Is there something you want so bad, you can taste it? Are you willing to go sideways, upside down and over all obstacles to get where you want to go? Or are you someone who drifts through life, with little purpose and allows life to control you, instead of your controlling it?
No ambition? Or lots of it, but no goals? Or you got goals, but don’t know where to start?
Just start. Anywhere.
Mark Giordano, captain of the Calgary Flames did. There are a small number of NHL players who finally got to play in the NHL even though they were never drafted. They had to find another way in. Giordano has been with the Flames since 2004. His turn at the draft would have been after 2002-03 season.
He didn’t get picked up, but he continued to play and did well, catching the attention of the pros. But he was already making other plans for his future.
He was on his way to a business degree at York University when he got the call from the Calgary Flames to a summer camp in 2004. He was among a small group of young men who impressed the Flames enough to offer a contract, not to play with them perse but to continue playing with their affiliate American Hockey League (AHL) teams. First with the Lowell Lock Monsters, for the 2004–05 season where he scored 6 goals and added 10 assists in 66 games and then for much of the 2005–06 season, with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.
The deal was to play 3 years in the AHL and then see what happens.
Mark Giordano had a reason not to give up. The death of a beloved older sister, Mia, when he was 14 years old, made a huge impression on him. He would never take life for granted after that.
Chinese medicine teaches that you are born with weaknesses and strengths. I believe that they come out when you’re faced with issues that deeply upset you, that either make you rise above them or make you capitulate.
Mark Giordano’s break came during the 2005-2006 season, when the Flames recalled him to Calgary at mid-season. He made his NHL debut on January 30, 2006, against the St. Louis Blues. Giordano appeared in seven games with the Flames, and recorded his first NHL point with an assist on April 8, 2006, against the Vancouver Canucks. In the 2006–07 season, Giordano played only five games in Omaha because he spent most of the season in Calgary. In 48 games he scored 7 times with a total of 15 points. He’s still a prolific offensive defenceman today.
But not so fast. Failed contract talks led him out of the NHL and into the Russian Super League in 2007-08. He wasn’t going back to the AHL. He wanted the challenge of playing in a better league. Can you blame him. He still wanted to play hockey but not just anywhere that people told him to. He was taking charge of his career. It was a gutsy move and he excelled in the Russian league.
The Flames finally signed him to a three-year deal beginning in the 2008-09 season. Eventually the Flames would climb out a series of bad deals and bad trades and Giordano and his new defensive partner, T.J. Brodie during the 2012-13 season would emerge as a strong defensive duo, along with Gio’s amazing offensive skills.
I love watching him play. And believe me the many iterations of the formerly mediocre Flames until this one in just the last three seasons has awoken a long dormant love of hockey – a sport I grew up with in Montreal, Quebec, where I adored the Montreal Canadiens.
In Mark Giordano’s road to his captainship with the Flames, it was not an easy one. He even had to leave and come back. He had to wait it out until management finally corrected their personnel messes. There was definitely disappointment along the way. There were injuries too, the latest a broken ankle last season that took out our brave captain for several months. There were whispers about his ability to succeed. All of it.
But he’s on top now. He’s the captain of the team and he inspires not just his team mates but also members of the greater community of the City of Calgary.
I’m glad he’s on our side!
So, what about you? Got something you need to do? Ready to make tough decisions and go after what it is you want? Success is not easy, not matter how you cut it. But the results are mighty fine. Stop living small. Dream big. Do big. Take a leap of faith. And be your own person all the way through!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng, International #1 Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.
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