Only in B.C. would a former Playboy model and scads of ex-NHLers try for a second career in real estate development. And as many of them are finding out, it's not as easy as it looks.
The Early Days: B.C.'s NHL stars
(Clockwise from top left) Famous forwards Len Barrie, Ryan Smyth, Scott Mellanby and Joe Nieuwendyk enjoyed professional careers in the NHL before trying the real estate game. Over the course of his 11 year career, Len Barrie played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, and Florida Panthers. He’s the former owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ryan Smyth broke two of Wayne Gretzky's records as an Edmonton Oiler and was part of the gold-medal-winning men's-hockey team from the 2002 Winter Games. Smyth is still in the game and plays for the Los Angeles Kings. After cutting his teeth with the Philadelphia Flyers, Scott Mellanby spent 21 seasons in the league, with the Flyers, Oilers, Panthers, Blues and Thrashers. Joe Nieuwendyk is one of only ten players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams (Calgary, Dallas, and New Jersey). (Photos: Best Sports Photos, Campus Squeeze, The Dallas Stars)
Nowadays: Co-investors, Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria
(Clockwise from top left) Len Barrie, Ryan Smyth, Scott Mellanby and Joe Nieuwendyk are among the almost dozen current and former NHL players who invested in Barrie’s Bear Mountain Resort in Langford, just north of Victoria. (Photos: Canada.com, CNN.com)
Trevor Linden made his NHL debut in 1988, drafted third overall from the Medicine Hat Tigers. Linden, many Vancouverites' all-time-favourite Canuck, will be best remembered for his leadership and fine play during the Canucks' 1994 Stanley Cup drive, especially his heroic two-goal performance in the team's ultimate Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers. (Photo: NHL.com)
Now in his second career, the ex-Canucks captain and Clearly Contacts pitchman backs 601 Herald, a residential/commercial project in downtown Victoria, among other development projects.
Geoff Courtnall and Pamela Anderson, co-developers: Arcadia on Oyster Bay, Ladysmith
Victoria boy and former NHLer Geoff Courtnall scored 367 goals in 19 professional seasons, five of them spent with the exciting early-'90s Canucks. Courtnall has since teamed up with B.C.'s most famous export. She's a former Baywatch star, Playboy bunny, Labatt Blue Zone Girl, and present-day PETA spokesperson: Pamela Anderson. Plans are in the works to develop a condominium-townhouse project, Arcadia on Oyster Bay, in her native Ladysmith, B.C. (Photos: Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, Omhairbody.com)
Richard Zokol, Chairman, Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club, Merritt
Canadian golfer, Richard “Disco Dick” Zokol, played on the Canadian Tour, PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour before founding Merritt-area Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club in 2001. (Photos: Golf News Now)
