11/18/2021
Massive congrats to Ken Holland on his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame this week. Aside from the crazy hockey industry accolades that the world knows him for, Ken’s the kind of guy that made time to mentor a 25 yr old kid like me that had just risked everything in his life to buy a German hockey team, that I was also playing for. I didn’t have any formal knowledge of how to run or build a hockey franchise, but Ken continued to make time throughout those 4 years to show me the Red Wings war room, dissect how he valued players, what he learned from Scotty Bowman, and the system he used to build such a beast in Detroit. He also made it a point to follow up every lesson he’d teach me with a great story to functionally drive home the point. I still have the book he recommended I read (The Blueprint), and a whole notebook full of his wisdom that I frantically tried to keep track of as he nonchalantly poured it out while he went about his day making pancake breakfast, on the way to the Joe, in Sweden for the NHL opener, or in the backyard at his daughters wedding party. Thanks for taking the time to make such a huge impact on my life, and I’m sure countless others have their own similar stories.
Super thankful to have the chance to know and learn from Ken, for his amazing daughters and and their friendship (sorry for fully testing that friendship at game 7 Ju!) and to the core Mississauga Lake crew that opened the door for me to have the chance to be exposed to this amazing family in the first place. .
Nothing better than getting the chance to celebrate someone who’s made such a massive impact on your life with some of the people you life the most. Thanks for making the trip dad and . Being in the room with Stanley and your childhood legends was such a shot of life this weekend!
capturing this whole night for Ken like a true ninja. Great shots Aussie.