Five pillars, built around the real challenges players face when the game ends.
Line Change Alliance is just getting started. The programs below describe what we plan to offer. They are not available yet. In the meantime, our Resources page lists help that exists today.
Many players leave school early to chase the game, or never get the chance to start.
Planned: help finding a path to finish or start a degree; translating hockey skills (discipline, teamwork, resilience) to the workplace; resume, interview, and job-search support; connections to former players who have made the move into new careers.
Depression, anxiety, and loss of identity are common when a career ends. So are the quieter challenges that can come with years in the game, on and off the ice. None of it makes you weak, and none of it has to be faced alone.
Planned: open conversation that makes therapy normal; help finding licensed, private mental health and substance-use care; gentle pointers to confidential support for anyone healing from abuse, at any age; resources on healthy relationships; and confidential peer conversations with former players.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (US and Canada) or call 911.
Many international players build their lives in the US, but athlete status such as the P-1A visa is tied to playing. Routes players often explore with an attorney include employment-based green cards, O-1 visas, TN status for eligible Canadian professionals, and student visas.
Planned: general information and referrals to qualified immigration attorneys, early, before deadlines pass.
Important: Line Change Alliance does not provide legal advice.
Pro hockey pay can be uneven and short-lived, and nobody hands players a playbook for it.
Planned: plain-language education on signing bonuses, cross-border US and Canada taxes, choosing a fee-only fiduciary advisor and checking their record, spotting scams, and planning for when the paychecks stop.
Line Change Alliance does not provide financial, tax, or investment advice.
For years, a team is your whole world. When it's gone, the isolation can be the hardest part.
Planned: a peer network of former players across leagues and levels, chances to connect and talk, and support for families going through the change too.
Whether you just played your last game or hung up your skates years ago, reach out. We'll listen.
