he played in the whl for the kamloops blazers where he played three seasons. he was drafted by the dallas stars with the 11th overall pick in the 1995 nhl draft but did not play a game with them. he also played for the calgary flames for 16 years where he was the captain. he was traded to the pittsburgh penguins on march 28, 2013 in exchange for kenneth agostino, ben hanowski, and a first-round draft pick in the 2013 nhl draft. he played 28 combined games with the penguins. he is a christian of his father's faith.