The playmaker is YOU

[Applause]

i’m wondering did you have a dream as a

child

you know like one day when i’m big

i’m going to be a pilot a fireman or

a movie star

i had such a dream

it even became reality

and then one day all of a sudden

it just

stopped

i would like to take you on my journey

with many highs and many lows

just like our beautiful swiss mountains

i would like to start with a high

my childhood

happy boy huh

i have great parents

a cooler older brother

mostly

growing up we did everything together

we lived in a nice neighborhood we had

many kids to play with

there was not a cloud in the sky

until one day

i was about eight years old and

my older brother sven

destroyed my poster of the other

mediocre

my big idol back in the

day you guys all know who you are in

mediocrities

if not

if not let me help you out

this

with the sick here is your mediocre

a czech legend in the nhl who has won

everything there’s winning ice hockey

in the best league of the world

huh

so

after my brother

destroyed my poster

during weeks

during weeks i was sitting in my room

i was staring at this empty wall where

my aisle used to hang

and one day

it hits

me what if i

become the next you’re a mediocre

and after that

i kinda had a dream

any time i wasn’t at school

i was on the ice

and i was mostly sitting in this gear

i was just

always playing ice hockey

and

it was fun

i realized in my youth that

if you have a goal in life

you will reach much easier

when you believe in yourself

when you’re focused and

when you enjoy

what you are doing

now imagine you’re 23 years old

you play in switzerland’s top league

you’ve just signed a two-year deal with

the best team in the league

for half a million swiss francs

how would you feel

i made into the national team

2011 i played the world championship for

team switzerland

in the last game of the tournament

against a team from the us

i didn’t score one

i scored two goals and was named player

of the game

i even was contacted by the nhl

i was on fire

living the dream

the season was over

five days later i was back home

at it was may 14 2011. that’s a date i

never forget

at four in the morning i was walking

home

after boys night out

i had great pictures of the world

championships in my mind i was so

excited for the future and

so pumped

and then

everything

went black

10 days later i woke up

i had been in an artificial coma

diagnosis

traumatic brain injury

holy

turns out

i had been run over by a drunk driver

going 85

85 kilometers per hour

the doctors told me

you’re lucky to be alive

thankfully back then

i kind of looked like

you guys know the hulk

yeah good okay

i had 10 kilos more and i was in the

shape of my life

anyone else

would not have survived this

when i woke up

i was lying on this mattress in a

hospital i couldn’t walk

i couldn’t talk

i was given liquid nutrition

and

i even had to wear diapers

my dream

has fallen apart

i was in shock

just a few days earlier everything was

so perfect

i had to get some rest

some time

during my three months of rehabilitation

the doctors came to me

and they were like

you’re recovering well you’re making

great progress ice hockey might be

possible again one day

all i heard was ice hockey impossible

again i mean

ice hockey was my

longest and only relationship i had my

girlfriend for 20 years

and guess what

i wanted her back

i never wanted to

to blame myself for not trying

i had the goal

again after that i tried everything to

get my dream back

i did lots of physiotherapy

privatized training i tried different

kind of therapies and i saw specialists

all over switzerland

i even went to america

to see dr carrick in atlanta

he’s the best in the world when it comes

to brains

i really tried everything

at the age of 24

i got a special permit and i was allowed

to start on the ice on a less intensive

and physical level with the juniors

up to the second league and up to the

best league again and yes

i was proud of myself being back

that was awesome

but

there was a little problem

before my accident

eye socket to me

was like that

i was skating and i said if i get the

puck now i got one two three options

the park came

quick decision made my move the game

went on

easy peasy

after my accident

i was skating and i said oh i got

the puck and boom

got run over by an opponent and that was

always pretty painful

so logically

and also

understandably i could send down to the

second league again and

i had to face it

my relationship with ice hockey would

never be the same again

it would never make me happy again

i had to choose between

ice hockey

or happiness

i choose to be happy

and i had to break up with my girlfriend

ice hockey

that was tough

what do we do

or what do you do after a tough breakup

yes

i know what you’re thinking

we get the hell out of here

and that’s what i did i flew to south

africa

i was in cape town for a couple of weeks

one night i was sitting at the beach

i watched the sunset

with a glass of red in my left

and a funny green cigarette in my right

and i just asked myself

and what now

that can’t already be it

i’m 26.

there has to be something else for me

but

i didn’t know what

here i am

just thinking about one of my favorite

songs

and every little thing

is gonna be all right

[Music]

you know what i mean

after that

a couple days later

i went home

clueless

clueless but still full of hope

and guess what

nothing

was all right

nothing at all

i had a breakdown

deep depressions

medication

side effects up and down

everything that i loved

everything except my family

was gone

my life

was built around the dream

and i’d woken up way too early

my environment

were my hockey teammates

my daily routine the recognition

my pride

ice hockey ice hockey and ice hockey

they were all gone

and that was tough

i had invested so much

i had sacrificed so much

for what

and no i never considered killing myself

i mean i love my life but

it was just

really really dark

and i needed back some color in my life

honesty

is what i needed

honesty to myself

one day

i had the balls to tell my family listen

i’m not going to make it on my own

i need help

i mean

you have a problem with your car

you don’t even think about it

you go to the garage

with your bike

you go see the guy at the bike shop

with your teeth you go see the dentist

you have a guy or a girl for everything

what if your laptop is broken

okay we throw it away we buy a new one

but

what if your thoughts or your head is

broken

you can’t just throw them away

professional help

saved my ass

many hours

many hours of therapy later i can say

i have been through a lot

and at some point

my backpack was light enough

light enough to support others

taking care of themselves and

that’s what i’m doing today

that’s why i’m here

so

if there are three things

i can share with you guys tonight

it’s these

the playmaker is you

you are responsible for your life

from which perspective you see your life

how do you face up to situations

and what you make out of them

only you decide

don’t blame

someone else

look inside you be honest with yourself

forgive let go move on because

you decide how you move on so

take responsibility

my family what a beautiful picture

i love it

my family

my close friends

and the mother of my two sons

have always been there for me during the

toughest time of my life

during the toughest time of my life

if you

it’s emotional for me

i’m so i’m so grateful for that you know

i’m really grateful for that

if you guys

oh

sorry for that

but i’m just saying if if if you

if you have

give me a second

okay so i’m really grateful for that

i want to ask you please

take care of those people take time

especially for them

because one day

when your life gets difficult or maybe

you’re struggling

exactly these people will be there for

you

they catch you they listen to you and

they give you advice

so please

take care of them

getting professional help was the best

thing or the best decision i’ve ever

made

i really had to work on myself and i

quickly realized that working on myself

is by far

by far the most difficult there is but

also by far the most rewarding thing

i’ve ever done

and that’s exactly why we have to talk

about it

mental health can’t be a secret anymore

because

in the end

we

are the most important persons of our

lives

that has nothing to do

with self with being selfish but

how are we going to spread positive

wives good energy

or even love to others if if we don’t

even love ourselves

think about it

i always follow my dream

of becoming a professional ice hockey

player

my dream got destroyed

if you

have a dream in your life

and

for whatever reason your dream gets cut

short

please

take care of yourself and create space

for a new dream because

life

life goes on anyway

and

you only get one

[Applause]