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by Holly Arend
Mental health in sports has often been a taboo topic, overshadowed by the physical demands and glory of the game. Zhilkin’s Vision, a non-profit initiative launched by Danny Zhilkin and Lauren Shoss, seeks to change that narrative. Born out of personal experiences and a passion for advocacy, Zhilkin’s Vision is dedicated to normalizing conversations about mental health and providing accessible resources for athletes at all levels. In this interview, Danny and Lauren share their journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and their mission to make mental health a priority in sports communities.
What inspired you to start Zhilkin’s Vision in August 2022?
We had talked about starting a non-profit organization as a way to give back to our community and use the platforms we had been given to do some good in our community for quite some time. On the Guelph Storm, Danny’s junior hockey team, we were fortunate to see two former Storm players, Cam Hillis and Garrett McFadden launch non-profits, which showed us just how supportive the Guelph community is and inspired us to launch ours as well. COVID and Danny’s draft year delayed our plans a little bit, but we felt like the time following the draft would be the optimal time to launch, as we now had the support of the Guelph/Ontario community, as well as our new Winnipeg family behind us. Our decision to focus on mental health really came from each of our own experiences growing up in elite sport environments, hockey and dance. We’ve seen and experienced the impacts of the mental health stigma in sports, and the culture of silence it creates, so naturally we had a desire to normalize conversations about mental health and improve access to mental health resources in ways that we didn’t have when we were younger. It was pretty incredible once we launched- the immediate support we received from fans, our teams, our friends and family, and big organizations like the NHL and Hockey Canada inspired us to continue working to grow our platform, amplifying the voices of athletes like ourselves who have had their own experiences with mental health challenges, and creating a community and space where conversations about mental health are accepted, supported, and encouraged.
How did your time in graduate school at BU and Danny’s draft to the Jets influence the timing of launching this initiative?
At the time that we launched ZV in August of 2022, I was entering my second year of my Masters program at Boston University, studying mental health counseling with a specialization in sports psychology. Not only was I gaining a ton of knowledge about mental health and sports psychology, but I was also doing applied work with DI and DIII college teams and youth sports teams in the Boston community, offering team and individual sport psychology services. I was also about to start a clinical internship at a partial hospitalization program working with kids and adolescents. My experiences at BU really showed me how intertwined mental health and performance are; athletes must be feeling at their best, mentally and physically, to be able to perform their best, but their performance often influences their mental health as well, especially for elite athletes whose livelihood may depend on their sports performance. The services provided by professionals in sports psych and mental health, or both, are often somewhat inaccessible, financially, logistically, or otherwise, so I had a desire to share some of what I was learning with a broader network of people- parents, fans, athletes, coaches, organizational leaders, etc. We were able to do that through things like our keynote presentations at several events, as well as through our Mental Health Monday initiative, during which I created weekly posts breaking down mental health and sports psychology concepts and research in a digestible way.
About a month and a half prior to the launch of ZV, Danny was drafted 77th overall by the Winnipeg Jets. When we launched ZV, he was a week or so away from heading off to his first NHL training camp and was going to be returning to the OHL shortly after to play his 4th, and likely final, season of Junior hockey. While the draft is both an exciting and somewhat stressful time, the classic saying of “this is just the beginning” is 100% true. The draft really kickstarts several years of incredibly grueling, hard work of trying to make a career as a professional hockey player, and this reality becomes real quite quickly after the draft. Suddenly the sport you grew up playing as a hobby becomes your source of income, your livelihood, the way you plan and hope to support your family, and something that can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. The pressure to perform skyrockets, with people expecting you to dominate the junior hockey scene now that you’re a drafted player, while also trying to prove to your NHL club that you deserve a contract and a chance to play pro. The draft brought with it a lot of opportunities, including the growth of Danny’s platform with an entirely new fan-base we were able to tap into to support the launch of ZV, which is, in part, why we waited to launch until post-draft (and because of time, obviously). It was a new community we wanted to impact in a positive way, which we feel like we have, but it also showed us the reality of how much pro sports can and will take a toll on athletes emotionally and mentally. It made it all the more clear why an organization like ZV, led by an up and coming professional hockey player, was needed.
You’ve mentioned the impact of strong leaders like captains/alumni—how did they guide or inspire you in creating this foundation?
Cam Hillis and Garrett McFadden were instrumental in inspiring us to create ZV. Truthfully, the idea of starting an organization and building it from the ground up, all while balancing being a full-time student, high-level athlete, and still being so young can be pretty intimidating. It’s easy to come up with reasons not to do it, but I’m so glad we just went for it. Seeing them start their own organizations, being supported by the team and the community, and being able to give back to the families and fans that have been such a big part of their hockey career not only showed us that it was possible, but the incredible impact doing something like this can have. It solidified for us that we should go for it, knowing we’d be supported. Organizations like McFadden’s movement have now been around for several years and really set the stage for creating change with regards to mental health in the world of sports. It’s incredibly inspiring to witness and we’re thankful to have had such amazing role models to show us that creating something like ZV was possible and not something to shy away from.
Both of you have faced challenges with mental health, including the pressures of hockey and academics. How have those experiences shaped the mission of Zhilkin’s Vision?
I think for both of us, our own experiences inspired us to start ZV as we both grew up in sport environments where mental health was stigmatized, hidden, and ultimately kind of ignored. The experience of being an elite hockey player, playing in front of thousands and representing your country or province nationally and internationally, navigating drafts and such at a young age is obviously quite unique, and yet I see a lot of parallels between the psychological challenges that can arise in that type of environment and the one I grew up in as a competitive dancer, and now as a doctoral student. There is a constant pressure to perform, to prove yourself, to be perfect and do everything right so as to not jeopardize your spot or others’ perceptions of you. It’s a constant uphill battle, and unfortunately I think these “pressure cooker” environments like elite/professional sport and grad school can exacerbate and really amplify mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, substance use, and psychological burnout. While mental health is such an individual thing that affects everyone differently, there is a lot of commonality and unity in some of the experiences Danny and I, and so many others in both the sport and academia worlds have had which continues to show us the importance of organizations like ours that help people to realize they aren’t alone, and advocate for better support to be available so people don’t have to suffer in silence.
How does Zhilkin’s Vision work to normalize conversations about mental health in sports communities?
We feel that one of the best ways to normalize conversations about mental health is by modelling that, and having open conversations about it ourselves. Presenting at events, sharing content about our own experiences, talking about mental health openly on things like podcasts and interviews, and even magazines like this is a great way to show others that it’s okay to talk about it. Also, some of our content that we released for mental health mondays was centered around showing how common mental health challenges are, which we hoped would help people to realize that what they’re feeling is common and a shared experience amongst many. That’s a big goal of our work with ZV, and I think just by being open ourselves, and having an organization that openly discuss these topics, we’re actively contributing to the de-stigmatization and normalization of mental health in sport.
What are the challenges of running this initiative while juggling a PsyD program, long-distance, and professional hockey?
We do everything ourselves for Zhilkin’s Vision. All of the social media posts, the interviews, presentation and event appearances, and even the events we’ve run like our fundraiser for the CMHA, is all organized by us and us only. It can be pretty challenging to juggle everything. I’m a full-time clinical psychology doctoral student. That means I’m in 4 or 5 classes a semester, am seeing several therapy and assessment clients for my clinical practicum, work a 20 hour per-week GA as a sport psychology consultant, am writing a dissertation, and also have a part-time job with the Toronto Blue Jays, so it’s safe to say I’m incredibly busy! Danny’s hockey schedule also makes things tough, as Winnipeg is pretty far from all of the other teams in our division, and other teams in general, meaning road trips tend to be pretty long and grueling. They play at least 2, and sometimes 3 or 4 games a week, often travelling across Canada and the US for weeks on end. Long distance definitely adds another factor. It was a bit easier when I was in Boston and he was in Guelph, as we were seeing each other more frequently, once every month or so, didn’t have a time difference, and the junior hockey schedule was lighter than what we have now. Nowadays, we’re thousands of miles away from one another and sometimes go 3+ months without seeing each other in person. The last time I flew out to Winnipeg to see him, I had an overnight layover in Denver and was travelling for 24 hours straight to get there. It’s pretty tough to plan events and coordinate everything over texts and Facetime, especially when we’re both also doing so much on our own for school and hockey. This is truthfully why we’ve been on a bit of a hiatus recently. ZV is still very much alive and we hope to get things back up and running soon, but both of us have a lot going on and want to be sure that when we do get it back up and running, we’re able to give it the level of time and energy it deserves.
Your mission extends from youth athletes to professionals—what specific programs or tools have you developed for these different levels?
From youth to pro athletes obviously there are some stark differences in the types of stressors and pressure present, depending on the level of sport. Youth athletes, for example, you have things like parent pressure, parent-coaches, getting cut from teams, missing out of “typical childhood” events like things at school and with friends, and burnout that can come from balancing a busy schedule while still being a kid. They are also so young, and being thrown into a pressurized environment when they’re young, immature, and lack coping skills can add to the risk for developing mental health challenges. Pro athletes, on the other hand, their sport is their livelihood, so the pressure ramps up a little as they fight to keep their spot on a team and fight to keep their contract. Things like contract renewal years, trades, etc., add an extra layer of stress, but then you also factor in that these players are older, hopefully have established a good support system of friends, family, and maybe a partner, and just generally have more maturity to be able to cope with some of these things, that a youth athlete doesn’t have yet. For us with ZV, our approach is to release a wide range of information and educational and support resources that are relevant to a wide range of athletes, as well as those around the athletes like parents and coaches, as they play an essential role in creating a culture that provides space for mental health to be acknowledged and prioritized. I don’t think we’re expecting a 10 year old youth athlete to read our content, fully understand it, and apply it, although I’m sure some could and would, but we hope that by inspiring others to have these conversations and just to think more about mental health we can support people across all levels of sport.
Have you considered expanding Zhilkin’s Vision beyond hockey to other sports?
Yes! Hockey is of course the sport community we have the most access to- and involvement in, just given Danny’s career and both of our long-standing histories in the hockey world. That being said, we do want to branch out to other sports. I’ve worked with softball, baseball, soccer, track and field, rowing, volleyball, lacrosse, and hockey during my time as a sport psychology professional thus far, and would love to bring some of our work with ZV into those spaces using connections with coaches and athletes I’ve been able to develop. It’s a work in progress, but we definitely hope to branch out in the future while recognizing that hockey is our home.
Danny, can you share the story of moving from Moscow to Canada at eight for hockey? What was that transition like?
So I came from Moscow to participate in a hockey camp in Toronto that summer, and a coach happened to notice me and my potential and asked me to stay in Canada and play for his team. My family ended up deciding that if I wanted to pursue hockey, Canada and more specifically Toronto was the best place to do it, so we flew back to Moscow, and then a couple weeks later, the whole family (my younger brother, older sister, mom, and dad) moved to Ontario to start the hockey season. Looking back on it, it’s pretty crazy that my entire family made those sacrifices so I could follow my dream of playing professional hockey. It worked out, because not only am I playing professionally, but my younger brother also started playing hockey and was just recently drafted into the OHL to start his junior career. The transition to Canada was okay. Truthfully, I think being only nine made it easier. The hardest part was learning English, but it’s easier to learn another language when you’re a kid so I think that made it easier on me. I had to leave my friends and people behind, but when you’re nine it’s mostly about your family and your parents anyways, and I am very thankful that I had my parents and siblings going through it with me. We’ve been here for 10 years now, so Canada is home. We’ve really enjoyed our time here. My family made a lot of sacrifices for me and my hockey career that I am very grateful for. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
How did playing with Lauren’s brother in the offseason and on regular teams shape your relationship?
Lauren’s brother Matt and I are good friends now and were good friends when we played together too. There’s a couple of pictures of us from games and stuff as kids and we’ve shared a lot of memories together. Some of my best memories as a kid playing hockey are from the tournaments and games we played together, like going to Europe and playing in Switzerland and Italy for two weeks, and our Silver Stick game that went past midnight. It’s special to be part of their family now since we all grew up together. I’ve known them since I moved to Canada. Family dinners at their house usually result in Matt and I just laughing about one of our old teammates or some goofy memory from a hotel or something. Lauren, Matt, their parents, and even their extended family like her grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins are all very supportive of my career and watch me play whenever they can. I think there was one game a couple years ago where there was like 12 of them watching me when I was playing junior. Ironically Lauren ended up not being there, she had the interview for her doc program that day, but it was pretty cool that her entire family came out to cheer me on.
Choosing to represent Canada over Russia was a significant decision—what led to that choice?
I felt like I had spent a significant portion of my childhood, and my hockey career, growing up in Canada since I moved at such a young age. It made sense for me to represent Canada internationally, and to be able to play alongside the friends and teammates I had shared the ice with since I moved several years prior. It was pretty awesome getting to play against some of my old buddies on Team Russia at the U18 worlds though, and winning gold against them. I’ll never forget that.
What have been some of your most meaningful hockey moments, from winning gold with Team Canada in 2019 to signing with Winnipeg and now playing with the Manitoba Moose?
Getting drafted 14th overall to Guelph in the OHL in 2019, and scoring my first goal in junior hockey on my first shift in my first OHL game shortly after
Getting drafted 77th overall to Winnipeg in the NHL in 2022, and signing my first contract a few months later
Winning gold with U18 Team Canada in 2021 after defeating Team Russia in the finals
Being named to- and representing Team Ontario at the Canada Winter Games in 2015- this was my first big national tournament that was televised and everything. We took home Silver against Quebec.
Playing for U17 Team Canada Black, this was my first time representing Canada internationally which was a really special feeling just wearing that jersey
Playing in my first pro game as an AHL player for the Manitoba Moose and scoring my first professional goal a few weeks later
Lauren, how did your background as a competitive dancer influence your career in mental health counseling and sports psychology?
Dance is a really unique sport environment that places an emphasis on physical appearance and others’ subjective judgement, similar to sports like gymnastics and diving. Imagine spending the equivalent of a part-time job, 20+ hours per week, staring at yourself in a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mirror, being trained to pick out flaws in your lines, your posture, your technique from the ages of 3 to 20. That’s competitive dance. I saw, and experienced several serious mental health challenges, from anxiety and perfectionism to body dysmorphia and eating disorders, those problems may develop during your time as a dancer, but they stick with you long after. Unfortunately, we were never really spoken to about the realities of these experiences, by our coaches, our parents, and even each other, because of the stigma that exists and the lack of awareness about the psychological aspect of sports like dance that existed then, and continues to prevail now. That’s not to say it’s all bad. Dance was, and will forever be one of the things I love the most. It gave me a voice, a creative outlet, and allowed me to connect with people and tell stories without ever needing to speak. My teammates on my various teams throughout my career are forever friends, and some of my coaches were like second parents to me. However, the things I observed, along with what I observed through my brother’s hockey career, painted a clear picture that mental health support and education was lacking in sports as a whole. In order for people to experience the benefits like lifelong friendships, they have to be cared for mentally, and this realization definitely pushed me towards a career in psychology and mental health work.
What inspired your educational journey from McMaster’s Health Sciences program to your PsyD at James Madison University?
During my 3rd year of my undergrad at McMaster in the Health Sciences program, I took two courses, one with Dr. Debbie Nifakis entitled “Critical Examination of Mental Health”, and the other with Ms. Stephanie George “Indigenous Health”. These two courses completely changed my trajectory in the program, and ultimately pushed me towards pursuing a career in mental health as opposed to medicine. For the Critical Examination of Mental Health course, our final assignment was to write an integrated reflective and research paper about any mental health topic. I chose performance anxiety in young athletes, which led to my professor connecting me to Dr. Kate Hays. She was a clinical and sport psychologist based out of Toronto who took me under her wing and helped me to learn about the training and opportunities available in the field of sport psych, and ultimately led me to find the program at Boston University that I went on to pursue.
How do you envision creating a long-term impact and sustaining Zhilkin’s Vision as a resource for athletes?
Once we feel like it’s the right time to get ZV back up and running, I think a main goal for us will be fundraising. Something we’d love to do more long-term is continue to share content, but also to be a financial source of support to help athletes access mental health resources like counsellors and therapists. It would be wonderful to partner with some of my colleagues from school to provide mental health resources to athletes at a discounted rate, that ZV could then help cover the cost of. We think that would be particularly useful for younger athletes who might not have access to a covered professional like some college and pro athletes do. Beyond that, continuing to raise awareness, both online by sharing content on our social media, and through in person events and partnerships with other organizations, will be a focus as well. Even when we’re not actively posting content or running a fundraiser or event, I think just continuing to speak about our organization and the mission of it is effective in and of itself. It’s important to show athletes of all ages and sport backgrounds that it’s okay to talk about and acknowledge our challenges, to seek support and help, and I think the existence of ZV communicates that even when we are less active like we are right now. We’ll continue to bring ZV with us wherever this hockey journey and my career takes us. We hope to introduce ZV to each new community we’re a part of it, and expand our platform to inspire as many athletes as possible to join our efforts to normalize conversations about mental health and advocate to make mental health resources and awareness a priority in sport communities.
If you could achieve one major milestone in the next five years for Zhilkin’s Vision, what would it be?
I think becoming a registered non-profit and being able to run fundraisers that would allow us to support athletes in financially accessing mental health resources would be a major milestone that we’d love to achieve. There are several complicated logistical hurdles we’d need to sort out prior to that, but that’s one of our biggest long-term goals. Otherwise, I’d love to grow our partnership with the CMHA to continue hosting events and running fundraisers to support mental health resources and efforts in our local communities, while continuing to grow our platform online through social media and raising awareness about mental health there.
What advice would you give to other athletes or professionals looking to advocate for mental health in sports?
I think using their voice to model positive change and encourage conversations is the most powerful. These people are role models with the potential to inspire younger generations, stakeholders, and other athletes/professionals to openly speak about mental health and advocate for resources. Simply using their voices and platforms to model those conversations is a simple yet powerful way to play a role in this effort.
Zhilkin’s Vision stands as a testament to the power of advocacy and shared experiences in driving meaningful change. By addressing mental health stigma and fostering a culture of support, Danny and Lauren are paving the way for a future where athletes feel empowered to prioritize their well-being. As they look ahead, their unwavering commitment to mental health awareness promises to leave a lasting impact on sports communities worldwide.
Disclaimer: This article includes direct quotes and contributions from Danny Zhilkin and Lauren Shoss, shared with their explicit permission. All names and affiliations are used for context only and do not imply endorsement by the AHL, NHL, or any associated organizations. The opinions expressed are personal and reflect the views of the individuals quoted. This article was reviewed by Danny Zhilkin and Lauren Shoss to ensure accuracy and context. Any reproduction or distribution of this material without prior consent is prohibited. For questions or concerns regarding this article, please contact info@hazzemedia.com .
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