Few NHL players have represented their country in hockey with as much dedication as Kyle Turris. The former Ottawa Senator competed for Team Canada in three World Championships and on six other national teams at various junior levels, culminating with the World Juniors in 2008, where he won gold and led Canada in scoring.
Now, two years after concluding a very successful NHL career, Turris has rejoined the national program, this time as part of the senior management team.
“Yeah, I’ve been working with Hockey Canada,” Turris said from his home in Vancouver. “And just a couple of weeks ago, I was at the U17 camp in Oakville. I’m working with Byron Bonora (U17 head scout) and a couple of other people there to work through the process, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
In addition, Turris has taken on the role of hockey director at the North Shore Winter Club, a family athletic club in the Greater Vancouver Area with its own minor hockey program. The new job doesn’t involve nearly the travel commitment he endured during his 14 seasons in the NHL.
“It’s 10 minutes from our house,” Turris said. “I work with great people, TC Carling (Club COO and GM) being one of them. It gives me an opportunity to work with families and kids and help educate them, help develop, and also kind of guide a hockey program. So I’ve really been enjoying that too.”
Even before these new roles, Turris kept himself busy in “retirement.” He coaches his children in hockey and completed an internship with the Vancouver Canucks last season, gaining insight into the operations of an NHL team.
“I stepped away from that at the end of the season, and it was a great experience,” Turris said. “I can’t thank the Canucks enough for giving me that opportunity. I was on the business side, learning how a franchise is run and how it operates. It was such a neat experience and an invaluable learning experience.”
Turris also recently completed his business degree, which he began at the University of Wisconsin in 2007 while playing for the Badgers hockey team.
“Yeah, so I’m officially a University of Wisconsin business graduate,” Turris said. “I started taking courses online in my last three or four years in the NHL. When COVID hit, universities offered everything online, so I didn’t have to go back. And once I retired, I signed up for full course loads at 18 credits. I was able to get through it and graduated with my business degree this past spring.”
Graduating 17 years after starting is no small feat, but Turris had company.
“Yeah, a bunch of us freshmen on the hockey team,” Turris said. “My roommate was Ryan McDonagh. And another freshman that year was Cody Goloubef, who played a bit in Ottawa. So the three of us actually graduated together at the same time.”
While Turris and his wife, Julie, have settled in Vancouver, they have fond memories of their time in Ottawa and miss everyone dearly. Turris still keeps a close eye on the Senators and is pleased to see all the changes over the past year.
“It’s exciting. It’s really exciting,” Turris said. “They have new ownership with Michael Andlauer and guiding the organization the right way. And then Steve Staios coming in. It’s a really exciting time with significant changes that I think probably needed to happen.”
Big changes and an exciting future ahead are something Kyle Turris and his former NHL team definitely have in common.
