by Sean Avery
I had been acting all those seasons in the NHL, so it seems like a natural transition now.
And yes, there are people saying, “You can’t do it, won’t do it,” and you’ll recall my response to that when it happened to me as a little kid. I think I did a pretty good job of proving them wrong, and hearing it again now just motivates me.
I still want people to enjoy my performance, but now it will be in a different arena. You can even hate me, but that will be because of who I’m playing, and if I bring out emotion in you—love, hate, laughter—then I’ve succeeded. As Jacques says in As You Like It:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.
(COVER COURTESY THE HOCKEY NEWS, USED WITH PERMISSION)
I know a compliment when I see one. If I can get on the cover of a magazine just by playing my game, I must be doing something right. But evil? That’s not me. Genius? I’ll let others judge.
Me and Mom. See? How could that kid be all bad?
That’s my dad on the right. He’s the guy not getting punched in the face. One thing we talked about a lot when I was a kid was that violence never solves problems.
My brother, Scott, hanging with the Stanley Cup inside Warren 77.
Me and Mom today. I don’t need everyone in the world to like me. But I’m like anyone else—I want to make my parents proud.
(CREDIT SHELLY CASTELLANO PHOTOGRAPHY)
Making it to the NHL feels pretty great. Winning the Stanley Cup in your first season feels pretty good too. I highly recommend it.
(AP PHOTO/THE CANADIAN PRESS, MARK TAYLOR)
At Derek Boogaard’s funeral with my Rangers teammates. You can see from our faces that some things in life are more important than winning hockey games.
(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)
The fans in Philadelphia will always have a special place in my heart. As you can see, Flyers fans loved me—as long as they were safely behind the glass.
(AP PHOTO/BILL KOSTROUN)
For some reason, Marty Brodeur didn’t like it when I set up in his crease. Sometimes I got the impression he was angry.
(AP PHOTO/JULIE JACOBSON)
It’s funny. Scott Hartnell plays the game the way I did. He can score, he can hit, and he loves to get under guys’ skin. Sounds a bit like me. But for some reason, he’s thought of as a gritty character guy, while I was considered, well, an evil genius. Seems kind of unfair. I did enjoy punching him in the face, though.
(AP PHOTO/KATHY KMONICEK)
There are a few places on the ice where truly gifted hockey players don’t have to go if they don’t want to. The front of the net is the least pleasant of those places. I spent a lot of time in front of the net. If you think it’s easy, you should try staying on your feet while a 225-pound defenseman pounds you, and your own team bombs 100-mph slapshots your way.
(AP PHOTO/GUS RUELAS)
This shot should tell you why guys like me are effective in the NHL. Todd Marchant is looking at me, probably contemplating revenge of some kind. I’m looking at the puck. Who do you think is about to make a play?
(AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW)
Brendan Shanahan showed me more about the league and about life than anyone else I played with. Here we are at New York Fashion Week. He may be the only guy I played with who has ever been.
Me and Elisha. I’m generally proud of my taunts and insults, but there is one I would definitely take back if I could.
That’s me hanging out with Bill Murray.
And here I am with friends in Jamaica. That’s my buddy Lawrence Longo, four over from me to the right. The incredibly beautiful woman beside me is proof that I’m a lucky guy, and also proof that you make at least some of your own luck. If I hadn’t played hockey, and hadn’t played in New York, and hadn’t opened a restaurant, I would never have been lucky enough to meet her.
A lot of guys will say that just being in the NHL is a dream come true. And it is. I dreamed about it my whole life. But the thing is, it’s also a gateway to a whole world of other opportunities. Here I am with Trey Anastasio from Phish in the hallway of Madison Square Garden.
That’s Hilary and me on our wedding day. Most guys think their wives are the most beautiful women in the world. I feel pretty lucky that mine actually is the most beautiful woman in the world.
Here you’ll see a young, curly-haired version of me partying with the Stanley Cup and my “big brothers” on the Red Wings. That’s Brett Hull on the left, and Chris Chelios in the back. The guy with his arm around me is Kris Draper, who helped me land with the Red Wings and also got me my first modeling gig. And the guy with his right hand on the Cup? That’s Kid Rock.
Some other places I might never have ended up if I hadn’t busted my ass to make it to the NHL. That’s me living the glamorous life of a pro athlete on the road.
(CREDIT HANNAH THOMSON)
This is me leading the considerably more glamourous life of a Vogue intern. I guarantee I wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t also been a New York Ranger.
And above is me about to take a “Muskoka shower.” Muskoka, about two hours north of Toronto, has the highest concentration of off-season NHLers known to man.
(DANNY CLINCH PHOTOGRAPHY)
If you work hard, you’re allowed to play hard. That’s what I do, anyway. Here I am at Bonnaroo.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Al and Marlene Avery
Scott Avery
Jim Dolan
Barry Watkins
Glen Sather
Tom Renney
Dr. Andy Feldman
Jim Ramsay
Bill Durney
Cass Marques
Bruce Lifrieri
Chris and Tracee Chelios
Brenden Shanahan
Lawrence Leibel
Cody Leibel
Nicole Chabot
Peter Berg
David Rosenthal
Adam Campbell
David Lipman
Mattias Nordstrom
Rachel Hunter
Roly Evelyn
Kelly Kimball
Pat Minachia
Tom Sachs
Kris Draper
Brett and Darcie Hull
Shakespeare
Michael McKinley
Harry “Percy” Hotspur
Brad Norton
Laurel Canyon Country Store
Nick Garrison
NY Rangers season ticket holders
Madison Square Garden
The NHL
Neil Joynt
Larry Mavety
David Vigliano
John Lovell
Joe McDonnell
Scotty Bowman
Steve Yzerman
Mike Babcock
The girl named Hilary who walked into that bar on Warren Street and changed the course of my life forever . . . I love you.
Sean Avery is a Canadian former professional hockey player. During his time with the NHL, Avery played left wing for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers. In addition to hockey, he has also worked as a Vogue magazine intern, a model, and a restauranteur. Avery is married to model Hilary Rhoda and lives in New York.
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