BY KURT DUSTERBERG
Carolina Hurricanes fans will remember Jay Harrison as a steady, physical defenseman. From 2009–2015, he played a rugged game in front of the Carolina net, often willing to fight when the team needed a spark. He wasn’t flashy, but he did have a knack for heroics, scoring two overtime goals.
It was an impressive stretch of hockey, but that was the view from a distance. Few people knew the stress Harrision dealt with in carving out a role in the National Hockey League.
“There’s a lot to unpack there. It kind of strikes a nerve,” Harrison says. “There were times I loved the game, and there were times when I didn’t. But I realized how much I was willing to endure to do what I love.”
Eight years into his retirement from the game, the player known as “Harry” is now Dr. Jay Harrison, a psychologist who works with athletes and other high performers. Today, he is at the forefront of a movement in professional sports to acknowledge the mental health issues athletes face, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Through the National Hockey League Players’ Association, he administers a program called First Line.
More than 20 NHL players have completed the program, which is taught in a group setting and provides peer-to-peer support. “We’re collectively seeing that across the sports society, there’s a greater courage and willingness to recognize that caring for and contributing to your mental health is something we can do,” he says.
Harrison’s pro hockey career equipped him with considerable empathy. He began with six seasons in the minor leagues that resulted in just 13 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. When he signed a contract with a pro team in Switzerland, he thought his NHL career was over. But after a brief return to the Maple Leafs, he caught the eye of the Hurricanes.
Even with the Carolina team, his NHL life came with realities few others could imagine. “I lived at the Residence Inn at Crabtree [in Raleigh],” Harrison said. “We brought our second daughter home there. That’s where we lived at the time. When you start seeing life through a lens like that, we are just like everyone.
“The opportunity [to play professionally] is a very small window. The pressure that people might put on themselves can be very, very high. You accumulate some unique stresses being a professional athlete, like the risk of injury, increased media scrutiny, the high emphasis on performance day in and day out. It can become an unmanageable load if not addressed and cared for appropriately.”
Paul Maurice coached Harrison in Toronto as well as through three seasons with the Hurricanes, and he underscores why his former player is suited for his current role. “He’s been there, and that is hard,” says Maurice, who led the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup in June.
“He was in that purgatory for defensemen. You could spend time with the NHL team and not get in the lineup because sometimes younger players would come up and play ahead of you. I think he’s a really good guy, having had experience in what he’s talking about. He can articulate things. He’s very well spoken.”
Not all the stress that players feel is generated by what happens on the ice. Everyday life often looks different to a professional athlete, particularly when it comes to family life.
“There is some maturation that has to happen because of the inherent self-centeredness of being a professional athlete,” Harrison says. “With many high performers, what they do is who they are. It’s about finding some of the stable parts of who you are that aren’t related to how you perform on a day in and day out basis.”
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, who was Harrison’s teammate for four seasons, believes the retired defenseman is ideal for his new role.
“I’m sure he’d understand everything the players go through, the ups and downs of a career and the pressures you have playing in this league,” Staal says. “There are hard times for everybody. It’s not only that—there’s life, too. There’s stuff outside the rink that can catch up with you and affect your play. No one is immune to it. Guys like that are great to rely on so you can go out and enjoy the game and all the blessings you have.”
After his time with the Carolina Hurricanes, Harrison finished his playing career with one season with the Winnipeg Jets. But the Oshawa, Ontario native settled in Raleigh, where his four daughters have him focused on a new sport.
“They’re softball players,” says Harrison, who coaches his 13-year-old’s teams. “It’s a sport I’ve grown to love and appreciate, and learn a lot about. It’s lots of fun.”
The softball dad takes pleasure in participating in sports at a simpler level. But after a pro hockey career filled with highs and lows, his second act in the game could make a greater impact than he made as a player.
“I learned a lot about tolerating frustration—the difference between being patient and complacent,” Harrison says. “Had my journey to the NHL been quicker, maybe my life would look very different. But it expanded to seeing myself and developing myself in a different way.”
