Nick Paul made his National Hockey League debut in February 2016 with the Ottawa Senators. The Natives again entered the American Hockey League and failed to make the Sens’ opening night roster for the fifth year in a row. He only had 56 NHL games on his resume.
In the 2017-18 season, he only played one game, so his inability to stick with his parent club sometimes hit hard. But it provided many valuable life lessons in Paul’s career.
After last week’s morning skate at Amalie Arena, he said: “There were times when I was really depressed. That’s what I did.”
Talking openly about one’s anxieties and struggles serves as the foundation behind Paul’s relationship with the Crisis Center in Tampa Bay. A platform to support health initiatives.
Acquired from Ottawa by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2022 trade deadline, Paul began raising mental health awareness as a 17-year-old high school student as a member of the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League after the death of a friend.
“He was perfectly normal and joking,” he said, recalling his friend. There were no signs, but he was going through a mental health battle like no one else, and it must have been really, really hard for him to go through it alone. .
Paul was not going to sit on the sidelines. Rather, he wanted to do something to help those in need.
“That was what hit me. I wanted to raise awareness and show people that it’s okay to talk to people if you’re going through something alone,” said the 27-year-old forward. “People are not here to let you down. People are here to lift you up.”
After becoming a regular with the Senators, Paul continued to play a role in supporting others, through which ‘Points by Paul’ was launched. At Lightning, starting January 1, Paul has been donating $150 for every point he scores, and will continue to do so throughout his regular season.
“It’s moving people’s hearts and seeing people talk and share their stories is definitely a big step in the right direction,” he said of his career-high 17th of the season. “It feels good,” said Paul, who scored the goal.
Such values were instilled in young Paul by his parents, Melinda and Elwood. Listening and caring for others is a byproduct of a loving home that appreciates such traits.
“My parents always emphasized being respectful and being there for others.” If you do, be sure to step in. It’s easy to be a bystander, but it’s hard to be a bystander and put yourself in a position to help others when someone is in trouble. , whatever the circumstances. They always instilled it in me. That’s definitely how they raised me and my (two) brothers.”
While no age group is immune to mental health, Paul directs much of his platform to young people who, unlike other generations, are and continue to be affected by peer pressure. I’m here.
“I try to focus specifically on young people’s mental health because they’re the generation where everything is online,” he said. , Twitter, TikTok, and other apps, it’s hard to get out of it at times, so I feel it’s very important to focus on youth and mental health.”
The emotional impact is immense, as it is difficult for many young people to leave what they are reading or listening to on social media platforms. The peaks are sky-high and the valleys are bottomless pits. Understanding how to navigate the emotional roller coaster makes Paul’s efforts stand out.
“To truly appreciate the highs, you need the lows,” he said. “We can be as prepared as we can be for difficult times, but when they come in, sometimes we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Understanding the big picture is like, ‘It’s not a good time now, but if you take these steps, talk to this person, put these goals forward, you’ll be a little bit better. We can start one by one.”
That effort to reach out, ask for help, and start scraping could lead to a much better place.
“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and the next thing you know, you’re out of there and you’re in a great space,” Paul said. “That’s life, isn’t it? It’s ups and downs, and you have to be able to ride highs and lows without being too high or too low.”
Paul has managed it very well throughout his career and continues to help others do the same.
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