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When Tyler Parsons called Brad Treliving in a state of panic this summer, he was terrified.

Scared of being judged.

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Scared of letting down his employers.

And, most of all, scared of threatening his dream of becoming a National Hockey League goaltender.

But instead of avoiding the topic altogether, refusing to admit that he was suffering from anger, anxiety, depression and some severe mental health struggles, and — worst of all — not talking to anyone about it, the Calgary Flames prospect took a risk.

And that perceived ‘risk’ is all too familiar.

“A player’s career is an average of less than five years,” explained Mathieu Schneider, a former NHL-er and the National Hockey League Players’ Association special assistant to the Executive Director. “You have one or two contracts in you as a professional athlete, on average. Players feel like they jeopardize that opportunity they’ve worked their entire lives for if there’s some type of stigma associated with them. And, up until recently, there has been. I don’t think anyone can dispute that. It’s no more complicated than that.”