Patrik Laine Reflects on Gaming Addiction Struggles During Winnipeg Jets Era
Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine reflected on his gaming addiction struggles when he was with the Winnipeg Jets earlier in his career.
After missing the first two months of the regular season, Patrik Laine has been back in the Montreal Canadiens lineup for the past five games and already had an impact on the team, scoring three goals and one assist, with another goal in shootouts.
If we don't count yesterday's ugly 9-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the whole team has played better with him in the lineup.
But most importantly, Laine seems happy and likes playing in Montreal:
He may have a -3 rating, but it was expected considering he hasn't played much in the past years, being limited to 18 games in the 2023-24 season due to injuries and his time in the NHL's Player Assistance Program.
This wasn't the first time Laine struggled in his career. A new development emerged concerning his time with the Winnipeg Jets about an addition he struggled with in the past: video games.
Drafted 2nd overall by the Jets in 2016, Laine came into the NHL at only 18 years old. He remained in Winnipeg for five seasons, before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021.
On the Jeff Marek Podcast, Greg Wyshynski recalled that when Laine was in Winnipeg, he used to play Fortnite most of the time, staying at the hotel instead of going out with his teammates.
The reporter also revealed that Laine used to ask a team staff member to go buy him a TV in each town the team was in because he didn't like the ones that were provided in the hotel rooms. He would use it for the night before leaving it in the room
Wyshynski confirmed that Laine himself admitted he was doing this at the worst of his addiction.
Check out his full intervention here:
Laine has come a long way since then. He often opens up about mental health, through the "From Us to You" initiative, an initiative he launched last summer with his fiancée Jordan Leigh.
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