Leafs' Marner gives impassioned speech about mental health

Jan 26 2023, 3:56 pm

On Wednesday night, Mitch Marner wowed the Scotiabank Arena crowd with a spectacular overtime goal to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers.

Just 19 seconds into overtime, Marner dipsy-doodled through a trio of Rangers to hand the home side two points with a remarkable solo effort.

But after answering a series of questions in his postgame press conference about the game, his teammates, and his highlight reel goal, Marner turned the attention to “mental health day,” as he called it, in relation to Bell Let’s Talk Day.

“Never be afraid to reach out,” Marner said. “Call someone, ask people how they’re doing. We’re all there for one another and we want the world to be a better place. So don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone ever in need. [There’s] a lot of people around you that love you and want to talk to you and make sure you’re okay.”

Marner also addressed being the victim of a May 2022 robbery, where he and a group of friends were approached at gunpoint while out for a movie and the Leafs star had his Range Rover vehicle stolen.

“Just from playing here for so long through the ups and downs in the grind and that incident that happened in that summer…  just really weighs on you mentally if you don’t talk about it and don’t really express yourself,” Marner said. “Sometimes incidents happen that you need to express yourself and talk to people about and I think that’s something that I’ve really done a great job of these last couple years is not being afraid to reach out and talk about it, and just try to understand myself better.”

Marner admitted the robbery can still can weigh on his mind during “late nights.”

“It’s just weird atmosphere, it’s a weird vibe you get sometimes, it’s something that still kind of goes in your mind every once in a while when you’re getting in a car late [at] night or something,” Marner added. “You never know what’s gonna happen, but you gotta be aware of your surroundings. And you want everyone to be perfect and love each other and sometimes it doesn’t happen.”

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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