Jamie McKinven, author of “So You Want Your Kid to Play Pro Hockey?”, is a former professional hockey player who played in the NCAA, ECHL, CHL and Europe. After hanging up the blades, McKinven spent parts of four years coaching the Kingston Voyageurs junior A hockey club and is currently running clinics in skill development and power skating. Over his career, McKinven scratched and clawed, sacrificed and laid it all on the line only to fall short of playing in the NHL, experiencing his ultimate dream. Along the way, while riding the buses, living paycheque to paycheque and spending the summers living in his grandmother’s basement, he discovered a great deal about life, love and the value of following through on a dream. Jamie McKinven was a star as well as a healthy scratch. He won a championship and finished dead last. Scored an overtime winner and cost his team a game, and through it all, experienced a lifetime of memories that spanned two continents, seven countries and eight leagues.
