Via The Athletic, a report on a new NHL Players Association initiative related to mental health:

Jay Harrison opens his sessions with two simple questions for NHL players attending his new workshop.

“I ask everybody, ‘Why are you here today? And why did you come?’ Harrison explains. “And every single player has a different story as to why they’ve prioritized time out of their busy schedule to learn about mental health.”

Over the past two months, Harrison has put 20 active NHL players from five different teams through mental health education as part of a new initiative from the NHLPA. Officially unveiled on Wednesday, the First Line program is designed to directly address mental health issues faced by active NHL players and their families. Touted as the first program of its kind in professional sports, First Line endeavors to teach players about topics such as depression, anxiety, substance use and self-harm. And a portion of the course is aimed at erasing the stigma of mental health that still exists inside NHL locker rooms.

“I call this a mental health 101 course,” says Maria Dennis, the NHLPA’s senior director of player health. “This provides the tools, skills and knowledge so there is no reason to shy away from this topic or this conversation any more.”

This is not a compulsory course the NHLPA is mandating its members take, but Harrison has been pleased with the initial uptake. He’s planning on offering the training to interested players for the duration of the 2023-24 regular season and has been slowly contacting players around the league.

“It’s not something they’re being told to do. It’s voluntary, but they’re grabbling onto it and seeing its importance,” says Harrison. “This is an opportunity to reassess and prioritize their health and well-being.”

Calgary captain Mikael Backlund is one of the players who recently completed the First Line training session conducted by Harrison. And his new leadership role with the club seemed to be the catalyst that pushed him toward the training.

“It’s just really important to help my teammates any way I can and now being the captain I felt like it was my responsibility to take this course,” says Backlund. “My First Line experience was really good. I thought we had a really good meeting. I talked to my teammates afterward and they were all very positive about the meeting, felt like we learned a lot. There were some simple little things that can help us big time, be really good leaders on the team or just a good teammate.”

Players like Backlund have participated in a three-hour training session that was prepared in conjunction with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and Opening Minds, which is a division of MHCC and provides evidence-based mental health training programs. The sessions are conducted in a small group format — either in person or virtually — with Harrison leading a conversation around these delicate subjects.

“It’s not a lecture. It’s not a course,” explains Harrison. “It encourages dialogue.”

Harrison is uniquely equipped to lead this project. He appeared in almost 400 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Hurricanes and Jets over the course of a nine-year career. While he was an active player, Harrison completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology, followed by a master’s in clinical psychology. Following his retirement from professional hockey in 2016, he secured his PhD in performance psychology.

“Having Jay as part of this program is integral. He’s a former player, so he knows what’s it like to be an NHL player. He also knows what it’s like to transition to another career, having earned his degrees,” says Dennis. “So his background is something that uniquely qualifies him to fill this role.”

“I was one of those players who worked through and ‘sucked it up’ in order to live our dream. Sometimes our perspective of what is truly important can be skewed by how much we’ve invested in being athletes,” adds Harrison. “And nobody should have to sacrifice their mental health or well being in order to be an athlete.”

The framework for the program was originally designed as part of a collaboration between the Canadian Armed Forces and American Navy SEALS and Marines.

“They were using it for troops going into combat so they would be more resilient,” explains Micheal Pietrus, director of Opening Minds. “But we’ve added an anti-stigma component, because we still need to break down barriers.”

These sessions led by Harrison have been modified to specifically meet the needs of NHL players. They watch videos, which include testimonials from former and active players who have dealt with mental health challenges during the course of their careers. And they have unfiltered conversations about the specific challenges faced by NHL players.

“What it might be like to be going up and down to the minors. Riding the buses. Or having children at home in a contract year,” says Harrison. “These are all real, stressful situations. It’s a sacred space with our players.”

As part of the training, players are told to think of their mental health as if it’s a colored traffic light, using a continuum model.

Green is healthy and where they want to be.

Yellow indicates some degree of stress.

Red is the danger zone that indicates the potential for serious problems.

Players are instructed to watch for signs and symptoms that could put someone into the red zone.

“You’re less patient. You’re not sleeping well. Maybe you’re starting to abuse substances. A physical change. These are all little indicators,” says Pietrus. “And we want to address them so they can get back into the green zone.”

Players are also given educational tools when it comes to the topic of addiction. And beyond the use of alcohol and drugs, there are also honest conversations around things such as gambling and excessive use of social media and gaming.

Players who complete the training session receive a certificate of completion from the Mental Health Commission of Canada and Opening Minds. And the end goal is to try and create a peer-to-peer system, where those players who have been trained are able to facilitate conversations around mental health with their teammates inside the locker room.

“We know our players are talking to each other and relying on each other. So what can we do to enhance those conversations in a way that empowers our players,” says Harrison. “This is about creating that network of players throughout our league that other players could look toward as common resources. And knowing that self-judgment or labeling wouldn’t be a factor because they know that (the) individual has done the First Line training. They are responsive and care about mental health.”

“Personally, I want to keep working on this and improve my skills as a leader on the team as the captain, and learn how I can be mentally stronger and healthier and also how I can see signs of maybe my teammates are struggling or not feeling as well, and how I can help them,” adds Backlund.

This project is being handled under the umbrella of the NHLPA’s Health and Wellness team, which launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While they oversaw the logistics of getting players safely to and from the bubble sites in Edmonton and Toronto in the summer of 2020, that department was also tasked with monitoring the mental health of the athletes during that time. But even after the pandemic ended, players expressed an interest in seeing some of those programs continue.

“We recognized the need to enhance and offer support to our players, especially through the pandemic. The pandemic was a catalyst,” says Harrison. “Players communicated to us there is a greater opportunity here. Players wanted to be part of that.”