If not for coaching hockey, perhaps Darryl Moxam might have aspired to be one of the world's foremost masters of Sudoku.

"Coaching is like a big puzzle to me - and I love puzzles," noted the 48 year-old Lively native, looking to guide the Greater Sudbury Cubs to a repeat performance of the NOJHL title they claimed one year ago.

Mind you, Sudoku would do little to tap into at least one other area of coaching where Moxam has truly excelled, consistently, throughout a career behind the bench that now spans a quarter century or so and began almost from the moment he returned from a brief professional stint in England in 2000-2001.

"My communication skills and my ability to motivate people around me was probably the one thing that helped me early on find some success, all while you're trying to find yourself in other ways as a coach," said Moxam.

"I like people. I like getting to know people. I really like getting to know the players as people first."

That personality trait has marked a lifetime of hockey involvement for Moxam, dating back to one of his favourite stages in the game, one from which he claims the "memories are still extremely vivid".

"Back when you played with your friends, in your hometown, that was a special time for me," suggested one of countless talented hockey products who first identified as Walden Devils. "There was a group of 10 to 15 guys who were best friends and played together, all the way up."

His four years of OHL hockey, as a player, were marked by stops in Peterborough, Oshawa and back home in Sudbury, but it was an ensuing step a few years later that Moxam suggested rivalled the joy of his childhood in the game that he loves.

"If there was one other time in hockey when I would give up everything for just one more year, that would be my time at Acadia (University - Wolfville, Nova Scotia). I've never been in a situation like there where you did everything together. You were in class together, in the library together, working out together, playing together, living together."

"I just think the bonds that you create there are as strong if not stronger than anywhere I have ever played hockey," Moxam added.

Through it all, his analytical mind kicked in, sometimes to his detriment (in his own opinion), hindering his ability to simply play "mentally free". For as much as it took him a little time to recognize the coach within, those around him could see what was coming.

"I remain close with a number of my coaches from over the years and they will all tell you that they knew, as soon as they met me, that I would coach some day," said the proud father of two daughters and a pair of stepsons.

As he returned from overseas, opportunities awaited him.

At a time in one's life when self-assuredness is often in plentiful supply, most notably with former players who make the jump to coaching, Moxam took a more long-term approach, bypassing head coaching opportunities to work as an assistant under Ken MacKenzie for a handful of years.

"To this day, I think that was one of the smartest things I have ever done," stated Moxam. "I just thought that I could learn so much from a successful coach that I have a great deal of respect for."

Coaching requires a trust in the manner in which one believes the sport in which they are mentoring athletes is meant to be played. At the highest levels of the game, egos the size of our province are not all that hard to find.

It's not at all easy to nestle into that sweet spot between maintaining a level of conviction in your coaching mindset while still remaining malleable enough to grow and adjust. Darryl Moxam would never claim to straddle this line perfectly, but those who know him well suggest he can do it with the best of them.

"I can learn something from everybody," he said. "As a coach, you have to understand that you don't know everything. You have to be open to suggestions, be willing to change and adapt."

His time with the Sudbury Wolves (2016-2022 - assistant/associate coach) opened his eyes even more, both to the landscape for those who pursue a career as a hockey coach and the challenges that come with it.

"I will always be thankful that I took the opportunity to do that," said Moxam. "I don't think you truly understand, until you are in that position, how few jobs there truly are - and what being a coach when its your livelihood really entails."

"If I would have pursued some of those opportunities that I had, I know for a fact that I would not have the family relationships that I do today."

Darryl Moxam is not about to close any doors - nor is he about to spend another decade or two pondering the "what ifs".

"If I coach the Sudbury Cubs for the next 20 years and someone eventually kicks me out the door, I will never have any regrets."