Gone fishing with Tyler Bertuzzi

In 2023, Sudbury native Tyler Bertuzzi signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bertuzzi has become well known and respected for his tenacious work ethic, willingness to get into the dirty areas of the ice and desire to do whatever it takes to win games. He’s the kind of player many would call a throwback to the good old days. What most might not know, though, is that if there’s an activity that Bertuzzi loves as much as hockey, it might be fishing. He shares his thoughts. OOD: Hockey fans are familiar with Tyler Bertuzzi, the hockey player. Tell us about the person.TB: I am a pretty easy-going guy. I grew up in northern Ontario, just playing hockey every day. In the summers it was on the water, either fishing or just being on the boat. In the winter it was snowmobiling and playing hockey. I did love ice fishing growing up too. Now I have a little girl and a newborn son, so fishing, there isn’t much time for that anymore, but I take what I can get as I become more of a family man. Overall, I just try to enjoy every day. OOD: Growing up in Sudbury, that would have been where you got into fishing. Take us back to when you fell in love with it.TB: I started at a very young age. My Dad was the one that kind of got me into it. We always lived on a lake too. Whether it was my mom or my dad living on a lake, or a lot of my (extended) family living on lakes, there was plenty of opportunity whenever we went to someone’s house. There was always a line in the water…it was kind of our thing growing up. OOD: Without giving away your spots, was there a particular place you loved to fish?TB: We would always drive 20 minutes or so to the Vermilion River. That is what I remember most. Being young as a kid we would go and always pull over at the same spot and fish under the same bridge. We would always catch smallmouth and sometimes be lucky enough to catch some walleye. OOD: Having spent most of your career with Detroit, were you able to spend time in and around that area doing some fishing?TB: Right before training camp we would always come in a couple of