Myles Mattila Go to School, Play Hockey

BY STEVE MACNAULL

The Daily Courier

Myles Mattila didn’t have to

choose between higher

education and high-calibre

hockey.

“I knew I wanted to get a business degree,

but I still wanted to play at the highest level

of hockey I could,” said the 18-year-old.

“I’m lucky I’m able to do

both with the perfect fit

I have with Okanagan

College and the Kelowna

Chiefs. College is flexible

and the Chiefs encourage

players to attend school.”

The college offers Mattila

a schedule of morning and

evening classes, so he can

practice midday with the

Kootenay International

Junior Hockey League

team.

And most games are on

weekends, so they don’t

interfere with school, either.

“It’s a healthy balance,”

said Mattila.

“I want to play hockey,

but I also want to get the

education that will lead

me to become a lawyer.”

Mattila is making it

work with aplomb.

The five-foot-10-inch,

180-pound right winger has

seven goals and 12 assists

in the 27 games he’s played

with the Chiefs so far this

season.

He’s also doing well at college.

While this is admirable, it’s really

Mattila’s volunteer work in the

mental-health realm that earned him

the Top Forty Under 40 nomination.

While playing his final season of major

midget with the Cariboo Cougars in

Prince George, he started the

MindRight.info website.

“I haven’t suffered myself with mental

illness,” said Mattila.

“But, I know mental illness doesn’t

discriminate. I’ve seen friends and fellow

hockey players suffer with depression.”

While the website was designed to help

local hockey players access information

about mental health and how to seek help,

it is also a resource for the

wider community.

“There’s definitely a

stigma to mental illness,

especially in sports and

hockey because the guys

are supposed to be big and

tough and not show

weakness and not share

their emotions,” said

Mattila.

“Mind Right lets people

know they are not alone

and it’s OK to get help.”

The website caught the

attention of B.C. Hockey,

which bestowed its

President’s Award on

Mattila and is

recommending

MindRight.info be

provided to all minorhockey

players in the

province.

Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau gave Mittila

Twitter nod when he

heard of his advocacy.

The volunteerism also

helped Mattila qualify for

one of only four Trevor

Linden Scholarships awarded each year to

students in B.C.

“I think it may have been Lana Quinn

(who works with former hockey star

Linden in the Vancouver Canucks

organization) who nominated me for the Top 40 under 40 - Kelowna

Done