Skating with picks harder than former NHL player thought

Well, at least now we know that figure skating will in all likelihood not be a part of Theoren “Theo” Fleury’s future.

The former National Hockey League star was one of the competitors on the second season of the hit Canadian television show Battle of the Blades.

Fleury, who is Métis, skated alongside Jamie Sale, a former world champion and the 2002 Olympic gold medallist.                                  
                                                                                                                                     Battle of the Blades pairs up former NHL players with professional female figure skaters. Eight teams participated in this year’s series.
Fleury and Sale made it to the sixth week of the show before being eliminated. At that point there were four teams remaining for the title.

“It was a great experience, something I never thought I’d do,” said Fleury, who appeared in 1,161 NHL games during his career, which lasted from 1988 to 2003.
So does Fleury believe figure skating will be a part of his future?

“I won’t be going to Sochi (Russia) in 2014 (for the Winter Olympics),” he joked. But what about the prospects of seeing him compete if there is a third season of Battle of the Blades.

“Probably not,” he said on whether he would participate. “Maybe I’ll come back as a judge. You never know.”                                  
                                                                                                                                            Fleury said the idea for him to appear on this year’s series was hatched this past January while he attended a charity dinner in Toronto that Sale was also at. He said Sale asked him whether he would be interested in taking part.                                                                                                                                                 
“I said sure, as long as you’re my partner,” Fleury said. Sale also competed in the inaugural season of Battle of the Blades. In fact, she won the 2009 title with her partner Craig Simpson. As for 42-year-old Fleury, competing in the series was not as easy as he thought it might be.

“They make it look like it’s quite easy but it’s not,” he said of figure skaters. “I had to learn how to skate all over again. I gained a lot more respect for what they do and how hard they train.”

Fleury was pleased that he was able to accomplish something new.

“I did an axle,” he said. “That was pretty cool.”
Fleury admitted he also picked up his share of bumps and bruises throughout the tapings of the show.

“I did fall a lot at the beginning,” he said, adding some times it would take several takes to perform a routine.
“Those toe picks are crazy. I messed up my elbows and my knees quite a bit,” he added.

All of the participants were skating for a charity that they had selected. The winning team receives $100,000.
                                                                                                                                                                          Meanwhile, all of the other teams earn $25,000 each for their charities. Fleury and Sale were skating for an Ontario-based charity called The Men’s Project. This charity is a counselling and educational resource for male victims of sexual abuse. “I’ve known them for a year,” Fleury said. “Of all the agencies out there, I believe they’re doing ground-breaking work.”                                                                                                                                                                
Fleury’s life story has been well documented. He was sexually abused as a teenager by his junior coach. He still became an NHL star even though his past led him to alcohol and drug addictions. He’s spent a good chunk of this year promoting his top-selling memoir titled Playing With Fire.

His future could just very well include a singing career, after the Battle of The Blades gave a glimpse that he is a budding songwriter and singer. Fleury wrote and sang a song called As The Story Goes, a piece he skated with Sale to during the series. The piece received some solid reviews and Fleury told Sage the world just might be hearing quite a bit more from him in the near future.                                                                                                                                                                             
“We’re working on an album right now,” he said, adding he’s written 7-8 songs since this past February. But finding time to devote to this project has been rather difficult. “It’s been hard for me to get into the studio,” he said. “I’ve been touring quite a bit promoting the book.”    
                                                                                                                                                                          As a result, Fleury said it might be a couple of years before he releases his first piece of musical works.
“Hopefully it sooner,” he said. “We’ll see.”

Photo caption: Former Métis NHL’er Theoren “Theo” Fleury, competed in Battle of the Blades with 2002 Olympic gold medalist figure skater Jamie Sale. 

Photo: courtesy of CBC and Insight Productions