In this episode, Dave and Charmaine Draper discuss growing up in a hockey family and living a life in professional hockey on and off the ice. Dave and Charmaine share how they navigated through a professional hockey career, found their way and gave it their best. Dave discusses what talent was to him, how he went about scouting and coaching players, and what his approach was to meeting the needs of his team.  Dave and Charmaine give voice to their talented family members in the industry, including Kris Draper, and how incredible and difficult it was and is to make it for as long as they had in such a competitive industry.  Charmaine, acting as a sounding board to Dave, and Dave a coach and mentor to many, send a message to all professional athletes that with sensing and believing in yourself, even when it is tough, you can do it.

Charmaine Draper, a first stay at home mom, great listener and advisor to women in fashion appraisal and makeup, travelled alongside Dave and the family as Dave pursued his hockey career.

Dave Draper began his hockey career in 1965 as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Michigan Tech. He twice led Loyola College (Montreal) of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) to the Quebec Provincial championship as their head coach. Before moving to the NHL, Dave was the director of scouting for the Canadian National Junior Team guiding Canada to World Junior Championships in 1988 and 1991. He served several positions with Hamilton in the Ontario Hockey League for a 17-year term. As head coach and later general manager of the junior team, he won a Memorial Cup championship in 1976.

Dave Draper served four seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes and nine years with the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques. He joined the Coyotes as the team’s vice president of scouting and director of player personnel, overseeing all aspects of the team’s scouting, including both the professional and amateur scouting departments. Dave was director of player development and pro scout (1991-95), his was chief scout (1996-98) and later consultant to the president (1998-2000) for the Avalanche. With the Colorado Avalanche, Dave and the team won the Stanley Cup in 1996. In 2005 the Washington Capitals named Dave to the team’s pro scouting staff, vice president and general manager. Dave has been inducted into the Concordia University Sports Hall of Fame and Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame.