Slater Koekkoek stepped away from hockey at 28 due to anxiety/eating disorder

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Was waived by the Oilers in February 2022 and only played 2 games in the AHL before leaving the team. I'll always give props to players coming forward with stuff like this:

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[WarriorofTime]

He was pretty bad but this likely explains why. Hopefully he gets the help he needs.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Things can manifest in all different ways.

Hopefully hea able to beat this.

 

[MessierII]

This guy would benefit from cannabis

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

He was a decent depth defenseman for the Blackhawks while starving himself. That's absolutely wild. Hope he's in a better place.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Honestly I had the same anxiety issues before games and I never even got that high in hockey. I can't even imagine the stress and anxiety that would come from playing in the NHL. Good for Koekkoek to look for solutions and trying to get help.

You hear stories of old NHLers who would vomit before every game and sometimes in between periods (I remember Glenn Hall was like this) and I can't even comprehend how players are able to give long careers while doing that.

 

[Hynh]

No person is at their best when they're hungry but when your job involves pushing yourself to your physical limits that's a recipe for disaster.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Poor guy.

Imagine how much pain some of these guys must be in the give up on the dream they dedicated their entire lives to fulfilling, just as they are finally starting to achieve it.

Hope he gets the help he needs.

 

[Asinine]

This guy would benefit from cannabis

Meh, a lot of people with anxiety can't use it because it just makes their anxiety worse.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Meh, a lot of people with anxiety can't use it because it just makes their anxiety worse.

Yeah up until recently I always got super anxious from smoking or taking edibles. It wasn't until I discovered weed vapes that I was actually able to find something that made me really relaxed and didn't give me any anxiety.

 

[MessierII]

Meh, a lot of people with anxiety can't use it because it just makes their anxiety worse.

I know the Diaz brothers use it to treat anxiety. If it did help him in that way it doubles as an appetite enhancer.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Honestly I had the same anxiety issues before games and I never even got that high in hockey. I can't even imagine the stress and anxiety that would come from playing in the NHL. Good for Koekkoek to look for solutions and trying to get help.

You hear stories of old NHLers who would vomit before every game and sometimes in between periods (I remember Glenn Hall was like this) and I can't even comprehend how players are able to give long careers while doing that.

When reading old-time hockey coverage, it’s quite noticeable how often you see players reported to have “nervous breakdowns”, especially the goalies.

This stuff has been going on in the NHL for a very long time, there just wasn’t a good means to talk about it in real terms.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Awful to hear. Best of luck to Slater on his future endeavours!

 

[Empoleon8771]

When reading old-time hockey coverage, it’s quite noticeable how often you see players reported to have “nervous breakdowns”, especially the goalies.

This stuff has been going on in the NHL for a very long time, there just wasn’t a good means to talk about it in real terms.

Yeah and that was with a 6 team league before any sort of social media existed. Imagine them trying to play today with the amount of stress that players feel today. No wonder goalies are insane, you have to be insane to be able to tune out all of that pressure and perform in the NHL

 

[dwonger]

This guy would benefit from cannabis

Not always. Cannabis can trigger Anxiety and Depersonalization/Derealization long term for some people.

Maybe he can try just CBD but I am sure he already has

Sounds like his parents didn’t do the whole airplane food trick while he was growing up

Yikes, grow up man. Whoever told you that your edgy jokes were funny was lying to you.

 

[bleedgreen]

I played for years with and against a guy who would puke a little before many games he played. Super intense guy who was basically vibrating pre game. These weren’t big time games, basically higher end men’s league. He had played at the juniors level when younger and had been that way the whole time. Reading this gives a little insight. Looking back now I could absolutely see that guy being someone struggling with anxiety when back then he and all of us laughed about it.

 

[King'sPawn]

Hopefully he gets the help he needs. I'm just sorry to hear he's going through this. Anxiety is horrible.

 

[JKG33]

Its honestly insane that he was able to have as long of a career as he did eating so little. The meal plans these NHLers are on to fuel up after all the calories they burn is no joke.

When I was a kid I struggled with something similar, puking before every start due to anxiety. Luckily I grew out of it. When I was done playing jrs I had the opposite problem, ballooning up like Byfuglien. Food related problems ain't fun no matter which side you're on.

 

[PuckG]

Glad he's coming out with it now and getting the help he needs. It's honestly insane to think of eating so little with the physical duress NHL'ers are under playing a full season. It's probably a miracle he hasn't had worse injuries/outcomes with such low sustenance.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Good for him for sharing his story. I wish him all the best going forward.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

This guy would benefit from cannabis

He'd benefit from a substance infamous for sending people to the hospital because they get too high and think they're dying?

 

[biturbo19]

That's intense. I can't even fathom how hard it would be to play at an NHL level while being unable to fuel your body properly beforehand. And of course, as it often is...it becomes a real vicious cycle. Can't eat because of anxiety about the game. Start to develop anxiety about not being able to eat properly. Really can't eat properly.

Glad he's got the confidence to come forward with his story. Having the courage to put that out there and seek a healthier life is the sort of thing that does a lot more to humanize and destigmatize mental health struggles than a lot of the token lipservice promotional opportunities we see.

 

[Sensinitis]

He'd benefit from a substance infamous for sending people to the hospital because they get too high and think they're dying?

Maybe you should change your username to I Hate Weed

 

[thethirdhockeyman91]

This guy would benefit from cannabis

Cannabis makes most people with an anxiety disorder worse off... pretty bad advice

 

[57special]

That’s pretty sad. I feel for the guy, and hope he gets help. Makes you wonder what might have been if he didn’t have this disorder, which is very real, folks. Some people literally starve themselves to death.