Winnipeg Jets offer hundreds of students support on mental health and stress

Hockey stars from the Winnipeg Jets took a break from the ice Wednesday to deliver an important message to hundreds of high school students from across Manitoba.

Members of the city’s NHL club, currently experiencing a historic, but high-pressure start to the season, spoke with kids about mental health, getting support, and how they deal with the stress of the NHL. 

“Getting away from the game and talking to my family and close friends. So just taking the mind off the stressful parts of my day, and diving into what makes me a friend and a family member,” said Jets’ netminder Connor Hellebuyck. 

The effort to connect the hockey greats with kids in a grassroots fashion is part of Project 11. It was established in honour of late Jets’ forward Rick Rypien and has been ongoing for more than a decade, with 2024 marking year 11. 

Providing students and teachers with lessons and supports for keeping track of their mental health, alongside coping mechanisms, the project aims to promote mental health well-being, as whether you are an NHL star, or simply trying to get through a hard day at school, everyone needs a hand from time to time. 

Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi opening up to the students — who came from 38 high schools Manitoba — about how he deals with stress. 

“I’ll call my mom if anything is going wrong or just to vent about anything,” he said.  “Even the dog, the dog is good to talk to, nothing wrong with talking to the dog.”

To hear from the professional athletes about how they too struggle from time to time was important for the youth in attendance, said Suzi Friesen, Director Of Educational Programs with the True North Youth Foundation. 

“Just made such a positive impact to help students reach out and feel okay,” she said of the event. “Obstacles do surface [but] I’m going to strengthen my resilience or turn to my coping strategies.”

And she’s not alone in saying the event was a powerful one.

“We need to talk about real-world problems,” said St. John’s Ravenscourt School teacher Kevin Landreville. “And it really does start with understanding ourselves more and understanding that we control a lot more than we give ourselves credit for.”

He feels Project 11 has had a positive effect on promoting the conversation around mental health amongst his students and would like to see more students take part.

“Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s okay to not be okay They are not just sayings, it’s real,” he said.  “If we can get more of the province to tap into the resources Project 11 has, I think our youth, and our teachers that lead them, will be better off moving forward.“