CHL Leaders: Remparts’ Simon Tremblay preaches importance of education
Simon Tremblay spent just two seasons in the QMJHL, but over that time the former defenseman evidently made quite the impression.
Playing two seasons with the Quebec Remparts from 1997 to 1999, Tremblay now works for his former club as an educational advisor. In this role, the 40-year-old serves as a key conduit between players and their schools, working to ensure that the young Remparts are keeping on the right track in their education.
“I am the middleman between the team, players, and coaching staff and the different schools we work with,” Tremblay told Junior Hockey Magazine as part of its CHL Leaders segment. “I try to make sure everything in terms of scheduling fits right with the practices and games, and that guys get the additional tutoring they need. I try to facilitate schooling for the guys and at the same time try to ensure they make the steps to be successful in the future.”
Tremblay speaks from experience. While he once dreamed of becoming a pro hockey player, the Quebec native also prepared himself for a productive life during his time in the junior circuit by ensuring he would be ready to pivot when it came time to consider his future path.
“I always made sure I would be ready at any time to switch from hockey to my other career. That was my goal the whole time,” Tremblay explained. “The idea I had was to make sure that any time I felt like I had done what I needed to do, or any time I felt like it wasn’t a good fit for me anymore, I wanted to be ready to switch, and that’s what I did.
“I kept going to school. Even when I played pro for a few years, I still took some classes and kept my mind on school. The day I felt like playing wasn’t for me anymore, I pulled the plug and made the switch, and the transition was really, really easy for me.”
When not at the rink, Tremblay is working away at his other job as a project manager with OIKOS Concept, a Quebec-based company that specializes in ecological construction and renovation. It’s also a position where Tremblay can showcase his skills as a mechanical engineer after he received a degree in the field from Laval University.
Looking back, Tremblay credits his time in the CHL and its valuable scholarship program for helping him attain his education, while he also emphasizes the life lessons he learned as a player that continue to help him today in the professional world.
“It was all positive, it was all great experiences,” Tremblay said. “What I learned the most out of those years is how much you have to commit to be successful. These are all the things I learned and what made me what I am today. Pretty much everything I use today in my work, in my life, it comes from those years.
“I am in my second year with the Remparts and that’s why I tell the players that everything they do today has an impact on whatever they’re going to do a few years down the road, so you’ve got to make sure you do whatever you have to do to be ready for the next step.”
Listen to Simon Tremblay’s full interview with Junior Hockey Magazine here.