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Dave Scatchard would not allow anything to stop him. He was going to play in the NHL, and that was that. 

Time after time Dave’s resolve and commitment was tested. And time after time he answered the bell. 

Like his first season away from home at 16, when he wasn’t being fed, wasn’t being played, and was being bullied by the veteran’s. But he fought the urge to go home and found a way to play in the league. 

Or, when he managed to will his way onto the Portland Winterhawks at 17 and overcome a bout with mono mid-season to finally earn a spot on the top line come playoffs along with a second round selection in the 1994 draft. 

Or when he had heel surgery in the 1997 off-season, not allowing him to skate until 3 weeks before training camp, but he found a way to make the Canucks as 21-year old. 

Dave always showed up and always found a way to go harder than anyone else. 

Following the advice of Tim Hunter, Scatchard left no doubt when it came to his work ethic, his conditioning, or his resolve. And it worked. 

Scatch earned 659 NHL games with the Canucks, Islanders, Bruins, Coyotes, Predators and Blues and he is rightfully proud of every single one of them. A lot of people never thought he’d play a game. 

But play he did, and in 2002-2003 he even outscored Alexei Yashin to lead the Islanders in goals with 27.  

Dave, now a personal high performance coach says “confidence is found in taking action.” At one point in the conversation he even grabs a white board to diagram how every time we expand our comfort zone we expand the belief in our capabilities. Scatchard grew his internal belief system to a point where he believed no obstacle was too high, too strong, or too big. 

Dave tells such detailed stories that we weren’t able to cover everything in this episode. We didn’t even touch on the greatest adversity he faced and eventually overcame – post-concussion syndrome.  

We will save that for Part 2. Until then, be inspired and enjoy part 1 with Dave Scatchard.