Ever-tenacious Bégin gets his high school diploma
On the ice, Steve Bégin was as tough as they come. But on Thursday morning, the former Montreal Canadiens player was having a hard time holding back his tears. The reason: he finally received his high school graduation diploma at age 40. “I was a little emotional,” Bégin said following the official presentation from Quebec Minister of Education Jean-François Roberge at the Bell Centre’s Restaurant 9-4-10. “I’m always like this. There’s a few people who work for the Montreal Canadiens in the back (of the room) and they know me. They know when I talk about kids, when I talk about my family, I always have a hard time to speak. It’s just me.” Bégin’s childhood growing up in Trois-Rivières wasn’t easy. His parents split up before his second birthday and he was raised along with his two siblings by their father, Gilles, an alcoholic who was often on welfare. Bégin’s hockey equipment was always second-hand — or older — and dinner would sometimes consist of a chocolate bar, a bag of chips and a soft drink. But Bégin never lost his dream of playing in the NHL and was determined to get there. In Grade 11, while playing for the QMJHL’s Val d’Or Foreurs, Bégin decided to drop out of school to focus on hockey. The Calgary Flames selected him in the second round of the 1996 NHL Draft and Bégin went on to play 524 games with the Flames, Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators, posting 56 goals, 52 assists and 561 penalty minutes. He never took a shift off. I’ll never forget a game against the Bruins when Bégin was with the Canadiens and he tried to hit Patrice Bergeron. He missed and crashed face-first into the boards at the Bell Centre. The collision drove Bégin’s teeth through his lower lip, sheared off his bottom teeth and left him with fractures beneath his gums. He left the ice a bloody mess, but was quickly stitched up and returned to the bench without missing a shift. After the game, Bégin required 30 more stitches and a trip to the dentist. Bégin is now an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs. Despite his success in hockey, Bégin felt there was a void because of his lack of education. After a couple of NHL seasons, he thought about going back to school, but said the logistics back then made it too difficult. Then, a year and a half ago, Bégin’s friend Georges St-Pierre — the UFC superstar — challenged him to get his high school degree through the online ChallengeU program for which he is a spokesman. More than 20,000 Quebecers drop out of high school each year and Bégin hopes he can inspire some of them to get their diploma. “I’m proud for my kids,” Bégin said about his two daughters — Méanne (14) and Maylia (11). “My kids go to school … so it would have been tough for me to talk to them about school, how important it is, if I’m not done with my high school. Now it’s done, so I can sit with them and talk about how important school is. “It’s just a great day.”