Kyle Dubas didn’t know what he wanted to say to the graduating class at Brock University when he was invited to speak back in March.
But his firing from the Maple Leafs GM position on May 19 helped him come up with the right words.
"I'd never been fired before," Dubas said. “Find something that you really still love when it gets incredibly hard. When you fail, when you lose, when people tell you that you aren’t very good, when people doubt you, that’s what you’re probably meant to be doing.”
Dubas received an honorary doctorate on Wednesday. He became one of the University's most famous graduates when he received his bachelor's degree in sports management back in 2007.
Now the president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dubas talked about how his family and friend have helped him get through any work obstacles along the way.
“I was able to reflect back and realize that along the way when you fail … when you lose, when you don’t reach your goal, every time when you make a bad trade or a bad signing or you don’t hire the right people, it’s always the same people that are there to help you and lift you up.”
Dubas didn't spend too much time lamenting on his recent past when speaking to CHCH TV, instead choosing to focus on the future that lies ahead in Pittsburgh.
"No regrets," Dubas said. "I'll miss the people. I'll miss the passion of the fans and the fanbase. I thought we built a great organization there and we fell short of what we wanted to accomplish. So they made the decision to move on and our family has moved on as well. But I'll always look back fondly on the opportunity I was given."
Dubas also talked about the time he was 18 and in his first year accepted a scouting position with the Greyhounds for the Golden Horseshoe area. The job only paid $1500 and car insurance and other related expenses would cost more than the position paid.
But he told students to look at opportunities as investments in themselves rather than the cost.
You can watch his speech below. It begins at the 38-minute mark.
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