The ultimate hockey dad, Karl Subban is a former school principal and father of five, including three sons--P.K., Malcolm and Jordan--who have been drafted to the NHL. Karl's inspirational and moving story follows the hockey journey from house league to the big leagues and shows how to grow the unlimited potential that is in every child.

In his thirty-plus years of coaching, teaching and parenting, Karl Subban has proved to be a leader with the gift of inspiring others. He has dedicated his life to helping young people grow their potential--to be better at what they do, and to be better people.

Originally from Jamaica, Karl Subban, along with his wife, Maria, have raised five accomplished children. Their oldest son is P.K. Subban, who won the Norris trophy for top defenceman in the NHL and whose trade from the Canadiens to the Nashville Predators shocked the hockey world. Their two daughters are teachers, one a university basketball star and the other a talented visual artist. Their two youngest sons, Malcolm and Jordan, have been drafted and signed by the Bruins and the Canucks.

As a child, Karl dreamed of being a star cricket player--but when he moved to Canada at age 12, hockey and basketball became his new passions. At university, when he realized his NBA hoop dreams would not come to be, Subban found his true destiny as an educator, devoting his life to bringing out the best in his students and his children.

From the backyard hockey rink to the nail-biting suspense of draft days, Karl Subban shares tales of his family's unique hockey journey. Mixing personal stories with lessons he learned as a coach and principal--lessons about goal-setting, perseverance and accomplishment--How We Did It will allow other parents, teachers, coaches and mentors to apply the same principles as they help the young people in their lives to identify, develop and live their dreams.

Karl Subban is a former school principal in one of the roughest areas of Toronto, an immigrant from Jamaica and father of five successful children (including three sons – PK, Malcolm and Jordan – who have been drafted to the NHL). Karl’s inspirational and moving story follows the his journey and his discoveries about how to grow the unlimited potential that is in every child.

I’m very happy to send along this amazing book, that is part memoir, part inspiration and part mentoring handbook for anyone who has children in their lives and wants to see them succeed. Random House Canada are publishing this book as their big non-fiction book of the fall (publication Oct 3), and French rights have been sold (by Random House who have North American French and English) to Flammirion who will publish simultaneously. This book is about parenting, teaching, mentoring first, with of course a lot of hockey references, as that is what Karl’s sons are most known for. I would like to suggest though, that even if hockey is not popular in your territory, Karl has some wonderful wisdom and practical advice to impart and is a fantastic read.

In his thirty years of coaching, teaching and parenting, Karl Subban has dedicated his life to helping young people grow their potential.

Originally from Jamaica, Karl, along with his wife, Maria, have raised five accomplished children. Their oldest son is star defenceman PK Subban, whose trade from the Montreal Canadiens to the Nashville Predators sent shock waves through the hockey world. Their two daughters are teachers, and their two youngest sons, Malcolm and Jordan, have been drafted and signed by the Bruins and the Canucks.

As a child, Karl dreamed of being a star cricket player – but when he moved to Canada at age 12, hockey and basketball became his new passions. At university Subban found his true destiny as an educator, going on to devote his life to bringing out the best in his students and his children.

From the backyard hockey rink to the nail-biting suspense of draft days, Karl shares tales of his family’s unique journey. Mixing personal stories with lessons he learned as a coach and a principal – lessons about goal-setting, perseverance and accomplishment – How We Did Itwill allow other parents, teachers, coaches and mentors to apply the same principles as they help the young people in their lives to identify, develop and live their dreams.

The question Karl is most often asked about his family is, “How did you do it?” This book will endeavor to answer that question in a manner that will allow other parents, teachers, coaches and mentors to apply the same principles when trying to help the young people in their lives reach their full potential.

Scott Colby is the Opinions editor for the Toronto Star and a former parenting columnist for the Star. How We Did It, co-authored with NHL hockey dad Karl Subban, is Scott's first book and will be published by Random House Canada on Oct. 3, 2017. Scott first met Karl in 1980 when he was a high school student attending a basketball camp at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Karl was a varsity player at Lakehead and one of the camp instructors. Over the next few years Karl became an occasional coach to Scott and a teammate in a summer league for senior high school students and university players. How could they know that 37 years later they'd co-author Karl's memoirs together?

Karl Subban is a natural storyteller who mixes personal stories with lessons he learned as a coach and principal – lessons about goal-setting, perseverance, and accomplishment – that resonate with audiences from the boardroom to the classroom. Toronto Star writer

Scott Colby, who was coached by Karl years ago, is helping to tell the story.