BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Fans attending Wednesday night’s game at KeyBank Center are being invited to do more than cheer on the Buffalo Sabres. Just outside Section 101, a large sign asks a simple but powerful question:
"How do you keep your mind as strong as your game?"
The display is part of the Sabres’ Mental Health Awareness Night, an initiative aimed at encouraging open conversations about mental health in sports and beyond. The organization teamed up with Highmark and #SameHere Global Movement.
WATCH: Sabres host Mental Health Awareness Night with hundreds of students and Clint Malarchuk before puck drop
"The only way to normalize the conversation is to open up, share stories, and acknowledge that we all struggle," said Eric Kussin, founder of Same Here.
Since 2018, Kussin has traveled to schools, communities, stadiums, and arenas to share his personal story and advocate for mental health. He emphasizes the key point that we all deal with mental challenges in some way.
While you may hear people say, "1 in 5 people suffer from a mental illness," in reality, Kussin said it's 5 in 5, all of us, hence "Same Here."
On Wednesday morning, close to 300 students from school districts all over Western New York got to watch a morning skate with the Sabres. Then, they headed into a panel discussion where they got to fill out these signs.
"This is the first team in professional sports, of the four major sports, that's holding up signs like we do for Fight Cancer and Stand Up To Cancer games in baseball and hockey," said Kussin. "We hope to make this a tradition throughout all of professional sports."
The panel was hosted by Kussin, and he was joined by Joshua Cuillo of Mental Health Advocates of WNY and former Buffalo Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk.
Malarchuk survived a life-threatening injury on the ice during a home game in 1989 when a skate blade cut his neck. While he physically recovered to get back on the ice, he said the trauma stayed with him.
"I didn’t realize the trauma that would set me up for 20 years later, my suicide attempt," said Malarchuk.
Malarchuk said OCD and PTSD led him to struggle with alcohol addiction. In 2008, he shot himself in the chin and miraculously survived.
"I was very lucky I lived," he said. "I got a bullet lodged in my skull, and to be alive is a miracle."
Today, Malarchuk travels across the country speaking openly about mental health, hoping his story helps others seek help sooner. He described Wednesday as "awesome," and students did too.
Students who attended the panel said the conversation made a lasting impact.
"Knowing, especially in middle school and transitioning to different schools, that everyone is going through something and just to always to be a little kinder to everyone," said Gianna Becker, an 8th grader from Lancaster.
"It helps me figure out that everyone else has challenges too, and it's not just me," said Stella Toczyski, an 8th grader from Lancaster.
"This is the first time in major sports we’re holding up these kinds of signs—like we do for cancer awareness—and we hope to make this a tradition across all sports," he said.
The Sabres will continue the message during Wednesday night’s game with in-arena presentations, including a video featuring the team’s psychologist.
"Now we’re all part of the same team," the video states.
