Retire, hang up your skates. Every hockey player dreads this inevitable day in their career. For Paul Byron, this day had been planned for some time. Since that day, he realized that the pain he endured in his hips began to bother him even in his daily life as a husband and father. Given the facts, he had the speed to prepare for his post-career career.
“I love hockey, I love being at the rink and I love being here. I knew my time as a player was over, so I asked myself how I could stay in the game,” said Byron, named advisor to the Habs player development team.
Curiously, it was the myriad injuries in the Habs camp that gave Byron the opportunity to explore a side of the game he might enjoy. Since there were not enough seats on the bridge for all of the team’s cripples, Kent Hughes and Geoff Gorton invited the striker to watch the games from the team’s management box.
“There was nothing on the table at that point. I accepted the offer from Kent and Geoff because I was curious about how this side of hockey works,” said the 34-year-old athlete.
An aspect of business that he quickly fell in love with.
“I see the game from a different perspective and can use my experience to help the young people,” said the Ontario native. It’s really fun. There are a lot of young people here. I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my life. I wanted to stay in hockey and continue to work with the team.”
More pain
Byron makes no secret of the fact that it will take some time for him to come to terms with the idea of no longer being on the ice as a hockey player. He also sometimes tries to push the machine a little harder to see how far he can get.
“When I do it, it hurts for a few days,” he said. Also, there are days when it still hurts, but I’ve gotten used to it. And it’s definitely better since I stopped playing. »
In addition to these advisory roles with the Canadian, Byron can now use his free time to help his boy and girlfriend’s coaches. Both develop in the AA atom. In addition, last year he made sure to give them a behind-the-scenes look, often taking them to Brossard and the Bell Center.
“I knew it could be my last year in Montreal, so I wanted to share this experience with them as much as possible. »
“The most beautiful goal of my life”
Now that he’s practically a full-time father and husband, Byron will be able to put his feet up on the beanbag chair and say to himself that he may have scored one of the finest goals of the last fifty years. The shot on his knees, in the first game of the series against the Maple Leafs, in spring 2021.
“It’s the best goal of my life that everyone talks to me about,” Byron admitted with a satisfied smile on his face. This moment is like a dream. It is one of my last pictures as a player, the end of a great career. »
A career that saw him play seven seasons and 383 games for the Habs.
A HEROIC goal from Paul Byron! –
Watch his press conference in the video above.
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