As he did many times throughout his brilliant NHL career, Theoren Fleury poured his heart and soul into his performance at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre last night.

The 46-year-old, in Whitehorse serving as a guest instructor with the Northwestel Summit Hockey School, gave a motivational talk to hundreds of people of all ages.

The five-foot-six Fleury, who broke into the NHL in 1989 with the Calgary Flames, recounted his struggles with alcohol and drugs during his career following sexual abuse he suffered as a junior hockey player.

Dressed in a black jacket, jeans and flip-flops, a relaxed Fleury admitted his healing journey began with the release of his autobiography Playing With Fire in 2009.

“It’s not about me,” he said of his new-found career as a public speaker. “I had a calling a few years ago to do this for the rest of my life.”

After opening his talk with a moment of silence to welcome the Creator and his ancestors into the room, Fleury started at the beginning, recalling the first time he played hockey with oversized skates, a broken stick and Sears catalogues for shinpads.

In hockey, Fleury was a natural, and a year later he joined a young team in Russell, Man., for a season in which the club went unbeaten.

Regardless of his team’s stellar record, Fleury said what he remembers most is the valuable life lessons he learned from the coaching staff. Those lessons included respect, loving teammates and consequences for actions.

“We were taught about the process of winning,” he recalled. “It’s the process that you should want.”

Dreams of joining the NHL, or winning the Stanley Cup, are simply the end of the process, Fleury said.

“The game should be about much more than that,” he said, pointing out that hockey and sports can teach young athletes about the struggles they will face in the real world.

“The core of why we put our kids in sports is for that reason. They learn how to be in relationships. Communities are no different. They are teams.”

Despite becoming an alcoholic in junior hockey, Fleury put together a great NHL career, totalling more than 1,000 points and games.

But he was unable to shake the emotional anguish that stemmed from the sexual abuse he suffered, and nearly committed suicide – admitting he went as far as placing a gun into his mouth in 2004.

On Sept. 18 of the following year, however, he took a long look in the mirror and gave up drugs and alcohol.

Fleury said it was prayer and a return to spirituality that ultimately pulled him back from the brink.

“Find something greater than yourself,” he told the crowd. “Be kinder, gentler and more loving to others. That’s been my experience.

“Don’t quit before the miracle. We all have miracles. We just have to go find them.”

Fleury said a miracle can be as simple as the ability to sleep soundly. He admitted he hadn’t slept well in 27 years – and his total career earnings of $58 million couldn’t help.

Since revealing his childhood sexual abuse, Fleury has become happier.

“Whatever you want to be, you can do it,” he told those in attendance. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

Fleury’s closing comments were met with a standing ovation from the crowd.

He went on to sign autographs and pose for photographs with fans outside the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

Fourteen-year-old Ethan LaVallee and his older brother, Malachi, were two of the many to hear Fleury’s message of hope.

“I learned to try and keep your career going on the right path,” said Ethan, a member of the Whitehorse Mustangs rep hockey system.

“Don’t do drugs, and work hard to do good things.”