SPORTS SCENE
PREDATORS CAPTAIN LEANS ON FAITH AND FAMILY
FISHER STILL A ‘DIFFERENCE-MAKER’ ON- AND OFF-ICE BY CARTER BROOKS
M
ake the NHL—check. Date a celebrity country music star— check. Stay involved in the community and promote the Christian faith—check. Marry Carrie Underwood and become a proud husband—check. Get traded to the very important country music city of Nashville that your wife calls home—check. Become the captain of that new team—check.
hockey in the NHL was there ever since his first time on skates. But as time moved on, Fisher found himself modeling both his game and his lifestyle choices after a certain kind of hockey player. “I grew up being a big fan of other Christian hockey players,” the now 36-year-old Fisher says. “Guys like Mark Osborne, Laurie Boschman and Stu Grimson were really fundamental to my beliefs and growth, both as a hockey player and as a person. And now that time has moved on, hopefully I have been able to encourage young kids along the way, in a similar fashion to how those guys helped shape me.” According to almost anybody’s standards, the word “encourage” would be a major understatement. Fisher has spoken openly about his faith in numerous televised interviews, radio shows and media
Be glad for all God is planning, be patient in trouble and always be prayerful Become a father—check. Serve as an ambassador within the Christian sports organization Hockey Ministries International (HMI)—check. Guide the Nashville Predators to the franchise’s first appearance in the Stanley Cup—check. Mike Fisher has had himself quite the career. For the Peterborough, Ontario native, the dream to play
30 SEVEN JULY / AUGUST 2017
scrums. He is very commonly heard on both Canadian and American radio commercials advertising anything from HMI to the Fight to End Modern Day Slavery. As a devout Christian, Fisher may see things differently than some, but now serving the Nashville Predators as team captain, the 6-foot-1, 216 pound centreman has made it clear that he has not changed his game or mindset in this new leadership role. “I don’t know that I have changed a whole lot now as captain,” Fisher reflects. “I just try to be a positive role model and encourage the guys. I know that I am here playing this game for a reason, and there is greater purpose than just on the ice too. Positivity is definitely something that I try to bring as much as I can, and my faith definitely helps as far as perspective; keeping things within perspective is so important.” Whatever it is that he has done within the Predators’ organization, it sure has worked. After winning a total of just one
