Former Edmonton Oilers defenseman shares that GM Ken Holland made him quit hockey
The former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Slater Koekkoek shared what general manager Ken Holland told him to make him quit hockey.
Ken Holland was fired as the Edmonton Oilers General Manager last summer and already found a new job as the NHL's hockey operations consultant.
Whenever a change of management occurs in the League, stories about the time of the departing GMs come out.
In a new development, one of Holland's former players with the Oilers revealed that the GM made him quit the NHL
Slater Koekkoek was only 28 years old when he decided to retire from the NHL back in 2022.
He retired after many years of struggling with anxiety, which affected his on-ice performance as well as his relationship with his teammates.
In a recent interview, he opened up about his struggles and credited a conversation with Holland as the real reason behind his retirement.
Here's what he said:
"My anxiety would show up in my inability to eat before games. I would avoid going to dinner at times because I was worried I wouldn't be able to eat and I didn't want to talk about it with my teammates at the time."
"I wanted more ice time, I was a healthy scratch a lot. Ken Holland looked at me and he said, 'You're a clock killer. You don't do anything positive on the ice, but you don't do anything negative either.'"
"After that meeting, I really evaluated my life. You're gonna tell me that I don't do anything positive or negative with the struggles that I'm going through every day, on a day-to-day basis? Okay, I'll reevaluate what I'm doing with my time."
"I wanted more ice time, I was a healthy scratch a lot. Ken Holland looked at me and he said, 'You're a clock killer. You don't do anything positive on the ice, but you don't do anything negative either.'"
"After that meeting, I really evaluated my life. You're gonna tell me that I don't do anything positive or negative with the struggles that I'm going through every day, on a day-to-day basis? Okay, I'll reevaluate what I'm doing with my time."
Check out his full intervention here:
The former Oilers player was drafted 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010 and scored 34 points, including eight goals, in 186 games between 2014 and 2022 with the Chicago Blackhawks, Lightning, and Edmonton Oilers.
Drafted 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012, Koekkoek took part in 186 games in his NHL career.
He scored eight goals and 26 assists between 2014 and 2022 for the Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers.
It'll be interesting to see if this has an impact on Holland's current job in the NHL. Stay tuned for more.
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