Friends of McGill Hockey Podcast Channel

Allan reminisces and recounts with host Ken Tyler, the experiences, events, mentors and methods, benefits and beliefs from his journeys from Montréal and McGill to today.

Bio: Francois has been the president and CEO of TC Transcontinental since 2008. Francois skated for McGill from 1985 to 1988 before graduating with a science degree in agriculture. Prior to thathe played junior for St. Jean and Verdun and was a draft pick for the Boston Bruins. His former coach, Ken Tyler, described him as “a very responsible up and down winger with good speed and puck skills. He was a terrific teammate and very popular and respected in the dressing room.”

Prior to joining TC Transcontinental, François worked as General Manager of Canada Packers. He is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. He also serves on the boards of directors of CAE, The Conference Board of Canada, the Flexible Packaging Association and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation, in addition to actively supporting Portage. In this regard, in 2018, the non-profit organization paid tribute to him as a distinguished Québec business leader on the occasion of the Soirée des Grands Philanthropes. Furthermore, Francois and his brother Martin recently contributed to create The Francois and Martin Olivier Athletics Award, that provides scholarships for francophone members of the McGill’s men's hockey program.

Show notes:

Favourite time at McGill:

Team building on the trip to Czechoslovakia

Book recommendations:

Good to Great – Jim Collins

Leave No Doubt – Mike Babcock

Quote:

Believe in yourself. Having your mind in the right place and having your head down and working hard can bring you a lot of success.

Advice:

Find people that you trust. Invest in surrounding yourself with the right people. Find mentors to give yourself a sounding board. Avoid isolating yourself. Early in your career keep an open mind to new experiences before choosing your true passion. There are many paths that lead you to where you need to go. Trust in “les bonnes etoiles”

Mentors:

Leadership:

“Any organization will only attain it’s maximum potential by unlocking the potential of each an every individual. Then, if they work together, the potential is multiplied by ‘x’. My job as a leader is to create the environment where everybody can unlock their full potential.”

Resiliency:

You have to believe in yourself no matter what people say. If you feel deep down that you are doing the right thing, then you will come out of whatever slump you are in. In tough moments, don’t isolate yourself. Being resilient is much easier when people are supporting you and giving you advice.

Pressure:

Prepare and work hard. Do the things other people aren’t willing to do. This will help you deal with pressure. When you are able to stay balanced in mind and body, you can go to bed at the end of the day and say “I did everything I could today”. At that point you can disconnect yourself and reset.

Mastery:

When you’re young, mastery is a lot in the eye of what other people say. As you get older, you realize that mastery is internal to you. You feel it when you are at the right place and you have done the right thing. Sometimes you feel like you are close, but you can always do better. When you are close to it, you should take the moments to enjoy it.

Bio:

From Avonlea, Saskatchewan, Prohar graduated from Notre Dame College as valedictorian and male athlete of the year before joining McGill in 1994. While at McGill, Prohar earned a degree in economics and political science, played one season at defensive back in football (1994) and four years of hockey (1994-1998). With the hockey team, he wore No. 4 and suited up for 132 career contests, playing both up front and on the blueline, winning the Dick Pound award for proficiency & leadership in his last year. After graduating, he enlisted in the Canadian military, climbing the ranks to Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff for the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry before retiring after 21 years of service. In his time with the Canadian Forces, Prohar deployed to Afghanistan four times. Notably, he earned a Medal of Military Valour while attached to U.S. Special Forces, as well as a Meritorious Service Medal for work with the Afghanistan National Army. He currently resides in the Edmonton area with his wife Jody and two children, Owen and Emily, and works for the City of Leduc as the City Manager.

Show Notes:

Favorite time at McGill:

Europe trips

Favorite book:

For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Also recommends anything by Kurt Vonnegut

Favorite quote:

Luctor et Emergo” - Struggle and Emerge

Advice for first year at McGill:

Don’t eat the pasta at Peel Pub

Don’t take yourself so seriously. University is about personal growth, the relationships you make, learning to communicate, making friends and learning to overcome adversity when things don’t go your way.

Leadership:

The leader should consider his/her role in “Shared hardship” or “shared experiences”. The higher you get in an organization, the easier it is to not share in the hardships of the people actually doing the job. Make sure that as you rise in the ranks you stay in touch with the people that are doing the work. Understand not just the job they do, but who they are.

Teaching leadership:

“You gotta walk the walk”. You have to be out there doing it and you have to show that you are willing to what you are asking other people to do.

Transferable lessons learned from sport:

“Sometimes the easy answer, isn’t the right answer”. It might not make a difference to take shortcuts in the short run, but in the long run it might make the difference between getting the puck out or your equipment malfunctioning in battle.

You need resiliency, which means doing the right things, regardless of what is happening all around you.

In high pressure situations:

Trust your training. Maintain a clear mind. Be resilient. Trust the people around you.

Drill. Practice. Execute.

Mentorship:

It’s important to take examples of bad mentors and note the things that you don’t want to do in your life. You can learn just as much from poor leaders as the good ones.

Habits:

Sleep hygiene and exercise. Getting a good night rest makes you a better person for the rest of the day.

Mastery:

The ability to impart knowledge upon someone else. The ability to teach someone a skill that you know or have.

Patrick Delisle-Houde, Daniel Jacob and Shauna Denis are fervently contributing to the Montreal Canadiens legacy after building the McGill legacy as leaders in the McGill varsity hockey programs. Listen to their reflections, revelations and remarkable contributions to McGill, the Habs and Montreal!

In the second episode of the "Leadership Line Change" podcast, host David Urquhart speaks with Luke Madill to discuss his experiences relating to leadership and how to deal with pressure.

Bio: A native of Kirkland, Quebec, Luke played for McGill from 2003 to 2007, acting as assistant captain from 2005-07. He graduated from McGill with a degree in Kinesiology and went on to get and education degree and a master’s degree in sport psychology from the University of New Brunswick. While there, he won the U Sports national championship as an assistant coach as well as a U Sports silver medal as a player.

Luke has continued his winning ways as a teacher, hockey coach, and mental performance coach at St Andrews College. He has also worked as the Mental Performance Coach for Hockey Canada’s where he was part of the 2018 gold medal winning U-18 team at the Hlinka Tournament.

Luke currently resides in Stouffville, Ontario with his wife Christine and twin daughters Abbie and Marlie. As a player, Luke was part of the country’s best PK while skating alongside linemate and friend PA Paquet at McGill. This accomplishment however, pales in comparison to the fact that his wife Christine set the CIS record for goals in a season.

Book recommendations:

Legacy by James Kerr

The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci

The Barcelona Way by Damian Hughes

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

Living with a SEAL by Jesse Itzler

Chop Wood, Carry Water by Joshua Metcalfe

Pound the Stone by Joshua Metcalfe

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

The Captain Class by Sam Walker

Favourite Quotes:

“People won’t always remember what you said or what you did but they will always remember the way you made them feel”

“He who angers you, conquers you”

Advice for students:

1. Choose things you actually want to learn.

2. Be present: Play each day, and don’t worry so much about the future, because if you play each day, and like what you learn, everything else will take care of itself.

Advice for graduating students entering the workforce:

Get involved, do everything possible, meet people (go to socials, etc), help people. It’s easier to ask people for help when you have great relationships.

Leadership:

Advice for making difficult decisions: “Shrink it”. Have “Anchors” for refocusing and resetting.

Defining mastery:

A passion: for wanting to do something better, for taking pride in what you know, but also having the humility to realize that there’s so many people out there that probably know more, and that there’s so much more to learn that you can constantly be excited by learning more and bring that into your daily teaching of it. Staying passionate in what you are doing.

Follow Luke on Twitter @Lukemadilly or email [email protected]

Ken Tyler hosts three McGill Hockey Captains who have experienced the ultimate in the hockey world. 1999-00 Captain Mathieu Darche, 1988-89 Captain Jamie Kompon and 1986-87 Captain Mike Babcock, have raised the Stanley Cup in jubilation over their heads.  They are the most recent of 16 McGillians to have their names engraved forever on the trophy. Their stories and their passion for hockey and for McGill is both captivating and motivating!!!

Send us your feedback to [email protected]