This story originally appeared in the April issue of Downhome.

-By Omar Mosleh

Michael "Bull" Roberts, 36.

Michael Roberts’ face is a canvas of pain.

Almost his entire body is draped in ink, from faces and flames to skulls and swastikas. Individually, he says, his tattoos are meaningless. Collectively, they once offered a mask to his misery — a means of therapy for a life of crime, abuse and violence.

Roberts takes a slow measured drag of a du Maurier cigarette, standing at his doorstep in the bitter winter cold. They’re one of his only guilty pleasures left after more than two decades of drug and alcohol abuse. Known as “Bull” in his younger days, the Trepassey, N.L. native is tired from walking up the stairs — his 6’4″, nearly 500-pound frame makes it challenging. As he smokes, he offhandedly describes how the nose and scalp are the most painful spots to get inked.

He is frequently asked what various tattoos mean to him.

“Nothing,” he states bluntly. “It was all pure pain therapy, man…just another way to cope.”

Barely a foot into his GTA home and it’s easy to see how Roberts now copes. The words of John 3:16 hang like a sentry above the entranceway to his modest basement apartment: “For God so loved the world,” it reads, “that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Those words are especially meaningful to Roberts, who has gone from hardened criminal and gang member to born-again Christian after finding God while he lay broken and bruised on a hotel floor. Now an award-winning author, Roberts’ story is the type that defies belief.

Born in a small fishing community into a life of abuse, he suffered daily beatings at the hands of his father and molestation by his older brother and friends, and later his babysitter. From an early age, he was taught that drugs held the answers to his problems: At eight, he was diagnosed with ADHD due to behavioural problems, and was prescribed Ritalin. He soon moved onto solvents, marijuana and a myriad of pills.

“My dad would beat me down and my brother would come in as the comforter and molest me,” he says. “By the time I left home I was a full-blown drug addict, snorting gas just to deal with the physical and sexual abuse.”

His memories, like the tattoos sprawled across his body, are fragmented. He can’t say how many times he’s been to jail or mental institutions. He can’t pinpoint the first time he got high, or the age at which his molestation began.

But some memories are still vivid, like losing his best friend at an early age to a house fire.

“I’ve been dealing with death my whole life,” he says. “I buried my first friend in grade six.”

The abuse Roberts endured domestically carried over into his school life. A sickly child, he was bullied by his peers. Abuse had become second nature by this point — it was all he knew.

“It got to the point where I was getting beaten so much I just didn’t care anymore,” he says. “I craved the beatings.”

Roberts never retaliated because he was afraid of his father’s punishment if he got in trouble. By grade 7, he reached his breaking point. After a verbal altercation with his chemistry teacher over a detention slip, Roberts says his teacher shoulder-checked him.

In response, he broke his teacher’s jaw.

Knowing a severe beating awaited him at home, he decided to hit the streets. Between homelessness, foster homes and shelters, Roberts’ life quickly spiralled out of control.

As a teen, he transformed from victim to victimizer. When he wasn’t engaging in petty crime or senseless violence, he was in court or jail. He once had 13 assault charges laid against him in one day. He frequently tried to kill himself.

“It was so easy to hate,” Roberts recalls, the distant look in his eyes showing he still grapples with his emotions. “I didn’t even know what love was; no remorse, no feelings… nothing.”

By 16, he was labelled a sociopath and deemed criminally insane. He was placed in a mental institution, where he experienced further rape and abuse.

Over the years, Roberts tried to reshape his life by moving out west with a girlfriend and working a number of menial, low-pay jobs. But the allure of quick cash proved hard to resist.

“I grew up on the streets,” Roberts says. “I always kept going back to it because when all else failed, it’s what I knew.”

Roberts’ possessions were as bare as his emotions. He grew tired of having nothing. He joined a white supremacist gang and delved deep into a life of organized crime. He quickly advanced in the ranks with his strength and endurance skills. He became extremely wealthy from drug and gun trafficking, and was soon one of Canada’s most wanted criminals. Roberts had money, power and respect among his peers, but his life would soon crumble around him.

He ended his relationship with his girlfriend to protect her from his associates, and soon after, Roberts and more than a dozen others from his gang were arrested in an undercover sting. But things would come to a head when Roberts was betrayed by his closest friends.

One day at his farm, a large group of Roberts’ fellow gang members came to visit. He thought nothing of it, as they frequently came by to hang out. But this time was different. Roberts was brutally beaten and left with a fractured skull, broken bones, and severe damage to his spine. One of his associates had called a hit on him to assume control of the gang.

Roberts’ own crew had left him for dead.

A neighbour had witnessed it all and transported an unconscious Roberts to the hospital. Staff bandaged him up and once he was able to stand on his own, he was asked to leave. The hospital was uncomfortable with his gang-affiliated associates lingering around, so Roberts moved his recovery to a hotel.

It was in that hotel room that Roberts found himself at death’s doorstep. While stumbling to the washroom, with no one to help him in his injured and drugged state, Roberts collapsed. His broken bones left him unable to move. There he lay for hours in excruciating pain, sure his life was over.

After a lifetime of numbing his emotions with drugs and violence, Roberts started crying. He had had enough. He begged God to help him.

“I never felt love in my life, but when I reached out to God and asked for just that much love before I died, he hasn’t stopped pouring it out,” Roberts says. “My heart just opened right up.”

For Roberts, it was all part of God’s divine plan: the life of abuse, his crimes, his near-death experience. When Roberts speaks about God, you can feel the conviction in his voice. This is a man who has been to hell and back — and now has his sights set firmly on heaven.

“I could never go back to the way I was. Even if I did, I could never, ever, deny God,” he says. “I wouldn’t have a story to tell if it wasn’t for God.”

Today Roberts is a different man. He no longer sleeps with a gun; instead, he reads the bible before bed. He’s not a racist anymore; he has friends of all colours and attends a Middle-Eastern church. He doesn’t mute his emotions with alcohol, drugs, or body modification; instead he writes, or prays. He no longer hoards weapons in fear of his enemies; he collects stamps.

Following his recovery, Roberts discovered Evangelical Christianity through a friend and now dedicates his life to God and helping street kids. He lives in the Greater Toronto Area and speaks at churches, schools and shelters to youth about the dangers of street life and the power of faith.

Roberts loves talking to kids. Beforehand, he’s nervous as hell — afterward, he compares the feeling to “kicking Satan in the nuts”. And while he’s there to try and help steer them in the right direction, in reality, the opportunity to share his life experience is also therapeutic for him.

“I just love it because they listen,” he says. “They do a lot more for me than I could ever do for them. It’s like total medicine.”

Apart from the talks, Roberts packs and distributes survival kits for street kids and writes a Christian prison newsletter entitled “Behind the Walls” that goes out to 700 convicts monthly. He’s also an award-winning author; his autobiography, The Tender Heart of a Beast, won the general readership award at the Word Guild’s 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Awards.

Roberts still battles with shells from his past. His health, to be generous, is problematic. He struggles with his weight, has diabetes, and his heart is in bad condition. But some old habits die hard — he still smokes, drinks coffee, and keeps a questionable diet. Cigarette packs and McDonald’s wrappers litter his table, juxtaposed with plaques on the wall that read “Faith” and “Hope”.

Despite his shortcomings, he has progressed significantly; following a life of drug abuse, he’s been sober for two-and-a-half years. He’s still dealing with his temper, and tries extra hard not to curse.

But today Roberts no longer holds a heart full of hate. He still has a lot to forgive, including his own sins and those committed against him. He has tried to make amends with his family, with no luck; his mother doesn’t want to see him, and his siblings, who are mixed race, want nothing to do with him.

Regardless, Roberts is not alone. He’s close with his pastor and has many friends from church groups and various youth initiatives he’s involved in. And despite his health problems, he’s hopeful for the future. And he holds no doubt as to who is responsible for his hope.

“When I was laying there on that hotel floor, bag of broken bones, I know there was something in that room with me, holding me,” he says. “Who knows what it was…I choose to believe it was God.”

Anna Kuznetsov, 18, has a goal to raise $100,000 by end of summer as manager of her own painting business. Photo by Francis Crescia.

This story originally appeared in Vaughan Today.

-By Omar Mosleh

For Anna Kuznetsov, the ceiling is the limit.

The assertive Vaughan student, who attends York University’s Schulich School of Business, manages her own interior/exterior painting business. If that isn’t enough, she’s also a contestant in the inaugural Miss University Canada beauty pageant.

Not bad for an 18 year old.

And with a goal to have earned $100,000 by the end of summer, Kuznetsov has big dreams — and an even bigger incentive: if she succeeds, she’ll have an opportunity to use her proceeds to paint the town red during an all-inclusive paid trip to Mexico.

The trip is sponsored by Scholars At Your Service and usually takes place at the end of September. But make no mistake, while the prize of a trip adds a silver lining, Kuznetsov’s primary motive for launching her own business is to kick-start her career.

“I’m trying to build transferable business skills that I can apply to other things,” she said purposefully, in a conversation shortly after a law and ethics class at York’s Keele campus. “Just to be able to say I ran my own business, even if I don’t reach the $100,000, it’s pretty impressive.”

Kuznetsov started the business with the help of Scholars At Your Service, a franchise that selects college and university students who have demonstrated the ambition and skills needed to manage a business.

She said she first heard about the program at a class information session. Upon hearing how the speaker made $27,000 in one summer, she signed up. A few interviews later, she joined the team.

The Scholars program provides Kuznetsov with the training and marketing materials to launch her business, but everything from hiring painters to calculating costs is her responsibility.

While she was initially skeptical, the business has provided an opportunity to spark her inner entrepreneur, she says.

“At first I thought, ‘What do I know about painting?’  ” Kuznetsov said. “But in reality you grow to like it and be passionate about your business, because it’s you.

“You’re not selling the product or the service. You’re selling yourself.”

She plans to focus this summer on homes 20 years and older, likely in areas not far from her home near Dufferin Street and Rutherford Road, she says.

At the risk of being dubbed an underachiever, Kuznetsov also decided to join the beauty pageant after being convinced it was not one of those that put an emphasis on unrealistic looks.

“This pageant seemed like it’s about both brains and looks — and also being a strong, ambitious woman,” she said. “So I thought ‘Why not try?’ ”

The inaugural pageant is being held by Miss University Canada and takes place on May 5 at the St. George Hall in Waterloo. The winner will be sent to Cyprus to compete in the Miss Peace International pageant.

Kuznetsov was accepted and now juggles rehearsals, her business and classes.

“It did sound like a commitment, but I’m used to achieving my goals,” she said. “I like to think of it as a healthy challenge.”

So far, Kuznetsov has raised $8,000 in revenues. If she reaches her $100,000 goal by end of summer, she’ll make about $20,000 profit, once operating costs and the 26 percent royalty Scholars At Your Service charges have been deducted. Her thoughts?

“Whatever, sure,” she says with a shrug. “I mean, I’m still making a lot of money.”

She hopes to put her profits toward tuition, a car and a no-holds-barred shopping spree.

CJ Ficek, product manager for Helmets and Facial at Bauer Hockey, shows off features of Bauer's 9900 helmet designed to minimize the risk of concussions. Photo by Omar Mosleh.

You can replace a missing tooth, but discussion is mounting on a piece of equipment designed to protect one of an athlete’s most valuable assets – their brain.

As concussions in both professional and minor league hockey grow increasingly common, there has been plenty of discourse among hockey coaches and parents on how to address the issue. A concussion is a temporary brain injury that results from an impact to the head or body that causes the brain to move inside the skull.

Concerned parents as well as hockey and health professionals gathered on March 2 at a Bauer-sponsored event to discuss head safety, concussions, and proper helmet fitting.

Some parents, such as Marianne Eaves, decried what she perceived as the lack of emphasis on helmets.

“Why in the GTHL have we been so mouth guard driven?” she asked. “We’re spending $200 on a mouth guard, and $60 on a helmet, and that’s wrong,” she said. “No one has even looked at my son’s helmet.”

Larry Weber, director of risk management compliance for Bauer Hockey, acknowledged that in the past helmets were primarily designed only to meet the mandatory criteria of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), which focuses on protecting against high-impact focal injuries such as skull fractures and lacerations, and hence there hasn’t been much discussion about them in recent years.

Concussions, which can often be caused by low-energy impacts, have slowly been factored into helmet design over the last few years.

“A lot has changed. Some of the materials may look the same, but the engineering, weight and densities have been vastly improved over the past few years,” he said. “The shells are different, and the mechanism for fitting has been improved.”

CJ Ficek, product manager for Helmets and Facial at Bauer Hockey, said there are two relatively new technologies featured in their newest helmet, the 9900. The two materials are designed to manage both low and high-energy impacts to reduce the chance of major focal injuries as well as concussions.

One material to look out for is the FXPP liner, or Fused Expanded Polypropylene. This liner minimizes the damage incurred by “catastrophic” impacts with beads that are fused together allowing less energy to transfer through.

Another new technology that can be found in high-end helmets is Poron XRD, a light foam designed to absorb the force from low-energy impacts. And while innovations in technology have gone far in improving safety, the professionals all agreed that the most important factor remains the same: fitting.

No matter how advanced your helmet is, if it doesn’t fit properly, it’s not protecting properly. Fortunately, manufacturers have added a number of safeguards to new helmets to ensure a proper fit. One of these is tool-less or tool-free adjustment, which is fairly common among helmets these days. The feature allows parents to easily open the helmet to its full size without any screws, in order to accommodate more head shapes.

Another feature parents can look out for is an occipital lock at the back of the helmet. The occipital lock debuted around 2007-08 and locks onto the occipital bone in order to ground the helmet to the back of the head. Ficek said these new features are crucial in ensuring a proper fit.

“If your head is not in the exact circumference of that helmet, then there’s gaps, even if there’s a strap adjustment at the back,” he said. “Any time there’s a gap, the helmet is not protecting properly. It’s something to really look out for.”

In fact, incorrect fitting can actually increase the risk of injury, said Dr. Lisa Fischer, director of primary care sports medicine at the Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic.

Ficek said it’s also important for the chinstrap to be strapped securely, and he recommended parents place their kids’ helmets about ½ an inch above the eyebrow.

Industry professionals also cautioned against the overuse of helmets. Like any equipment, helmets degrade over time and decrease in effectiveness. While the CSA does not have an official expiry date for hockey helmets, most will have a certification expiry date from HECC, which is 6 ½ years from the date of manufacture.

It’s also important to note that concussions can also be caused by impacts to other body parts such as the chest or shoulder. As a result, the only true safeguard is safe and responsible playing.

“There is no helmet that can prevent concussions in every circumstance,” Weber said. “The idea that you can wear a magic bullet on your head and you’ll be completely impregnable, that’s not going to happen.”

One of the biggest barriers for Canadians who want to get involved in minor league hockey is cost. When one takes into consideration registration and equipment fees, the expenses can range in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

But now the city of Toronto in conjunction with the GTHL and Good Will is creating a rental equipment bank to make the sport more accessible to New Canadians and families that fall within the low-income bracket.

The aim of the rental bank is to not only create opportunities for youth who would like to get involved in hockey but have faced financial challenges, but also to expand the sport within the community. The idea was suggested as one measure in a series of recommendations on how to save hockey in Scarborough in light of declining enrolment numbers.

Scott Oakman, executive director of the GTHL, said he was looking forward to the project finally getting off the ground.

“This is going to be huge in many ways, because it provides a centralized distributor of quality equipment,” he said. “I don’t think this project alone is going to be the solution (to decreasing enrolment), but it’s one of many things that has to happen.”

Oakman said the GTHL is in the process of organizing an equipment drive in April. Good Will is currently in talks with various rinks in the city of Toronto in regards to where the equipment will be kept and how it will be distributed.

Carly Dunster, director of administration with Goodwill Industries of Toronto, said Good Will is hoping to have their business model complete within the next few weeks. She says Good Will was enthusiastic about getting involved upon being contacted by Councillor Michael Thompson’s office.

“Given that we already have as an organization an infrastructure to collect and sell used goods, it made sense for them to reach out to us,” she said. “We think it’s awesome if we can use our infrastructure to help tackle an issue the community is facing.”

She noted that Good Will has not embarked on anything similar in the past, but is excited about the prospect of helping the community.

“This is a pilot project, we’ve never done it before, so it’s hard to speculate how it will turn out,” she said. “But we’re super excited about it.”

One of the issues with a rental bank aimed towards helping the less fortunate is figuring out who is actually in need of financial help. Councillor Thompson says the city of Toronto has what is called a “Welcome Policy”, a fee subsidy program that provides free access to Toronto recreational programs if the family falls below the low-income cut-off. Families registered with the Welcome Policy would then be able to sign up for the rental bank.

But as it stands, those involved with the rental bank said they are not looking exclusively to help out low-income residents.

“The real goal is to make sure the kids that need it get it, but at the same time Good Will doesn’t want to exclude anyone from accessing (the equipment),” Oakman said.

Councillor Thompson seemed to agree, saying that while low-income families may get priority, the equipment bank would likely be open to anyone interested in trying out hockey.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re not simply focusing the Good Will equipment as a rich or poor thing,” he said. “We think there’s a lot of equipment available.”

The GTHL is hoping to have the program up and running by September. They are currently in the process of setting up a communication strategy in conjunction with Good Will in order to organize an equipment drive.

Hockey parents write down recommendations during a forum on the future of hockey in Scarborough. Photo by John Packman.

In the aftermath of a turbulent two years that saw house leagues closing, a court dispute and shrinking enrolment numbers, there is finally some good news for hockey in Scarborough.

The state of minor league hockey in Scarborough appears to be improving, with better house league numbers and increased enrolment. But some are still wary of growing overly optimistic.

West Hill Minor Hockey Association has bolstered its numbers by 20 per cent, from 650 players to 890, while the SHA has reported an enrolment increase of approximately 10 per cent. The SHA has also restructured its main hockey program to make game times and locations more consistent.

“The numbers for our house league are unbelievable,” said Howard Ryan, president of West Hill.

Based on this season’s registration numbers, Ryan expressed optimism for the future of hockey in Scarborough , especially for younger age groups.

“The most positive thing with the 890 is that we have 24 novice teams, with 10 six-year-olds and eight seven-year-olds.”

But Ed Wahl, president of the SHA, was cautious of attributing the enrolment increase to the recent task force initiative, and instead pointed to recent restructuring within the SHA.

Following a series of hockey clubs closing due to declining numbers, the SHA went through an amalgamation of all its clubs to strengthen its house league. This led to the formation of the Scarborough Youth Hockey League and the merger of the club’s remaining competitive teams.

Wahl says the players from the competitive program trickled into various GTHL clubs, including West Hill.

“The reason we’re up is because we closed down Scarborough Hockey Association competitive,” he said. “When you put 500 kids into a program and tell them that program doesn’t exist anymore, they have to go somewhere.”

But there’s no doubt the SHA has come a long way from neighbourhood house league programs closing in 2009. This year all teams have an average of 15 players, with some maxed out at 16.

Wahl noted that the team with the weakest enrolment, with 13 players, are his eight-year-olds, and that will have to change to ensure a sustainable future for hockey in Scarborough.

“We need to see the increase in the younger age groups,” he said. “That’s where our future lies.”

Ryan agreed that recruiting the target younger market has been his association’s biggest obstacle.

“We’ve made tremendous steps forward, I just don’t want to get on the ‘We’re all safe’ bandwagon yet,” Wahl said. “It’s very hard for me on this basis to say everything’s great.”

The SHA has also undergone some structural changes to simplify things for parents.

“Last year, this program unfortunately ran out of five different facilities,” Wahl said. “It was an absolute nightmare for parents to remember. We had parents showing up at the wrong arenas.”

The SHA has attempted to stabilize its schedule by now holding all games at Don Montgomery arena on Saturdays at periodic times, all posted on the SYHL’s and SHA’s website.

Wahl said it was easier in the second year after the SHA’s major changes to see what needed to be corrected.  Ultimately, he recognizes the changes were necessary to ensure the SHA’s future.

“What we had to do within the SHA is come to terms with the realization that we could either let our program die a slow death…or we could get pro-active,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mississauga Hockey League recently announced a partnership with Tim Hortons for the ‘Tim Hortons Got Hockey’ Program, aimed towards kids from new Canadian families.

The program provides ice, training, and equipment for eight weeks for a fee of $35 per participant. Wahl said it could be worth it for the Task Force on Hockey in Scarborough to look at the plausibility of launching something similar in Scarborough.

Montreal Canadien Mike Cammalleri says competing in the Toronto market as a youth played a major role in shaping the athlete he is today. Photo by Dave Sandford.

-By Omar Mosleh

Before he played in the NHL, Mike Cammalleri remembers nights competing as a Toronto Red Wing at Chesswood Arena as the closest thing to it.

“I remember that being our own little NHL,” said the 28-year-old Richmond Hill native. “I remember it being as competitive as could be. Going into Chesswood for home games on Friday nights, and the gossip and the buzz in the rink, the energy, it felt like we were playing in our own Toronto NHL.”

Now one of the most well-known faces on the Montreal Canadiens, Cammalleri played on the Red Wings back when the Greater Toronto Hockey League was known as the Metro Toronto Hockey League.

He’s come a long way since those days. Cammalleri displayed an impressive performance in the past season’s playoffs, having led the Habs to the Eastern Conference final with 13 goals, where they lost to Stanley Cup finalists, the Philadelphia Flyers.

This made him the first Hab since Vincent Damphouse to score 11 or more goals (in the playoffs). Damphouse achieved it in 1993, which was also the last year the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup. But before becoming a star as a result of his 2010 playoff performance, the 5-foot-9, 182-pound forward recalls the GTHL as one of the places his National Hockey League dreams first took flight.

“It was quite an experience,” Cammalleri said. “I honestly remember thinking about those games like I was in the National Hockey League.

But make no mistake – while Cammalleri remembers his early years in the GTHL as some of the most competitive he’s played, he knows there is no comparing the sheer level of performance that is expected of him in the NHL.

“It’s the best of the best,” he said. “You have to be so focused, and so energized and so ready every game, every shift, or you’re not going to be successful.”

Cammalleri has played in a range of leagues, including the GTHL, NCAA, and AHL, but said the NHL is on a whole different level.

“It just takes a great level of commitment to be a really good professional at that level,” he said. “It’s a big challenge.”

And Cammalleri has met that challenge head on, blossoming into one of the Canadiens’ most watched scorers. The accolades are still rolling in following his performance in the playoffs, in which the Habs made the final four.

While Cammalleri has already played in a number of high profile games in his young but flourishing career, including stints with Team Canada, he counts last season’s playoffs as one of the most exciting he’s played in.

“My first thought is it was a lot of fun, it was exciting for us as a team, for Montreal and for the people,” he said. Cammalleri said it was a close call and he feels he learned a lot over the season, but was ultimately disappointed in the result.

“It was an exhilarating ride,” he said, “but at the same time, I don’t want to say it was all for naught because you live and you learn, and you learn a lot about each other and your team, and you take a lot from that experience… but the idea is to win the whole thing.”

While the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals are still the teams to beat in the East, the Habs’ biggest challenge may be repeating their performance from last year.

“We got down to four teams, and hopefully we can get there again and give it another shot,” he said.

When asked what he feels he learned most from the season, Cammalleri showed that he is the consummate team player. For him, the major thing he took out of the playoffs was the connection he built with his team.

“It’s tough to say just one thing, for us it was more so as a group,” he said. “We were a team that was just put together, a lot of new faces with 10 or so new players. It took time for us to find our identity and find out about one another.”

When hearing the passion and enthusiasm Cammalleri displays while talking about his team, it’s easy for anyone to see the importance he places on the team dynamic.

“I think that’s the biggest thing you learn, all the intricacies of what makes your team successful and what you need to do to play well,” he said.

And while being a strong team player may be at least partly due to Cammalleri’s personality, he doesn’t discount the role Toronto had in shaping the player he is today.

In fact, he has his own theory that he has formulated over the years by observing professional NHL players who come from Toronto.

“I think there’s something about playing in the Toronto market as a young guy, you have to learn how to rely on your teammates a lot because it’s such a competitive league,” he said.

He said he even notices that his fellow NHLers that hail from Toronto also generally tend to have a strong team ethic.

“Different things sculpt you as a person, as an athlete, your surroundings, your upbringing, where you came from,” he said. “With a lot of the kids that grew up playing in Toronto that end up at the pro level, I find that they’re good at using their teammates and playing a give-and-go game.

“They kind of play a team game because it’s hard to be successful in such a competitive growing up as an individual,” he said, “I think sometimes guys who grew up in a smaller market are able to get away with more on an individual level.”

Cammalleri remembers his time in the GTHL fondly – some of his most vivid memories were playing against the Mississauga reps, the Toronto Marlboros and the Vaughan Rangers.

He said the year that sticks out in his mind the most was his pee-wee year.

“Our pee-wee year was just so memorable in a lot of ways,” he said. “We lost like four games our pee-wee year, they were all in the regular season. We played in all six major tournaments and didn’t lose one game in the tournaments.”

While a Red Wing, he remembers his parents and family as some his biggest influences who gave him the motivation and inspiration to focus on his career. But apart from his family, he said that his Red Wings coach Craig Clarke played a major role in his development, both on and off the ice.

“Mr. Clarke was a great person, he taught us how to be good people, to be good human beings first,” Cammalleri said. “He instilled strong moral values in us as hockey players, as people, in the way we treated each other and our work ethic.”

He talked about how his coach often pushed the players hard, and expected a lot out of them. This only prepared him more for the high expectations that would await him in his professional career.

“It wasn’t pretty at times, he taught us how to work hard, and if that anything was worth getting in life you had to work for it,” he said. “I really appreciated his leadership.”

One of the most memorable moments of Cammalleri’s professional career was playing for Team Canada, in the footsteps of some of his hockey heroes such as Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya.

“Playing on Team Canada was something I’ve always cherished…it’s been a big honour for me,” he said. “I grew up watching the world junior championships. The impression it leaves on you as a younger is probably where that comes from.”

Cammalleri’s first three career NHL games will also stay in his memory for years to come, as will the cities he played them in – Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto.

“When I first came in and played those first three games, you’re so green that you don’t even know what’s taking place,” he said. “It’s almost surreal.”

Playing in Montreal has also been surreal at times for Cammalleri, considering the legendary team has won more Stanley Cups than any other NHL club. Fortunately, he has no problem sharing with his teammates the pressure of living up to the Canadiens’ past.

“There’s a lot of pressure playing in Montreal, and it’s too much for one person’s shoulders, so we do it as a team and we share it, and that’s the only way it’s feasible,” he said.

Cammalleri said he appreciates the history of the Canadiens and has high hopes to add to the Habs’ legacy.

“For me I really think it’s important to appreciate the history that is the Montreal Canadiens. I think the best way to appreciate and respect it is to try and make our own little fingerprint on that history by trying to perform well and make something happen,” he said.

“I think that’s the most honourable way to respect the history that is the Canadiens.”

And while he is clearly pleased to play on the Canadiens, one can’t help but wonder what it’s like playing for his hometown team’s archrivals, especially considering the major role Toronto played in his formative development as a hockey player.

When asked if he would consider playing for the Leafs in the future if the price was right, Cammalleri made it clear where his allegiance lies.

“I’m happy in Montreal and that it worked out that way,” Cammalleri said. “Right now I want to be Montreal Canadien, so that’s not even something that has entered my mind.”

This abandoned transit loop at Kennedy station has never served its original purpose. Built as part of a proposed Scarborough LRT route, it was cancelled in favour of the current RT system. Photo by Mathieu Yuill.

-By Omar Mosleh

At Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue, nestled in a hub of buses, trains and transfer points, there’s a 28-year-old abandoned transit loop that has never had a chance to realize its potential – much like the TTC’s service in Scarborough.

In many ways, the unfinished project perfectly exemplifies the TTC and the Ontario government’s failed dream to provide a cohesive, all-encompassing public transit system in the east end of the city.

TTC consultant Richard Soberman says the hastily built loop at Kennedy station, now a dead-end tail track, was constructed in the early ’80s to serve as part of a proposed GO Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. However, the government of Ontario scrapped the idea in favour of today’s current technology, the Rapid Transit (RT) system.

The primary difference between RT and LRT is that the latter does not require a dedicated right-of-way. LRT receives power from overhead, and is more akin to a streetcar, whereas the current RT receives power from the rails and requires a more dedicated (and expensive) infrastructure.

Fast-forward almost 30 years later, and the TTC is planning a complete overhaul of the Scarborough RT to replace it with its originally intended LRT system as part of the larger Transit City plan announced in 2007.

The Scarborough RT, loathed by some and loved by, well, no one, is synonymous with the image of a loud, screeching, overcrowded and overall uncomfortable transit experience.

Just ask any Scarborough rider their thoughts on the RT, and you’re likely to hear a predictable range of responses.

“It causes a lot of havoc,” said Carlos Cadenas, a Centennial College graduate who lives in Toronto but frequently commutes to Scarborough. “Because it’s a smaller-sized train that runs less frequently than the Bloor lines, it can get hectic. The part I dread most is the screeching of the tracks.”

Other Scarborough transit riders, like Yousuf Riyadh, say frequent technical issues can result in service delays. “They don’t maintain it properly, so often something goes wrong and you have to take alternatives, which can be very difficult when you’re going to work,” he said. “I take the RT because I have to. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t.”

Soberman, the transit consultant who oversaw the construction of the current RT and took part in the 2006 study on how to replace the current line, says the answer to the current RT’s lacklustre performance is simple.

“The line is over capacity right now because they don’t have enough equipment, and the vehicles are 25 to 30 years old,” he said. “There will come a point where you can’t operate those vehicles.”

With only four trains and 28 cars serving an estimated 39,320 riders on an average day, residents relying on the RT are severely under-serviced. So why did the TTC build the RT instead of LRT, which would have provided a more efficient and sustainable transit system for years to come?

Soberman says he proposed an LRT system for Scarborough as early as 1975. The project was approved and announced in 1982. Construction started, but the LRT was cancelled under pressure from the Ontario government to switch to RT, which was being produced by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation, then an Ontario Crown corporation (owned by the government).

According to Soberman, the government agreed to pay a large portion of the RT costs so they could test out and market their new technology prior to its implementation in Vancouver for the 1986 Expo World Fair, where it is now known as the Skytrain.

In hindsight, Soberman says he feels the construction of the RT was a mistake, and the real reason for its construction was to develop and promote their crown-owned technology. “I think it was the wrong decision then, taken for the wrong reasons,” he said. “It was not the right technology for that application mainly.”

With a squeaky, overcrowded fossil as the flagship of their transit system, it’s no surprise that a large percentage of Scarborough transit riders also takes the bus. However, Scarborough-Centre councillor Michael Thompson has been telling city council for years that Scarborough has played “second fiddle” in terms of funding for transit, despite being one of the largest Toronto municipalities in terms of area.

“Scarborough is a very big place, and there are areas and pockets where it’s very challenging to get access to the TTC and to get downtown in a convenient manner,” he said.

And while bus service attempts to provide transit to those not close to a major transit station, buses have not been without their share of criticism. Stephen Miaone, who used to regularly take the Kennedy 43 to get to work downtown, compared the line to “the worst route in the world.”

“I just found it terrible. Buses were always late, then multiple buses would arrive at the same time – they didn’t keep their schedules at all,” Miaone says. “And then when you would get on, people would be packed in like sardines.”

Others, such as Masfique Selim, express frustration at the frequency of bus service in Scarborough.

“If you miss a bus downtown, there will be another in a few minutes. But if you miss the bus in Scarborough, you’re basically screwed,” he said.

Adam Giambrone, chair of the TTC and city councillor for Davenport, sympathizes with the complaints of Scarborough riders. He says one of the reasons Scarborough residents are more likely to complain about TTC service is because a higher percentage of Scarborough riders takes the bus.

“With bus transport, people are facing very long trips on the bus, much of it standing,” Giambrone said. “Buses are subject to a lot more variability based on traffic issues, so it means that the likelihood of people experiencing more negative circumstances compared to subway riders is much higher.”

But are these issues unique to Scarborough, or something that goes hand-in-hand with TTC ridership in all Toronto municipalities?

Thompson argues that over time, Scarborough has been given the short end of the stick. “I just feel that over the years, in terms of the decisions that had been made, transit-wise, Scarborough really wasn’t so factored in.”

To add insult to injury, last March the provincial government announced they would postpone the delivery of $4 billion in funding for Transit City.

As a result, the construction of various priority projects including the Scarborough-Malvern LRT and the replacement of the Scarborough RT were postponed from 2012 to 2015. This happened even after U of T Scarborough students voted ‘yes’ in a referendum to build a new aquatic centre for the 2015 Pan Am Games under the assumption that the LRT would be extended to the campus in time for the games.

Giambrone says over the last 20 years, Scarborough has grown disproportionately, and there was no investment going on when the area needed it most. Indeed, between 1996 and 2001, Scarborough had the highest growth rate in Toronto at six per cent. So the question is: what now?

According to Giambrone, the current Transit City plan, announced in 2007, focuses heavily on Scarborough. If all goes ahead as expected, Scarborough will have a drastically improved subway system, but not for roughly 10 years. The construction of the Sheppard East LRT started in October 2009, and the replacement of the Scarborough RT will start in 2015.

The plan is to extend the existing RT line east from McCowan Station so that it links with Sheppard East Station and riders can transfer seamlessly.

“I think the Sheppard LRT is going to have a dramatic effect on Scarborough because it’s going to take a rapid transit line and stretch it deep into the heart of Scarborough,” Giambrone said. “It’s going to go a long way in terms of improving service.”

The chair of the TTC says he personally knows what Scarborough residents are concerned about – he takes the TTC to the east end every week or two himself. And while another five years before construction seems a long way off, Giambrone is generally optimistic about the future of TTC in Scarborough.

“I understand it’s a long haul, it’s frustrating,” he said. “The ability to generate the capital dollars is a big issue, but we’re moving ahead.

We have to spend a lot of time catching up.”

The Scarborough LRT is scheduled to be completed by 2020. Residents can look forward to higher capacity, more frequent service, and most importantly for some, a quiet, screech-free ride.

Members of the Scarborough Young Leafs prepare for a game at Montgomery arena on Feb. 8, 2008. Recently declining numbers have threatened the state of minor league hockey in Scarborough. Photo by Ron Bull.

It was just over a year ago when major Toronto media outlets proclaimed with much certainty that hockey was dying in Scarborough.

On paper, the optics are grim.

The Task Force on the State of Hockey in Scarborough reported that in the past four years, the total number of Scarborough youth enrolled in hockey programs has dropped 12 per cent, and the total membership of the Scarborough Hockey Association has plummeted from its peak of 10,000 to less than 3,000.

But now the city of Toronto is working with various fixtures in the hockey community to try and kick off a series of recommendations aimed at saving hockey in Scarborough.

“A lot of work is being done by our city of Toronto staff, in terms of piecing together some of the recommendations,” said Scarborough-Centre Councillor Michael Thompson, co-chair of the task force.

“The agencies are working together, and they’re very interested in ensuring they provide a solution to the decline of hockey in Scarborough,” he said.

The task force was assembled in June 2009 in response to sinking enrolment numbers that forced a number of Scarborough hockey clubs to fold. A major discussion topic was the changing demographics in Scarborough and how to reach out to the growing ethno-cultural community.

The 22-person task force prepared a report for Scarborough Community Council, with 10 recommendations to rejuvenate hockey Scarborough. Recommendations included enhancing the Learn to Skate programs, creating an equipment “rental bank”, and getting NHL and AHL players involved in a marketing campaign.

While the process has just begun, a number of recommendations are already in the early stages of implementation.

For example, for the first time the city has begun handing out Scarborough Youth Hockey League (SYHL) registration pamphlets to participants of its internal Learn to Skate program.

Howard Ryan, president of the West Hill Minor Hockey Association and a member of the task force, hopes this will begin to bolster enrolment numbers.

“This has just never happened before,” he said. “So we’re working in conjunction with the city to funnel the kids out of the Learn to Skate programs and into the not-for-profit minor hockey leagues in Scarborough.”

The Scarborough Youth Hockey League also started sending out flyers n Chinese dialects, hoping to engage various pockets of Scarborough’s ethnic communities.

One recommendation met with enthusiasm by Ryan is the idea to launch a ball hockey pilot program in Scarborough, to introduce new generation Canadian families to hockey in an easier-to-learn format.

“I think the introduction of ball hockey in the city programs as a stepping stone into ice hockey is one of the best things to come out of this,” Ryan said.

Councillor Thompson expressed optimism in how the task force will benefit Scarborough hockey.

“In the next couple of years we should see a much stronger brand of house league hockey and growth in terms of the number of kids getting involved,” he said.

And while the prevailing sentiment of hockey’s inevitable demise in Scarborough is thinning, some are still skeptical on how the council recommendations will play out.

Ryan said the rental bank, aimed at helping low-income families deal with the game’s financial barriers, will be a major challenge. He said West Hill attempted a similar program in the past with varying degrees of success.

“I don’t know if we’d be able to get the facilities to do something larger, or if the city has the ability to clean the equipment properly,” he said. “That’s a recommendation I don’t know if they’ll be able to get off the ground.”

Ed Wahl, president of the Scarborough Hockey Association, said the idea to get NHL players down for marketing purposes seemed implausible.

“All the recommendations are great, but it’s implementing them,” he said. “We couldn’t get an (NHL) player to our league to save our soul. We’ve tried.”

Councillor Thompson said a framework for how exactly the recommendations will be implemented is being worked on.

“I think the important thing is we’re addressing an issue that has been neglected for quite some time,” he said. “We’ve gotten beyond the blaming and finger-pointing. We’re moving forward.”

A final report is expected to officially come to council sometime in the fall for endorsement.

EPIC team members Renu Rani, Cindy He, Noor Din and Kanwal Habib will oversee the launch of a new business incubator program aimed at helping disadvantaged workers become successful entrepreneurs. Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn.

A Vaughan team is set to help launch entrepreneurial careers for disadvantaged and marginalized people across the GTA.

EPIC, the Enterprise Promotion and Investment Centre, is a newly formed business incubator focused on assisting low-income families, immigrants, seniors and single mothers.

A business incubator promotes and helps develop entrepreneurial businesses so they are successful once established.

The project, led by Noor Din, executive director of humanitarian organization Human Endeavour, received funding from Employment Ontario last March. EPIC hopes to officially begin working with community members in August.

The group’s primary goal is to promote self-sufficiency among disadvantaged groups by arming them with the training and knowledge needed to run a successful business. It aims to break the cycle of skilled but disadvantaged people working low-pay, menial labour jobs with little prospect for promotion.

“What we’re promoting is a step up from the $10 job idea – that’s just the starting point,” Mr. Din said. “If you stick with just finding a job, you will never break the barriers. So you have to think differently.”Barriers range from employers not recognizing the foreign credentials of immigrants, to the social stigma that surrounds hiring seniors, or even family obligations that may make it difficult for single mothers to work a day job.

A study by Human Endeavour with numbers from Statistics Canada shows that despite government funding and initiatives to help disadvantaged communities, rates of child poverty have barely fallen in 30 years and the income level of immigrants has actually decreased since the 1980s.

EPIC hopes that by taking control of their own careers, participants can experience true financial independence and success. With self-employment, they can enjoy a flexible yet still rewarding career path that accommodates their individual needs.

A major aspect of the organization is its community-oriented approach. Participants are made to feel welcome and comfortable, because, according to Kanwal Habib, EPIC’s sales and marketing specialist, for many marginalized communities such as immigrants, the first step in launching a new career is the hardest part.

“It’s really intimidating for them to go into these agencies and look at all the rules and regulations,” she said.

Ms Habib noted that EPIC is able to better serve its targeted community because most of its core members know the difficulty in starting a new life and career.

“You really need somebody who actually knows what you’re going through,” Ms Habib said. “With us, a team of people who are mostly immigrants, we know what their challenges are and can really put ourselves in their shoes.”

Critical to the program’s success is the idea of a social enterprise, a business that makes money but also takes care of the community that launched it.

This means that businesses successfully launched with the organization’s help are encouraged to help other fledgling businesses by providing partnerships, resources, or consultation.

The process starts with an unemployed or underemployed (someone receiving less than satisfactory income in relation to their level of skill) participant receiving consultation from EPIC’s team of professionals.

Once they decide what skills they want to build upon, the participant is provided with the training needed to be successful in that particular field. After their business is established, EPIC will connect that business with another relevant enterprise. For example, if a participant starts a marketing company, Mr. Din’s team can connect them with other businesses to manage their accounting or media presence.

This lets new businesses launched by EPIC benefit from each other’s skills and experience while forming a tightly knit support network. EPIC can also provide ongoing training, feedback and resources such as office supplies. Plus, participants can use the main office as their meeting place until they acquire their own office space.

The ultimate goal is to form a community-driven, grassroots organization that retains partnerships with larger corporations so that disadvantaged communities can take advantage of the full spectrum of employment opportunities.

EPIC is now seeking a range of volunteer board members and consultants, especially in the fields of law, accounting, marketing and business development.

To get involved with EPIC, call 905-832-6842 or visit www.humanendeavour.org.

Steve Mastroianni, 25, better known as VØID, is lead guitarist of the band "The Envy".

From as early as he can remember, Steve Mastroianni recalls getting in trouble for doing what he loves most. It’s not sex. It’s not drugs.

It’s rock and roll.

Mr. Mastroianni, 25, better known to his fans as VØID, is lead guitarist of The Envy. The band formed in 2009 and was recently signed by legendary rocker Gene Simmons, best known as the tongue-wagging, fire-breathing frontman of 70s band KISS.

The former Vaughan resident and longtime musician inspired his first critic at the ripe age of 11.

“I taught myself to play the drums on pillows,” he said. “It still made too much noise because I was stomping on the floor. I remember my sister getting mad at me for playing a pillow drum set too loud.”

From drummer to guitarist to songwriter, Mr. Mastroianni’s popularity has slowly skyrocketed.

The band has toured Canada and has more than 50,000 friends on MySpace and about 5,000 fans on Facebook.

The Envy

So far, The Envy has performed in major Canadian cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

For Mr. Mastroianni, who lived in Woodbridge for more than 20 years, the experience has been nothing less than enlightening.

“When you’re touring all over, it’s like the band becomes your home so when you go anywhere else it’s really weird,” he said. “Going to Vaughan and sitting down at your grandmother’s place is such a different vibe, it gives you a lot of perspective.”

He said traveling across the country and living a hectic life of recording and performing has made him appreciate the simple things in life, such as family.

Mr. Mastroianni compares the band’s style to U2 or Coldplay and said they are aiming for a larger-than-life persona.

The band originally set up a showcase with Universal Records Canada while attending the Juno Awards in Vancouver. Their demo was sent to Mr. Simmons by Universal Records A&R agent Mark Spicoluk.

Mr. Simmons loved their music and soon flew to Toronto to see The Envy live. Two weeks later, the newly formed band had a deal with Simmons Records, a subsidiary of Universal Records, one of the largest music labels in the world.

“When (Mr. Simmons) pulled the trigger two weeks later and said we want to sign you guys to our label, it was unbelievable,” Mr. Mastroianni said.

Not long after, the band flew to Los Angeles to work with well-known songwriters such as Desmond Child, who helped launch the careers of popular artists Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. Since then, they’ve performed in the United States, been mentioned on Entertainment Tonight and are in the process of booking TV appearances.

“It’s endless with Gene,” he said. “We’re really excited to work with somebody who has been in the industry for so many years and has so many contacts.”

Mr. Simmons, in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, said that he has big plans for the band.

“Our mandate, self-imposed, is to take the next generation of Canadian stars and make them into world superstars,” he said. “Here’s our first, The Envy. You’ll be hearing a lot about them.”

Working with Mr. Simmons has not been what Mr. Mastroianni expected. Naturally, the band jumped at the opportunity to work with the superstar, but expected he would make major tweaks to the band’s style and image.

“I thought he was gonna be kind of a jerk, like a bit of a dictator. That’s absolutely not what it’s like,” Mr. Mastroianni said. “He’s not a phony person at all, he’s one of the most sincere people I’ve ever met.”

He says Mr. Simmons did not want to make any big changes and compared it more to refining their sound. Mr. Mastroianni describes his personal style as catchy and very melody driven.

“The guitar riffs that I come up with have to be singable,” he said. “It has to digest easily so that a lot of people can get into it.”

He cites the Edge from U2 and John Mayer as some of his biggest influences. As for the stage name, he said Desmond Child dubbed him VØID to match with his somewhat dark, mysterious personality (Steve Mastroianni was also a mouthful for those not from Woodbridge).

And although he had to sacrifice a normal life and time with friends and family, Mr. Mastroianni is more than ready to rock and roll as his career unfolds.

“What you put into it is what you get out of it,” he said. “I put my whole life into it, and the adventure is just starting now.”

The band is working on its first single to be released sometime in May or June.

To follow The Envy’s progress, check out their website at http://www.theenvymusic.com, or visit their Facebook fan page under “The Envy”.