Kerry Goulet
Bio

Kerry Goulet

Now residing in Toronto, Kerry Goulet was born and raised in Winnipeg, and it was there that he starred in junior hockey and later in ball hockey.

His Winnipeg Grasshoppers represented Manitoba in 8 national ball hockey championships, collecting the title in 1985. In 2006, Kerry was inducted into the Canadian Ball Hockey Association’s Hall of Fame.

He credits his experience with Hockey Manitoba and ball hockey with assisting in honing his skills for a successful international ice hockey career that saw him spend 16 seasons as a player, coach, and general manager with six different teams in the German 1st, 2nd and 3rd Division.

Known in Germany as ‘Mr. Eishockey,’ his 1997 points collected in 505 games earned Goulet the honour of having his jersey (#29) retired by the Timmendorfer Eisbars along with fellow Winnipegger Mark MacKay.

At the age of 52, he was asked back to his old club in Germany to attempt to collect 2000 points….which he did with a 5-3 win contributing a goal and two assists. Kerry’s coaching record was also sensational, with 312 wins in 452 games.

Kerry has dedicated much of his office energy to charitable causes, with his main focus on concussions and spinal cord injuries in sport. His motivation behind the cause comes from his former hockey and ball hockey teammates, Robert Vielfaure who suffered a broken neck, leaving him a quadriplegic.

One of the lessons learned by Robert’s plight Goulet recalls was, “It is not what you collect along your journey…championships, scoring races, trophies, money, cars…. but what you give back, that will be your legacy.” A motto Kerry has adopted in his everyday life post being on the ice. Goulet is one of the founders of StopConcussions, along with Keith Primeau, former captain of the Philadelphia Flyers as well as being co-chairmen of the Shoot For A Cure campaign.

As Global Director of Stopconcussions, Goulet formed an alliance with Barry Munro of the Canadian and American Spinal Research Organization to re-launch “Shoot For A Cure”. The campaign aims to educate coaches, trainers, parents, and athletes about the cause, effects, and consequences of neurotrauma injuries. Goulet suffered three documented concussions while playing, he personally realizes the challenges of coping in the darkness of this injury.

As such, another new initiative being planned is “The Alliance”. The program aims to support all athletes from every sport and skill level and give them an opportunity to be properly diagnosed with a concussion. The Alliance will cover a flight and accommodation, as well as costs for the first diagnosis of the injury for those athletes who are unable to cover the costs themselves.

Goulet has also helped develop, along with Malcolm Sutherland, a new prevention platform known as Safe4Sports which will be launched in April 2018 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The Safe4Sports prevention program has since been adopted by the German Ice Hockey Federation as well as Ice Hockey Australia and Stopconcussions will help set protocols and management procedures for injury and player safety.

While traveling the world on the mission to stop concussions and spinal cord injuries, Goulet has created a very special hockey event in Australia. The Australian Ice Hockey Classic, featuring hockey powerhouses Canada and USA, has been developed to help grow ice hockey around the world and support Stopconcussions and the Shoot For a Cure campaign.

The 2016 Classic saw Wayne Gretzky attend as an ambassador and former/present NHL players have skated for their respective countries such as Brent Burns, Scott Darling, Kyle Quincey, Ian Cole, Adam Cracknell, Bryce Salvador, Scott Hannan, and many others.

Rest in the early phase of the injury, especially in the first 24-48 hours, plays a crucial role in recovery. New evidence suggests however that getting physically active early (after an initial 1-2 days of rest) may facilitate a quicker recovery (2).

Early exercise in this case may be as easy as a daily walk and as a rule, should NOT further aggravate symptoms. Speak with your physician before returning to sport or any activity that poses a risk of head contact.

Concussions may also require a level of cognitive rest in the early stages. Tasks requiring attention, concentration, and visual effort require considerable energy (work) to accomplish.

Engaging in these tasks prematurely may cause symptoms to worsen and prolong recovery, which is why modifications to your school or work routines may be required.

The more energy a concussed individual spends on school tasks, work obligations, or video games, the less energy there is available to help the brain repair itself.