I'm much more comfortable saying hello than I am with saying goodbye. Let's start there.
I first said hello to you all in April of 2007. The Canadiens were on the verge of an epic meltdown in Toronto, and Hockeybuzz was just taking shape as a leading independent source of hockey blogging. It was my first foray into anything media related.
I had completed a degree in Political Science at Concordia University in 2006. I was working my way through marketing positions when, on a whim, at 3:00am, on the eve of this big game between Montreal and Toronto for a chance at a playoff berth, I wrote this blog inspired by having just seen the movie 300.
The blog was a rally cry for the Canadiens with an emphasis on the glory of putting their biggest rival down. It was quite romantic and silly, but it landed on this site and launched the very first belief I had that I could do something in hockey.
When Eklund reached out to notify me that I had won this little contest to publish a blog, I took it as a sign and convinced him to allow me to blog about the Canadiens moving forward.
As I navigated my way through the experience, I started to think about finding a way to get accredited to cover the Canadiens. They don't give credentials to people from independent websites, and I took a chance and made my way down to Toronto to convince Joe Thistel at XM Radio NHL Home Ice (now Sirius/XM NHL Network) to give me a crack as their representative in Montreal. With virtually no experience and no journalism background, it was a tough sell. But, Joe took a chance on me, and I made my way into the Canadiens press box.
It was a harrowing experience sitting in the Jacques Beauchamp press lounge at the Bell Centre for the first time. I looked around, and people I admired in the media sat amongst each other, relaxed and well-entrenched in the minutia of the Canadiens beat. My eyes shifted to the hockey people in the room... Cliff Fletcher and Bob Gainey were sharing a table right in front of me. I was in awe.
I parlayed the opportunities Eklund and Joe had provided into an internship with Mitch Melnick at what was then known as the Team 990. For three to four months, I soaked up everything he did, and it felt like I was gaining years worth of experience in that studio with Rod Francis and Andie Bennett. Mitch's off-the-cuff style taught me a lot about how to handle myself on the air. Perhaps the greatest value of what I learned was trusting my knowledge and refusing to rehearse anything I'd say on the air.
Mitch also gave me some advice that would prove invaluable. He told me to never let anyone say no to me. He taught me that if you aren't willing to push on a door someone's trying to slam in your face, you'll never be able to walk through. It's the advice that has guided just about everything in my life since.
I was originally told there wouldn't be an opportunity for me at Team 990 after my internship, but I went back and asked again and was granted the chance to host pre and post-game shows on their airways.
With the help of Mike Boone, of the Montreal Gazette, I got an opportunity to join a subsection they created for hockeyinsideout.com (then known as habsinsideout.com) called "the Other Wing" to blog about the Canadiens.
As I was gaining more experience writing and doing radio, I had my sights set on getting on television.
Brian Wilde--who has helped me in more ways than I can recount--introduced me to Jed Kahane, who created a section for Brian, Arpon Basu and myself to write in called "The Habs Hub" on the CTV Montreal website. Brian had enough confidence in me to have me as a guest on his "Sports Extra" segment, and that was the beginning of some much needed seasoning in television.
Brian also recommended me for a regular morning show segment with Rob Kemp and Chantal Desjardins at CHOM FM before Terry DiMonte and Heather Backman were signed on to take over.
I continued writing here as the "Habs Hub" dissolved with Arpon's departure for NHL.com. I continued doing radio on what is now TSN 690, and continued working as Sirius/XM's Montreal correspondent, going to games, interviewing players and crafting analysis. I also maintained some television experience in being asked to appear as an analyst on Breakfast Television and Montreal Connected with City TV, with CBC Montreal, and with Brian on "Sports Extra" here and there.
All along, in an ever-changing landscape where it became increasingly difficult to secure myself in Montreal, I worked full-time jobs in marketing and sales to support my dream.
Rarely, if ever, did I apply for a job in the media with a description. Most of my experience was carved out by having my own ideas, presenting them to the powers that be, and hoping I be granted the opportunity to prove them to be good ones.
As you may or may not know, I was hired by Rogers Sportsnet to be their writing correspondent in Montreal. It's an opportunity to excel in the different mediums that have allowed me to always keep a foot in the door in the Montreal media. This new chapter will begin in this year's playoffs.
I'm very grateful and proud. I'm ecstatic to continue doing what I love. And I'm exuberant to be doing it in this great city I was born and raised in.
Many people in this community have supported me all along. Many people have helped shape my career, especially those in my immediate family, who always encouraged me and kept me balanced. I'm very fortunate for all of that.
Thank you all for stopping by here to read my blogs. Thank you all for listening and watching in the different places I've appeared over the last eight years. I hope you'll continue along with me on my journey to provide insight and a unique angle on the Canadiens at Sportsnet.
There's an opportunity open here at Hockeybuzz to blog about the Canadiens. If this is something you're passionate about, I suggest submitting a writing sample to
[email protected].
If you're good; if you believe in yourself, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Pursue it with passion, and as hockey players teach us everyday, get back up after you've been knocked down.
Thanks again, and farewell to Hockeybuzz.
EE
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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