The Blues’ home opener is October 7, against the Dallas Stars. Ray Barile will be there—as he has for 22 seasons. SLM caught up with him to chat about the job.
- I played hockey as a kid. I wasn’t good enough to play at the pro level, but I wanted to stay in the sport somehow and I had a fascination with medicine. To combine the two was the perfect job.
- I’m basically the gatekeeper for everything medical with the Blues. I’m available to the players, coaches, staff, and management 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
- At the end of the day, my job is to protect the players’ health and to win hockey games.
- I have an assistant and a full-time massage therapist. We’re the first ones to the rink and the last to leave.
- We not only take care of injuries but also try to prevent them from occurring. When an injury does happen, it’s our job to rehab that player and allow [him] back into the game in a safe, quick manner.
- I organize rehabilitation programs for injured players and work hand in glove with our strength coach, Eric Renaghan.
- The most common injury we see is contusions. The second most is damage to ligaments. Third: fractures. Fourth: lacerations or cuts. Fifth would be muscular injuries.
- I have worked with the top pros in hockey throughout the U.S. It’s an education if you listen and talk to people, to learn from other professionals in my league.
- I’m not just the guy who runs out to the rink when someone gets hurt. That’s less than 1 percent of what my job entails.
- My most specific good memories are tied to situations where I’ve worked with a player from their initial injury to their return to game play—players like T.J. Oshie coming back from an ankle fracture and scoring a goal.
- A perfect year for me is when no one sees me run out onto the ice. I’m almost like a referee—if I’m not noticed, I’m doing my job.
- I never thought that I would be recognized on the street, but fans will stop me in the supermarket or at a restaurant and tell me how much they enjoy watching us play.
- When we win, it’s exciting. And when we lose, the fans let me know they’re not happy.
- My job is never boring. From that standpoint, it’s really not a job. I wake up in the morning and am excited to go to work.
