The Gospel In The Game Sports Podcast
Conversation and stories about real athletes and the journey thru sport, faith and life.
Connecting athletes, sports families and the church. Build bridges and telling real stories to help repair, build and grow people.
Hosts Dan Dromarsky and Dave Dawson
The Gospel In The Game Sports Podcast
Lukas Renaud - From Rock Bottom to Centennial Cup
For championship goaltender Lukas Renaud, the journey from rock bottom to hoisting the Centennial Cup with the Calgary Canucks reveals something far more profound than athletic achievement. Through cross-continent travels and career uncertainty, Lukas discovered that reconnecting with his faith transformed not just his performance between the pipes, but his entire approach to life.
"Boys, we already won the day—everyone in this locker room got out of bed on their two feet." This pre-game ritual Lukas shared with teammates captures the refreshing perspective that carried him through triumphs and tribulations alike. When playing time disappeared during what he calls his "rock bottom" season, an old journal reminded him of when his spiritual life and athletic performance were both thriving. That realization sparked a recommitment that would ultimately lead to championship glory.
The most powerful moment comes when Lukas, despite his young age, articulates his vision for legacy. Rather than hockey accolades, he hopes people will remember his loyalty, character, and faith—"I don't even want the word hockey to come up." His practice of reciting Philippians 4:13 during national anthems and praying not for outcomes but for "strength and courage to do things necessary" reflects a spiritual maturity that transcends sports. Just days after securing his Division I commitment to Long Island University, Lukas reminds us that faith isn't just compatible with competitive athletics—it might be the missing ingredient for those seeking purpose beyond the scoreboard.
Listen as Lukas shares how journaling, scripture, and maintaining perspective transformed his hockey journey and prepared him for what's next. What might change in your own performance if you approached each day with gratitude rather than pressure?
Lucas Renault pancakes or French toast pancakes real, what wait? Aren't you like like didn't? At one point in your life weren't you in Montreal?
Speaker 2:yeah, until about five years old. My mom would probably kill me for saying that answer, but I got to go with pancakes.
Speaker 1:Well, that's good. We wouldn't want anyone's mom to kill them today, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've often, sometimes gone to pancakes or waffles, but yes, french toast. Is that leftover, not the leftover option? It's still so good. Why doesn't that always go to the forefront of the mind? Pancakes is still a good one, you'd never have leftover French bread.
Speaker 2:It's true, If you said pancakes or crepes, I probably would have went crepes.
Speaker 1:But oh yeah, crepes for the win. Crepes for the win.
Speaker 3:The guy with the dairy allergy goes. I'll just take buttered bread toast.
Speaker 1:You are listening to Dave Dawson and Dan Dramarski and this is the Gospel in the Game sports podcast.
Speaker 3:Dave Dawson. Dan Dramarski is with us as well. Lucas Renaud, we are joined by, who is a recent Centennial Cup champion those of you who are maybe listening unfamiliar with the sport of hockey it's the National Junior A Championship. Lucas and I met through the AJHL season. He won with the Calgary Canucks on home ice in Calgary. Now, lucas, how has the celebration been in the summer? Because that's a pretty cool experience, not only to win a championship, but to win as the host on the home ice of the event.
Speaker 2:Yeah, obviously it was really special. Couldn't have drawn it up any better. But um, celebration was good for about a week or so. It was great to spend time with my bill of family and teammates in calgary and we got we got treated like royalty there, uh, spoiled by our ownership group and everything. So it was great to enjoy, um, some good weather in Calgary to end off the year on a high note. But then for me the work just started right back up again, got back home and didn't really take a break. My trainer was laughing because I was actually in the weight room like two days after landing back in Florida around May 28th. So it was a pretty quick turnaround. But it's what I love to do. I love to work hard and it's been a really good summer for me. I think I've made good strides.
Speaker 3:And now recently committed to Long Island University Division I as well. How exciting is that for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Obviously it's a little late, but I was super thrilled to get an opportunity to get my foot in the door there at that next level and I'm really excited to get going with the boys there in Long Island.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it seems like a faraway place to play, but we're going to go to that question about your world travels here shortly. But if you could describe yourself, lucas, in maybe I don't know 20 seconds or so, what would the Wikipedia of you describe yourself as?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I'm a really ambitious, driven individual that will do absolutely whatever it takes to succeed and I'm really rooted strongly in my Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. And yeah, like I said, I think I'm a great teammate. I push my teammates every day in practice and I really enjoy putting in the work and playing hockey with my friends.
Speaker 3:Now, lucas, we've had other guests on in the past that are playing hockey. They talked about hockey culture a little bit different for maybe those who are listening down in the US of A, where baseball, football there's a lot of faith saturated in that. What has your journey been like, incorporating your faith into the sport of hockey?
Speaker 2:Yeah, obviously, obviously growing up in Florida, like you said, southern US is very old school and religious, which is awesome, and I was fortunate to be placed into a private Baptist school for most of my elementary and middle school and then this year I really reconnected with the Lord stronger than ever. I worked with our team chaplain in Calgary, Tyson McCombs, and we had a lot of really that. Uh really gave me a lot of mental strength and stability in my life. That for sure helped me on the ice. Uh lead to the success that we've talked about.
Speaker 1:Now, leading up to this success, you've played for a few different places. In fact, you have covered North America. Are you part of a frequent flyer club or maybe like collecting some miles somewhere? Tell us a little bit, give us a little bit of history of your travel adventures in hockey.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, like I mentioned, growing up in Florida, I love it here, great spot. But it gets to the point where if you want to reach the next level, you kind of got to get out of here for exposure point where if you want to reach the next level, you kind of got to get out of here for exposure. So when I was 15, 16 years old, I headed up to prep school in Connecticut to really develop there and play with better level players. And then from there things happened.
Speaker 2:Hockey World's, a small world Connections Networking, brought me to Chicago for my senior year of high school, where I had a very good year, and then I signed my first junior contract with the Cowichan Capitals in British Columbia, which is a league that I really wanted to play in. So that was a great year for me, getting 30 games, my rookie year and putting up pretty good numbers. And then, yeah, just a bit of a mishap kind of some crazy stuff happening brought me to White Court where I was grateful for the opportunity there, developed there a good amount, and then my rights got traded to Calgary for my 20-year-old season, where I was super happy to go and play for Coach Brad there and be able to host a national championship and end up winning it. So it's been a crazy, crazy life journey, but I'm super blessed and fortunate for all and I've met some great people, been to some great cities, and I mean these friends that I make in every city. They're their brothers for life and they'll all be at my wedding someday, so it's awesome.
Speaker 3:Take me into that journey of going from team to team, league to league, city to to city, and I know some guys who have gone through that. I mean, I I don't know you that well yet, but I've got to know you enough that I'd watch you in and amongst your group and go there's a guy who's pretty positive, right, he's a. He's a pretty positive guy. So what's that process like as you're navigating life and faith and all those things and moving often for your career?
Speaker 2:yeah, absolutely. I mean, uh, it comes with a lot of stress and anxiety, and I think good people skills go a long way when you transition cities and teams like this. But, like I said, it's it's nothing that I can't handle and it's made me into the human that I am today and the strong individual that I am today, and you just got to have a glass half full mentality right. Wherever you go, you just have to be a firm believer that this is where the Lord wants you right now and everything happens for a reason. So that's what I try doing and I think it's benefited me really well so far.
Speaker 1:That glass half full mentality. I really like that quote. It seems like a lot of players and a lot of people in general have the glass half empty mentality. What has helped you develop that approach to life and sport?
Speaker 2:Yeah, obviously, like I said just this year, reconnecting with the lord, like you just start to realize that life is just so much bigger than hockey and that just the fact that we're here today is such a blessing. And, like I, I had a saying with my teammates this year in locker room before every game. I would say boys, we already won the day. Everyone in this locker room got out of bed on their two feet. So that's, that's something that we did today that some others might not have been able to do. So just to be able to do what we do is unbelievable. Like we're not in school, we're not working, we're just playing hockey all day in Western Canada and it's a blessing. So how can you not be positive you know what I mean when there's some individuals that are battling for their lives right now or battling cancer? You know it's all about perspective and realizing that life is so much bigger than hockey.
Speaker 3:What are some of the influences that have helped you build your faith over the years? You had mentioned coming from a great family as well. Take me into that process of developing and growing your faith as part of the identity, to make you who you are and to be able to encounter and attack your day-to-day life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, I can't go without saying my mom and dad. Like Natalie and Serge, they've been instrumental. They've raised me to a Christian school and learn about the Bible, learn about gospel and faith and all the stories in the Bible. So at a young age it's always good to instill in a young child. And then, like I said last year in white court, I'd say I hit rock bottom.
Speaker 2:It was a really difficult year for me personally, just feeling a little homesick and not getting the playing time that I needed, and I was just like, what do I do here? And I just remembered the best days in my hockey years when I was around 12, 13 years old and what was going right for me at the time. And I connected the dots and I realized that that that's when I was most religious. You know, that's when I was uh, how can I say? That's when I was my strongest Christian self. You know like praying multiple times a day, reading scripture and um, doing all that stuff. So I reverted back to the good lord and it really helped my my mind game and this year in Calgary was just really good year for me we that, often not just from hockey players and athletes, but people in general.
Speaker 1:At the end of the day, we were people before we were players. Hear about that. Coming back to what worked, and often the formula is exactly what you said time in God's word, time in prayer, time with other believers. Dave mentioned about other believers in your life and you went back to your parents as a hockey player. How do you come across other Christians, other people that maybe share the same faith and the same thing? How is that obvious to you when you play? Do you notice it right away?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I think there's some sort of humility in just the way they go about themselves and treating others is a big key factor. Obviously, this year my teammates were phenomenal. All great guys. They're all guys. I'd let date my sister, Just all around.
Speaker 1:Wait a second. Are you setting up your sister?
Speaker 2:sister. No, but it just goes to show hockey players are all respectful gentlemen. I like to think. But, like I said, there's always another level that you can reach, just showing compassion and love for others. And, honestly, for me a big thing is wearing my necklace with my cross on it. It's a big way for me to signify to others that I am a practicing Christian and I carry it around with me everywhere I go.
Speaker 3:So Now you talked about early in playing prep school where things kind of worked out for you. You ended up in another opportunity going from Connecticut to Chicago and then across. Can you think of maybe different times you were praying for something and the Lord just blew your mind and maybe I love the scripture that says he'll provide incredibly more than we can ever ask or imagine. What was your prayer life like and how did the Lord kind of open up opportunities? Because I don't want to frame it in a way like this that I think there are many people if they're listening to this that aren't overly familiar with the faith. They think, lord, I'm praying for a million dollars. Yeah, you gave me a hundred thousand. That's so great. You came through like maybe just from a faith side of like lord, I need this and I trust you're going to provide this. So can you take me back in any situation like that that you were calling on the lord and he showed up for you?
Speaker 2:yeah, absolutely. I think growing up for me big thing was caring way too much about what other people think and not staying true to myself. So growing up I always wanted to play, you know, in the know, in the big leagues and the USHL or the uh, I can't say WHL, cause I always wanted to go to the school route, but I always wanted to play in the USHL for the best team and go to the biggest university and all that. But then I started getting cut from teams here and there and those are the teams I wanted to play for. And then I realized like, oh, this is exactly where the Lord wants me to be, like everything happens for a reason, because on those teams I maybe wouldn't have developed as I did, or I wouldn't have learned the lessons that I did, or I wouldn't have gone to playing time that I ended up getting in Calgary this year, little things like that.
Speaker 2:And one instance, dave, is this year for me a big thing was playing division one hockey. All year I prayed about it, I manifested it, I manifested it, I wrote it in my journal every night that I was a Division I goalie. It was probably the root of all my anxiety and I prayed to the Lord. Like Lord, if this is what you want for me, make it happen, please. I never asked for the Lord to make things happen. I just asked for him to give me the strength and courage to do things necessary for it to happen.
Speaker 2:And I mean, this summer day was very difficult. I didn't have a scholarship till about 48 hours ago, so I was very stressed and I made my peace with the Lord's plan for me to go to a Division 1 or Division 3 school. And then here we are 48 hours ago I get my first Division 1 offer and I hop on it. So I'm really excited to keep practicing my faith and, uh, who knows, maybe this, this long island university, will be the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm really excited to get going there yeah, it's really interesting thinking back on the last few answers and just part of this conversation.
Speaker 1:uh, we go from hitting rock bottom, lucas. We go from the comment of struggles and stress and going from uh, being to the point where it's like, okay, lord, I'm going to ask you of something, but I'm you're not a genie. It's not like a rubbing a genie lamp and making a wish at the same time. You've given me desires in my heart to want to do something, and that's obvious. But yet, at the same time, I'm going to be happy with what you provide. And what a great kind of walk in stepping stones Cause I think this is the.
Speaker 1:This is a similar path to how a lot of athletes go, where there's ups and downs and it's really hard to just like confidence in what God has in store and what God has planned and, at the same time, carrying that confidence not to rely on yourself and your own way of making your path, but instead trusting that God has a path. So, thinking a little bit about, now you have this path and this opportunity moving forward, is there anything that the Lord has really laid on your heart? Or maybe like down the road you say, like this desire to play Div 1. Is there anything that God has laid on your heart to do with your ability to play hockey? Not just hockey, but has the Lord given you a desire with anything else that maybe we don't know about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but has the Lord given you a desire with anything else that maybe we don't know about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so obviously I have a lot of really good role models and guys I look up to, not only in the hockey world, but like, for example, kirk Cousins and Jalen Hurts are both NFL quarterbacks that I really like to listen to, and there's one saying that Kirk Cousins said Atlanta Falcons quarterback Growing up, he never prayed to play in NFL. Like you said, danny, god's not a genie. He doesn't just grant your wishes, but he only prayed that if the Lord gave him the opportunity to play at that level that he promised to use that platform to spread the word and try to get as many Christians on this planet as possible. And honestly, that's something for me. I'm super thrilled to be at the next level and play Division I hockey, but I'm nowhere near the pinnacle of my career. I feel ways and be the best teammate that I can be and hopefully guys on my team will see something different about him and say, wow, there's something about him, and they'll start asking questions and we can grow our faith together. So I really look forward to it.
Speaker 3:What has sharing your faith looked like in the world of hockey and has chapel programs? Have they helped you navigate that and what does that look like when you're playing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I think, for doing this with you guys right now is huge and I hope this can get out to as many people as possible. And, like I said, this year in Calgary I was really fortunate to work with Mike Berger, the goalie coach, and his goaltending academy, so I was on the ice two, three times, or two three times an hour, or two three hours a week with younger goalies in the Calgary area. Just, you know, just trying to show my love for them and and and mess around and have fun with them and show them that hockey is supposed to be fun and and just be a decent human being. No, and, like I said before, I want people to look at me and say there's something about him that is different than others, and then hopefully, that initiates or sparks a conversation, and I'm always free and I would love to talk about my faith and my Christianity with others.
Speaker 1:Now you talked about spending time with younger goalies. That's great. You know what to be mentored, but also to be a mentor is a huge thing. If you could go back in time and talk to the younger version of yourself as a goalie, what advice would you give the young Lucas?
Speaker 2:So that's a hard-hitting question, Dan. It's a great question.
Speaker 1:Honestly like Because you're such an old man right now, right it's.
Speaker 2:Like before white court, I was kind of immature, you know, like I didn't realize the great opportunity that I had and I thought to myself oh, I have so much time, I still have another two years of juniors before going to college and this and that. But for me, the biggest advice would just be staying in the moment, you know, just um, not dwelling on the past and not looking into the future too much, just staying in the moment and, uh, having fun with hockey, giving it your all and putting your trust and faith in the lord that he has a great plan for you. And usually when you put your faith in the lord and and you work as hard as you can, good things tend to happen. So I'm really glad that it ended up happening for me, because the Lord knows that I worked really hard this year.
Speaker 3:Often what does happen in order for us to change. Sometimes the Lord brings us to the end of ourselves, or we end up getting to the end of ourselves.
Speaker 3:You talked about how difficult white cord was and you talked about being immature. Can you take us into how and when that shifted in white cord, that you had kind of dug back deep in your faith? What was it? Was it a scripture? Was it a situation? Was it an incident? Was it someone you ran into that really allowed you to kind of hit back on stride again and turn the corner?
Speaker 2:yeah. So it was about, I want to say, mid-season. I'd um, I hadn't played very much. Obviously, my partner in white core is very good, ben sure right, he's now at harvard, so I was backing up him. Hadn't played very much. Obviously, my goalie partner in white core is very good, ben Charette. He's now at Harvard, so I was backing up him. Hadn't played in probably over a month.
Speaker 2:And the coach finally gave me a start. Didn't go very well. I was very anxious for that game and I didn't really feel good going into it. And then I got home after that and my mind was racing oh, when's the next time I'm going to get started? Am I going to get traded? Am I going to get cut? All those negative thoughts started flooding.
Speaker 2:And then I just found a journal next to my nightstand with journal entries from years prior and I just started going back and reading. And then I just started realizing that, slowly but surely, going back in time, like I was involving Christianity and faith more and more into my routine, like I went from reading scripture every night and journaling about it and doing my devotions to slowly getting away from it, to not even praying anymore. That's when things started turning for the worse. So for me that was just like like Lord, like I remember praying that day. Like Lord, I have nothing to lose here. I surrender to you, just please, just please, help me out any way you can. And since then I've been doing my devotions every day. I pray multiple times a day and I try to walk a good life of faith, and it's been working really well for me working really well for me.
Speaker 1:I love that answer, going back in time to the journal entries. I coach hockey and one of the things that we started doing was journaling last year, and seeing these kids go back in time to see where they were, even during a season, that's huge, let alone, like you said, years ago. I think there's so much to that and one of the neat things is too, especially when you're involved in God's word, you can look back, and when you come across verses or chapters or stories or parables or events and you look back on scripture, it almost like it reignites that moment. You read it and it was important to you before and you go back to that time and you're like I remember when this was really powerful for me and it was really important. So I think the example that you just said about journaling is like something that I would put exclamation mark all over this when you said that for young and old, because this is testimony not only to God's goodness but also towards when we are faithful to him. We see that the entire time he was faithful to us, absolutely, yeah. And to speak of God's goodness oh man, just gives me goosebumps. Yeah, this is great.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk a little bit about outside of sport, outside a little bit with your faith and your walk and everything else. And we talked about being important to people and being mentors and everything. You're a young guy and I think the Lord's given you some great wisdom and I definitely can see that how he's using you and how he's going to be using you. If you could speak to the life of someone right now who maybe who has experienced that same hopelessness, that same doubt, that same questioning right now, is maybe in a difficult spot. If you could give them a word of encouragement, what would you tell them?
Speaker 2:I would tell them to hang in there, you know, because there's always light at the end of the tunnel and whatever trials or tribulations the Lord may be putting you through, it's only there to make you stronger. And, yeah, I mean, there's nothing that compares to the love that the lord has given us by sacrificing his son, jesus christ, to die for our sins. So, like I said, I mean there's so much more to life than sports and athletics and worldly pleasures. You know it's we're only here for a short amount of time, for a greater purpose, and I think that our time spent on this planet should be, should be, used to honor the Lord and grow our relationship with him and use our free will to our advantage to to really unite with him one day again.
Speaker 1:Oh man, high fives, high five.
Speaker 3:This might be Dan's favorite interview so far. We've had some good ones. So, Lucas, we got some great questions coming up here. It's a rapid fire segment coming up next. But I want to ask you this we talked about going into the past. Take me 10 years into the future. 15 years into the future. What's the legacy that you want to leave? If somebody says, yeah, I met Lucas Renaud down the road, he is this. What do you hope people encounter 10 years down the road when they have been able to interact with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't even want the word hockey to come up. I want me to be remembered as more than a hockey player and just a great teammate, great human being, a guy that does things the right way and is always there for you. I think a word that comes up for me is loyalty. I think that's a really big factor and something that I really pride myself in is being a very loyal individual. So, yeah, I just want to be a good steward of the Lord and all the lessons he teaches us in the Bible every day.
Speaker 1:All right, it's that time. We have rapid fire questions for you. Lucas, we're going to give you a whole bunch of quick questions. We want quick answers. Think on your feet. They're coming from all over the place. Are you ready? I'm ready, let's do it. Okay, if you could play any position in any other sport besides hockey, what sport, what position?
Speaker 3:Not a position. Golfer Okay, we've had that a few times already. Uh, best drive-through spot, quick food in all the places you visited that you would think like I, if I could get on a plane and go back there right now, where would I go?
Speaker 2:chick-fil-a. They just opened one in calgary action fantastic, love me some Chick-fil-A.
Speaker 1:They just opened one in Calgary, actually, fantastic, love me some Chick-fil-A. If you were to go car shopping with me today and we're buying any vehicle on the market any year, any make, any model, it's yours to keep. What are we picking up?
Speaker 2:We're getting a 2025 Mercedes G-Wagon matte black.
Speaker 1:Whoa, you're spending a little bit of my wallet. I can't find my wallet anymore. You said it, dan. Any car you said it. It's gone. Where's my wallet?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're on the hook for that one for sure. What was in your mind one of the defining moments of the Centennial Cup? For you? That was a rollercoaster ride for your team. What was one of the defining moments that you remember?
Speaker 2:I'll never forget the crowd pop when Hayden Fechner, one of my best friends on the team, scored the overtime winner in the semis against Rockland. That was an elite crowd, elite game, probably the most fun I've ever had playing hockey.
Speaker 1:Okay, now it's time to celebrate, since you got my wallet in that G-Wagon incident. Okay, now it's time to celebrate, since you got my wallet in that G-Wagon incident. We're picking up some meat on the way home and we're going to smoke it this weekend. What?
Speaker 2:are we making? Let's get some Wagyu steak.
Speaker 1:No, Whoa Wow, we picking up a Yeti cooler to haul it home in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's got some expensive taste All right. Yeah, sorry boys, as we're doing ballet service for you, dan and I are driving your car around. What will we find in your back seat at any point in time during the year?
Speaker 2:uh, probably hockey stick golf clubs.
Speaker 1:Uh, probably a lot of trash okay, since that g wagon's only getting us like eight miles per gallon, we're stopping at the gas station on the way home. You get two treats, something to drink, something to eat on the way back. What are you picking up at the gas station?
Speaker 2:Yeah, every bus trip this year I'd get the same thing. I'd get some jalapeno beef jerky and I'd have to go Blue Powerade.
Speaker 3:Good choice Get some protein in you. Final question for you, hardest shot you faced in your junior career.
Speaker 2:Hardest shot would be my teammate this year, Alexi Trischuk. In practice, I think he broke my hand four times this year. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Oh well, great Lucas, we're so happy to have you on. We've got two conditions of coming on this show. One is we get to have you back At some point. We're going to have you back and get an update on what the Lord is doing in your life, and I can't wait to hear it because I'm sure the adventure is going to be wonderful. The second thing is we get to pray for you.
Speaker 1:Of course, sure, let's pray, heavenly Father. We pray for Lucas right now and just thank you so much for his willingness to come on the show with us today. Lord, we pray that your hand would be upon him and that he would continue to talk about your faithfulness and how great you are. Lord, we pray that his life would bear testimony on and off the ice and, lord, that you would watch over him and use him for your glory, honor and praise. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 3:Amen, amen. One final question for you, lucas. Leave us with a scripture. There's something that you can encourage athletes, non-athletes with. That has really helped you in this season of your life right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think in times of stress, tyson McComb, as a team chaplain, I worked on this a lot. In times of stress and anxiety, in order to stay in the the moment, you just recite scripture. So uh for me. This year, one thing that I did was, during the national anthem, I'd always recite philippians 413, one of my favorite bible verses, for I can do all things through christ, who strengthens me. I would just repeat it over and over again keep me in the moment and to remind me that there's so much more to life than hockey and this is such a great opportunity that I have today to play the game that I love.
Speaker 1:So that's some great advice that I advise younger goalies to do oh man, if you ever need a wagyu steak, I'll take a second mortgage in order to have you over for dinner oh, thank you so much, guys.
Speaker 3:You guys were awesome and I really appreciate you having me on it's pretty crazy when you think of how young he is and the maturity, what the Lord has brought him through. You know, like a lot of us I think you know especially me speaking on behalf of myself you personally think of like okay, here's a list of trials the Lord got me through. That's how I kind of define my faith by wow. Here's where I am now compared to all these other specific difficulties. But it's interesting. In his journey, all the places he's lived, he's watched the Lord do great things and he just talked to like he's so much wiser than his years show, but but then so humble. The comment especially to about you know, spending as much time in scripture and going back to journaling Like those are like I'm 46. I was like, yeah, I should, I should journal more, like that's a good idea. Like he's 21.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, and it's uh, you talk about the maturity with it, but I think, you know, sometimes people have that element of not just even maturity. I think just he's got a backbone. He's got a backbone of that I think his parents have built into him of here's a foundation. You're going to decide what you choose in regards to your faith, but here's what we believe, without necessarily twisting your arm or forcing it upon you and and him to go back and the Lord obviously working on his heart and being led by the Spirit to go back to the things that worked and realizing that, having that light bulb moment you could hear it in his voice of I knew what I needed to do and the track record was there. I saw when times were good and, like, even when things were difficult, God was, was there. I saw when times were good and like, even when things were difficult, God was still there and it was so great to hear that he had.
Speaker 1:He has a written record of it, Like that, like that's fabulous. Not only is he willing to bear testimony, that's another way to bear testimony. Sometimes I think about that and I think, boy, like if I croaked right now in the spot like someone going through my stuff. What would they find to and what would they figure out? Knowing my relationship with Christ and like journaling is huge. It is so huge. I emphasize this with young players all the time and I've seen it with billets I had. I've seen it with people I I've seen it in this interview and I cannot emphasize it enough. It's a written record of the faithfulness of God and it's huge in a person's life and how powerful is that for the younger generation.
Speaker 3:Let's say your sons, if that did happen, can just open it up and read your heart and then they get to reconnect with you, even when you're gone right. And beyond that. Let's say you live for another 30, 40 years. Your sons can still read that and remember. Oh, I remember when dad slipped and fell on the ice during a drill and you know, his helmet blew off, just hypothetically speaking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it only happened like three days ago.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I remember when you know dad broke a chair in the middle of gospel in the game episode one, in the middle of a rental office. Like, yeah, I can, you can go back and look at those moments and go, yeah, like that. And then share that together right. Like, yeah, journaling is so powerful.
Speaker 1:Well, you know and journaling is so powerful because I think some here's the hesitation that I think a lot of guys have they have that dear diary moment and they say, well, you know, that's a girl thing, it has nothing to do with genders. In fact, it has to do with, like, you're writing down testimony of what has happened in life, what lessons you've learned, but what a keepsake to have. I have four Bibles. I have four children and they are wide margin Bibles and I keep notes. When I speak, I speak out of notes in Scripture, that's it. I don't have anything written out or printed out that I read or anything like that. I just have bullet points. But I have one for each one of my children and one day, when I pass away, each one of them will get a Bible and it will bear testimony of what I have learned through Scripture. You know what, If they want rolls of hockey tape that are left in my office, so be it. They want this. My wrench set in my garage, I don't care. The thing that is most value to me is Scripture and what I'm able to do with it while I'm still living and breathing. And I hear this in a guy that's like half my age, like the kid's, like old enough to be like my kid, and I'm like, wow, you're getting this, You're getting this already. And I remember one time Dave I'll share this quickly as we close I remember meeting with an elderly gentleman that I would get together with once a year because he lived away from me in a whole different country and I would get together with Bible study with him.
Speaker 1:And one time I stopped and I thanked him and I said you know what I'm so thankful for the time you're investing in me, but I'm jealous of you. You're in your late 80s. I'm in my early 20s. I'm jealous that you get to go to heaven before I am. And he stopped and he looked at me and he said no, Daniel, I didn't come to know the Lord until my 40s. You've known him since you were a child. I'm jealous of you because you have so many more years to serve him. I don't. And I was just like taken back by that and like it brings me to tears to this day to think about that.
Speaker 1:Our time is short and to hear a young athlete grasp this idea of caring for others and the souls, the eternal beings of others he cares about above his hockey career Awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so much that he says in 10 years. I don't want people to remember me as a player. I want them to remember me for my faith, the way I treat people, Incredible stuff. If something in this show touched you or you heard an episode in the past that you really enjoyed and there was a comment that you liked, feel free to reach out to us. You can connect with us on social media. Follow us on the gospel and the game Instagram and Twitter or X. You can find us where all podcasts are found and we want to hear, like, subscribe, share and yeah, maybe you can share an episode that you know, somebody who's also a goalie, or a different position.
Speaker 1:Send this one to everyone. You know. Just plain and simple.
Speaker 2:You've been listening to another episode of the Gospel in the Game podcast. We'd love to hear from you. This podcast is listener-supported and would benefit from your feedback.
