GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 16 - May 2011

You have the distinction of being the GPWA’s only professional hockey player. Tell us about your career on the ice and your future plans. I have been playing hockey since I was six years old, and like most kids in Canada I dreamed of playing in the NHL. I turned pro at age 20, and I was fortunate enough to play in the NHL with the Vancou- ver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then I had the opportunity to play in Germany on the same team as my brother Greg, and have been play- ing in Germany’s top league, the DEL, for the past four years. I will be back in Nuremberg playing for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers next season, and when I retire I would definitely like to stay involved with the game. What was it like to play in theNHL? Do you have any good stories? It was satisfying to realize a lifelong dream. I was excited, happy and proud but also thankful for the support from my family throughout the years. My parents never got to see me play in the NHL in person, but I have pictures of them gathered around the TV with fam- ily and friends cheering me on. Those pic- tures are some of my favorite keepsakes. As for stories, there would be too many to fit in this interview and most are not G-Rated. If anyone wants to hear about how Mark Messier spilled Gatorade all over me before my second NHL game, or how my brother and I partied with the Stanley Cup when he played with the Dallas Stars in 1999, we can go talk about it over some beers! Your hometown is Red Deer, about half- way between Calgary and Edmonton. Did you grow up rooting for the Flames or the Oilers? I grew up during the dynasty days of the Oilers, so I was a big fan of Edmon- ton. I was young but I do remember the five Stanley Cups the Oilers won in the ‘80s. Wayne Gretzky was my favorite play- er, but my brother and I used to pretend we were all the Oilers when we played on the outdoor rinks and street hockey. Have you had the chance to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto? I did get a chance to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame a couple times. It is almost like going to church; it is a cathedral-like place where everyone is in awe of the historical, al- most spiritual contents. The highlight for me was going into the vault where they keep all the original trophies and all the original rings that have been taken off the Stanley Cup as recent winners are added. Lots of history. How is hockey in Europe different from hockey in North America? There are sub- tle differences in the rules and ice surface. The biggest difference is the quality of the refereeing. The referees in Europe are not as professional as those in North Ameri- can hockey leagues. The standards and accountability simply are not there. A couple staff members at the GPWA Times Magazine follow hockey pretty closely, and we know that money often changes hands in a hockey locker room. What are some of the typical bets you might see players making in a hockey locker room? Putting “Money on the board” is a type of bet that players vol- unteer to pay. This usually happens if a player is playing against a team he used to play for. He would write his name and dollar amount on the board, usually $100. Then if the team wins the game, the money will be added to the team fund that goes towards a team night out, or the money could be offered to the guy who scores the game’s winning goal! How did you decide to become involved in gambling-related affiliate marketing? When did you launch your site? Fawn Labrie and my wife, Emily Leeb, work with CalvinAyre.com and they introduced me to the industry. The idea of creating a hockey-based betting-tips site seemed like an easy and obvious fit with my hock- ey background. Planning and building the website started in the summer of 2010, and the site was launched at the start of the NHL season in October 2010. Every- AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES These webmasters are all over the place! New Zealand, France, Cana- da, England – in this issue, five affiliates from four countries let their hair down and tell the GPWA Times Magazine what they really think about our industry and the roles they play in it. Meet the GPWA’s one and only pro hockey player, a foster parent to troubled kids, an award-winning film con- noisseur, a passionate poker player and a hard-working bingomeister who’s also pretty good with a YoYo. The thoughts and opinions aired by these five hard-work- ing webmasters are compel- ling, diverse and very wise. And when you take everything they have to say and boil it down to its bare essence, you’re left with two little words: persistence pays! *Due to space constraints,we could not print the interviews in their entirety.The complete text will be posted at gpwa.org. On the ice and on the Net, he’s at the top of his game BRAD LEEB bradmleeb