Nick Paul made his National Hockey League debut with the Ottawa Senators in February 2016. When the 2019-20 season began, the Mississauga, Ont. native was once again in the American Hockey League, having failed to make the Sens’ opening night roster a fifth straight year. He had only 56 NHL games on his resume.

The inability to stick with the parent club – he played only one game in 2017-18 – took a toll at times. It was a stretch in Paul’s career, though, that offered many priceless life lessons.

“I dealt with the pressures and the anxiety of not producing and going up and down (between the NHL and AHL) and trying to figure out if I was going to make it,” he said, following a morning skate at Amalie Arena last week. “There were times when I was super down. I wasn’t happy all of the time. I was going through a lot, but the biggest thing I did was utilize my support system, my parents, my fiancé, and talk about it.”

Opening up and talking about one’s anxieties and struggles serve as the bedrock behind Paul’s association with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. His “Points by Paul” campaign, launched in association with the Lightning Foundation, is a platform that supports mental health initiatives.

Paul, who the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired from Ottawa at the 2022 trade deadline, began raising mental health awareness as a 17-year-old high school student and member of the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion after a friend took his life.

“He was completely normal, joking around,” he said, in recalling his friend. “You would never know anything was wrong. One day he didn’t show up to school. There were no signs. But he was living through a mental health battle that nobody else could see. For him to go through that alone must have been really, really hard.”

Paul was not about to sit on the sideline. Rather, he wanted to do something to help others who might be struggling.

“It was something that hit me and I wanted to start raising awareness and showing people that if you are going through something alone, it’s okay to talk to people,” said the 27-year-old forward. “People aren’t here to put you down. People are here to pull you up.”

Paul continued to do his part in propping up others after he became a regular with the Senators, through which “Points by Paul” was launched. With the Lightning, and effective January 1, Paul has donated $150 for every point he has recorded and will continue to make such a donation for the duration of the regular season.

“Seeing that it touches people and gets people talking and sharing their stories is definitely a big step in the right direction,” said Paul, who has a career high 17 goals this season. “It feels good for me.”

Such values were instilled in a young Paul by his parents, Melinda and Ellwood. Listening to and caring about others are byproducts of a loving household that greatly values such character.

“My parents always emphasized being respectful and being someone that is there for other people,” he said. “If a situation is going wrong and somebody says something, or somebody is being bullied, always step in. It is easy to stand on the sideline, but it is hard to get in there and put yourself in position to help others when somebody is being picked on or whatever the situation may be. They always instilled that in me. That is definitely how they raised me and my (two) brothers.”

Though no age group is immune from the impact of mental health, Paul directs much of his platform to youths who have and continue to be impacted by peer pressure like no other generation.

“I specifically attempt to focus on the mental health of youth because they are of a generation where everything is online,” he said. “They are always communicating with somebody and always in the spotlight through Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and whatever other apps there are. It’s hard to kind of get away from it sometimes, so I feel it is huge to focus on youths and mental health.”

Because it is hard for many youths to detach themselves from what they are reading and/or hearing on social media platforms, the emotional impact can be overwhelming. The peaks can be sky high and the valleys a bottomless pit. Understanding how to best navigate the emotional roller coaster underscores Paul’s effort.

“You have to have the lows to really appreciate the highs,” he said. “You can try to prepare yourself all you want for hard times, but when they arrive, sometimes it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You get so wrapped up on what is going on now without looking at the bigger picture of what is ahead. Understanding the larger picture can be like, ‘Okay, it is not a great time right now, but if I take these steps or I talk to this person or put these goals ahead of me, then I can start chipping away.’”

That effort to reach out, seek help and start chipping away could lead to a much better place.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel and the next thing you know you are out of it and in a great space,” said Paul. “That’s life, right? It’s ups and downs and you have to be able to ride the highs and ride the lows while not getting too high or too low.”

Paul has managed that very well throughout his career, and he continues to help others do the same.