Going into his second year at McGill University, Mathieu Darche called up Martin Raymond, the school’s hockey coach, with a question.

As a freshman, Darche had played both football and hockey, splitting his time and dealing with a strenuous schedule. He’d been recruited, originally, as a football player out of Choate Rosemary Hall, the Connecticut prep school, choosing to go to McGill in part because the football coach, Charlie Baillie, told him he could play both sports. Darche stretched himself thin, playing linebacker and winger while taking on a full course load.

The football team, thinking he could have a professional future in the sport, asked Darche to drop hockey and play football full-time as a sophomore.

Before making a decision, Darche wanted to know if Raymond thought he had a shot at playing professional hockey.