Guest blog by Sarah Manning

At 25 years old, Toronto-born P.K. Subban is a star defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens. Not being a huge hockey fan (I know, I’m a fraud of a Canadian), I was surprised to learn how down-to-earth and humble this sports icon really is. Between being an NHL player, representing Canada at the Olympics, appearing on magazine covers, and promoting The Next Level as a spokesperson for Degree Canada, Subban took a few minutes to speak to me about his career and how he maintains his healthy lifestyle (and how he cheats). Recently, Subban signed an eight-year deal with the Canadiens, which didn’t surprise me after I heard him speak about his time in Montreal. “Not too many guys growing up in Canada, playing all their minor hockey in Canada, get the opportunity to play for an Original Six team and a Canadian team in the NHL,” says Subban. “I feel very privileged to have done that for the first four years of my career. It’s great to play in a city where people care about what you do.” Subban’s hockey success stems from a lot of hard work, passion and determination. It might also have something to do with his early introduction to the sport: At 2½ years old, Subban already had a hockey stick in his hand. (At that age, I couldn’t play a sport on solid ground, never mind ice.) It wasn’t always hockey that Subban saw for his future, though. “For the longest time, I wanted to be a dentist,” says Subban. “I don’t know why. I said to my mom that I wanted to yank people’s teeth out. Once I realized I would have a better career as a hockey player, I wanted to do that.” Subban has earned greater accolades than any dentist. But being a professional athlete can be gruelling. Surprisingly, Subban doesn’t mind the physical demands of the job. “If you strive to be in good shape, you know what it takes,” he says. “It brings fatigue; it brings pain, but that’s what it takes.” So what kind of diet fuels this Canadian athlete during his strenuous exercise regime? Subban follows a high-protein, low-carb diet when he’s training. “Most of the time, it’s some kind of meat and above-ground vegetables,” says Subban. But, alas, Subban is human and cheats on occasion. “I have a lot of demons when it comes to guilty pleasures. I would say what gets me the most is cheesecake.” As far as butter tarts go (because it seems to be the summer of the butter tart here at Canadian Living), does he like them with raisins or without? “To be honest with you, I think both are really good, with or without the raisins. The pecans throw me off. I don’t like them with pecans.” Photo courtesy Lisa Gansky/Wikimedia Commons