Making it to the NHL as a player requires a great deal of hard work and dedication to the game of hockey. It is not an easy path and unlike most professions, a life in pro sports is finite. By the time a player reaches his mid-thirties, he must begin to think about finding a new path to follow and contemplate life after hockey. When he left the game, Paul Harrison used all that he had learnt from his life in hockey, and not just his time in the NHL, to embark on a new career path helping his community as a valued member of the Ontario Provincial Police Force.
“It was difficult,” Harrison said of his transition to life after hockey. “I really do credit getting into policing as being a salvation for me. I retired in 1983 and immediately joined the Police Force, which gave me the chance to join a new team. It gave me that same sense of camaraderie and teamwork, so I think it was natural for me to get into policing. It was a challenging time though. You really question all your years of hard work to get to the NHL level because all of a sudden it’s gone.”
“I only played for eight years and certainly didn’t leave the game because I was tired of it,” he said with a laugh. “I couldn’t get anyone to pay me so it was time to find a different line of work.”
Read the full interview with Paul at the NHL Alumni website
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