Mark Messier - Off The Ice

Off The Ice

Messier attended St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton as he played junior hockey where his father Doug was his coach and mentor for his early years, where he played with the Spruce Grove Mets. Mark's brother Paul Messier was drafted by the Colorado Rockies 41st overall in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, but he only played nine games with the club in 1978–79 before embarking on a long career in the German Bundesliga. His cousins Mitch and Joby also skated for NHL clubs. Joby was even briefly Mark's teammate on the Rangers. One of his cousins, Brian, is keeping up the family hockey tradition in Texas, playing with the Ice Hawks.

Messier's son Lyon, who was born on August 16, 1987, is a former defenseman who spent part of two seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Lyon also split time with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL and the New Mexico Scorpions of the CHL during the 2008–09 season. Lyon's mother is former model Lesley Young. His current girlfriend and soon to-be wife, Kim Clark, gave birth to Mark's second son, Douglas Paul, on July 15, 2003, and daughter Jacqueline Jean in August 2005. Messier and his family reside in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

After his retirement, Messier appeared in a Versus television special in the United States highlighting his "Mark Messier Leadership Camp", which allowed New Yorkers to mix seminars in leadership and working with others with hockey games against former Rangers, including a scrimmage on the Garden ice.

Messier was featured in a Lay's chips campaign that aired in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The commercials originally featured Messier being challenged to a bet by a local hockey fan, who bets that Messier cannot eat just one potato chip, in reference to the Lay's slogan "bet you can't eat just one." Messier loses the bet, and ends up playing in a local 'beer league' hockey game, which he easily dominates. Later variations would have Messier himself making the same bet. He was also featured in Lay's ads in America where he asked neighbors to borrow ice, sugar or a hairdryer (playing on his bald head) to get chips.

Almost thirty years after having played with the Saints, Messier is a legend in the Edmonton suburb of St. Albert, Alberta. One of the rinks in the local Campbell Arena bears Messier's name.

More recently, Messier has found time to do some work as a hockey analyst. He's occasionally seen on NHL on Versus as a studio analyst, was an in-game analyst for The NHL All-Star Game on Versus, and has been a guest commentator on NHL on NBC.

In Edmonton, a section of St. Albert Trail between St. Albert and the City of Edmonton, has been renamed to Mark Messier Trail as of February 26, 2007.

On November 12, 2007, Messier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the players category.

Messier is an advocate for preventative healthcare and spokesperson for Cold-fX. He is also involved in many philanthropic causes, most recently The New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, for which he serves on the Board.

Messier has also become a hotelier, owning the small Runaway Hill Club on the pink sand beach on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. He also regularly fishes for marlin on his boat 'Wani Kanati'.

Messier ran in the New York City Marathon on November 6, 2011, finishing with a time of 4:14:21.

On December 31, 2011, Messier played for the New York Rangers at the 2012 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game in Philadelphia between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. Messier had 1 assist during the game, but at the end it would be the Philadelphia Flyers winning the game 3–1.