On the first weekend of February, Toronto hosted the NHL’s annual All-Star weekend. Hockey stars, friends and mentors met for breakfast at the Royal York Hotel early on that Saturday morning for an All-Star breakfast to put the spotlight where it belonged—God. They shared not only inspiring stories of hockey but also of their faith and lives that were miraculously changed.

The breakfast was hosted by Hockey Ministries International (HMI), which serves and supports the hockey community through camps, chapels and events. Their director for Ottawa and Eastern Ontario is retired NHL centre Laurie Boschman, who was pleased with the morning’s turnout.

“We had enough tables for 440 people, and the room was full,” Laurie says. “This was HMI’s 19th year to be included in the All-Star weekend. When this event is held in Canada, it’s well-attended because Canadians love their hockey and know a lot of the individuals. It’s always encouraging to hear the speakers testify to how meeting God at some point in their hockey careers changed their lives and the difference God has made. There are always some good hockey stories, but the main focus is how Christ transforms lives, and they want to show what that looks like.”

Born Again

Laurie has a strong story of his own. Drafted as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ ninth overall pick in 1979, he played with them, then with the Edmonton Oilers and spent the rest of the ’80s with the Winnipeg Jets. He played for a couple of seasons with the New Jersey Devils and completed his career with a year with the Ottawa Senators, becoming that expansion team’s first captain. 

Laurie testifies to the peace of God and His goodness throughout his roller-coaster ride of a career. That’s what he wants to share with future NHLers through HMI.

“Injuries, performance issues, there are so many stressful and uncontrollable variables in these young players’ lives,” he states. “We want to make sure we share with them what the Word of God says and how we can apply that to our lives as athletes, husbands, dads. These guys face the same pressures most of us do, but added to that is a great public scrutiny of everything they do, unlike most other jobs. Often, there’s a lot of pressure being so visible in their community. Our chaplains share with these guys what the Bible says to support them through these life issues.”

Laurie didn’t have access to a chaplain when he first entered the Leafs’ arena as a 19-year-old.

“As a youngster growing up in Saskatchewan, I thought if I could ever make it to the NHL, I would have everything life had to offer,” he recalls. “However, a few months into it, even though things were going great professionally, I felt very unfulfilled. Ron Ellis was 35 years old and sat next to me in the dressing room. I noticed Ron had a peace I did not know. One morning I cornered him and said, ‘I’ve been watching you, and there’s something about you. How do you have this peace in your life?’ He said, ‘I’m a born-again Christian and I use the Bible as a guide for my life.’ ”

“Too Much Religion”

Laurie had never heard that terminology growing up in his Catholic household.

“In March 1980, I went to a chapel program where I heard the reason Jesus came to this earth and died on the cross. The revelation that Jesus died for me … I had never made that connection before. I prayed, ‘Lord please forgive me my sins, come into my life and make me a new person.’ It literally changed my life.”

However, not all the changes seemed good at the time.

“I had a pretty good first season on the ice,” he says. “But in my second year, I felt a lot of pressure and, on top of that, I got injured. My third year, there were increased expectations for me, but I got off to a slow start. I ran into lots of difficulty with the owner, Harold Ballard, so much so that after a game against the New York Rangers, he said on TV that he was going to trade me because I had ‘too much religion.’ ”

Credit Where Credit is Due

Laurie and the Leafs parted ways, and he had the opportunity to play in Edmonton for a year with half a dozen future Hall of Famers.

“My teammates there saw the positive difference faith had brought about in my life, that it made me a better worker and teammate.”

When Laurie is asked to speak on one personal accomplishment that matters to him, his answer has nothing to do with the NHL, but with the opportunity that was offered to him when his career ended: working with HMI.

“I have been involved in a wonderful not-for-profit Christian ministry for more than 30 years now. I never thought I’d still be doing this after all this time, but it has been such a good fit for me. I get to talk about the two things I really enjoy doing.

“I get to share who Christ is and how He can make a difference in our lives, and I also get to share what I’ve learned about playing hockey. I give all the credit to God that I’m blessed to be here.”

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