EP 68 · 2023-10-10 · 47:51
"I Won the Stanley Cup and Was Suicidal" — NHL Goalie Corey Hirsch on Construction's Mental Health Crisis
NHL goalie Corey Hirsch tells construction workers getting help is strength, not weakness.
CH
Corey Hirsch
(ICBA) · Procore Technologies, Inc.
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Intro: Procore-sponsored episode with Corey Hirsch — Host introduces Corey Hirsch — Olympic silver medalist, NHL goaltender, broadcaster, and mental health advocate speaking for ICBA across BC — and sets up mental health in construction as the episode's purpose.1:35Construction is a locker room — Hirsch maps construction culture onto hockey: masculine, tough, dangerous. Buddies will be proud, not mocking, when you get help — and a struggling coworker on a dangerous site is everyone's problem.6:05Five times the national average — The hosts surface the statistic that construction-worker suicide runs five times the Canadian national average in a 70-90% male industry, and tee up the broken-leg analogy: mental injuries need healing, not 'man up.'8:20Hirsch's story: suicidal with a silver medal — Hirsch had an Olympic silver medal and a Stanley Cup ring and was suicidal with undiagnosed OCD. He hid it for three to four years, lost 30 pounds, attempted suicide, and bounced to the minors. Today: go to your family doctor first, use HR/EAP programs, and share your story so others open up.16:30What ICBA's data says construction workers are battling — The top three drugs requested by ICBA members are for depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Recovery is unique to each person, but the universal first step is admitting the problem and having the conversation.18:30Advice for site leaders: open door or body count — Hirsch confronts the tough-guy mentality bluntly: do you want a suicide inside your company? He's lost a girlfriend to suicide. His prescription to CEOs and foremen — an open-door policy, because a worker who isn't on top of it makes the site unsafe for everyone.22:20Bullying, mistreatment, and unsafe workplaces — Mistreatment exists in pro sports and construction alike; people stay silent to protect careers and paycheques. A good workplace makes people want to work hard for you; bullying creates danger.24:25Bust on your buddies, but check in — You can still rib your crew — just be the guy they can come to. When you see excess drinking or using, get in their business; something traumatic usually sits underneath, as with Vancouver's East Hastings.30:30The host opens up; asking for help as a man — The host shares his own anxiety and depression struggles from his construction days. Hirsch on why 'help' is the hardest word for men, the destruction left behind by suffering in silence, and modelling help-seeking for your kids.35:25You're not alone: Kevin Love, Paul Bissonnette — Other athletes carry the same weight — Kevin Love's on-court panic attack, Paul Bissonnette losing a best friend at 17. Nobody gets through life unscathed.37:50The book and the viral Players' Tribune article — Hirsch's Players' Tribune piece 'Dark, Dark, Dark' got two million hits in under an hour; his 2022 book 'The Save of My Life' is a mental-health book with sports stories. The healing came from going public: secrets are toxic and people invent worse explanations.41:40Know your role: the Mark Messier teamwork lesson — Closing on the 1994 Rangers: Hirsch's biggest team lesson is Know Your Role — organizations win when everyone does their job instead of complaining about ownership, and success breeds success.
// THE INTRO
Olympic silver medalist and NHL goaltender Corey Hirsch joins this Procore-sponsored episode to talk mental health in construction, drawing on his ICBA speaking tours that have reached roughly 15,000 construction workers across BC and Alberta. Hirsch recounts being suicidal with undiagnosed OCD weeks after drinking from the Stanley Cup, hiding it for three to four years, and losing a promising NHL career to silence. He reframes mental health as a job-site safety issue — construction's suicide rate runs five times the national average — and gives leaders concrete moves: open-door policies, doctor-first referrals, and checking in on buddies without dropping the banter. The episode closes with a Mark Messier 'know your role' teamwork lesson that maps cleanly onto construction companies.
// THE LESSONS
See all 14 lessons ▸A worker hiding a mental health struggle is a job-site safety hazard — shaming people out of getting help endangers the whole crew.
“you're actually encouraging a safety issue”
Construction's suicide rate is roughly five times the Canadian national average — leaders who keep the tough-guy culture own that risk.
“the suicide rates of construction is five times the national average”
Run an open-door policy on site: foremen, supers, and CEOs should make it explicitly safe for workers to bring problems forward.
“have an open door policy because it affects everybody”
A healthy workplace is a retention strategy — people work harder for employers who don't bully them and help them when stressed.
“people are going to want to work for you they're gonna want to work hard for you”
Getting help early compounds: Hirsch lost most of an NHL career to three or four years of suffering in silence.
“if I could have gotten help right away”
The first referral point is the family doctor — they've heard worse and route you to psychologists and psychiatrists.
“the first place you go is your doctor right your doctor has seen all of it”
HR and employer/union assistance programs for mental health exist now — point your crews to them.
“there are programs now available and just get in touch with them”
Leaders sharing their own struggles is operational, not soft: it tells others where to go and gives them permission to open up.
“when you share your story it actually helps someone else open up”
Keep the crew banter but make the check-in explicit — be the guy your buddies know they can actually come to.
“just check in with your buddies”
When you see a buddy drinking or using to excess, get in their business — a direct, non-confrontational conversation is the intervention.
“if it's bad enough right it's time to have a conversation”
Hiding struggles lets coworkers invent worse explanations — being open about why you're off your game buys empathy instead of judgement.
“secrets are toxic and people make up their own assumptions”
Owners and parents who model help-seeking set the norm the next generation of workers and kids will follow.
“set the example example that it's okay to go get help”
Know Your Role: companies win when everyone does their current job to the best of their ability instead of coveting the next one.
“your best chance of success is to know what your role is within that company”
Messier's ownership test: until it's your team, your job is to fall in line and excel — complaining about ownership tears organizations down.
“it's my job to fall in line and do the best job that I can”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
All 14 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESS
// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Corey HirschIndependent Contractors and Businesses Association of BC (ICBA)Procore Technologies, Inc. ▸New York RangersKamloops BlazersThe Save of My Life: My Journey Out of the DarkDark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark
// PROJECTS NAMED
The Save of My Life: My Journey Out of the DarkDark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · e95F1c33RPQ