True fact: It took a long time for Marc-André Fleury to realize he might have a shot at playing in the pros! “When I saw an opportunity to make it to the National Hockey League, it was very late. When I was drafted, it was the first time I went to the training camp and saw that I could stop the pucks in front of the net. I stopped Mario Lemieux” says Fleury. Next thing he knew, his career had begun and the rest was history for this humble guy from Sorel, Québec.

As an Official Partner of the NHLPA, we had the chance to sit down with Quebecer Marc-André Fleury for a short interview for our ‘Then & Now’ series. He talked about his beginnings, and how his family contributed to make him the player and the man he is today. Since he first got on the ice to play his favorite sport, his life was changed.

“ I don’t think there are many jobs in the world that can bring you these types of experiences, feelings and emotions. I think it’s also about enjoying it. ”

Marc-André is a passionate man. He is passionate about his sport: he gives 110% on and off the ice. Since 2003, he has played close to 800 games in the pros, of which he won 439, and has a goal against average of 2,55. Outside of the arena, he promotes and shares the values, benefits and discipline hockey can teach the youth and works with charities. In 2017, he donated an awesome new playground to the Sto-Ken-Rox Boys & Girls Club in Pittsburgh, a project he worked on with his wife Véronique Fleury and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. The club helps to improve the quality of life to children in the community, which hit close to home for Marc-André and his wife, as it’s where they lived for 14 years.

He knows how lucky he is, but also understands how much stress can come with the job. He says he likes – even loves – the emotional rollercoaster that is a hockey game. Marc-André said: “I don’t think there are many jobs in the world that can bring you these types of experiences, feelings and emotions. I think it’s also about enjoying it.”

Marc-André Fleury told us:

“ I always played hockey because I loved it. ”

It makes perfect sense, since when this Golden Knights star player started hockey as a kid, his father André Fleury told him the same thing again and again: “Work hard and… have fun!"

This saying seemed to have inspired him to enjoy playing hockey, but also to learn how to become the successful player he is now. From Sorel to Las Vegas, Marc-André has always loved the game. Not only is he grateful for this advice from his dad, he also appreciates the sacrifices his parents made since the beginning. Early morning practices, out of town tournaments, training camps… hockey had to be a priority, and not only for him but for the whole Fleury family. Lucky for him, even his extended family was part of the adventure. It wasn’t rare to see them traveling great distances to support him and watch him play.

It’s understandable that this tight-knit family and his group of friends was hard for Marc-André to leave behind when he moved to play hockey in Cape Breton. Marc-André still remembers the headaches he had from having to translate everything to French when he first moved there. More than a decade later, when he looks back on it, it feels like he did the right thing… and it paid off. As he said: “It was one of the most difficult moments, but in the end, it helped me fulfil my dream.”