Still in the game
Matt Gillard has managed to turn a negative into a huge positive in his life.
Four years ago, the Fonthill resident was enjoying a strong start to his season for the Niagara IceDogs when he suffered a serious injury. Gillard broke the C6 vertebrate in his neck in two spots on an innocent looking play in a home game, effectively ending his hockey career.
At the time, Gillard wasn’t really sure how the injury would affect his hockey career, let alone his day-to-day life.
“Right off the bat I didn’t think my neck was broken,” he said. “I just felt really locked up. I was in the hospital bed at one point and I went to sit up and I couldn’t lift my head. I had no strength in my neck.
“That was when it kind of hit me. Being told I would be out for at least six months to a year was a real moment.”
Still, Gillard was determined to return to the ice.
He worked tirelessly with IceDogs athletic therapist Peter Dobbin all summer in preparation for training camp, but wasn’t seeing the progress he had hoped for. Furthermore, he still had pain in his neck and arm.
At that point, Gillard’s agent arranged for more tests where it was confirmed there was still a slight crack in his neck.
“It hadn’t completely healed so they shut me down until January,” he remembered.
At that point, Gillard finally came to the realization his dream of rejoining the IceDogs was over.
“That was the hardest part up to that point because I was told I should have been OK,” he said. “I was pushing and working out and wondering why it wasn’t feeling good.
“It made the decision a lot easier.”
With a hockey career no longer an option, Gillard enrolled in a business program at Niagara College and got a job in retail.
“Going from the junior hockey lifestyle of being at the rink all the time and being with the guys to working in a retail store, it was a real shock,” Gillard said. “It was into the real world.”
But Gillard still had the hockey bug, so he began to look for ways to stay in the game.
“I wanted to find something in hockey to do as a job so I got into coaching and into the development side and I definitely like better the development side a lot more,” he said.
With only a year of business training under his belt, Gillard began his own business, Gillard Elite Hockey, and went to work on building himself a career.
“I love it. That was the issue I found (in retail),” he said. “No matter what you did for the day you got paid the same. Doing this, the more I put myself out there and the more connections I make, the busier my schedule is. That part I find more rewarding.”
Gillard’s list of clients includes Pelham minor hockey, Wainfleet minor hockey as well as various teams and individuals.
He was recently hired by the IceDogs as their prospect development coach after approaching general manager Joey Burke with a plan to work with the team’s prospects who are playing junior B or midget.
“My brother (Marcus) plays for the Erie Otters and I got to see the prospect development side with him a lot,” Gillard said. “He played major midget and I got to work with him and see what he needed to make that jump and the next year he did make that jump.”
Gillard, 23, feels the timing is perfect for him to work with prospective OHL players.
“I’m still closely related because I haven’t been gone that long that I can still see a guy’s game and understand what they’re thinking from their point of view,” he said. “It’s the peace of mind for the young player. I think having a voice there and being young and able to relate would keep them calm and help keep them on a straight path.”
Gillard said the plan is to once or twice a month bring prospects in to the Meridian Centre work with them.
Gillard has hopes of being more involved at the OHL level down the road and would love one day love to work at the pro level.
Safe to say, he has made the most of his situation.
“At the time, it’s tough to see that (everything is for a reason) but now that things have come along and I’m becoming more successful in what I am doing and getting more known around the area, it definitely felt like that was how it was meant to come out for me in my hockey career.”
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