While Carey Durant’s regular nine-tofive sees him keeping the Haliburton Highlands OPP office in Minden in good working order, the civilian staffer has taken a year-long leave of absence to chase every hockey-loving Canadian’s dream on the other side of the world.
The Minden resident has been in Hong Kong since September, where he scored the job of his dreams – heading up the country’s national hockey program.
Durant will lead the country, ranked 49th in the world, into the Asian Winter Games in February, while also preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
So, how does a custodian from rural Ontario with coaching, scouting and consulting gigs in minor, college and major junior hockey score a job on the international circuit? Durant said it’s an opportunity he unknowingly cultivated through relationships he made in the GTA in the 80s and 90s.
Durant ‘fell in love’ with coaching
A once promising prospect, Durant grew up playing in the Scarborough Hockey Association. While he had opportunities to play junior hockey, a lack of support at home meant he often chose work over play. After enrolling at Ryerson University, now Toronto Metropolitan University, Durant earned a spot on the school’s hockey team. He played a single season in 1988/89 before dropping out.
“I was trying to play, go to school and pay for everything on my own. It was impossible, so I decided to leave school,” Durant said.
He attended a Boston Bruins free agent camp in 1990. Though he wasn’t signed, Durant did enough to earn a contract offer from the Los Angeles Kings, who wanted to send the young forward to its East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) affiliate.
At that time, minor leaguers weren’t paid a lot of money. He was working construction and earning well. Wanting to settle down and start a family, Durant declined, closing the book on his hockey career at 22 – or so he thought.
He picked up coaching a few months later – starting with the Toronto Red Wings in the Metro Toronto Hockey League (now the Greater Toronto Hockey League). He “fell in love” with being a bench boss, working with several different teams before landing with the Bramalea Blues for the 1998/99 season. Led by future NHLers Mike Cammalleri and Steven Eminger, the Blues won a provincial Jr. A championship.
Durant was an assistant, working alongside Lindsay Hofford – who coached the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League and Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Western Hockey League, scouted for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was assistant general manager of the Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Hockey Club) – and Sudarshan Maharaj, a longtime goaltending coach with the Anaheim Ducks.
He also refers to Red Berenson, a player with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings – and Blues coach, who won the Jack Adams Award for best coach in the National Hockey League in 1981 – as his “hockey godfather”. The two worked closely for 17 years on player analysis at the University of Michigan.
Durant stays in touch with them, and another contact from his earlier years, Davis Yoo, the parent of a player he coached. Yoo is a South Korean national with contacts on the continent. When the Hong Kong position opened, Yoo encouraged Durant to apply. He set up a meeting between Durant and Sherman Chan, the chairman of the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association last summer and the two hit it off.
Living his best life
After fighting – and beating – Stage 4 prostate cancer following a November 2022 diagnosis, Durant said he’s reinvigorated, wanting to live his best life.
“Everything is a journey – this is just my next chapter. Hong Kong is not known for hockey, but it’s growing. They want to bring a professional league here,” Durant said. “My goal is to bring Hong Kong to the next level in all areas. I’m here for a year now… but I might get the opportunity to coach in the Olympics in the future.”
On top of coaching the mens’ program, Durant also serves as head of development for the womens’ and U18, U15, U14, and U11 teams. After spending the past 20 years involved in scouting and player development in the OHL, helping to unearth and mould the likes of Corey Perry, Ryan Callahan, Andrew Cogliano, and Zach Hyman, Durant hopes to help up-and-coming Asian players make their way in the game.
He estimates there’s about 1,000 people playing the sport across all age levels. When he arrived there was no player database, and very few scouting reports. With a shallow local talent pool, Durant said he’s been tracking U.S. and Canadian-born players eligible to represent Hong Kong.
It’s been hard adjusting to life away from wife, Lori, who has remained in Minden. But Durant knows this position has a shelf life, so is giving it his all while he has the chance.
“I’ve got to be the luckiest guy on the planet – this is about growing something, making a difference. Going to the Asian Winter Games, it’s all about the experience, helping players see how important this is. We’re going to play some top teams in that tournament. I’m trying to get a bunch of guys to believe in themselves and show they do belong at this level,” Durant said.
Whether he’s home in six months, or in a year, Durant said he’s already racked up a lifetime of new experiences in Hong Kong. While settled in Minden, he admits to being intrigued about the doors his latest dalliance with the sport he loves may open.
“My goal was to become a professional hockey coach – I can say I’ve done that now. When I come back there might be another journey ahead of me. It could be in Ontario; it could be in our hometown – I have no idea. That’s the beauty of it. There is no plan. I’m just taking life one day at a time.”
