Devils surprise Carrick with fan messages on #BellLetsTalk Day

During the month of January, the NHL has focused on prioritizing the conversation about mental health. It's a conversation that Connor Carrick has had plenty of times.

On Thursday, while NHL teams were highlighting mental health awareness efforts, the New Jersey Devils surprised the defenseman with some video messages from fans he has helped during their difficult times.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Connor Carrick speaks about importance of mental health and watches fan-submitted videos about how he's helping them through social media.#HockeyTalks | #BellLetsTalk pic.twitter.com/TisTnNLNi5
"I'm rooting for the power of the individual. And I'm rooting for people's ability to act in their own best interest," Carrick said after viewing the messages. "I'm a pro athlete. Generally, in my life I've had a high degree of success... And I still experience poor attitudes. There's days where my effort, no one might be to tell from the outside, but I know I wasn't my best. We need role models and leaders in these different realms. I'm very role-model driven and my goal is in every sense to be one of them."
He also left a message on his social media featuring the Devils video.

And, it's important to note as Carrick did, that support is not a one-way street. Carrick is just as inspired by those who he has inspired.
"I'm honored that these people, I'm sure live very busy lives and decided to take even a moment to thank me," he said. "They're real people on the other side of that screen. And that goes a long way for my will power and keeping through."
Elsewhere around the NHL, teams filled their social media feeds with messages of encouragement for #BellLetsTalk Day, a campaign to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness. The Canadian telecommunications company donates 5 cents for every text, tweet or Tik Tok video using the #BellLetsTalk hashtag.
The Arizona Coyotes shared a feature with their former longtime captain, Shane Doan.

The Canucks showed their support by filming a video with much of its roster getting involved.

There was also a video starring singer and big Canucks fan Michael Buble supporting the initiative.