Curtis Joseph On His Difficult Childhood, Mental Health, and Why Players Should Celebrate More

On the fourth episode of ‘Forward Progress’, host Dan Szczepanek speaks with former hockey great Curtis Joseph about his new autobiography ‘Cujo’ which details his life in the game, as well as his troubled childhood. The conversation also covers Curtis’ thoughts on leaving the Leafs, the risks of social media to today’s players, the rising costs of youth hockey, and why he believes NHLers should celebrate every chance they get.

The new book ‘Cujo’ is available now.

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Show Notes:

On growing up in poverty, and struggling to have enough to eat [2:22]
Remaining grounded and understanding financial responsibility [4:00]
What NHL players need to do to protect their money [5:20]
Finding male role models in the world around you, and ideals of masculinity [7:22]
On the values he passed along to his children [8:22]
On the costs of youth hockey, charitable Canadians, and whether or not a Curtis Joseph could happen again today [9:25]
Social media and how players need to be much more careful [11:23]
On staying in touch with former teammates in retirement [12:25]
On watching guys like Brendan Shanahan transition to front office roles [13:22]
The pressure to be seen as ‘macho’ and the need for guys to open up about their mental health [15:42]
Leaving Toronto in free agency, and whether or he regretted joining the Red Wings [17:30]
On which of his teams he thought were good enough to win Stanley Cups [19:29]
The difficult transition to retirement [20:21]
The process of writing his book [22:16]
On why he needed to tell the story of being adopted, and his message for children in that situation [24:16]
On whether or not he still eats pistachios [25:43]
On who had the toughest shot [26:32]
On Teemu Selanne having his number [27:09]
Whether or not he still speaks with Mike Foligno [28:10]
Whether or not players should celebrate more in hockey [28:46]