Conflicted Scars

Written for mothers and fathers of young players who dream of the NHL, this book examines a hockey landscape in transition and looks closely at the harder realities of the route from the minor leagues to the top level. Inside the game, hockey is often described as a world that celebrates self-sacrifice, grit, loyalty to teammates, and a strong sense of belonging. Justin Davis experienced that world as a privilege. He led the Memorial Cup tournament in scoring and was later picked by the Washington Capitals, and at the time he saw himself as perfectly typical among his peers.

After he left the sport, Davis began to recognize the racism, sexual abuse, and bullying that were woven into its culture. When his own children reached their teenage years, long-buried memories came back to him. He recalls being left undressed in a bus washroom for four hours with seven teammates, struggling with memory lapses over simple details, and living in a basement beneath a household where domestic abuse was plainly taking place.

Moving through the sport's darkest corners, the book follows the path of an ordinary Canadian player, a small-town teenager chasing an NHL future. It also serves as a guide for parents who want to understand how and why such a young person can come to live with anxiety, withdrawal, and emotional detachment.