 Peter Conacher is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League. Conacher played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers. In 1959, Conacher played for the World Champion Belleville McFarlands. This is TRUE Canadian Royalty! The Conacher family, in particular Peter’s Uncle Lionel and his Dad, Charlie are Canadian icons. Charlie was captain of Maple Leafs and Lionel was Canada’s Athlete of the Half-Century. Now, at 85 years old, Peter is as humble as ever and I'm oh so grateful that I had the opportunity to pick his brain. He kept things short and to the point - just how I like it. Check out our chat below:
Describe yourself in one word. Honest. What did you learn about yourself throughout your career? That I would have liked to have been better. Did what you value change from when you started compared to now? l learned to value friends. How would you define success? Pleased with myself at the end of the day. Do you have a system that you use to achieve your goals? No. What advice would you give to your younger self? More schooling. What does “charity” mean to you? A willingness to help others.  This one's for all of my fellow Leafs fans. Chances are highly likely that you're familiar with Steve "Dangle" Glynn. If not, don't fret and prepare to fall in love. He has a popular YouTube channel, goofy hockey podcast, and works at Sportsnet. Social media and interaction are his thing.
I had the pleasure of chatting with him over the summer about the Leafs' past, present and future as well as his book "This Team Is Ruining My Life (but I Love Them): How I Became A Professional Hockey Fan". You can grab that here. Check out the Q&A below: How did you feel about the Leafs’ performance against Boston in the playoffs last season? The Leafs’ performance against the Bruins their series, overall, was great. That made their performances in Game 6 and Game 7 even more confusing and disappointing. This is easily the most disappointing of their three recent playoff losses to Boston. In 2013 they shouldn’t have even made the playoffs and in 2018 they were trying for a miracle comeback yet again. This year? They had them. Twice. Seeing where Boston is now doesn’t make me feel better about the Leafs’ performance, it makes it feel like a blown opportunity. What changes need to be made so that we can finally have that highly talked about Stanley Cup parade? The Leafs need to coordinate from the front office down, which I’m not convinced they do. Give Matthews his setup man (Nylander) back. Get a decent right-handed D who can move the puck. Get a backup goalie you trust. That sounds like a lot but I’m really talking about adding like two or three guys, not even stars, and playing your best players with your other best players. If they do that, they have a shot. Did you learn anything new about yourself and your love for this team while writing your book? I definitely learned more about myself than the team. I spend lots of time reflecting about the Leafs but probably not enough time reflecting on my own life. The book forced me to do that. I let go of a lot of resentment. There were some people who I resented a bit because I misinterpreted their guidance when I was younger, and when I realized that, I resented myself. Not I can look back on it all and take it for what it is: Part if the journey. It’s also amazing how much easier it is to remember things when you write them down.  I am excited to share with you a series of Q&As that I did (with the generosity and help of Ken Hadall) featuring raw conversations with professional athletes breaking down who they are outside of their sports and accomplishments. My goal is that by the end of each interview you'll be able to relate to them in some way and view them as humans. This first one is a beauty.
A Champion of causes: Fearlessly defending underdogs of all walks of life, former Chicago Blackhawk Stanley Cup Champion Brent Sopel is no longer hiding “behind the stick” as he reveals his own hidden challenges. The battles that he fought on the ice left visible scars…but the invisible wounds he suffered cut deeper. Brent's personal story has directed him towards a path of advocating for others who are struggling with similar obstacles. As a result, Brent’s mission is to be:
Check out our Q&A below: Describe yourself in one word. Compassionate. What did you learn about yourself throughout your career? I truly found out who I really was . Did what you value change from when you started compared to now? Completely changed. How would you define success? Feeling good about the job you did. Do you have a system that you use to achieve your goals? Routine. What advice would you give to your younger self? Focus on being true to yourself . What does “charity” mean to you? Helping anyone who needs.  Though it may seem like yesterday, hockey has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
I was born and raised in a Toronto Maple Leafs cheering household. Most nights you could find my dad clapping and yelling at the TV either because he was rooting for the players in his hockey pool or expressing disappointment in their performance. I actually wrote a speech about it appropriately titled “My Hockey Loving Dad” in grade 6 and made it to the public speaking semi-finals. Hockey has always served as a bonding activity between my dad and I (along with nacho and Dairy Queen dates). I went to my first Leafs game when I was 9 and they lost to the Atlanta Thrashers (now known as the Winnipeg Jets), but I was still thrilled because he had a lot of players on that team and got points. Now, I’ll shoot him a dirty look if he cheers for the Leafs’ opponent even though I wore a Vegas jersey to Scotiabank Arena when they played them. I’ve always had a passion for all things entertainment which led me to pursue a career in that field. It’s presented me with some amazing opportunities from the day I started including appearing on TMZ Live every month to comment on the latest celebrity train wreck. About a year ago, things started to change in the industry and I was losing that loving feeling I once had for what I do. Movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp were blowing up and Trump became president leading the realms of politics and entertainment to come together as one. It ruined award season - something that I would normally refer to as the most wonderful time of the year. I needed a break from all of that and turned to sports. The one thing that I love about sports and the people who work in sports is that there’s barely any bullshit. I mean, you have the trade rumours, the front office shakeups, and all that fun stuff, but I don’t think it compares to how much crap and drama there is in entertainment. I felt like sharing this reflection was the perfect way to open this new chapter and kick off the relaunch. I am so excited to share with you all of the things I've been working on while this site was offline!  Exciting changes are coming!
As I continue to grow personally and professionally, so will The Saverina Scozzari Collective brand hence why I feel that it's time to go offline. This is only temporary as this time will be used to create new and meaningful content to share when the website relaunches in September. This past year has brought on so many changes. My health has taken me on one hell of a ride, I've somehow found myself working in sports (more on that when I return), I hosted and produced five episodes of "Keeping Up with Sav" (set to air on Cable 14 in May), I'm back as a correspondent on TMZ Live, and I've finally been able to use my platform for good by getting involved with charities supporting causes close to my heart. I want to keep setting and achieving new goals, so I feel that time away from the World Wide Web is a must right now. The next few months will be spent creating new content - #SavMeetsWorld will be making a comeback along with some very personal blog posts reflecting on the journey I've been on and the lessons I've learned. My social media feeds will be a tad quieter than normal, but it will all be worth it. I can't thank you all enough for the support I've received over the years and looking forward to what the future has in store. See you all in a few months! xx Saverina |