In a sit-down interview with TSN's Sara Orlesky, Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler says chasing his dream of winning a Stanley Cup caused him to lose touch with himself as a husband and father. The 33-year-old said the desire to win last season caused him to be disappointed in himself, but not because his team didn't win the Cup.
"I lost touch with myself as a dad, as a husband, first and foremost, because I invested so much into trying to win. Everyone was talking about this is our year to win and I felt like we had a real opportunity to win and when I was home, that's where I was – I was trying to win the Stanley Cup,”“And when I was in the building, sometimes I was spitting nails just because I wanted to win the Stanley Cup. I was so focused on that. When it was all done and I got home, it's like 'Man, this is almost too...' My daughter's growing up, my son's in kindergarten, none of this is that important.”
Wheeler says he's determined not to let that happen again as his team prepares for the new season.
"That's where I'm at. I'm going to be me here and I'm going to do everything I do here and give everything I have when I'm in this building, but being a husband and dad is No. 1 in my life."
As for rumours that Wheeler is hard on younger players, he laughed it off saying he's changed a lot over the past few years.
“I think there's a recognition of that, that the players that are coming into the league now and are starting to filter into the locker rooms, it's different. You have to approach them differently. You have to sort of coddle them a little bit and if you don't, then you're too hard on them.”
Source: TSN.ca
