The inherent risk podcast
The Inherent risk podcast
Host Joel Forman explores the topic of concussions in sports with the goal of creating awareness and education while challenging the stigma surrounding the injury. Each week features a new guest from within the sports community whose lives have been directly impacted by concussions and how they hope their experiences can help others who might be struggling.
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 - Ben Fanelli
Ben Fanelli is a former OHL defenseman and current University of Waterloo Assistant Coach. His story focuses on the challenges in his life resulting from a fractured skull and severe concussion in 2009, just 7 games into his OHL career, and how the injury was a catalyst for changing his lifestyle and finding a new identity and purpose. He shares about his experiences on and off the ice and how the support system he had was instrumental in creating the platform that he has today as the Creative Director of Heroic Minds and the Hero Project.
Episode 2 - Enrico Ciccone
Enrico Ciccone is a former NHL defensemen and current member of the Quebec Liberal Party. Known for being an intimidating fighter in his career, Ciccone played 374 NHL games for the Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, and Montreal Canadiens. He currently deals with issues related to concussions he suffered during his career and is using his current platform as a politician to try and have fighting banned from all levels of youth hockey in Quebec.
Episode 3 - Tanner lomsnes (Headsupcan Concussion Advocate)
Tanner is a former D1 College hockey player who shares how concussions affected his career and how he is working towards redefining his identity away from the game of hockey. Tanner opens up about his experiences as a student/athlete at Niagara University and how concussions have impacted his life, both on and off the ice. He's a tremendous advocate for concussion awareness and hopes his story can help others who may be struggling.
Episode 4 - alley goodreau (HeadsupCAN Concussion Advocate)
Alley Goodreau is a former U-Sports hockey player and HeadsupCAN Concussion Awareness Advocate who shares with us her experiences with concussions as a student athlete at St. Francis Xavier. Throughout her concussion experience she was personally affected by the lack of awareness and stigma surrounding brain injuries. This ultimately led her to dedicate her honours thesis to study Mental Health in varsity athletes and the correlation to brain injury. Alley is currently applying for her Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on TBI research and is a tremendous advocate for concussion awareness.
Episode 5 - Mike McKenzie
Mike is a former NCAA/AHL hockey player and current Head Coach and General Manager of the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL. The son of hockey broadcasting legend Bob McKenzie, Mike has grown up through a life of hockey, first as a player and now on the management/coaching side. Concussions have had a big impact on his family, both in his own playing career and through watching his younger brother Shawn’s hockey career end far too early while playing minor hockey. Combine his own experience and a depth of hockey knowledge from his father, Mike has turned into a forward-thinker who understands the risks of concussions in sports and that health must come first at all times. He is a passionate, well-spoken man who is making a huge impact on youth hockey and finding ways to shift hockey culture.
Episode 6 - Molly tissenbaum
Molly is a former NCAA goalie for the Harvard University Women’s Hockey Team. She shares her story about how concussions have impacted her career from youth hockey all the way through to her time at Harvard. She opens up about the importance of being a good teammate, not hiding or pushing through your symptoms, the difficulties student/athletes face when dealing with concussions and ways that the stigma around the injury can be challenged. A powerful voice for the brain injury community, Molly had the honour of speaking on the legislative floor and sharing her story when Rowan’s Law was passed in Ontario, which is a bill focused on concussion prevention in youth sports. This has fueled her passion for speaking out and sharing her concussion story as much as possible in hopes of creating awareness and education for the next generation.
Episode 7 - tyler brower
Tyler is former professional hockey player and concussion awareness advocate who talks about his struggles with concussions from youth hockey into his adult life and ultimately finding a new purpose and identity away from the ice as a talented photographer and storyteller. He opens up about the challenges of concussion recovery in youth sports and the lack of awareness he experienced, the differences in hockey culture playing in several different countries, and how finding faith in God gave him purpose and helped steer him in the right direction when dealing with post-concussion syndrome. Tyler has great passion and charisma in how he advocates for concussion awareness and its people like him who continue to make a difference in the world of sport.
Episode 8 - Cory Feinstien
Cory is a former AAA/Junior A hockey player and Minor Hockey Coach who shares with us his experiences with concussions growing up and how they ultimately derailed his ambitions of playing professional hockey. Upon retiring from his playing career, he transitioned into coaching AAA and witnessed a negative culture around concussions and how brain injuries are both dealt with and managed. We discussed our love for the game but the loss of identity when forced to retire, mental health in the sport of hockey, and ways to make the game safer for the next generation. Cory was also a teammate of mine during our days at the University of Guelph, the place where I got my first concussion in intramural contact hockey.
Episode 9 - Max Lieberman
Max is a former coworker of Joel's and is currently the founder of Liebs. And Co, a company focused on creating awareness and education in the workplace for people with disabilities. He shares his experiences with concussions growing up both in and out of sports; his time as a semi-professional wrestler and the lack of proper concussion treatment in that industry; the challenges of being in the workplace with a disability; and ultimately what inspired and lead to him creating the wonderful platform he has today with Liebs and Co. He is doing important work and is making the world more inclusive for everyone everyday.
Episode 10 - Bob Wilkie
Bob is a former professional hockey player and the founder of "I Got Mind", a platform focused on promoting awareness and education around mental health in sports. He played 18 NHL games for the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers, and 11 seasons of professional hockey, where he suffered numerous concussions and witnessed many friends and opponents suffering in silence as he did. In 1986 he was a member of the Swift Current Broncos team, whose bus crashed tragically killing four of his teammates. The toll that this tragedy took on him was traumatic, and he dealt with mental health complications throughout his entire career as a result. Upon retiring he transitioned into coaching youth hockey and eventually created I Got Mind in 2008 to help make a difference to the next generation of athletes and educate them on the role mental health plays in sports.
Episode 11 - Jhaelyn gomme
Jhaelyn is a former competitive dancer who shares her experiences with concussions and the process she went through to find a new purpose in her life as an advocate. She is currently a student that is focusing on becoming a doctor, with the goal of opening up her own concussion recovery facility one day to help people that suffer from the injury the way she did. Throughout the episode, we discuss the stigma associated with concussions in sports, her difficulties in finding the right therapy, and the importance of talking about mental health. Jhaelyn is a tremendous advocate for concussion and mental health awareness and her story is truly inspirational.
Episode 12 - Concussions in Hockey: Group Discussion
In the first edition of the Inherent Risk Podcast Group Discussion we bring together our team and three guests from this season to talk about the inherent risks in sport and the culture around concussions in hockey. We brought back Alley Goodreau, Molly Tissenbaum and Tyler Brower to dive further into their experiences with concussions in hockey and how it has impacted lives away from the game. This group discussion marks the end of the first season of the Inherent Risk Podcast, we would like to extend our thanks to all the guests who took the time to share their experiences with us and our listeners who are dedicated to learning more about concussions in sport!