Nick Paul’s mental health awareness platform benefits Tampa Bay

Nick Paul was understandably shocked when he found out that his ninth-grade classmate and lacrosse teammate had committed suicide. Learning about a friend’s death was devastating enough, but the fact that the young man seemed to be in no difficult situation made it even harder to accept.

“I was touched,” said Paul, a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning. “He was always the kind of guy who would joke around, always the kind of guy who was optimistic about things. To hear that he committed suicide was a total shock to me. I didn’t think it could happen.”

Paul strived to do something to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, something that may have been small at first but may have grown over time.

“From that moment on, I decided that as soon as I had my voice and my platform, I was going to do something,” he said. “Every year, I want to do more and more and give back to the community in any way I can.”

Paul has been working to raise awareness of mental health since he was 17, when he played for the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion. His platform has grown alongside his NHL career and his influence has expanded, especially since he arrived in Tampa, with the Tampa Bay Crisis Centre benefiting from his “Points by Paul” campaign.

Paul donates $150 for every point he scores. This season, he had a career-high 46 points and donated $7,200. The Lightning Foundation matched Paul’s donation with $14,400, which he donated to the Crisis Center on Tuesday.

“When you walk through this place, you see how important everyone’s work is, including the volunteers who give their time here,” said the 29-year-old, who turned to a support system when he struggled with the anxiety of being sent to the minor leagues while with the Ottawa Senators early in his NHL career. “The people that run this place are amazing and everything they do is to make our community a better place, which is why I chose to come here.”

The fine folks at the Crisis Centre are thankful he did just that, not long after being acquired by Tampa Bay from Ottawa at the 2022 trade deadline.

“We were very fortunate that when Nick Paul came to Tampa, he immediately wanted to get involved with the work that we’re doing here at the Tampa Bay Crisis Center,” said Clara Reynolds, president and CEO of the north Tampa facility. “We often hear, ‘I never knew about the Crisis Center until I heard about Nick Paul,’ so this was a great outreach opportunity for us.”

Paul’s platform is driven primarily by his desire to help young people, and while social media was present when his friend committed suicide, it wasn’t at the level it has been in recent years where young people have become so impacted by different platforms.

“It’s clear that social media plays a big role in mental health,” he said. “How do you escape social media? It’s everywhere. It’s all about young people. We don’t just give you pills, we give you solutions. When you’re going through a rough time, how do you get out of it, who do you turn to?”

That’s where the Tampa Bay Crisis Center comes in. No one needs to feel alone when they’re suffering. There are people here to help, and people like Paul provide support that resonates beyond the walls of the Crisis Center.

“Life is full of ups and downs and you never know what’s going to happen,” he said, “As long as you have a good support system and people who are willing to help you through anything, as long as people are helping each other and trying to make this community better, it’s possible.”