Rivermen Retrospective: Daniel Chartrand is Taking it One Step at a Time
March 2, 2026 - 06:50 pm
The following has been edited for time and clarity
(upbeat music) - You're listening to Riverman Retrospective, a production of the Peoria Riverman Hockey Club and the Riverman Radio Network.
JASON
Hey there, hockey fans across North America and beyond. I'm Jason Ruff. Welcome to another edition of Riverman Retrospective, the monthly podcast where we sit down with some of the standout players from the Peoria Riverman Professional Hockey Organization. Talk to him, learn about their story, and learn what makes them tick. Our next guest is the man who, well we've said it multiple times on the air during our games for our listeners, that he's the guy who likes to stir the pot, especially right in front of the net, the pride of Dauphi,n Manitoba, Daniel Chartrand, otherwise known as “Charts” by the rest of the boys charts. Glad to see you, how are you doing? And I'm very curious, we were talking beforehand, your hometown is pronounced “daw-fin”, not “dough-fan”. Like someone, like some idiotic American like myself, would think it is pronounced.
DANIEL
Well, thanks for having me on Ruffer. But yeah, no, it's just “daw-fin”, it's a great Ukrainian town in Manitoba. And yeah, no, happy to be here, happy to be on.
JASON
Ukrainian, really, so large Ukrainian influence and immigration over to Dauphin?
DANIEL
Yep, yep, yeah, no, they're great people, they got some great food, so lots of Ukrainian festivals and Ukrainian dishes over there.
JASON
Yeah, we were talking about some of the festivals and some of the crazy personalities that come over to Dauphin for some of those festivals. You guys don't lack for entertainment up there, right?
DANIEL
No, no, Dauphin's well known for their country music festival called Country Fest, and it's been running for, I wanna say close to 30, 40 years. And then the month after, they have the Ukrainian festival, so that's also a long-running festival that's been up there, so that's kind of what Dauphin's famous for.
JASON
Oh, that's awesome. And for those of our audience who might be curious, you don't have any Ukrainian ancestry, do you?
DANIEL
Not me, personally, no, but I am friends with a lot of Ukrainians, so.
JASON
French and Native American for you, correct?
DANIEL
Yep, yep, Metis, is what we're called. So I speak a little bit of French, obviously. And I was in French immersion from kindergarten all the way to grade 12. And then kind of lost it there when I went to college, obviously in the States. But kind of learned it back, it's kind of like riding a bike, speaking with some of my teammates who were from Switzerland, France, or just Quebec. So speaking with them, it kind of got me back into it.
JASON
I bet you, that comes in handy when you're talking with Jean-Guy Trudeau and the ice. Does he talk to you and give you instructions in French on the bench during games, or is that more just a locker room kind of deal?
DANIEL
Most of the time it's just locker room. I really don't hear French on the ice or on the bench. But yeah, I know, definitely in the dressing room, I hear lots of French from him, and we like to joke around with it.
JASON
I bet, you and Jean-Guy have a lot of shared cultural experiences, 'cause you and I were talking beforehand about Dauphin, and about how basically you go three hours north up the road, it's straight heavy bush. And the experiences of your mom and your dad, tell us a little bit about your family, how you grew up, how you got involved with the Game of Hockey.
DANIEL
Yeah, no, I obviously grew up in Dauphin. I was born there. My mother, she's from a small community north, about an hour and a half north of Dauphin. It's called Duck Bay. Spent a lot of time there, have a lot of family there. My father, he is from way up north. It's probably about seven hours, and then once you get to an uncivilized part of the world, I guess you could say, you have to take a boat or take a train ride to reach that small community. There's probably each community, Duck Bay and Pickwatt and A, it's called probably only 500 people.
JASON
Wow, really?
DANIEL
If that, yeah. So different way of life for both those communities there, but I spent a lot of time mainly in Duck Bay, just 'cause it's obviously closer to Dauphin. But yeah, no, I spent a lot of time in Dauphin, and like I said, I was born there. Went to school there, and all my friends at school started playing hockey, and obviously, my dad played hockey growing up, and watching it on TV with him all the time, and I was like, why not try it? So actually, dislike hockey off the start.
JASON
Really?
DANIEL
Yeah, disliked it. I hated the cold, my feet were getting sore, right? And obviously Manitoba cold is a little bit different than most people's usual cold, so going to the outdoor rink in minus 30, minus 40 is not that much fun.
JASON
Ooh, I bet.
DANIEL
But then, yeah, I actually seen obviously NHL games on TV with my dad, but the one that intrigued me was the college game, seeing the D1 athletes perform, and just the crowd, and the atmosphere. So I said, well, might as well try it again. So when I was six years old, that's when my love for hockey really took off, right?
JASON
Right, who's your favorite college team that you guys followed up there?
DANIEL
That's the thing, I didn't know a lick about college hockey. I just always see it on TV, and the highlights, and sometimes the odd game would be on, right? 'Cause in Canada, there's no Division I, they have CIS, right? So, and I thought in my head when I was younger, right? Oh, they're wearing cages, I wear a cage, so maybe one day I can perform at that level.
JASON
That's actually really cool that you got back into hockey by watching American colleges, and what sparked that connection was, hey, they're wearing a cage just like me, they're wearing a bird cage out there, right?
DANIEL
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
JASON
Well, you also, just speaking of bird cages, you did just come back from sweeping the lockers and cleaning the woodshed as Jean-Guy Trudel said. Tell us a little bit, for those of you who don't know, every once a year or so, Jean-Guy Trudel has the pleasure just to devote a whole day to just completely doing a deep clean of the locker room, the weight area, basically where you guys live, breathe, and work. Why is that so important to not only building team chemistry, but also building more pride in the team itself?
DANIEL
Like Jean-Guy said, locker room, office, whatever you wanna call it, right? That's where we spend 90% of our time, right? So if it's like making your bed every morning, it's the same thing, same aspect, right? We spend so much time there, so we gotta take good care of it, right? Just like we take good care of our bodies, we gotta take good care of our office space. So like you said, it's a good bonding experience for the boys, but at the same time, like you gotta take care of what you use every single day, right? Otherwise, if you lack in this area, right, it's gonna creep into other areas and maybe set you back, right? And maybe shift your mindset to a certain degree, however you wanna look at it, but like I said, you gotta take care of what's used every single day.
JASON
Coming up from Dauphin, Manitoba, has that kind of been a mentality that you have kept with you as you've gone up the ranks through American College, the FPHL, and now the SPHL as well?
DANIEL
Oh, 100%, you know, my parents instilled that into me ever since I was a little kid. And not only my parents, like my uncles, my aunties, other family members as well, right? You gotta make with what you got, right? Make something out of nothing, so. And in order to that, you gotta take care of yourself, right, mentally, physically, and whatever's in your area, right, in your arms reach for sure. If you don't take care of that stuff, then most of the time, nothing good comes from it, right?
JASON
Right, absolutely. You know, the other interesting tidbit about you is that you actually went to college in North America at Northern College in Wisconsin. First off, what did you study?
DANIEL
Business management, yeah. Just like the rest of the hockey team. There's only about two or three of us that weren’t in the business column, let's say.
JASON
Okay, so the idea after hockey, whenever that is, is to start your own business?
DANIEL
I don't even know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, but yeah, we can say that, we can say that, but I don't know, after hockey, I think I kinda wanna stay in the game, stay into it. Maybe coach, who knows at what level, you know, start off with youth, give back to the community, maybe in dolphin or wherever the wind takes me.
JASON
Was there a culture shock coming from, you know, small town Manitoba to the United States and playing college hockey in Wisconsin?
DANIEL
Oh, 100%, 100%. That was my, well, not my first time, being away from home, obviously. When I was a teenager, I moved away from home for hockey and stuff like that, but coming to a different country, right? Being away from home, it's obviously a bigger city, but I don't know how much bigger it is than dolphin, but Ashland was a great spot, and I loved every second of it.
JASON
What was the biggest culture shock like, oh man, these guys do things or think of things differently down in the States than they do up in Canada, or even up in Dauphin?
DANIEL
Oh yeah, no, just like the Canadian and the American way of living, right? It was different, that's what first stuck out to me. Just little things that they did differently than back home. I remember, this one always sticks out with me when we went out for supper, and in Canada, they bring the ATM or whatever you want to call it, how you pay kiosk right to you. And you can just pay at the table where in the States, they take your card. And me and my dad were sitting there, and he took his card out, and the waiter grabbed it and just walked away, and he was like, "Hey, hey, hey." (laughs) He wasn't used to that, that story always sticks out to me. And that was like my, I think that was our second day in Ashland, so I knew right from there, I was gonna have to start learning things a little differently, look at things a little differently. But not like I said, I met a lot of great people in Ashland and I enjoyed my time there.
JASON
Well, it's different, you come from a culture and a town where you've got to be able to do things on your own. It's not, no one's gonna do anything for you. And I remember you and I were talking earlier today about talking about some guys get upset that they have to go spend 45 minutes or, a whole hour on the ice when it's cold out, but for you, that's like entertainment, or whatnot.
DANIEL
Exactly, chores, when I was younger, we're a little bit more hectic, yeah. So, and things had to be done a certain way, and more strenuous work, obviously, maybe for a teenager or, I'd say, a young kid. But yeah, I know that some of my parents instilled in me is a good work ethic and a positive attitude, right? And in order to go out and have some fun, you got to get your chores done, you get your stuff done before you can do that.
JASON
So, do you see doing stuff here at the rink, stuff with fans in the community, do you see that more as chores, or is that just part of the fun part of the job of being a pro hockey player?
DANIEL
For me, personally, that's part of the fun part. It's not a chore to me, right? Like I've said before, without the fans, we would just be a hockey team, right? We would be playing in an empty arena, and no one wants to do that. So, there continued support throughout the years, right? And there's so much history here in Peoria. So, without them, it would be pretty boring to play in an empty arena. But at the same time, I love to give back to the community, right? I love giving back. And especially the youth, right? Especially the younger kids, right? That's who I always gravitate towards, for sure.
JASON
Yeah, why the younger kids?
DANIEL
Just 'cause like for me, when I was younger, I looked up to the guys on the junior team in Dauphin, obviously, and that was another part into me loving the game, right? Having that junior team and seeing those guys go out there and play together and play for each other, right? So, being in that mindset and then all of a sudden playing for my hometown junior team, and then kind of coming full circle there, right? Looking back at the kids and being in that position, and it was pretty cool. So, ever since then, I've kind of been carrying that with me since.
JASON
Yeah, that's awesome. Because, you know, you get some players at this level, and they're thinking, "Oh, it's just the SPHL. "If I gotta do community stuff, okay, great. I'll go put on the jersey, I'll do this." But then, like you said, they just wanna go back home and rest or whatnot. But every time I see you, I talk to some of the folks up here in the office and they always say, “Every time there, there's an event up there. "Daniel Chartrand is the first one that has his name there.” And when I see you in an event, you always have the biggest smile on your face. We did a few weeks ago, we did, Daniel Chartrand was doing a bartending, well, not quite bartending, but like a waitering event for a senior home for their happy hour. And the smile on your face from the moment you walked in the door to the moment you walked out was as big as a mile. I mean, you take this and take being in the community and being an ambassador to the community so, so seriously. Has that always been a part of your “MO” as a professional, as a hockey player and as a person?
DANIEL
Oh yeah, for sure. Like I said, my parents instilled that into me and obviously my other family members too, from a young age. And like I said, without them, we'd be pretty much nothing, right? So, but yeah, I enjoy doing that type of stuff. And even if it was, I had to clean dishes for some type of company or restaurant or whatever job it is, that's what, I'm gonna go into it with a positive mindset and put my best foot forward.
JASON
Because this is your NHL, basically.
DANEIL
Exactly. As Jean-Guy always says.
JASON
What do you think motivates that approach for you and that care for you?
DANEIL
What motivates me to be, yeah, like I said, what motivates me is to be the best person, a best version of myself on and off the ice, right? It takes zero effort to be a good person, a kind person, right? So, just have that mindset and more times and not good things will come your way, right?
JASON
Right, exactly. So, I've been meaning to ask this question. We talked a little bit beforehand and we were talking about how much, how much of an outdoorsman that you are. Have you gone hunting lately? Have you, or do you hunt? What other outdoor activities do you like to do? Obviously, I'm sure you've done a lot of stuff up in Dauphin and around Canada. I mean, Dauphin is right next to Riding Mountain National Park, correct?
DANIEL
Oh yeah, no, I spent a lot of time at Clear Lake, that's called, right? That's a national park. I'm only, I think, 45-minute drive right from the lake itself. And yeah, it's a beautiful scene, beautiful mountain, oh, mountain, right? Some people will go there and call it a hill. So, yeah, yeah, so, well, I guess people from out West, BC, right, their mountains are tiny bit bigger than ours.
JASON
Oh, just probably a little bit, but still a mountain is a mountain.
DANIEL
Yeah, exactly. But yeah, no, I spent a lot of time outdoors growing up. Going hunting with family members, my father, and obviously uncles and whatnot. Going on moose hunts, going on elk hunts, and then obviously lots of ducks and lots of geese hunts.
JASON
Do you prefer duck or geese?
DANIEL
I'm gonna say geese for sure.
JASON
Okay, okay, did they just taste better or is it easier to hunt?
DANIEL
Yeah, definitely easier to hunt. Ducks are a little bit more agile. But yeah, no, I'd say geese for sure.
JASON
Why do you consider the Peoria Riverman and the SPHL, your time here, your NHL?
DANIEL
Just because everyone has a different path, right? Everyone has a different path. My path's kind of crazy, obviously. After junior, I was working at a wood mill, was ready just to retire and joined the real world, right? Started working a job and start my life. And then, yeah, now I got a phone call, seeing if I wanted to go play in Ashland, Wisconsin for Northern College at Division III. And so I pondered on it, talked to my parents about it. I said, "Well, why not, right? Mind as well try it out." Went there for four years and after that, same thing came across my lap where I had to make a decision if I wanted to continue to play or if I wanted to hang 'em up. And like before, I was pondering back and forth, back and forth and randomly got a phone call to go play in the FPHL. And at first, I thought it was a joke. I didn't think it was a real league. Had zero knowledge on it. But then ended up going through with it, just walking in there, no knowledge of the league, no knowledge of the town of Port Huron, but then fell in love with it, right? Obviously went there, gave it my all with the right attitude and fast forward a couple years and then I get a phone call from the coach in Port Huron saying that I was getting called up and I thought that was a joke too. Like I just, you know, like it's coming, it's coming at you so fast. And then yeah, no, once I had that conversation with Guy and came here and just never looked back, right? And enjoyed every second of it and trying to make the best out of nothing.
JASON
You know, it just goes to show when you have the right attitude, the right mindset, good things happen to you. And like you said, everyone has their own separate path to be on, but that never comes to you unless you give it your all.
DANIEL
Exactly, exactly. There's always gonna be road bumps, right? Nothing ever goes as planned. So you kind of just, like I said, just put your best foot forward and take it one day at a time.
JASON
Well, Daniel Chartrand is just taking it one day at a time. “Charts”, thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to come talk to us. It was great sitting across the table with you, my friend. Look forward to seeing more of you here as we get into the month of March and the eventual playoff push.
DANIEL
Thanks, Ruffler.
JASON
For Daniel Chartrand, I'm Jason Ruff. This has been Riverman Reds perspective. We'll talk to you next time. (upbeat music)
