage on with us to discuss his pro career and transitioning to life after hockey. Now a media personality in the Edmonton area as well as a financial advisor, Joaquin shares the importance of planning for what comes after your playing career is over.
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Transcript
Introduction & Guest Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
How are we doing today, goalies? Welcome back to the DIY goalie podcast as always with Nathan and Connor. And today we've got a special guest who's kind of a celebrity around here in the Edmonton area in the sports world. and We've got Joaquin Gage with us today. He's going to talk a little bit about his his career and then transitioning into life after
Joaquin Gage's Career Journey
00:00:27
Speaker
hockey. So how are we doing today, Joaquin?
00:00:30
Speaker
Great boys, thanks for the lovely introduction. um Good to be amongst goal tenders for once, players, defencemen, you know what it's it's tough sledding with some of these guys, especially one.
00:00:43
Speaker
half the city blames a goalie for losing a one-nothing game, which I don't understand anyway, but no, i'm I'm happy to be here. yeah you You were on quite the heater. I was listening in the afternoon. Oh boy. Well, Dusty was poking the bear there. As soon as he came in, he was trying to get me going on the goal. I go, I know what you're doing.
00:01:05
Speaker
I know I know what you're trying to get me to do it was no no It's just people were saying and I go stop it testing and then yeah, then her name, of course, he's ah he's poking me too, but I Don't understand it. Whatever people will have their views um There seems to I mean in every market. I don't know if you listen to to any other like podcasts or or shows now and in other Canadian markets, they're essentially the same, right? Winnipeg thinks the the sky is falling after losing a few games. It's quite humorous to see out other markets and how they they treat their team because the similarities between Edmonton and everywhere else are exactly like you'd think they were.
00:01:49
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Well, and I think here too, especially with at least the Canadian markets, the spotlight on on wanting the success since it's been over 30
Transition from Soccer to Hockey
00:02:00
Speaker
years. But no, we appreciate you coming on. um To dive into it, why don't you kind of give us a bit of a background on yourself, your playing career, kind of your journey to the pros and um a little bit about what you're doing after. We'll get into that a little bit more later, but just kind of the general overview of, you know, how you made your way through the ranks. Sure. um Yeah. This is a, I don't know how much time I got. It's a long story, but.
00:02:29
Speaker
Um, and I'm long winded. So just let me know, cut me off or play some music. Yeah. lay me offst stage the Yeah. I mean. it's funny because if I really think back to why I started playing hockey in the first place was I grew growing up in Vancouver um ah most kids played soccer right so I was playing soccer and then I always wondered where all my friends went to afterwards and finally told me and they said they're going to play hockey and of course just being a little kid I wanted to hang out with my friends so I told my dad I wanted to my dad I wanted to play hockey so we went to
00:03:05
Speaker
this ratty secondhand like i think it was a pawn shop really that my dad took me to and grabbed me some gear and i was essentially that kid in the in the tim horton's commercial put on all this gear and sat and watched the leafs play on you know a probably a 15 inch black and white tv
Struggles and Perseverance
00:03:24
Speaker
and uh and uh and a old maple leaf gardens watching a hockey game thinking i want to do this one day this is great so um fast forward i played a little bit and To becoming a goalie was was unique for me. um I think I was like a lot of little kids when they you just don't want to leave the ice, right? A, that was why I didn't want to come off. And B, my my coach was actually the head of kinesiology at UBC.
00:03:53
Speaker
So he, um, he was kind of the mad scientist a little bit, uh, a little bit of a psychopath, but he, uh, he did all these tests with us. And I guess out of all the kids I tested higher with reflexes and my fast Twitch, like he did biopsies. I had a high count of fast Twitch muscle fibers or something ridiculous like that. I don't know.
00:04:18
Speaker
and do you know and Yeah, no, yeah, they probably do this regularly now but um he yeah ah The next day my dad said oh I got a surprise for you and me thinking it's probably like a GI Joe thing or something but it was a bunch of goalie gear I was like wow and um first I loved it because I never had to leave the ice and I I kind of had an affinity to it and was Was ah was able to stop some pucks and and really enjoyed it and kinda just grew from there. um We weren't the best team, so that was kind of a good thing for a young kid, especially a goalie, just to see just so many shots. We would get pounded all the time. Lots of tears in the car at home, but I think that better prepared me for for later on, right? And as with young kids playing
00:05:13
Speaker
Rep hockey especially in the lower mainland in Vancouver right the the travel is just It's not very easy to get to to different places. So um I I wanted to actually go to a place My dad suggested maybe a private school and we were, he was actually looking at, uh, uh, prep schools in Boston and, but the cost was just astronomical. Right. So, um, I, I, we found Athol Murray college in Notre Dame. And back then, I think St. Mike's was the only real, if you really look at it, it was like, there was two academies in Canada and those were the two kind of hockey academies.
00:05:52
Speaker
a little bit different at Notre Dame. Most guys went there to play hockey or were sent there by a judge. So it was ah it was a unique a student body back then. But I still talk to a lot of the ah guys that i that i that I played with on those teams. um Funny enough, that's where I first met Curtis Joseph. He was playing on the junior team when I was 14 years old.
00:06:16
Speaker
And so I, I, years later, fast forward, it was funny because we became teammates on with the
Evolution of Goaltending
00:06:22
Speaker
Oilers. Right. So, um, and actually then I, uh, of course I just wanted to play hockey, but there you're, you're forced to do a lot of other sports. Um, and I played football, volleyball, basketball, all Ram track did everything, um, did, and to wind it up. I didn't make the, the triple A team.
00:06:44
Speaker
I guess I'll be you 16 or something at that point and I decide this is enough because the yeah the chance of the school told me I'd never make a dime playing hockey so kind of doused my dreams of becoming a professional hockey player and thought I had to go somewhere else and Really, and this is a I think that you don't see this that much anymore um I think because of the involvement with probably agents and things like that they get involved at a very young age and Um, but I took it upon myself to kind of contact people and I did this throughout my career too, but I, uh, I phoned the Kamloops blazers and asked if I could come for a tryout. And they said, sure, why not? It's another body of camp. Um, so I literally went to a major junior camp at 17, um, complete unknown and basically ended up staying on the team till about end of October. And they had two really good goals, like Corey Hirsch.
00:07:44
Speaker
obviously, you probably remember him and Dale Massan at the time who unfortunately passed away a few years ago, but You just know room for for me and then kind of a I bounced around Everywhere
Playing Overseas & Adapting Styles
00:07:57
Speaker
and it was ah it was probably one of the toughest years I ever had playing hockey throughout that time um And I ended up playing on a team in Bellingham, Washington called the ice Hawks and I guess this is where, you know, perseverance and you never know who's watching. Right. And so you always want to prepare and give yourself the best chance of, you know, advancing or, or, or bringing light to your game or whatever you want to call it. But, uh, the Portland Winter Hawks, because, because back, I was still on camo's blazer's list. They still have me on their list.
00:08:42
Speaker
They came up to Nanaimo and watched us in Bellingham. And we were, again, a pretty bad team. But I think we won, like 2-1. And I had one of those games where I probably stopped 50 or 60 shots. um the next The next day, they traded for me. So um it just goes to show you, like I was so close to just Probably not playing the rest of the year because I'd been on so many other teams um Thinking how's a goalie? How are you gonna make a team in December right as a goalie? Everyone's got their goalies already, but it was I went I remember my first practice in Bellingham the coach said okay get in there and the coach he must have stood six feet away from me and watched me the whole practice and After the a few drills he goes. Yep, you're better than that guy you're playing next game and the next game was the
00:09:35
Speaker
Was the was then an IMO game and I went to Portland the next year and and That year I got drafted by Edmonton. So from basically not knowing if I have a place to play to getting drafted by the Edmonton Oilers all within kind of like a year and a half, you know, it was a it was a it was a crazy crazy time, so um I tell the story to a lot of young goalies all the time just to because I think A lot of you is, oh, it was ah it was a paved path. he just you know It was the next logical step for guys. but no there was for and it's Some guys have it a little bit more paved, I guess. um there's ah you're going to You're going to hit some some speed bumps along the way. right to Whether it's you know there there's too many goalies on a team,
00:10:29
Speaker
Maybe there's ah just someone that doesn't believe in you.
Goaltending Developments & Mentorship
00:10:32
Speaker
But I think the thing that I had most was the belief in myself. so
00:10:40
Speaker
Interesting walking again. Thank you again for coming on the show. Much appreciated. I think you kind of answered this question a little bit, so I'm going to see if I can word it differently.
00:10:50
Speaker
um
00:10:53
Speaker
What do you think realistically like helped you to be successful in your career in becoming and ah and becoming a pro goalie with the Edmonton Oilers? And I hear this a lot, particularly when I listen to the Engle podcast, and I feel like it's probably the same with you. like Was there at around your time playing, was there really any goalie coaching or like anybody that you kind of could bounce ideas off of or kind of, you know, have somebody else to talk to me like you were just telling us with the EST, you know, you're kind of the only goalie on on the team, their headiest among forwards and defencemen and whatnot. So kind of isolated in that position. I can't imagine that probably around those years when you were playing early, you were kind of it's just kind of you and your goalie partner and that's it.
00:11:38
Speaker
Yeah, it was ah it was a completely different time back then. There was not a lot of help with with goalie coaches. i don't I mean, if you look back, I don't even think and NHL teams had goalie coaches. um And really, the the relationship, and I don't know, maybe it's changed a little bit, but that there's always competition. No matter if there's a there's a for sure number one and a backup, there's there's always goalie competition. right And I think back then, we were It depended on the relationship you had with your partner, but for the most part, you you kind of kept your your cards close to the chest a little bit, right? You would watch the other guy play and you go, okay, well, that was pretty cool what he did there. That's that's impressive. And then you go, well, I would have stopped that one. you know and so But yeah I never, I mean, I had good relationships with a lot of these guys, but we never really sat down and and and broke down games about what to do here. there was
00:12:38
Speaker
There was subtle reminders, I guess, for when I got to the pros when I had as a younger goalie that they would give me little tidbits of advice, but not not too much because they're they're still the big ducks, right? um But yeah, they i didn't I didn't really I had one good coach that came when I was in when i was in the minors with Edmonton. His name was Dave Prior and I think he worked with the, well he worked with the Capitals and he also worked with the Vegas Golden Knights for a while. And he kind of, it was the first time where I got a guy that could kind of refine my game. I was a little bit all over the place ah because I could, you know, i i was I was able to jump around and kind of athletic, and but
00:13:24
Speaker
when you get to that level you need to you need to have a more of a strong foundational base of goaltending that that won't get you to the next level and i just didn't really have that until that's little pieces started to get put together and and figuring things out more um... i had uh... edmonton the first goalie coach i had was actually pete peters so which was which was really funny because uh... he was strong as an ox but He was basically more interested in riding stationary bikes and and standing up on the angles. So is his his his the game had changed too much, I think, for him to be the coach of goaltenders. maybe He was from a different time. and and so But it was there was still a lot of things that I could take from what he what he was trying to put down. um And then I would say the one of the people that had probably the most
Life After Professional Hockey
00:14:21
Speaker
profound
00:14:22
Speaker
um like influence on my career was ah his name's Thomas Magnuson and he was my goalie coach when I played in Sweden um and he was I had a really good relationship with him and we would he would come after games and sit with me and we'd talk about the game and and not just like the the positioning things but you know the the feeling of where where your positioning was and
00:14:54
Speaker
and different points of the game, like how you looked anxious or you looked relaxed. you know And then um essentially the next day we would come up, we would create drills that by looking at the game itself, that would refine movements or things that I would maybe need to work on against different teams, which was actually a lot of fun to do. Because no one, although he was a coach,
00:15:23
Speaker
and i i'm I'm so old that you just kind of listen to your coach, right? That's the school I came from. But that that was the first time that it was a real collaborative effort on both our parts to be better. And looking back, it was probably one of the the the best years I had playing goal. It was so much fun. So you just kind of want to figure it out yourself as you went along.
00:15:51
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't. Yeah, it's not like today. Like I, I mean, I, I coach a little bit, not so much lately, but too busy. But, um, I mean, if I'm, I'm just into Williger and when I walk past, uh, if I'm at the rink and walking past and I see like a goalie school, right. And you see 20 goalies out there, all refining movements. I'm just like, Oh my gosh, that's, that's awesome. I love seeing that. Um, and, and working on.
00:16:19
Speaker
certain movements and certain game type situations for goalies to to refine um because you go to the next sheet ice and some guy's taking a slap shot from the hash marks, right? that's That's just, it's night and day and I just, said and or it hits the glass and it I just cringe when I when i see that and I'm just like, wow, it would be, it would have been great to have something like that back back as a kid for sure.
00:16:46
Speaker
Well, I'm going to say this. Sorry, sorry, Nathan. I keep cutting you off here. I'm just, I'm getting excited. Uh, um, no, I was going to say, well, I obviously know you're too busy and and all that, but I think, I think I speak for Nathan and I here. So I think you're always welcome to be a guest instructor. at true hamton here in admonton Sure.
00:17:09
Speaker
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00:17:39
Speaker
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Media Career & Dual Roles
00:17:53
Speaker
V-I-Z-U-A-L edge dot.com. Yeah. I was just going to, uh, kind of build off of that because, um, like I know.
00:18:05
Speaker
after your kind of and NHL stint here in in Edmonton, you spent quite a few years overseas. um And I know like what I've heard from other players who played overseas, and I don't know if it was like this back when you played, but the European game kind of with the Olympic sized ice surface was a lot more kind of East West and a lot more, you know,
00:18:35
Speaker
passing kind of lateral plays, not as many shots, but you know, a lot more kind of build up to a play. So I'm wondering if, cause you had mentioned that you're an athletic goalie, you could move well and all that stuff. And that's kind of what you relied on. Do you find that the way the game was played overseas kind of in Europe, that it suited your style a little bit better or what do you think about that? That's a good question. I don't think so at first, just because I,
00:19:04
Speaker
like grown up on North American ice, right? And when I first went over there, like I played on Team Canada in 99. So i most of the rinks that we played on were, they were all Olympic size. And depending on the, I found that different countries played differently. um Like Russians were just so skilled based and wanted to challenge you one on one every chance they got right they were all flashy um whereas swedes were more of a puck control game like you'd mentioned like it it's essentially like three on three all the time if they don't see something they like they they retreat back and and re-attack right so there's there's points of the games and a lot of people say they don't like it because of this but
00:19:56
Speaker
Um, the the other, they'll have the puck for five minutes, you know, and it's, it's very difficult when they're that skilled and that good of skaters to get the puck away. Um, finished players I felt were the closest to Canadians, um, dumping and chasing a little bit more grinding style that, that their national team played. So it really all depended on the.
00:20:22
Speaker
What type of players you had on teams, right? um Of course, I played in Germany a lot and that was more of a more of a mixture of everyone. I would say that that was probably as close as you could have gotten to the American League as possible um just because of the influence of North Americans and and and and other players. Swiss guys, again, more skilled. um Lots of skating. They like pretty plays, things like that, so it Essentially, it all depended on where I was playing at the time.
Community Involvement & Networking Advice
00:20:56
Speaker
um But i i I think that it took me a while to figure out how to how to manage teams with puck control and and waiting for opportune times. right Because the North American game was a lot of coming down the wing, letter buck, crash the net, going for rebounds.
00:21:19
Speaker
this was This was a lot more like structured, kind of ah like in in soccer, football, they they have what's called set pieces, right? So you'd see them get into a certain alignment, and then they'd try to execute a play. but Kind of like basketball, I guess, in a way. So that's probably what it took me a while. It did take me a while to get used to it, but when I when i kind of figured it out, it was very enjoyable to play.
00:21:47
Speaker
Do you think like the like the size difference of the ice played a factor at all I must have Could imagine. Oh, yeah. I mean there's just there's so much more room, right? um Tracking players where the danger is coming from um You learn to Where Where you have to be situated in the net for a lot of like you said east-west place right because I mean a shot from the corner the top of circles it's a off to the boards, it's it's a long distance to to the net. So, um much, much different type of type of games for those guys. Yeah. to decide So, yeah, I was just going to say, um just given the change that you've seen, like you kind of mentioned, you know, being at the rink, seeing goalie camps and stuff like that, and and having that welcome change,
00:22:45
Speaker
Um, I'm just curious, like your thoughts on the game today, as opposed to the game that you played, like what are kinda, aside from the obvious, like style differences, what are some of the other differences you noticed? And then also, I guess like, what's, what's the same? Like, I know that the games changed a lot, but there's going to be some things that are kinda, you know, similar across the board. Um,
00:23:14
Speaker
the, I mean the the mental aspect I don't think will ever change like that feeling of being a goalie. that's It doesn't matter what the game what the the evolution of the game. I still think it's fought the same way. um Obviously, equipment is is a huge difference now. It's it's crazy. i ah Years ago, i I bought a new pair of pads.
00:23:38
Speaker
and they It went to the Purolator office and I grabbed these things and they they brought up the box and I picked it up. I almost threw this thing through the roof and I was like, but what? I thought I just ordered one pad and then I took them out and I go, are these road hockey pads? And I actually like used them that night and I was like, geez, this is this is crazy. These are so light and there's nothing to them. um The movement is is is completely different, right? the what it whatever, the reverse V8 or V8, you know, the the way it got goalies set up. And I think that because of the evolution of sticks for guys, um it's ah it's kind of forced in a lot of cases, goalies to be become more blockers than then then goalies that say make saves. And I think there's there's both, obviously. you
00:24:38
Speaker
guys probably watched the game last night. There was there was a lot of instances where both Stuart Skinner and Aiden Hill were blockers, you know, getting in the way, but they also made some some really good saves. I look at the the the rebound on Nooch. Like that was that was an unreal save by Aiden Hill. And then and Stuart Skinner comes back with a great glove save on Thomas Hurdle. Right. So and you have to be able to do both a little bit or have the ability to do both.
00:25:05
Speaker
um But let's face it when a lot of people that that that watch goaltenders and they say he makes a big windmill glove save and ah He makes a makes a second save and you know dives across and they go. Oh my god. That's such a great save, but When you talk to most goalies, they're like, no, I hated that save because, A, I was probably in the wrong position. um I let out a rebound. um the The best games that that I feel good about is when you know half of them are just hitting me in the crest, right? Because then I know that there's usually nothing else to shoot at, and my positioning is sound. So it's ah it's funny to talk to the non-goalie folk of
00:25:47
Speaker
of a good game and bad game when they say, oh, he he played okay. No, he played way more than okay. He just had 25 shots right you know right in sternum. That's a solid night. yeah just that Sorry, Connor. I got one more to slide in here because I know that I had kind of an older school goalie coach when I was growing up and that said because of the gear back in the day, it like hurt.
00:26:16
Speaker
So he said that he would actually bait guys to shoot for the top corner glove side for that big windmill. Is that kind of what you guys did back in the day? Yeah. I mean, if, uh, you know, in practice or something, if my hand hurt or something, I would just step two steps to the left, right? And even if I play men's, like I'll mess with guys, like yeah I'll, I'll stand way over to the side and they see an open side of the net.
00:26:45
Speaker
And they're, their eyes light up and then they look down on the puck to shoot and I just kind of move over. It's me right in the sand. They were like, what what just happened there? Um, but I think there's something to that a little bit. The thing is, I don't know about you guys, but I think a lot of times, I mean, there's, there's some really, there's, there's great goalies in the NHL, but I'm still waiting on a guy to see a guy really, you know, uh, uh,
00:27:13
Speaker
Someone that's going to change the position a little bit. I look at Shastirkin, and he's phenomenal. like he's He's a great blend of you know a blocker and a guy that can that can take goals away. um But I'm wondering if we're going to get that next step, because you see how players shoot the puck now. And most goalies do the exact same thing.
00:27:39
Speaker
like when i played
00:27:42
Speaker
Teams, ah you had to make adjustments to who you were playing against, right? If you're playing against Patrick Waugh, he was big, went down to that butterfly thing. Dominic Hasek, no one knew what he was going to do, right? Kujo sat back in the net a little bit. He was really good with his hands. And, you know, he had to yeah had to keep the puck away from him because he was a good stick handler. So the the cookie cutter of goaltending, like guys don't even, a lot of times when they shoot the puck,
00:28:09
Speaker
They just know that okay, if I'm here, it's a good chance the goal is going down or he's he's in this position and they're just Taking the odds and putting it in a place like I in my day a short side goal was taboo You were you were not supposed to do that So even when I understand it now because the it's it's different how goalies do things But I still cringe when I see something go short side on a guy from a batting
00:28:39
Speaker
Yeah, fair enough there. um Obviously, like after playing in Edmonton and beyond and then coming back to Edmonton, I'm going to gather that you probably have some connections, probably a lot of connections with the goalie community here, especially in Edmonton and Alberta and beyond.
00:28:59
Speaker
And so I'm got i gonna gather that you've probably had a few quite a quite a few conversations with goalie coaches and other goalies in the city and whatnot and probably have picked up on some of the new terminology or just kind of what's happening in the goalie community now compared to when you played back then.
00:29:17
Speaker
So just my question is, is just knowing what you know now in 2024, what do you do you think what we do now with goalies would have helped when you played back with the Oilers and playing over the C's or it's like is there anything that you would change? Or do you think like, no, I was happy with how I was playing back then, just because that's the way the game was played and one wouldn't really want to change anything up about it.
00:29:48
Speaker
Um, again, I think the, the equipment la allowed for goalies to become a little bit more efficient with their movements, you know, um, stats and things have changed the way they goalies play to, to a degree as well. Um, of course I would have, there's a few things that obviously goalies do now that I wish I would have thought about or tried to incorporate in my game. I mean, it was, I remember when.
00:30:19
Speaker
I mean, I would say it was weird because I would say French Canadian goalies were kind of the first ones to, if they went down on a butterfly, they stayed there, right? And then they started moving around in the crease on their knees. That was, again, as as a kid, I was taught, if you go down, year ah your next step is always to get back to your feet, right? So, but it is it is far more efficient if, for for close in plays, right? That you're taking away the the bottom part of that net. I mean, you watch old game films and see goalies get back up and if they just would have stayed in position, right? It's, it I think what, again, the equipment and has allowed goalies to be a little bit more patient with their positioning and letting the puck come to them a little bit more. um And I, you know, as i as I got older and things were changing,
00:31:13
Speaker
I changed my game to to to try to do to incorporate these things, but it gets to a certain point when time does pass you by.
00:31:23
Speaker
Fair enough. So transitioning away from hockey then because um one thing I think a lot of just players in general and athletes in general don't really take into account is what to do after like once you've kind of hung up the skates or whatever it is that you're hanging up.
00:31:47
Speaker
um Having a plan, I guess, or kind of an approach for life beyond hockey, beyond sports. um So obviously now, like you do a lot of media stuff, you're a financial advisor and all of that. um When you came out of hockey, did you kind of have an idea of what you wanted to do or how was that kind of transition from, you know,
00:32:14
Speaker
being a pro hockey player to now kind of being like, well, I guess I got to hit the real world now and go on that route. Yeah, it's, uh, I mean, I, you you know, it's coming to an end at one point, right? And I, I probably could have squeezed it out a few more years, but, um, I think that, you know, I had a wife, a kid and we were going to have her second. So, um, what did I want to do? Did I want to be jumping all around Europe or?
00:32:43
Speaker
you know providing kind of a stable home base here. in it man my I met my wife here so um and again with the connections that I'd made playing through Edmonton and relationships it was it was a no-brainer to drop anchor here. um It's interesting now with the new regulations of um Now major junior players can go play in the ncwa, right? There's so many more leagues Right now and there's I mean, let's face it. There's not many jobs in the nhl for goaltenders. There's there's only a few um, and so What I would my advice to kids is is try to get you know some sort of
00:33:35
Speaker
Base or of education and you can use hockey to do that better now than you than you could ever because that will prepare you mostly for for after you're done because If you're if you're fortunate enough like I was to play ah for a long period of time um You come out of hockey thinking you're old like you but you're you really have so much more runway ahead of you, right? You're a young man And it is a little bit daunting to to get out there. You're so used to 20 new friends every year. and it's it's ah it's ah it's ah It's a lot of fun to look forward to these types of things. But um once I would say, like there was a lot of guys, as we got older, you'd see guys taking courses, things like that, getting set up, talking to people. That's what I would recommend. Talk to people that are in workforces or
00:34:31
Speaker
talk to people that are doing something that maybe piques your interest. you want to You don't want to jump into something after playing hockey that you're not going to really enjoy. That's that's not going to work out that well for you. I mean, look, I was i was lucky enough to to meet some people and and and get to where I am now with with a little bit of luck, because I mean, being an ex oiler does have its benefits to it to an extent. um ah My buddies, my close friends always bug me though, now he said you're way more famous now than you were when you played. And but ah look, I'm the the advising thing I i got ah recruited essentially from a guy back East. He yeah he was an old hockey player himself um asked if I wanted to get involved and really
00:35:29
Speaker
I didn't know anything about ah financial planning. I just had to take all my courses and and kind of learn that way and go through QAFP. And I'm now going through my seat going on the path to CFP. um it's a But I enjoy it. and So if you if youre if you're lucky enough to find something that you enjoy, I think that's the that's the big thing. So it it wasn't it wasn't too too, too hard for me. And I have a patient wife, too. So she allowed me to find what I really wanted to do. Yeah. Yeah. I ah recently got married in June of 2024. And so I think my wife, thank you, my wife is still, I think, kind of figuring out the patient side of things when it comes to kind of what we're doing with hockey. And yeah we we just recently opened up our synthetic training facility on this view. That's awesome. I say we. It was more like Nathan did all the heavy lifting. but um
00:36:29
Speaker
But beyond that, yeah, I know. I think she's still figuring out a little little bit with that. I know Jess has been, Jayden, Nathan, your your wife. I know Jess has just been phenomenal, just kind of with supporting you and and and doing all that. So I love Jess. She's a beauty. Joaquin, I'm going to talk for a little bit here, so I apologize. I guess first off, just because you had mentioned that you were going for your QA, it was a QAFP.
00:36:51
Speaker
You said yeah yeah, and then what was the other one was like see if it's CFP Yeah, so just what are those I'm more so just curious for my own say what's what what are what are those? What what is it's just two designations for financial planners? um They're essentially just lit little letters that you put beside your name um but with with anything it's credibility right you you have the It's just like the paper of finishing university or something. It shows that you you put in the work and the time to achieve something. Interesting. um So I know that we were talking about it. I think you and Nathan were talking about it before I jumped in here. um You're pretty well known here in Edmonton.
00:37:39
Speaker
not only for playing for the Oilers, but particularly with TSN 1260 as well as Edmonton Sports Talk. I tune in with you guys here and there. Like I said, I was listening to you rant and rave about Oilers fans and zer skinner and the one-nothing goal, but we're not going to get into on that. I feel like you talked enough about that.
00:37:56
Speaker
um so how did how So how did you get your start in media and how did you kind of get to know Dustin Nielsen, Lieutenant Eric, and all those guys at 1260 and transitioning to EST? um It's kind of funny because my a friend of mine, who I played with on Team Canada, he was working at 1260 at the time to selling time, basically, I think. He was in advertising.
00:38:24
Speaker
um so I I heard him talk and I and He was actually doing some I think some Bears games he was doing some some color commenting of the Bears and I went to a Bears game and I ran into dusty and I just introduced myself and said hey is Kent here whatever and so we talked a bit and I I want to say I think it was like the next day I ran into him again at Canadian Tire and So we were kind of laughing and I'm so I'm stalking you you're stalking me, whatever
00:38:55
Speaker
And then he says, Dusty goes, well, you should come on the show. I go, really? He goes, yeah, sure. Why not? He goes, sure. And then he texted me and said, and this is way back when it's at 1260. And he goes, yeah, come in this day. um We'll just do a hit. But I had listened to Howard Stern all the time. and And I was like, this will be cool. Like, I'd love to just go in and see how the radio works, right? So um the show started at six. I was probably there you know at six, and I was like,
00:39:24
Speaker
Dustin's like, what are you doing here? You're you're not going on till whatever eight. And I go, no, I just thought I'd sit and and watch. Is that okay? He goes, yeah, sure. So he kind of showed me how everything works and the mute button, cough, but whatever. And so I was just sitting there and then he asked me a question. And so I answered it and ended up just being on the show the whole day. And ah that was funny because Dave Jamison came in and, uh,
00:39:53
Speaker
Dave goes, this is great. You got to do this all the time. And if you know Dave, it's pretty funny. And so I just kind of came on here and there and stuff. And I thought about it. And it was kind of, it was it was fun, essentially, like being on the radio, whatever. It's kind of fun. So Dusty would give me a call and say, hey, you want to come on? And I would just i would kind of just say yes. And then um I guess when it really, really hit the where I started to do way more. The first round of cuts from Bell Media across Canada, they they cut a bunch of sports radio shows. The Edmonton was still they'd survived that that initial cut. And Dusty gave me a call again a couple of days later and goes, hey, I got to I got to start developing a backup plan. And do you want to start doing a podcast? And that's how we started two guys in a goalie. And now we're whatever. I think we're close to 500 episodes, actually.
00:40:52
Speaker
Um, that was pre-COVID. Um, and, um, you know, we're, we're just kind of doing this podcast thing and, and everything's going well. And then when COVID hit, and I remember the the day that it happened, cause it was January 6th, the insurrection in the, in the U S and I was on the phone with my buddy talking to him and I was like, can you believe what's happened in the U S is crazy. And I got a call, it was a 416 area code number. Then I was from Toronto. So I think it's my buddy.
00:41:22
Speaker
And he left a message, which was weird. So after I was talking to with my friend, I called him back. And it said, hey, this is Rob Corte from SportsNet. um I just want to see if you were interested in doing some some games with Gene on the panel this year. Because of COVID and they weren't, no one was traveling, right? Me being me, I thought it was my buddy back home messing with me. So I phoned this number back, said, yeah, nice one.
00:41:51
Speaker
good Yeah, I thought it was Turan Samwith from GS Construction. Hey, Turan, yeah, nice one. And I go, no, it's Rob. And I go, yeah, whatever. He goes, no, really, it's Rob. And I'm like, jeez, this guy's really playing this up. I think it actually is this guy. So I'm like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. He goes, no, no, it's OK. Would you be interested in doing that going on TV? And I was like, yeah, sure. And I said it. And OK, Gene, I'll get in touch with you soon. And I hung up the phone. And then right when I hung up the phone, I go, what did I just say yes to? Like, am I going on TV really?
00:42:20
Speaker
And, uh, yeah, so it, it kinda, it kinda worked out there. They had a, they had a bunch of guys kind of trying out and and seeing how it worked. Um, obviously Strudy's a master at it. And, uh, and I think, uh, you'll probably see Mac T on there too. He's just, uh, he tries to escape the ah winter a little bit and then is in San Diego right now. But, um, yeah, Gene keeps asking, asking me to come back and stuff. So yeah, that was basically it. And then.
00:42:49
Speaker
Dusty, ah after the first year of ah Edmonton Sports Talk, ah they were looking to expand um because they were just going from six to one, right? They were they were looking for some afternoon programming. And it was another kind of funny thing because Dusty If you've ever met him, he's the nicest guy ever, right? So he goes, Joaquin, can I come into the office here? I need to talk to you. I'm like, Jesus, how do I get fired from this? And and so he says, hey, we're what do you think of maybe doing a show one to three? And I go, geez, let me talk to my wife. I came home. My wife goes, yes, do it. And so, yeah, I mean, I'm busy because I essentially have two jobs now, but
00:43:32
Speaker
um what goes with financial planning, a a lot of it's prospecting and trying to find new clients, right? So I find that like I run some commercials on EST and stuff. So that kind of takes care of a little bit of my prospecting of of getting new clients. And talking sports for a couple hours is probably something I do anyway with my buddies. So it worked out well.
00:43:56
Speaker
Yeah, I know that's like even um because this will be I think our 36th episode weekly and yeah, it's just uh You know, you almost get worried about running out of things to talk about and yet they just keep coming. They just keep coming. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's kind of a cool experience and the people you get to talk to and meet too. Like, uh, it's, it's awesome, but I'm curious, um, because you see a lot of ah guys transition once they've kind of ended their career to being like an analyst or a color guy or something like that. Um, do you think that, uh,
00:44:35
Speaker
Like there's a certain personality that, uh, that really goes well with that transition or, uh, yeah. I mean, you're, you're probably not going to see like John Tavares be a broadcaster, right? Like just certain. And like I, I grew up, I mean, Louie was here. My first Louie debrusco was here. My first, uh, a rookie camp. He was, he had just got traded from the Rangers, I believe at that point. And.
00:45:04
Speaker
this guy, I mean, he'll never shut up, right? He'll just keep going. So if you were to meet Struddy, it would, back in the day, like, has this guy ever stopped talking? You know, they just, they have a gift of, of not only speaking in a certain way, but being, I have a lot of, they're, they're both very charismatic people, right? If you ever see louie in the wilder or strutty there's usually two or three people talking to him it seems like all the time right so uh... you can kinda tell it's a it's a it's a certain personality think i think i'm find myself somewhere in the middle i was never shy to talk to someone right i and i i mean probably some of my interviews were a little bit stale back in the day and i probably said give it a hundred and ten percent get the puck deep and hopefully we win or whatever but uh...
00:45:58
Speaker
and Yeah, I know it's uh, there's definitely certain guys are are cut out for it um And and that's what you see i Like the gas deck great guy be exa from I've never met him But I hear is one of the funniest guys you've ever met right? So it's just that that type of person Was it like I guess suppose like when you first started particularly with 1260 and like obviously people are more like some people are camera shy some people aren't some people aren't comfortable behind the mic some people are I obviously am not one of those guys that is not that that is completely comfortable behind the mic so when so from when you first started at 1260 and doing the hit with dusty to where to where you are now do you find like
00:46:49
Speaker
at like when you started like, like, I'm not sure about this, like even like with SportsNet, too. Right. So I was like, I'm not sure about this. i I don't know if I'm comfortable with it. And then just like this, like the the comfortability level grow as as you continue doing it. The imposter syndrome. Yeah. Yeah. I think in anything you do, and I i don't want this to sound too arrogant, but but a little bit of not caring too much kind of helps, you know, like.
00:47:16
Speaker
it's Okay, if you mess up or you know if you go in just all stiff and trust me like I was I was scared to death on on Sportsnet because TV is a little bit different. It's it's a lot quicker, right? There's someone in your ear talking. It's a it's a completely different vibe and to try to get something that's somewhat sound somewhat intelligent in that small little time frame is ah you know and being engaging and maybe say something that that maybe people haven't heard before or what they want to hear, that's hard. um Radio, a little bit different, right? You can, I find it gives you a little bit more time to to kind of gather your thoughts and and express them in a way that, or deliver them in a way that people can absorb it better, if that if that makes sense. So, two really different different worlds from from my experience, too. Both fun, both really fun.
00:48:12
Speaker
Um, but, um, yeah, it's, uh, I think it's funny when you see, uh, uh, a radio guy i get go to T to the television right away, because he probably talks too long because i'm not afraid yeah people are long winded. Whereas on TV, you gotta be quick and and concise. Yeah. So just, um, obviously like, I don't know how it is with other teams, but, um,
00:48:40
Speaker
around here, like there's a lot of involvement with the Euler's alumni. There's a lot of, you know, kind of involvement with the Edmonton Euler's community foundation and all of that stuff that the organization has. So are you able to kind of tell us about some of the stuff that you you get to do as a part of the alumni and kind of some of the the charity work that you guys get to do as well with the the community foundation and and all of that good stuff?
00:49:06
Speaker
No, yeah, they we do tons of stuff. it's It's almost I don't think I could name all the different um charities would like there's the first shift program with young kids that I've done in the past. um You know, for the most part, I would say ah most of it happens in the in the offseason um where, you know, we go up to Cold Lake or Slave Lake and do a do a hockey school or a tournament up there and or things or a charity golf.
00:49:36
Speaker
In a location where you know, we raise some money for the for the town and things like that. So um There's no shortage of of things that the but the Oilers and the alumni group we do but and then in-game things like you if you go to games you see the ah the Presenting of the jersey to the soldier and and things like that and stuff. But yeah, I When I have time and when they ask, I i try to try to make myself available as much as possible for to go to the read-in week with kids, things like that, right? So um if my if my schedule permits, I definitely take part in all those things.
00:50:23
Speaker
just coming to the tail end here and it's it's been a fantastic conversation having you here. um Just what would be one one piece of advice that you would have for all the goalies currently playing out there and as well as any kind of advice or what would you say to a U18 goalie that's coming into their last year of junior? No, sorry, not U18, U20, sorry, U21 or whatever it is.
00:50:47
Speaker
um And just coming out like their last last year junior last year playing minor hockey and transitioning into the real world um Yeah, I mean it it depends what your goals are is it to to continue playing or not? For older guys i I Now again, and I don't know the rules ah Exactly what they are but um I always say it's it's always great to to be at a Canadian University you sports are are tremendous. like the The level of hockey is is really high. um it's Unfortunately, I don't think they they they get enough eyes on it to appreciate it as much. But to go that route, maybe it's a walk on to ah to a university.
00:51:35
Speaker
and and you just It's difficult, but it's happened before where um you can progress in your career. um and I know that going to Europe is is a little bit more difficult than it was back when I played, but um so many guys that I saw back in my day were were finishing university and and then seeing. Well, you know what? let's Let's take this hockey thing and play you know professionally somewhere, if they can if they can find a spot to to to get to. But what I would say for those young guys that
00:52:12
Speaker
um probably don't have representation or something like that. Call the GM. Internet's a great thing. right um There was one instance one year where i I left messages with five GMs of NHL teams, seeing if if I could attend one of their camps. um And no one got back to me except for one, and it was Bob Ganey. And i I remember my my mom saying,
00:52:42
Speaker
Joaquin, Bob Gainey's on the phone. I think my dad almost had a heart attack. Right. And so I, I talked to Bob Gainey and he was just completely honest. And he was saying, yeah, we've, uh, we, we, we've looked at you. We, we had some, you know, we've asked some scouts ah and he just said, unfortunately he was a debt with Dallas at the time. And, uh, he said, we just, uh, we have too many goalies. Like it would, we, we'd invite you to camp, but it would be pointless because.
00:53:08
Speaker
these all these guys are in the contract. right So it was it's it's always good to get a yes or a no than a maybe. So get those answers if you're older. And and it it's tough. Your first phone call is going to be very tough, and you're probably going to stumble over your words, but write out a script, say what you want to say, practice it, and and and and try it that way. Because I guarantee you. i 100% stamp of approval. A general manager of a professional hockey team or a university team would much rather talk to the player than he would a parent or a agent or something like that and you'll get a straight answer from them.
00:53:54
Speaker
Yeah, that's ah that's on our list at some point as a segment to tackle on one of our episodes is the the power of networking, especially when it comes to how small the hockey and goalie communities are yeah and just kind of the opportunities that come from that. um And just to build off of your kind of point about education too. Like me personally, I played my last two years at Nate and um ended up getting more back in scholarships than my tuition costs. So technically, you know, quote unquote got paid to go to school, right? Yeah. So
00:54:38
Speaker
um It's definitely something like, I know everybody wants to hit the NHL, but you look at the the percentages of of how likely that is to happen, just being able to shoot for something like getting an education out out of hockey, even if it's only half paid for at least that.
00:54:56
Speaker
really technically Yeah, I think that's definitely a good thing for young ghoulies to consider. Gager, thanks a bunch for coming on with us. Where can people find you, follow you, all of that good stuff if they want to learn more about you. Yeah, um obviously one to three at EST Afternoons with myself and Hernan Salas. We have a little little sports show.
00:55:23
Speaker
um and ah um on Twitter, I believe it's JoaquinGage31 or X. um And if you if you are looking for any sort of financial planning advice or anything looking for debt elimination, some investment strategies, risk management, um feel free to email me at Joaquin.Gage at k4financial.ca.
00:55:49
Speaker
Yeah, we'll have all that have all that and show notes there to link to your Twitter, EST and EST openings with you and Salish as well as K4 Financial there as well. Joaquin, you have no idea how excited I was for this interview. I was i was honestly raving about it to Nathan. I was like, Man, I managed to pull a walking gauge. This is a great day. Oh, I've heard in the last week. no ah Awesome. yeah yeah you you have You have no idea how excited I how excited i am to do that du to get you on here. Well, I have to come out and see your facility one time. Oh, absolutely. great Absolutely. We want to have more than happy to to have you out. um Again, thank you for coming on. Much appreciated. Would absolutely love to have you back. um But that'll kind of wrap at us wrap it up for for us here today on the DIY Goalie podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, as always, you can follow us on our social media platforms over on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and I think we're on Twitter, too. I keep having to ask this question. but
00:56:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's probably the least busy of our platforms. yeah yeah but know You can follow us all now on all your favorite social media platforms at the diygoli.com. You can also follow our in-person goalie school here in the Edmonton area at true north goaltending on all of the social media platforms except for Instagram. That one is at YEG goalie coach. Everybody can also follow myself over on Instagram as well. I'm slowly starting to post a little more goalie content.
00:57:24
Speaker
at Monday GC over there as well. Nathan, any final thoughts? Joaquin, any final thoughts or anything? No, guys, thanks. that was ah That was a lot of fun. um I'm sure we'll see each other down the road. Yeah, don't forget to leave us a review and a rating and to share the show with your friends. Yeah, always on Spotify, iHeartRadio.
00:57:46
Speaker
spot Apple podcasts ah Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for watching on your son your podcast platforms Thanks so much for watching us over on YouTube. Make sure you give us a like subscribe as well. Make some saves goalies We'll see you guys next time