I may be the first Inuk to make it to the NHL, but my people have been making a living on the ice for a long time. Above is my father beside a muskox he brought down. Below is my first regular-season fight in the NHL, against Mike Danton. Life on the ice can be dangerous and you have to respect that. But you never show fear.

My family has always meant the world to me. The people around you are the people who shape who you are. Above are my parents at their wedding. To the right are the three of us kids in the kitchen in Rankin. That’s Terence on the left and Corrine on the right. I’m the little guy in the middle. And below, that’s the three of us, all grown up, at Corrine’s wedding.

You don’t get anywhere in life without dreaming. Here I am (above) as a little kid just thrilled to be playing minor hockey on indoor ice. Below, I’m standing on the blue line in Halifax as part of Team Canada. To be identified as a guy who can help the best players in the country win gold is an unbelievable honour.

I think about my big brother every day. Growing up, he always had my back. I cherished my time playing junior hockey with him as well. Even though we were far from home, we were together almost around the clock. We always had the same dream, and that is something I still think about.

You know you have a problem when what you’re doing off the ice affects your job. I took things to extremes in the bars in Nashville, and while I could still mix it up when the puck dropped, I knew I was not the hockey player I could have been back then.

When my contract was up in Nashville, I felt it was time to leave. But I always remained grateful to the Predators, both for drafting me and supporting me during a dark time. Below is coach Barry Trotz with my parents. For whatever reason, I never felt like a close-knit part of the team in Detroit. It can be tough to play an emotional game like hockey at its highest level when the bonds aren’t as close.

I have been through some tough times, but I never lose sight of how lucky I am. I have some great friends and family. That’s me with my old teammate Scottie Upshall, back when we were teammates in Nashville (above) and with Brian McGrattan at my wedding (right). Most important, I was lucky enough to get married in the summer of 2014. That’s me with Jennifer on our wedding day, with my mother and father.

Life as a pro hockey player isn’t all glamour, but it does mean eating at fancy restaurants and flying on chartered jets. None of that ever distracted me from what is important in life. For me, that means the land and the people who matter to you—and the two go together. That’s me and my father fishing on the ice (above). And below, that’s me and Terence. I miss him every day.