CALGARY -- Kodie Curran is from Calgary. He was always a good hockey player growing up and like a million other Canadian kids, he says he always had a dream of one day playing in the National Hockey League.
“I used to draw and my dad used to draw on his lunch kits, NHL Superstar," Curran said, in an interview with CTV News.
Curran's journey started as a teenager in the Calgary Buffaloes organization.
As the years went by, it didn’t seem to matter how hard he was trying, it seemed like he was always getting passed over. He says that was hard because some of his teammates were finding success, being drafted by teams from the WHL or even the NHL.
“And for me it was tough," he said. "It wasn’t easy for me to see all these guys have success.
"But," he added, "it also made me want to have success.
“My path was just a little different than those other guys.”
Was it ever. Curran had many stops along the way in his hockey career. He played for the AJHL’S Calgary Canucks from 2006-2009, then won an AHJL championship with the Spruce Grove Saints in 2010.
He played five seasons with the University of Calgary, split two seasons between Greenville in the East Coast Hockey League and the Hartford Wolfpack in the American Hockey League.
He was a classic journeyman: talented enough that someone wanted to give him a job, but not quite on the radar of any NHL team.
European bound
And then it was off to Europe. Curran played one season in Denmark before heading to Sweden to play for Rogle in the Elite League.
He says he went to Europe to find his love for the game again.
Little did he know that European hockey would love him back.
“I’ve loved the game since I was a kid and I just didn’t have that same drive,” he told CTV.
“I didn’t have that same motivation to play the game so I figured I wanted to get back into the college feel. That team unity. You know a lot of camaraderie is something I’ve always loved and I found that in Europe.”
Turns out it was the best decision he ever made. This season he won both defenceman of the year and player of the year. Curran says that meant a lot to him.
“I get chills just thinking about it because of the path that I took," he said. "Where you come from is something that I lean on. It makes you strong and resilient.
It also made NHL teams take notice. Despite being 30, the dream of playing in the NHL isn’t over for Curran.
In fact he’s very close to signing an NHL contract.
Curran says that would mean to the world to him.
“YeahIi think that would be the cherry on the top," he said, "if this were to end in an NHL contract.”
