The guest speaker at the Steinbach Pistons Fire and Ice Banquet delivered a very personal and impactful message on mental health Monday night.

Clint Malarchuk was a goalie for the Buffalo Sabres in 1989 when he suffered one of sports most horrific injuries; the skate of an opposing player came up towards his neck and cut open his jugular and lost nearly one-third of the blood in his body.

Malarchuk suffered from PTSD, depression and anxiety after that incident but fought the battle in silence until years later. Malarchuk is now a mental health advocate and says the biggest difference today is that it is considered as an illness, not a weakness as it once was.

"It's everything," he notes, "I shared my message and now these kids are going to be brave enough to share if they struggle or just to be advocates and support their brothers in arms in the hockey world.

"I didn't understand how deep and dark so many of us are because I suffered in silence and now we don't have to."

Malarchuk says the most important part of his message is to inspire others who are struggling or know of loved ones who are struggling, to come forward and seek help the help they need before it is too late. He notes we have come a long way and says he is very proud of the work he is able to do.

"When I speak, if I do a good talk, and they come up with that emotion, I know I hit a home run and they are either going to step out and get help or get a loved one help, whichever the case may be," Malarchuk adds.

Here are a few photos from the evening: