In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger, who is successfully making the transition from hockey to the corporate world.
EDMONTON -- Chris Pronger played 18 seasons as an NHL defenseman and spent another six years working in hockey but is well into his next venture away from the game.
Pronger, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2015, is navigating the business world and has left hockey behind, at least for now.
"I learned a long time ago, never say never, but, no, I'm not actively trying to do anything in hockey right now, but you never know what can come along at any point," Pronger said during a recent visit to Edmonton. "My brother Sean and I, we got a new whisky that came out about eight months ago and launched in the end of May in 2023. I help run a travel company with my wife (Lauren) that she started and currently building out a speaking platform. I've been asked to do different speeches and things like that and I'm trying to put a little more polish, a little more professionalism, a little more structure behind it and so I'm just building that out and probably launch that in April or May."
A native of Dryden, Ontario, Pronger was selected No. 2 by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Draft behind Alexandre Daigle, who was taken by the Ottawa Senators. His older brother Sean was a forward for the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks.
Chris Pronger played two seasons in Hartford before he traded to the St. Louis Blues, where he played the bulk of his career and still resides. After nine seasons with the Blues, Pronger was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and helped them get to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
A trade request after the 2006 Final sent Pronger to Anaheim, where he won the Cup in 2007. After three seasons, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, and concluded his playing career with 698 points (157 goals, 541 assists) in 1,167 games and 121 points (26 goals, 95 assists) in 173 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
After retiring, Pronger was hired by the NHL Department of Player Safety and after three years went on to work with the Florida Panthers as a special adviser to general manager Dale Tallon. Pronger left the Panthers in 2019.
NHL.com talked to the 49-year-old to promote his new whisky while watching the Oilers defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 at Rogers Place on March 3.
How is life after hockey treating you?
"Really good. I still live in St. Louis. My two boys go to school at SMU (Southern Methodist University) in Dallas, so I'm down there a lot and my daughter is in the ninth grade."
Do your kids play hockey?
"No. The two boys played when they were younger and then they played basketball and lacrosse in high school."
Do you miss being involved in the game?
"For now, I stay out of the way. I think sometimes when you're at the game and you see the energy, a game like this, you feel the energy of the crowd and stuff like that, it's pretty hard to replicate anywhere else."
How are things going so far with the company, called JRNY (pronounced journey)?
"It's good. This is our branding our marketing, our story. We're authentically Canadian. I think one of the things is that the world doesn't need another whisky, but it needs another story. I think that's something that we really focused on, is telling our story and we're proud of the product. Our marketing, our branding, our logo, has won awards and the liquid itself has won awards as well.
"We're proud of that and we've been getting great reviews with those who've had the pleasure of trying it, so we're excited. We're in Missouri, New York, just got into Texas and we're Ontario and now Alberta. Those are our five core markets we want to be in. We want to execute there, and we'll see where we go from there."
Are there any parallels between being a professional athlete and being successful in the business world?
"There's lots. I think one thing that I do talk about when I do some public speaking events is that there are so many parallels between sports and business, whether it's teamwork, worth ethic, discipline, structure, drive, determination, all those things are key components and key components in a winning hockey team."
You also help run a luxury travel agency, Well Inspired Travels, with your wife, Lauren. How is that going?
"That's good. It's been five years. COVID was not easy, but I think we're kind of getting back to our roots now. You're trying to survive as a business, you're trying to run a business in the midst of a pandemic in a travel space. It's not easy, but I think we steered away a little bit of how we wanted to operate because of the pandemic and now we're making inroad and getting back and focus on things that we really wanted to do."
What do you remember of your season in Edmonton and going to the Stanley Cup Final?
"I think we did have a really good bond on that team. I think all year long we were losing a lot of tough games. I remember a couple of games we played against St. Louis at Rexall Place, we would outshoot them 44-13 and we'd lose 4-2; games like that where you're completely dominating the game and you're losing.
"Then you say, 'we need a little help,' and we go out and get 'Roli' (goalie Dwayne Roloson) and it takes a little bit of time to adjust to our system and how we play, and then we went on a bit of a run and then obviously the playoffs, we all know what happened there."
That team really came together at the right time. You upset the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks to get to the Final. How did you do it?
"I think you look at that team top to bottom, we didn't have anybody that was super high-end talent, we just had really good hockey players. You get the top line, we added a number of guys either close to the deadline or at the deadline, like (Sergei) Samsonov that kind of provided a little extra offense. You need four lines scoring in the playoffs to be successful and we were getting that."
You played in the old arena in Edmonton, Rexall Place. Had you seen the new arena, Rogers Place, before your visit here?
"I came back for World Junior tryouts one year when I was scouting, I think it was 2018. I've been to this arena before, I haven't been down below, but I have been in the rink. They did a great job. It's a beautiful rink. The hallways and the suites, how spacious they are, it's top notch. You have a lot of room to get around and you don't feel like you're cramming anywhere, it's pretty good."
