Every off season I travel back to North Battleford Saskatchewan to Connaught Elementary School to talk to young kids about what it's like being a professional athlete and what it was like for me in school. To me school in North Battleford was quite difficult as I immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands at a young age and struggled with everything. I hardly spoke the language, didn't have any friends and had to work real hard to get accustomed with Canadian culture. One thing I found out that helped me a lot was playing sports and in particular hockey. I played soccer in the Netherlands, as that is the biggest sport in Europe, but over here it was hockey, hockey and more hockey. Through my team I made friends and as I got to learn the language better things got easier for me too. I really appreciated that kids my age back then took the time and effort to make me feel at home. That's also the thing I always try to pass on to young kids is that no matter what background someone has, you always have something in common and that's where you can build a relationship on and that helping someone who struggles with in your eyes basic things goes a long way.