Former National Hockey League All-Star Paul Cavallini has gone from scoring goals to helping clients reach financial goals as an A.G. Edwards rep.
When Paul Cavallini played in the National Hockey League, salaries were just starting to inch up. Although he was an All-Star, the 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound defenseman never commanded the huge million-dollar contracts.
And that's OK.
Now, five years after he hung up his skates, Cavallini has several hockey players as clients. They make the big bucks he didn't. What goes around comes around.
Early in his 10-year NHL career, Cavallini started interning at A.G. Edwards during the summer. When it was time to leave the ice for good, Cavallini had a head start in his second profession.
Most of his clients don't know he used to play hockey. "There's no picture of me in uniform over my desk," Cavallini says. "Sure, [being an ex-NHL player] might get you in a few doors, but how many people want to risk their savings and investments with a former athlete?
"My NHL days," Cavallini says, "are not a selling tool."
But he does have some great puck memories. He was a teammate of Wayne Gretzky's in the 1990 All-Star game. Another memory was the night in 1994 when Cavallini, playing for the Dallas Stars, had two goals and four assists, walloping the St. Louis Blues, his previous team. Then, later that season in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Cavallini scorched St. Louis with six assists and a goal as the Stars swept the series, four games to none.
"I scored one of the last goals in the old St. Louis Arena," Cavallini says. "And I proved to St. Louis that I knew how to play hockey."
And now Cavallini lives in--of all places--St. Louis. Why there instead of Dallas? Because of "established friendships and familiarity," he says.
Cavallini says the transition from hockey player to retail broker was an easy one. "I had a strong work ethic and a competitivenature. Both are important for a broker," he says. "I learned that to be successful in anything, you have to make a sacrifice.
"I saw a lot of the older players who had nothing at all to fall back on after hockey. That's tough on your marriage, your family and your own opinion of yourself. I didn't want that to happen to me."
It didn't.
"Today, I like to look at where certain stocks will be in three to five years," Cavallini says. "I like selective Internet stocks, telecomm stocks and fiber-optic companies."
After playing nearly 600 NHL games, does he still watch hockey?
"Oh yeah, my clients play. I keep up with their careers," he says. "I'm going to enjoy coaching my two sons. But right now, I'm enjoying what I'm doing at A.G. Edwards. I like helping people save and build for the future."
