Mark Struczewski
Dave Scatchard was a warrior that had an incredible 14 year NHL career with 6 different NHL teams. After his 5th concussion that nearly ended his life, he has dedicated his life to helping others reach their full potential in Life and Business with his All-Star Coaching program. Dave is an author, speaker and coach that is considered by many of his peers to be one of the top life and business coaches in the world. Dave, welcome to the show.
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, thank you. I got to bring you on the road with me. I like that intro. That's a good one.
Mark Struczewski
Well, to full disclosure, you did write itself. Well, listen, I will I will confess the listener and the listener may not know this about me, but I was originally from Rochester, New York. They knew that. But I loved hockey until I moved down to Houston in 1997. I used to go to Rochester Amerock hockey games up in Rochester, New York. never went to a professional NHL game used to watch them all the time on TV. And I remember when I was a little kid I used to stand it would be the Amex used to walk down the from the locker room on the ice. And I was like nine or 10. I'm like, Oh my gosh, these guys are huge courser on ice skates, you know, they're walking out and like, Oh my gosh, it wasn't till I got to be in my 20s to realize that they're just human beings. But they look like giants to a kid.
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, they're big. I mean, I had to mess with a bunch of big monsters out there over my career. That trust me, they're big. I remember fighting. I think it was a guy named Ken satin. He was 6768. I played with Eric Karen's, who's 66671 of the toughest guys in the league today. No charge six, nine. I mean, these guys are atheletic for for the size that they are. And like, I'm six, three to 23 when I was when I played like I was a thick, big guy. And listen, there were times when I was running into people a lot bigger than me out there. So when you're going 2530 miles an hour, and that happens. It takes its toll on Yeah, that's for sure.
Mark Struczewski
Now I got to ask you a question about fighting because there's the old joke that people say I went to a boxing match the hotkey and broke out, you know, yeah, we get that. But I heard I want to hear from your mouth. Is, is fighting like really part of the game? In other words, you can fight with someone in the game, and then later on, you're having beers. Is that true?
Dave Scatchard
Oh, yeah. 1,000%. Okay. And usually the guys that I fought are like the best guys ever when I met them like later. Because think about the type of quality of person that that has to be like, you are there to help protect your teammates and your family. You're a stand up guy, you'll stand up for anybody. Most of the time, most of the fights and somebody told me I had somewhere around 100 of my career, like, most of those bytes were not about me at all. They were sticking up for a teammate or a friend. Yeah, a few things were personal. But like I would say probably 70% of them. Were just me protecting one of my either smaller and more skilled players, or just a friend that looked like he's in trouble. And, you know, I think in the book I talked about my first bite on the ice at 16 or I fought this monster that was six foot five 225 pounds, and I was six foot three, if that and I remember it like is yesterday and he cross check one of my teammates in the back. And this little his last name is Rob Roberts, Robinson Robertson, something like that. I was he was my teammates, really good little player. He cross checked them in the back and I just happen to be skating by and I don't know why. But I said like, why don't you pick on somebody your own size. And before I knew it, he had his gloves off. He's beaten that tar out of me. My face is exploded all over the place. There's blood everywhere. And I'm just hanging on for dear life. And then like I'm like, Well, I'm getting pounded. I might as well throw back so I started throwing and this was the toughest guy in the league at the time. Okay, so you got to understand I'm away from home. I'm 16 years old. I'm fighting this monster. He beats the crap out of me. But I didn't go down. I didn't I didn't fall I did like and yeah, my nose. I was probably the second or third time I broke my nose out of 12 but um, but my teammates were so proud. To me, because I was underage kid, this guy was like 2020 I think he's 20 years old. I was 16 is way bigger, he is a killer. And I stood up for my teammates, and they knew that I was going to lose that fight. I knew that I was gonna lose that fight. Everybody in the building knew that I was gonna lose that fight. But it was the right thing to do at the right time. And I really found a strength in me that I didn't know that I had because when I grew up, I was a gold score. Like I scored a ton of goals. Oh, yeah. I remember one year I'd 98 goals in a season like leading into Junior, my 14 or 15 year old years. So you know, I never thought I never even knew like I was just a goalscorer I thought I was gonna be like Wayne Gretzky. And then when I moved away, and I started playing, I moved away at 16 to go play. They had 19 year old kids that were gold scores that were better than me. And the only way that I could stay in the lineup is if I started to do other things that would be, you know, play really physical or body, check a lot of guys or when face offs or block shots, or do all these other little intangibles. And that kind of let me keep my spot in the lineup with these older players. And then I was really scared of fighting. And then after that one, and I talked about in the book, I was sitting on the bus and we're on the bus ride home, and my face is throbbing, right. And my note that the trainer had stuck, you know, these popsicle sticks up my nose and like straighten it back out. I got these Kleenex gauze things up my nostrils to stop the bleeding. And my face is throbbing. But it didn't really hurt that much. Like, I was like, wow, like that's about as bad a beating as I could take. And I'm like totally fine. And I remember getting off the bus and I had my little Ida dodge Omni. It cost me a couple 1000 bucks. It looked like a rabbit with like this little airfoil I don't even know what airfoil did. It was ridiculous. I had a tape deck in there. That's when tapes were thing. Yeah. And I and I put it in because it didn't even have a tape deck. So I Jimmy this like piece of wood with electrical tape. So it looked like it was like it was like black, you know, just total. You know, that's what happens in your 16 year old kid. Yeah, living on your own. And I put in the tape, Pearl Jam. That awesome album, I forget what it was. And it had that song alive on it. I remember getting in my car. And I'd held it together the whole day, right. And I get in my car and I'm driving after the bus dropped us back off in our in our town. So we were playing in Fernie, we drove back. So it was about an hour and a half. We get back to the rig. It's like midnight 1230 at night. And I put that tape in and I just crank it. And I'm driving home. And I just had tears just pouring down my face. And I'm like, you know, I'm really proud of myself. Like, I was terrified to fight this monster. But I did it. And my teammates appreciated the fact that I was there for them. And I took the worst of it. But I was still alive and that song. To this day, I get goosebumps If I hear that song. And I had it cranked in my hand and my little car and I'm driving home I got tears and they weren't tears of pain or sadness. They're tears of like pride. And like, I felt like I took a big step from being a little bit scared of fighting and going after these bigger players to realizing I don't have to be afraid of anything anymore. Like this guy could fight in the NHL. That's how tough he was. And he I think he may have played a few games. He was a tough guy. So if I find him and I lost and I'm still pretty darn good like yeah, my nose is bent a little bit and whatever but like for the most part, I'm like man, if I fight this guy can find anybody. And then I just started playing really a different game I got my confidence about like being able to protect myself even though I didn't know what I was doing. And I think I only fought a couple more times that year as a 16 year old and then my 17 year old year Junior I probably had 13 or 14 fights and like I still don't really consider myself a fighter but I was I was getting comfortable with my gloves off and people see fights on the ice and they don't really get it or they don't know how it happens or they don't know what was said on the ice or whatever and there's usually a little story behind it like that like just right just told you you might not have noticed that cross check in the back of his neck but I did and I went and I and I righted the wrong and it gave me a little bit room out there and players started to like be like whoa like I'd hear people say like sketches kind of sneaky tough like the heavyweights wouldn't I would fight heavyweights but they didn't really want to fight me because like I can still score goals. But it's bad if like a middle weight knocks out a heavyweight. So the heavyweights didn't really want to fight me in the middle weights. I felt like I was on the top end of the middle way All right, good fight anybody that was kind of my size and like, you know, handle myself really well.
Mark Struczewski
Well, I have a couple questions about finding I want to interject here because...
Dave Scatchard
It's funny because like I've done like, I know all these crazy podcasts like this is the first time we've sat with it and talked about fighting so I'm kind of reliving it.
Mark Struczewski
Well, I kind of like it I wasn't go this far into the episode with it. But I got a couple of things to ask you. First of all, does fighting the can fight start because maybe the game is kind of lopsided in the fight gets the spark going, because I've watched games like that, or one thing that it's totally one way there's a fight and all of a sudden the momentum going the other way. So is that kind of like a strategy?
Dave Scatchard
Yeah. 1,000% and, um, you know, there were people that was specifically on the team to fight Okay, like, I wasn't, I didn't feel like I was ever really one of those guys. Like, I could score I could make plays like kill penalties, I could do whatever the coach needed me to do. So I felt like I was a little bit more like a Swiss Army knife and they could kind of use me wherever they needed to, which is a good quality to have. That's what kept me in the league for quite a long time. But for sure, a good player and sometimes I saw stupid superstars do this, I've seen Ovechkin do this I've seen you know, and he This is not a fighter, but he knew his team needed something to get them going. And I actually saw him drops clubs and I was like, wow, and and and they won the Stanley Cup that year. Wow. And they want to send a cup that year. And what I mean by that is Alex Ovechkin is a pure goal scorer, his best goal scorer in the world. But he rocks guys, he hits everybody in sight. And the year that they won the Stanley Cup, he switched from being at all about him to being all about winning. And it wasn't about how many goals he got. It was about his team winning and in blocking shots him like crushing guys. And like that was the year where he fought. And I'm sitting there and I'm watching it and I'm like, man, he's a different he's that he's a total player now because your teammates, you think that his teammates didn't get fired up and the crowd didn't get fired up when the best player in the league who doesn't need to fight ever in his he didn't. He has no reason to. But he's only doing it because he wants to get the boys going. And he wants to get that crowd fired up and change the momentum the game because he's sitting there. And I specifically this happened to me, but he was sitting there watching the game. And he's like, I don't like the way things are going. And I remember this a couple times. And I might have mentioned in the book. One time, Mike Keenan had just taken over as Vancouver Canucks head coach, and I didn't I was terrified of him because he didn't like young guys. And if you didn't like you, he would bury you in the minors and you wouldn't get a chance to get out. I didn't know that. Oh, yeah. No, he he preferred older players. He preferred guys didn't have to like teach up and coach up. But he liked me because I was an energy guy. But when he first took over, he didn't know who I was. And this is a true story. Mike, if you're out there, I'm sorry, I'm coming. I'm ratting on you. But this is one of the stories I think it's in the book. He I'm sitting on the benches game to that he's the head coach. And I'm so scared of this guy. And the whole first periods gone by and I haven't played a shift. He hasn't called my name, whatever. And then in the second period, it starts and he kicks me in between like wear the pants in the back and your shoulder pads go right in the kidney with this dress shoe. And it's just like a knife in my back. And I almost started crying. And sitting on the bench on what though? And I look over and I stare I stare hold through him. And he's like staring me back like what are you going to do? So I don't say anything. I don't say anything. And then two seconds later, boom, he kicks me in my other kidney. And at this point, I turn around and I go You gotta have you no problem. And he's like, Yeah, he's like, I don't know who you are. Who are you, rookie. And I'm like...
Mark Struczewski
This is during the game?
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, I go read my read my back. And the play is going back and forth. So guys are like skating on the ice lions are changing. And there's like this argument, but he This is my Kenan he would do psychological things to see what you're made of. Right. And if you would stand up for yourself. He wanted you to push back a little bit, but I didn't know this at the time. So like, I'm like, I get in this huge, like, staring match with them. And I'm just like, he's like, you haven't done anything. I'll game. I'm like, you haven't put me on the ice yet. How am I gonna do anything? He goes, if I put you on the ice, you're gonna do something. I'm like, Yeah, he's like, if I put you on the ice, you're gonna do something. He's like, yeah. I said, Yeah. So he's like, let me see. So the base is directly in front of our branch on the blue line. And I'm a right handed centerman. Sometimes I play right wing. He puts me on left wing with like two players that are not on my line. And I look over Luckily, there was another young guy from like, I was 20 or 21. At the time, there's another young guy on the other team. And I look over and I'm like, hey, like, we gotta go. He's like, absolutely. And the puck drop and I just grabbed him and I beat the tar out of them, right. And as I'm starting, the guys called it starting the lawn more because I'm like, starting a lot more on his face, right? So he's, he's down, he's done his knees and I'm just pounding and pounding and I was like, It's the first time I've coach ever like kind of Made me snap like that. And as the reps grabbed me, I definitely like dominated the fight. As reps grabbed me. I didn't turn around and skate backwards to the, to the penalty bet box. What I did was I faced the bench and they the reps had to push me skating backwards because I was staring Mike Keenan in the eyes, basically like looking at him like, Don't you ever do that to me again, and he's sitting there like grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat. Because he loved it. He knew now that he could push my buttons, I would like bring energy to the game and whatever, we end up coming back and winning that game. And like, it was a turning point in my career because I think that I was on the bubble. And I think that he would probably sent me back if I didn't do what I did. Wow. And he knew I was all in, he knew that I would do whatever it took. And I went from being this guy that he didn't know and wasn't sure about probably being one of his like, favorite players. And you know, he would use me as a whipping boy sometimes and like really make things hard on my on me but like I could handle it. I had tough coaches which I read about in the book earlier in my career. So I had some thick skin and I knew he wanted me to be better so I didn't care really what he said about me and it's like you know what I think in the end he he loved and respected me for and I truly I like to think that I was probably one of his favorite players and a lot of guys couldn't stand them. Mike Keenan is sorry sort of crazy as some of his methods were. I'm grateful for him because he kept me in the league. And if Mike Keenan likes you, the rest of League takes notice and they're like wow, that kid must have something if...
Mark Struczewski
I think i could be wrong. I think he coached for a season or two in Rochester, he coache the Amerks when he first started I could be wrong. I don't know.
Dave Scatchard
Maybe and I remember that and Amerk arena, I wasn't in Syracuse, very long.
Mark Struczewski
Syracuse Crunch, right?
Dave Scatchard
Yeah. And I remember playing against the hammer ax and little teammate of mine Scotty nickel, I don't know if you remember him. But he was there for a long time before he got his break with Nashville. And yeah, I was very blessed that I didn't really have to play many games in the minors when I first came in before had these crazy heel surgeries. And then somehow by the grace of God, I made the Kleenex the next year after being off like almost the whole season with these insane heel surgeries that I had. And those things they told me I'm I never play again. So you know, when I look at all, that's why when I wrote the book, like I'm looking through, like everything that my body and my my mind have been through, like, man I am. I am like strong. And and now I'm strong in a different way. Meaning I'm not armored up, I'm not pretending like what you see is what you get. I'm vulnerable, I'm authentic, I'm real. And I found that the Power of Living my way, living my life, in this way of being truly open, honest, emotional vulnerable, has actually made me stronger, even as opposed to the fake strong. The fake strong is like, where you don't show emotion or you don't show that you're weak or that you're scared or that you're this or that you're that and you sort of become this like Gladiator or like, like, you know, I really when I when I coach, I have a soft spot for like, you know, people in the paramedics and doctors and like people in the army and firemen like these guys who have to become these these people that don't show feelings or don't express feelings because they just shove it down. They're like, Oh, you know, I I have friends that are firemen and x hockey guys. And he's like, yeah, we walked in and you know, there was a suicide today and I can't get out of my head. You know? And and, you know, at least he he could tell me that most of the guys just lock it in a vault and shove it down there. And there were a lot of things in my life that I had done earlier in my life where I had armored up so much that I couldn't feel and in a way it helped me do my job because like I just stopped being scared. I just stopped being fearful of anything. But I couldn't really let myself feel like anything. Like even the good stuff. Wow. And that was when it got a little trippy as you're like, you know I did this process after I retired and I wasn't healing and I went back and visit the purest version of my soul. And I was like this like little five year old boy. And I was running through the forest and I had the Superman cape on my back and then my dad helped me out. And we were like flying. It looked in a picture like I was flying. And then I fast forwarded to this injured, painfully damaged 35 year old hockey guy.
I have a million dollars in the bank, I have a beautiful wife and three kids and I was like broken and I couldn't feel and I couldn't heal. So after three years at the Mayo Clinic three days a week, the Mayo Clinic looks at me the best doctors in the world and they said, Dave, you just have permanent brain damage. That's just how your life's gonna be. And I'm like, What are you talking about? Uh, you guys have to have something for me. I thought you guys are gonna fix me and I, we've done everything we can we've we've ran every protocol, like three years in a row. We This is about as good as it's gonna be for you. And at the time when they said that. I slurred my speech, I dragged my leg when I walked, I couldn't sleep right. My headaches were never ending like all day, every day. Like it felt like a spike was stuck through my head. And I had no memory as on Alzheimer's medicine. I had no no short term memory. I remember sitting my range over just bawling. And I'm sitting outside the Mayo Clinic, they're just crying. And I don't even know what to do. I don't want to tell my wife. I'm terrified. And I honestly, it sounds nuts. And I was very honest in the book about the crazy thoughts I was having in my head, about like just leaving here because I felt like I was a burden to my family and my kids. I couldn't really take care of them. I couldn't work I couldn't. I was just in pain all the time. And I would just hide in the dark like bright lights hurt my hurt me. Sounds hurt me being around groups of people give me like panic attacks and stuff. Like
Mark Struczewski
How many years have you been playing professional hockey when you started going through this? 14. Okay. Now you mentioned that you suffered five concussions? I can't imagine having one. So was that what actually got you to retire?
Dave Scatchard
Oh, yeah. No, I mean, you know, I encourage you to read the book. Like, I. So it's still weird for me to talk about, but the books coming out in like, September 14, so it's on And the world's gonna know. But yeah, I kept this a secret for a really, really long time. But um, my fifth concussion, I was knocked unconscious for 11 minutes. And on while I was Yeah. And while I was on unconscious, I started leaving my body. And I looked down, and I'm watching the paramedics and my trainer is like working on me on the ice and putting me on a spinal board and putting me on a neck brace. And like I'm watching this whole thing, like, as I'm like, floating up, it was the trickiest thing ever. And then all sudden, it just went like pure black. And I'm like, What? It's just black for like, I don't know, 1015 seconds, something like that. And I swear to you, Mark, it's like, it was like, it's like if an elevator just kept going up for like 15 seconds and pure blackness and then the doors open. And it was just like everything was the most beautiful thing that you could ever feel first, it was a feeling and then it was like the light and I swear to you, man, the light was like pure love, like unconditional love times a million. It was like a parent's love but times a million. I had. I felt like I could breathe for like, as long as I wanted forever. There was no construction. Everything was open. Everything is pensive. Oh, I know his habit. I know is I haven't 1,000% and the crazy part was I didn't even say anything for like a minute or two. I just sat there and weep. Like I just cried because it was so beautiful. And I didn't feel like I deserved it. I felt like it was like it was it's It was so hard to write about this in the book because it's almost indescribable, right? And it's like, the light was love, the light was pouring into me like just filling me up. And then it was just like, exploding out of me at the exact same time. And there was no separation. It was like, God was in me. And like I was a reflection of God. And it was like the wireless thing. So I start to have this like communication and that light ends up like holding me like a child and starts like brushing my hair. And I didn't see like a face or anything it was like but it was a presence. And the light was just stroking my hair and telling me that I was going to be okay and I didn't need to be scared. And then I was home and you know that I welcome back or whatever. It was so weird. So so I'm sitting there and I'm just like crying because it was so perfect. And there was no fear. There was no worry. There's no weight, the weightlessness it was it wasn't even like floating in a pool. It was just like Freedom It was like, it was like so space. So spacious and, and loving, like love was the one common word that I just kept when I was trying to figure out how to write it is just pure love. And it was grace. And it was like I was in like ecstasy. It was like the most amazing feeling ever. So at one point, I start walking with the, with the light, and it's like, I was like a little boy. So I'm like holding my arm up like a hand. And it felt like this hand was just guiding me and I'm just walking with the light. And I'm about to go into wherever I'm supposed to go into. And I didn't really see any buildings or anything, it was just like this beautiful ness. And it was just everything was so beautiful and rich and loving. And I was walking somewhere. And then I had this flash, and it was only negative thing. And it was only for a split second. But I saw my one year old boy, my two year old boy and my four year old girl all dressed in black at my funeral. And the casket was going down in the ground and my little boy and my wife was wearing black and everybody's crying. And then my little boy ran from his little seat that he was sitting in and jumped on the casket as they're putting into the ground. And the Grave Digger was like throwing dirt on the casket as they're starting to go down. And it was like hitting my hit my son. And I froze in my tracks. And I said, Wait, wait, wait, wait. I said, Can I go back? And like, I can't express enough how parental it felt and how loving all the messages were? And I would think a thought and then the answer would come like instantaneously. So I'd be like, Can I go back? And it's like, well, you can you don't have to think everything's gonna be okay. And I'm like, I think I have to go back. It's like, no, everything's gonna be okay, I'll take care of everything. Like, a they're little they're not gonna have a dad like, I, I really think I have to go back. And then there was like, it got a little bit more serious. It went from like this loving to being like, just like honest dialogue. And I was like, Well, if you want to you can't, but you're home now. Like, like, you know, you don't have to do that. And I just said, I think I do. And I turn and I said, How do I how do I What do I do? It's like, don't worry. It was so simple. It was like such a simple message. And I was like a little boy. And I'm just like, so then. So then I said this, I said, Now that I know that you're real because I didn't grow up in church or anything like I did. And I said, Do you want me to go and sell all my stuff and go do a mission trip or whatever? Do you want me to go to Africa? I don't know. Like, what am I supposed to do? Now when I go back? I want to do something if I'm going to go back want to make a difference? Yeah. And the message was so like, it was almost like a dad laughing his son. He's like, No, he's like, you know what I want you to do. I want you to take this love and grace. In this feeling. I want you to take that back with you. And I want you to share that with every single person that you come into contact with the rest of your life. And I really want you to love them. Just like they're your brother or just like you, they're your sister. That's it. And I'm like, that's all you want me to do. I can do that. I'm just like, blissed out, you know. So I'm like, sure there's anything else. And then this is where it gets a little funny to me, for me not funny, like sad for me to say now it's like, he said, Yeah, I'd like you to share this story with the world. And I did it. I didn't for this is 2021 that my accent was in 2010 2011 Oh, wow. So this has been 10 years, I've been like keeping this a secret. And I tried to start writing this book five years ago. And I would start and I would stop and I would start and I would stop and I couldn't get I'd have these like things like Why? Why do you want to bring this into your life. Now if you're good, you're good, you don't need all this, like, craziness is probably gonna cause in your life, all this attention or whatever, I don't even. And it's like, I got to keep my promise. And as I wrote the book and started giving me freedom to talk about my beliefs and what I saw and how God has played an instrumental part in every single aspect of my life, even though I didn't grow up with religion. And it's it's undeniable that and then as I began to talk about it, it's like all these like confirmations come in. Let me tell you something. So I did that experiment, or that exercise where I went and sat down little David Wright, the little peer his version of my soul. And I couldn't see his reflection. I know I'm jumping back and forth but confirmation In that I was tracking in the right direction was after the second miracle that I had, and I'll talk about that after I finished the heaven story. But I kept this secret that I was gonna let little David lead my life from now on. Just like a child, like just be pure. He loved animals. He loved nature. He loved helping people. Like, yeah, I was this hockey guy in a past life, but like, I'm not now like, my mission now is just to help people love people. So I show up for Christmas. And your listeners can't see the picture. But my 90 year old grandma comes down to Scottsdale Arizona, her last plane ride that she took because she doesn't travel very much anymore. And it's the last gift that I open up for Christmas. 19 told my mom, my wife, I hadn't told my mom had told my grandma. And she hands me her gift. And she goes, you know, what do you get a guy that has everything. And she gave me this picture? Oh, wow. Dave. And I just burst into tears when she gave me that because nobody knew what that picture meant to me. And that was the exact vision that I had, when I was trying to find myself again.
Mark Struczewski
Wow. And for the benefit of the listener, what he showed is a picture of him as a little boy wearing a cape like he's flying. And incredible, absolutely incredible. And a couple things, I'm so glad you shared your story, I didn't want to interrupt you because you were on a roll. And you just very smoothly went from one topic to another. I want the listener to understand that this is a guy he used to kick the crap out of people on the ice. And that in itself is quite a talent to be able to fight while on skates to the crowd. And here he is sharing a very intimate story. So I want you to know that I'm a Christian and Christian for many years now that we're all here for a reason. And there's a reason why you're here sharing your story. And I want the listener whether you believe in God or not. There's a reason why we're all here. And you've given us so many. So many messages in the time. We've already talked and we have more to go yet. And I just want to thank you early for being on the show. Because most people especially NHL tough guys would never come on and share the story of you know, going up to heaven and then making that decision of coming back because most people go Why would you want to come back? I mean, this is it's pure love. But then you had children and a wife at home. And it's not black or white. So again, thank you for sharing that. And, you know, I, your book is coming on Tuesday. And I'm going to go over to that book because it sounds like an awesome book. So you sent us another story you want to share with us?
Dave Scatchard
Well, yeah, so right, that seems like an amazing thing. So I'm all blissed out and and I asked to come back. And I expect that when I come back, I'm just gonna feel as amazing as I did. last leg. And as I started to come back into my body, I wake up in an ambulance and I want to spinal board, I got a neck brace it cut off my equipment. I'm still wearing my skates and stuff on my feet, but they've cut off everything in case they needed to get to my heart. And my jaw is dislocated. My nose broke, my ribs are broke. My collarbones broke.
Mark Struczewski
You know what happened? Do you remember what happened?
Dave Scatchard
No, I don't remember. But I saw a video and I just I it was like six seconds into the game. And I just came flying down the ice down the middle of the ice and I made a backhand pass to a teammate of mine. And I was watching my pass to make sure that he got it and then it was like one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and the guy just the defenseman kept flying up the ice and just smoked me when I didn't have the puck. So I had no defenses up. So I was unconscious before I hit the ice and I hit my head on you.
Mark Struczewski
Oh wow.
Dave Scatchard
And when I hit the eyes, so, you know, when I came back into my body, I'm trying to tell the paramedics like oh my goodness, you guys see that? Like That was amazing. And my job's flapping all around the side and the paramedics like sir, stop talking, you've been in an accident, you're strapped to a board. We're about to go get you an MRI of your brain, you know, in your neck. And, and I saw it took about 1520 seconds and I sink back into my body completely. And the weight of this world. And the pain that I was in as I came back into it was almost unbearable after being in that other the contrast. You know what I mean? And it like, it terrified me. I just started like, I mean, I know I talked about crying like three times a day. But I started I started crying again because I knew I was in trouble. Like I knew I and then I started instantly regretting my decision. I'm like, Oh man, I shouldn't have come back like so I'm like, well, I'll just get better and I'll go get the best Doctors in the world and I'll just go to the Mayo Clinic, their brain doctors and all this stuff, because nothing was working. And it just got worse and worse and worse. And I was embarrassed for people to see me in that state because I felt like I was like the Lamborghini that was in like a head on collision. And then I just left on the side of the road, I didn't want anybody to see me. So I just went into hiding. And I kind of disconnected from everyone and everything. Only relieved that I would ever get from my headaches as if I if I if I had a couple drinks at night, and I wasn't a heavy drinker before anything, but I started like drinking myself. Not like, you know, crazy, but like, when you're when you go from nothing to like having like two or three glasses of scotch or whatever to like, take the pain away. And then like, then I just wake up and the headache can be there. And then it just never leave like never ever. It was just there constantly in the memory thing was terrible. I made some really bad parenting mistakes about forgiving my children and like like crazy, dangerous stuff. And I felt like I was I felt like I was gonna hurt like a kid or something. You know what I mean? Like, Oh, my God. So anyways, after three years of the Mayo Clinic, they go, yeah, we've run all our protocols. We've done everything we can for your on your own. And I'm like, What do you mean? Like, I can't live 60 more years like this. And I was 30. I was 36 or 37, whatever, wow. I'm like, and I just started panicking. And I started screaming at God. And I'm like, why are you punishing me? Like, I'm a good person, you know that I know, you're real. Where are you? Where are you now. And what I didn't know was like God was working for me the whole time. And that he was trying to realign me into this other world that I live in now. And I'm so so grateful. But at the time, I felt sorry for myself, I played the victim. I didn't play the victim, I was the victim. And it was a reality that I had bleeding in my brain. It was a reality that I had disabilities it was. But if I would have accepted this diagnosis is from the best doctors in the world, I would still be that I would still be there. If I just said, Well, those are the best in the world. They must know what they're talking about. There's this huge part of me that's like no Dave, like, there's more like you got to go and you got to find like, you got to find some answers at five properties in three countries, all luxury properties on like, I'm gonna screw something up because I can't remember what I'm doing. I wrote a $80,000 check to the same contractor two days in a row. And he's like, Dave, you paid me yesterday, huh? You know, and I'm like, sorry, I and I hired a life coach. Life Coach asked me what I want to do with my life if I could ever heal. I said, I want to help people. I want to help kids. And then he said, Well, I really think you should go to San Diego and do some of this leadership training. And this guy was a Tony Robbins coach. So I go to leadership training. On the way to San Diego, I'm praying for a miracle, oh my god, if there's not a miracle, like I'm checking out, like, I just can't. This is too This is too much. I'm a strong dude. So for me to say it's too much like it's mentally exhausting being having a constant, never ending migraine, and not being able to remember remember anything. I could do all great work and not remember anything that I did. Like, at all. I had no short term memory, I can remember my childhood record my way did yesterday or the day before the day before is awful. So I'm praying for this miracle. And I go to the seminar, and I have two life changing miracles. One was realizing the little David, the little pure, innocent little boy that just love people and want to help people love nature. I had covered him up with so many layers of armor and masks and stuff because I didn't want him to get crushed. Like he's not a fighter. He's not a he's not a he's a sense of little soul, which is truly what I am in my nature. But I had to put on his armor to go do this job. But then I fast forward and I'm like, Well, I couldn't see any reflection of this little guy in the current state that I was in this broken hockey player. So I started searching and I'm like oh my God, he's underneath all this armor so so ripping up all the armor layer after layer after layer. All these masks all these pretend things until I got down to the very end. And I was so vulnerable and so exposed. I was so scared to rip off that last layer armor and when I did mark that grace in the light that I'd been seeking for the last three years while I was in pain that I saw when I was in heaven just poured over me Wow. And it was almost like it was like stacked up like trying to get to me and there's too much barrier of armor that it couldn't penetrate it couldn't get to my heart or my soul. So that changed my life because I got completely free it was like all these layers were gone and it was just this little little innocent kid just skinny, vulnerable, scared. And I just started bawling and like I felt like I just really being born again and giving Like a second chance, and this time, I said to God, how do I stay here? And he's like, you gotta, you gotta you gotta be present every day with me. And I started meditating at four o'clock in the morning every day. That's what I do still to this day. And that keeps my connection. So I really feel like I'm being guided right now. I really feel like people are coming into my life and being woven into my life and people that I coach and serve, and have this challenge last year for 17,000 people over the course of the year where we help people during COVID for free. And then my business just started exploding because I was just coming from a place of serving first and then everybody got excited about what I was doing and what I was teaching. And then business just went nuts. So um, but my point being that was miracle number one. Listen, this, this is cool. This is so I go back to my room. And I'm thanking God, I'm like, Oh my God, thank you, you're gonna heal me. Like, I know what I'm, I'm already I'm on my way to healing, I can feel it, I can finally feel that healing energy that I was looking for for so long, and brushing my teeth in the mirror and God starts speaking directly to me through my own eyes in the mirror. It was the craziest thing. And it was like sad. It was the first time that I've ever like heard God's message like sad. And it's like, Dave, I'm, I'm so sorry that I had to make you hurt and suffer like that and have that much fear and anxiety and feel like hopelessness. But you needed to understand that in such an intimate way. Because the people that you're going to be helping the rest of your life, we're going to be coming from places like that. And if you didn't understand it intimately and show them how to get out like you're about to get out. You couldn't do what you're about to do. And it all made sense to me. He wasn't punishing me. He was like training me
Mark Struczewski
The potter and the clay.
Dave Scatchard
I'm telling you, man, it's so crazy. So I had a couple of miracles that weekend, I drive home, you know, that was like whatever October, I get this present from my grandma in December. And I never told anybody about that moment. And it was just confirmation. God's like, yeah, stay there. So I'd let that little guy lead. And I'm like what little David do right now. Well, he go help that person, that person needs help, go help them. And I honestly say that my entire life changed to being about me and having this great career and focusing on my laser focus on playing in the best league in the world and being one of 723 people in the world to do that job. To showing up to serve with an open mind and an open heart and saying use me man like us, me, put me where you need me that's on this podcast. That's in my challenge in November. That's in my live event in December, if that's on my webinar on October, that's in my book in September 14, I don't care where it is just put me everywhere. And let people hear this message. And it's like, it's just truth. And it's just like being like yourself, and it's so much easier just to be like authentic and real. And I was so nervous that little David get like, massacred in life. Because seemed like people were always trying to take advantage of me or hurt me in my life like trying to fight me or take my job or, or whatever, bully me or whatever. As a young boy. I've never been more protected, ever. And I have no armor on. And the only armor that I have on is like a cloak of like light that I feel is like placed there by God. Wow. And as I've not known exactly how I was going to do what we're doing now, I prayed to God to use me. But I also said, I'm going to need massive amounts of new energy because I only have so much of my own energy to use. I was working like 1415 hours a day trying to get these challenges I would do these things for people I don't want assistant and she didn't know how to do any of the technical stuff. And I was learning and so I chased Tony Robbins around the world for two years. Tony mentored me Tony is one that told me that I needed to coach and then I started to access this unbound energy. And one of the Donnie Epstein went to Tony Robbins healers. I've been really working close with a lot. And Tony told me one day he goes Dave, a wizard can do more in his pinky than a gladiator can do in his lifetime. And I said well, why don't I just learn how to be a wizard. So I started to go train with wizards. That's how I would, you know, bid in the train with monks. You know, shaman in Brazil. I got I got Donnie in my corner. I've had Dr. Barrymore. Glenda is a big, you know, a great friend of mine. And we're working with energy. And we're playing these different spaces where we're really being fueled by the unbound. And what's really beautiful about that is like, I don't have to, I just need to show up and be open to using that unbound energy and it's limitless. Dave's energy is finite, it's limited. But if I'm using the unbound energy for the greater good, you think God of the universe is just gonna keep pouring it into me, because he's like, hey, whatever you're doing, just keep doing it. Like, I'll give you as much as you need. And it's a different way of being mark. It's, it's, it's so less grindy and fit. It's just more like flowy, if that makes sense, or glide.
Mark Struczewski
It does. It does make sense. And I'm sitting here and normally, as my listeners know, I talk more, but I am so mesmerized. I was like, if anyone listens to this episode, and is not mesmerized, you'll understand why I didn't talk a lot. I didn't I was I was like a little kid listen to is great. Not that you're old. But look kid telling your story. And I'm probably older than you. I'm 56. So I'm older than you. But it's just I just want to thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your very vulnerable story. Today is on September 11. Not a good day, we want to remember in the United States, but on Tuesday, your book comes out available everywhere. So what's the name of the book?
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, the books called The Comeback: My Journey through Heaven and Hell, and I share it all I bare my soul, I get really honest. And there's things that are embarrassing, and there's things that are funny, and there's things that will make you cry, and I'm proud of it. And you know, it's done. It's taken me years to write and I'm just really proud of finally getting it done and proud of the the man that I become during this crazy lifetime of like trying to figure out how to become an NHL star from this little town and Hinton, Alberta, Canada and a coal mining dad and having to leave home to try to go chase my dreams. And then, you know, somehow overcoming all these crazy obstacles and then having this wild ride while I'm in the NHL. And you know, I'm not taking anything away from it is incredible. I met my wife in New York City, she's a model as a hockey player, we traveled around we, you know, I had my fourth concussion I stopped playing for a year that I went to work the NHL union. And I then I found a doctor who stuck needles through my head and my brain and pop my pop my face out with these balloons in my nostrils. It was crazy. And that helped me so I decided to make a comeback. So the name the comeback is really like kind of three or four fold. Because the funny thing is the comeback is really from heaven to back to here. But there are hockey comebacks and underdog stories the whole time. So, you know, I believe that the book is on Amazon, it's on Barnes and Noble Kindle. We've got some stuff we're creating for the listeners for all these podcasts at all star coaching calm so that websites being built right now hopefully it's done by the time we launch. But I want to give some extra bonuses and stuff to people that that buy in there. We've got a live event in Scottsdale in December if people wanted to come and see us in person, that's gonna be super exciting. And, yeah, on the last podcast, I gave a bunch of listeners to $297 ticket to the live event in December instead of $1,000. So, you know, I'll honor that with your listeners and you just got a we got to figure out some sort of a link or something I'll send to you and they can sign up through that. Alright. But yeah, man, the priority here is just to get the message of the book out and to let people maybe look at some of the circumstances in their lives and realize that it's actually working for you the whole time.
Mark Struczewski
Well, Tony Robbins, your mentor says life doesn't happen to you, it happens for you. And the first couple. Okay, first 200 times I heard that I didn't get it. I had to keep hearing over and over again. What life doesn't that and then they found that one day it clicked ah. So sometimes you got to hear something over and over and over again. And I kept hearing it and other people said no, I got to have the quest to file two final questions for you. Going back to hockey number one. Okay, what's what do I want to say these in? Okay, first of all, what are your this is not the final final question. The final question before the final question is what do you think about goalie fights?
Dave Scatchard
Oh, I think they're great. I mean, it's super entertaining. Most goalies don't fight so when they do it's like who knows what's gonna happen. They've got these huge, crazy pads and stuff like it's not easy to throw punches when
Mark Struczewski
You're on opposite ends of the ring.
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, so then in Well, you might not know is like, whichever goalie crosses over the red line cost their team and extra penalties. So like, nobody really, nobody really cares. nobody really cares when it's happening, because it's just funny and it's exciting. And most of the time, nobody ever gets hurt. So like all the other people that don't like fighting out there and listen, like, you just heard me share my story, like, you know, there's a part of me that doesn't like me to be in fights, but um, for that 90% of the time, nobody really gets hurt. You might cut up your knuckles a little bit, or whatever, but it's like most of the time, it's like, it looks worse than it is. Yeah. So yeah, goalie fights hilarious. And the team always loves it when it happens, because it's the goalies kind of
Mark Struczewski
Gotta to take their mask off and their gloves and it's like, the more you just have to drop into gloves. Well, I guess now you have to, you know, if you're unless you're a wimp, you got to throw the helmet off. Now. I've seen some fights where the guy left his helmet on. Okay, dude, that's not fair. Okay, cuz you're still wearing your armor. Now the other question I have for you, what is your favorite NHL memory?
Dave Scatchard
Can I name a couple? Sure. All right. My favorite. My favorite NHL memory was my first game ever. And it was 1997 and it was in Japan. Oh, wow. And we were the first team out of the NHL to ever play a game outside of North America. So on my team is Mark Messi a Pavel baray, Alexander mogilny trebling and all these superstars, and then me. And I think I might have been an extra guy like they were allowed to bring over but by God's grace one of the guys fell during warm up of the second game and I was a healthy scratch the first game I didn't play. And then he got his calf muscle was sliced by the goalie skate. Oh, so they had to put me and they needed me in. So I remember like sitting on the bench. And I dreamt about this day for my whole life. I never believed it would be in Japan, in an arena called the yogi arena with high diving boards. They're, like 50 meters high above the goalie net. So they built a rink over top of a swimming stadium. And they put the boards up and the fans cheered for both teams, Anaheim and the Vancouver Canucks because they didn't know who to cheer for. And it was unbelievable. And I remember jumping on the ice skating and laughing to myself, I'm like, I'm gonna NHLer now, man. Nobody can ever take this away. And I go down and I can pitch to the back of this guy's jersey. I think it was like Wilkie and I'm scanning as fast as I can. And I just smoke them into this glass and it really good glasses really bendy and stuff and the crowd just went bonkers. Like, nobody can ever take this away like I'm in the NHL. Another one was my, my my first goal because I had all these goals set and, you know, one was to play in NHL one is the score goal in the NHL. And then when you know, all these other cool goals, and like, you know, I scored I think my 10th game or something and I'm just like, wow, like it's all happening. Like everything I dreamt about. Like my life has literally been manifested to like everything like including this house. I live in like, I bought this house from the bank. I renovated it. I've got waterfalls, Koi ponds to trampoline, six golf holes, like is ridiculous. And like, I dreamt this when I was like 12 1314 years old. I wrote it down.
Mark Struczewski
Now did you? Did you? Did you save the puck from your first goal?
Dave Scatchard
Oh, yeah, yeah, I got it. I got it right here somewhere. If you want to see it. I got this. I got the stick that I scored it with. I Wow. Yeah, yeah, we keep actually let me I'll show you some stuff.
Mark Struczewski
Unfortunately, the listener can't see this, which is really, really
Dave Scatchard
Yeah. Wow. So if you could see up in the corners, you see some plaques and stuff behind my whiteboards. Those are for hattricks to hattricks Oh, wow. a month in a month in New York. And for a guy that doesn't play a ton, like ice time or superstar startup
Mark Struczewski
Now for the benefit of the listener who doesn't know what hockey is. There's a hat trick and then there's a natural hat trick. So explain that. So they know what you're talking about why it's a big deal.
Dave Scatchard
Yeah, well, that's that's three goals in a game. And
Mark Struczewski
And what's an natural hat trick?
Dave Scatchard
A natural hattrick is three goals in a row. And I'm going to ask you a question. See if you know this. What is a Gordie Howe hat trick?
Mark Struczewski
Oh, I think I know this one. I think it's a goal, and assist, and a fight.
Dave Scatchard
Like you got. Yeah. Yeah, so um, yeah, man. I mean, so many special special moments. So many incredible superstars. Wayne Gretzky was my coach here in Phoenix. Mark Messi was my teammate and my captain in Vancouver. I mean, I got to play and get close to some of my idols. I grew up watching and i idolize these guys. Now they're my friends now they're like I pick up the phone and call them.
Mark Struczewski
And let me ask this question because this is this is kind of weird because I'm sitting talking to you I'm in Houston, Texas and spare bedroom, my house and I'm talking to a guy he played the National Hockey League was mentored by Tony Robbins. And you know, you know, Wayne Gretzky throwing all these names, big names, but you're just a human being and they're just a human being. And it's not like they have superpowers, they're not God. And it's some people hear your story and like, Yeah, but he's an NHL player. And he, you know, he played for all these teams, these are big star, but you're still a human being, you're married, you have kids, you're just a human being.
Dave Scatchard
I'm just like everyone else out there. And, you know, I got, I got a second chance at life. And I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna waste it. And you know, you're a Christian. So you'll appreciate this, this story, and I think I heard it in a sermon. I can't remember where I heard it. But um, the person was saying, Do you know when you're a parent, and you like, buy your kids all this cool stuff, like my kids got two trampolines, oh, back, they got a golf course, they got basketball thing. They got hockey net, they got mountain bikes, skateboards, scooters, right. And then my little guy is sitting in the kitchen the other day, and he's like, Dad, like, I'm bored. And like, I almost choke on my protein shake. I don't use the word board ever. It doesn't exist in my vocabulary. But my son said this, and I said, Caden? Have you taken a look around? lately? You are you have a movie theater in your house, you've got a game room in the basement, you've got everything that you could possibly imagine, you should never be bored. If you're bored, go wash my truck. Okay, so then he kind of laughs and and then the the pastor said, it's like, if you gave them all this stuff, and they never used it, and they left it out in the rain was getting rusty and they weren't taking care of it. Now imagine if you're God. And you give all of these amazing people on earth, all this opportunity, all these things, all these tools, all these ways to learn all these, this body to use to hold your soul in to be the vehicle for your soul. And you're just looking down, you're watching people just pollute their body with drugs or alcohol and listen, like I'm not perfect. I'm not a saint. I don't judge anybody for anything. But this is an example. And then you looking down and you're like, have they used all these cool gifts that I've given them? Are they? Are they sharing it with other people? Like, how are they using these things that I placed here for them to use? Right in front of them? Or inside of them? And it's sat dormant? And they haven't used it? It's kind of like an eye opener and you're like, wow, like, they why you got to get all heavy? Well, honestly, it it's, it's, it's, it's, you have so many gifts, so many people are so afraid to try stuff and to go and chase their dream or to do whatever because they're afraid of failing. But when you're a little kid and you're learning how to walk you don't chastise yourself or have that weird voice in your head. Like, would you be friends with the voice that talks to your head? Sometimes? Like, I wouldn't be friends with somebody like that? No, would you?
Mark Struczewski
No, no, sir.
Dave Scatchard
Why? So why do we Why do we tolerate it? Why do we allow ourselves to do this? Or why do we allow other people to decide on how our life is supposed to be and what the rules of the game are? It's sad, like it's so crazy, like, how many of us are walking around being programmed from people that told us which way to be what's right, what's wrong, how to speak, when not to speak, your speaking, let's just spoken to a good boy wouldn't do this. A good girl wouldn't do this. Don't do this. Don't ever say this. You don't need a man, you don't need a woman. You can be all on your own, like all these other people stuff. And then we take it for fact. And then that becomes our new reality. And then people are walking around in this box that they put themselves in and they can't find happiness and they can't find the light. They can't find the love and they're like, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm going crazy. I coach every day I coach these people, some of the most successful people in the world. Because zillions of dollars like pro athletes, celebrities, people you know on TV, and I coaches people and I'm sitting there like oh my god, they don't get it man. They don't it's so sad. Like and when we can liberate them Mark into this other way of being in this peace and this freedom and this joy and this happiness and bliss like these are words people do not use to describe their everyday emotions.
Mark Struczewski
No, they don't. Well, you know what, I I am so energized from having you on the show today. I mean, you just still look yummy. You Well, I want to say the home run but I'm not gonna say homerun, you did a natural hattrick and maybe the goalie, maybe the Gordie Howe natural hattrick, you got three goals and roll three fights in a row and three in a row. But I am so thankful you came on the show today. This is an incredible episode. So thank you so much for your time today. I'd love to have you here.
Dave Scatchard
I'm really grateful for you and and, you know, I'm just praying for you and your listeners to have the most incredible end to 2021 after all this nonsense that we've had to go through, and I hope that 2022 is a is a year of freedom and new exploration and expansion and abundance. I just wish everyone out there all the best. And thank you for listening the last hour.
