As an athlete, it’s essential to find the right balance between working, training and decompressing. I had an incredible career as a professional hockey player, but also a very emotional one — full of highs and lows. Since the early 2000s, I’ve been coming to the Okanagan to recover, train and strike that balance between pushing myself and recharging.

When I played for the Calgary Flames, the Okanagan was very easy to get to. Many hockey players in the West called it home, making it an ideal place to skate and train. I quickly fell in love with the region — so much so that my wife and I bought a house and raised a family there.

As someone who loves the water, the Okanagan, with its dozens of lakes, seemed like a perfect fit. I have countless memories of trying new activities with my family, like tubing, paddle-boarding and kayaking, and I can still hear my kids screaming as they tumbled off their tubes. Learning how to boat didn’t come easy. Once, I had to call my teammate Chuck Kobasew from the middle of the lake because I’d accidentally wrapped the rope around the boat’s propeller. I haven’t made that mistake again.

It’s all these memories of the Okanagan that make the region my favourite in Canada. You can feel the excitement from visitors who are on vacation — there’s a certain buzz and special kind of energy in the air. You can hear the rumble of small planes; people setting off on their own little adventures. Orchards stretch across the region, from cherry and peach trees to blueberry farms. It’s rejuvenating. It’s just a wonderful place to live.

– As told to Samantha Pope

The Okanagan is the unceded tm̓ xwúlaʔxw (land) of the syilx (Okanagan) people.