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The National Hockey League Players Association launched a new program on Thursday that will give its members a chance to do a personality analysis and prepare to explore new avenues while still in the league, according to Associated Press.
The goal of the new UNLMT program is to ease the transition to life after playing in the NHL.
“People are curious as to what there is outside the game and what you can do to prepare yourself,” NHLPA member and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said.
“They're not waiting until people's careers are over. It's something that you can dip your feet into and grab a hold of while you're still playing and giving you resources and opportunities to kind of figure out what you want to do.”
Nurse says he has noticed a lot more talk surrounding what players will do after hockey heading into his ninth season in the league.
“It's something that's been missing a little bit,” Colorado Avalanche center Lars Eller told AP. “It's kind of well known that one of the struggles for a professional athlete is the transition on to the next thing once he's done with his professional career. And this platform helps you with that transition, and it's something you can start even while you're still playing so you can sort of hit the ground running once you're done.”
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Players can do an assessment with retired defenseman Jay Harrison, who is now a psychologist, to discuss life after the game.
Current players Eller, Nurse and Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo are among those who have already tried the UNLMT program. Okposo graduated from Stanford's business leadership program.
“When they played, they gave it their all, and a lot of them didn't really have anything after that,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said regarding many retired NHL players.
“They didn't make big contracts. They really didn't have a strong pension system. A lot of them, even going back further than that, lost stuff. We can't let that happen again.”
