A: All my life I’ve played hockey, but I’ve always been interested in many things. With my degree from RPI, I always wanted to go back to the tech world and do something productive.

Q: What do you do in your job with Harfan Technologies?

A: My job is to make sure people know about Harfan and our sophisticated asset management solutions. I’ve been a partner with Harfan since 2002. I am helping to develop collaborative opportunities for the company outside of Quebec. Because of the degree that I earned at RPI, and because most of my career as a professional hockey player was in the United States, I’m known as the “engineer hockey player.” That makes it easier for me to reach people at the top, the thought leaders and decision makers, which is a significant challenge when you’re a small company.

Q: Are you still flying your own airplane?

A: Yeah, and the plane I own now was actually my dream plane, the deHavilland Beaver, which is, up to today, the best bush plane that was ever built. It seats eight people and it gives me the chance to jump in with family and friends and bring them to my fishing cabin — an old log cabin that was built in the ’40s. You know, you go there, you don’t see anybody else. I’m alone on the lake with no access.

Q: What is your best hockey memory?

A: I think the top would be the (1992) Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. We were all amateurs [on the Canadian men’s ice hockey team] and we managed to get a silver medal, and I was the high scorer in the tournament. It was great. I went to the Stanley Cup finals twice, and as much fun as it was, I didn’t think it was like the Olympics were.

Q: You didn’t speak English when you came to Rensselaer. What was your first day like?

A: It was probably the day in my life that I was the most nervous. It was hard to go into a store and ask for a pack of gum. I was very shy and was nervous about making mistakes. Instead of speaking up in class, I would go over a question in French in my head and work on translating it into English, and I wouldn’t say it until I was comfortable. By the time I was ready to ask a question, it was three or four topics ago.

Q: How did you balance your academic program in aeronautical engineering and hockey at Rensselaer?

A: It was just a matter of being organized. Every day that I left my apartment, I had a list of every single thing that I needed to do that day. I don’t think I ever failed a test in my life before I came here. And the first two tests that I took at RPI, I failed them, and pretty bad too. On one of them I think I got 22 percent, the other one 30 percent, if not less than that. When I got the results I went right away to the coach’s office. I told Mike Addessa the situation, and I showed him all the homework that I did. The next week I had tutors in place for every single class I needed help with. What I gained the most from being around tutors was the fact that I had somebody one-on-one to discuss things with in English.

Q: What was it like to play with Adam Oates ’85 in the NHL?

A: My first year [with the Boston Bruins], especially, it was unbelievable. He really took me under his wing and made my transition so much easier. I was playing on his line and, at that point, he was leading the league, so for me to start out in [professional] hockey and to play with one of the best playmakers was amazing.

Harfan Technologies Web site

Photo by Mark McCarty
Originally published in Rensselaer Magazine, Winter 2004

Published December 1, 2004