Q&A with Alain: Combining studies and hockey

MONTREAL - This spring, Habs prospect Alexandre Alain won a 2017-18 Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence and Merit after being named Scholastic Player of the Year by both the QMJHL and CHL. We sat down with the star student to find out more about how he fits both academics and hockey into his life, and how a past medical scare helps drive him to succeed in both.

Not long ago, you were dealing with the fallout from the removal a benign tumor in your back which could've ended your playing career. Does that give you extra motivation to succeed?Alexandre Alain: At the moment, physically, I'm very good. I've had no after-effects from it, no pain. Even psychologically, I think it's really helped me to become better mentally. It helped me realize that hockey is a game and a passion, and life sometimes hangs on a thread. I met a lot of people in the hospital, I was there for a good amount of time. I spent time with a lot of kids who had cancer, who were sick. To see that helped me realize that you have to enjoy life and take advantage of every moment.
Is that why you've chosen to study Natural Sciences?AA: Yes, a little bit. I would say Natural Sciences always interested me. The health field was always fascinating to me. For sure, being in a hospital for a good while allowed me to see how all the health specialists collaborate with one another - whether it be doctors, nurses, physiotherapists. So it really fascinated me.
You've said you bring homework with you on the bus. Do the guys give you a hard time?AA: (laughs) At the start, I'd say they gave me a bit of a hard time with it. But I was in Junior and I wanted to have a life like a normal student. I wanted to study like a normal person would. I wanted to graduate by the end of my Junior career and that's what happened. They may have given me a hard time at the beginning, but afterwards, they understood why I was doing it. Honestly, it really didn't bother me.

You've gone out to schools in the community to promote the importance of education. How meaningful is that for you?AA: It's really important to educate young people. I remember when I started in Junior, I had my doubts about school. I wasn't sure I'd be able to study like a regular person would. But with discipline and hard work, it really is possible. That's why I want to educate young people as much as I can. With the Armada, I would give talks in schools to try to show the students that it's really important to have a passion, but also to keep going in school. Just because you have a passion, doesn't mean you have to leave school behind, and just because you're passionate about school, doesn't mean you have to leave sports behind. I think it's really possible to combine the two, and that's what I was trying to pass on when I would give those talks.
Even with the team, often hockey players don't feel like studying. But when they saw the effort I was putting in, it pushed some of the guys to open up their books, too.
Have you spoken to any other big-name student-athletes, such as Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, for advice?AA: No, not really, but Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a role model for me. Making the NFL, playing in the NFL, and studying medicine is really incredible. I admire him. I'm not at the same stage in my life or my career, obviously. He's an established NFL player and I'm just starting out as a professional. It's really different, but people like that are definitely role models to follow. He proved that it's possible to combine the two. That's what I'm trying to do, too.
Have you ever found that your academic interests have held you back on the sports side?AA: It's never been a problem for me. Mixing the two brings a lot of things to the table. The things I do in school and the work habits I develop, I can put those into practice on the ice, and vice versa. They may be two different worlds, but at the end of the day they have a lot in common. It's been really beneficial for me to be able to mix the two.
For part 1 of our sit-down with Alexandre Alain, click here.