Everyone one of us has had a dream.  The dream of what you will be when you grow up.  The one that changes as you age and the one that eventually is played out and becomes who you are today.  Born in Montreal and growing up there for a part of his childhood, Pierre Mitsou had many different dreams, stories and memories that helped lead him to the place he is today.

At the age of three, Pierre started watching hockey when his family would go watch his father play for a recreational league in Montreal.  When Pierre started playing hockey, he joined the Montreal Northstars at the age of four.  His choice to play came when he realized his love for the game. 

As a child Pierre played road hockey and ice hockey.  So long as it was hockey Pierre would play it, and for him, winter could never come fast enough.  "I could never wait for the wintertime.  I wanted to play so badly.  I guess from a young age I had a passion for the game," Pierre stated. 

Hockey was not the only thing that Pierre loved.  As a child, he played just about every outdoor sport possible and enjoyed playing indoors games, watching TV and he also had a few pets.  One of the fondest memories of his childhood is playing any sport that he could get himself into.  He played soccer in the summer and made up sports with his friend and the neighborhood children.  All that mattered is that they all got to go out and have fun together. 

Pierre remembers playing lots of indoor games but one that stuck with him is Light Bright. "My sister and I use to play Light Bright a lot.  We would close all the lights in the basement and play for hours.  That is still something that I remember to this day."  He also enjoyed the classic shows such as Teddy Rucksbin and the Edison Twins.  Pierre also had a rabbit, some turtles and a few birds.  Unfortunately, his turtle walked under the couch one day and never returned and his rabbit had a tendency to eat electrical cords.

Memories are one of the things that make a person who they are and Pierre shared some of his funniest and "proudest" ones.  When he was about six or seven years old, he and his family went on a trip to Prince Edward Island.  A family in PEI and the Mitsou's traded homes for the summer to experience life in a different province.  Pierre had many great memories of the trip but his favorite one is how he and his sister would go down to the beach together to go swimming.  While down there, they both noticed a bunch of Jelly Fish washed up on the beach.  Not knowing what they were and that they can in fact hurt you, they began to play with them.  His sister placed them on Pierre's face and stomach.  They laughed and threw them back and forth into the water.  "I don't know why I never got stung.  The whole time we were handling them and throwing then into the water but I never got stung.  The funniest part was that everyone kept looking at us like we were crazy and we could never understand why!"

Jelly Fish, hard kick and Doctor ambitions aside, Pierre was destined to play hockey.  His parents gave him encouragement to keep playing.  Like most parents, they were his greatest influence and his biggest fans.  He credits them for all of the things they did for him such as going to tournaments, taking him to practices and going to watch his games.  On ice, as a Pittsburgh fan, his childhood hero was Mario Lemeiux.  Even now, Pierre likes to watch players such as Gary Roberts of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks. 

His choice to play defense was originally not one of his own.  "I've been a defenseman ever since I was a young kid.  I have tried to play forward but I can say that I have never tried to play goalie.  I think it was because I was never that great at puck handling so they just stuck me on defense and I've been there ever since."

At the age of seven Pierre's family moved to Ottawa for the first time.  He continued to play hockey for teams in his new area.  Pierre has many memories about playing in hockey tournaments.  His first time going back to Montreal after his move was to play a hockey tournament.  The games were played in the rink that Pierre use to play in. To him, it was very special to be able to play again where it all began.  At the age of eight, Pierre went on a summer hockey tournament in Lac St. Louise.  "I remember that my dad used to tell me it was such a nice arena and it was one of the only arena's in the Quebec region with four ice surfaces in one building."  For any child this would have been a spectacular place to play.  "It was something special to play a tournament in that building when I was so young."  He also remembers going to New York and Boston to play summer tournaments.

Everyone has a story that they can tell to show how they got to where they are today.  In Pierre's case, his story involves many different aspects.  Family, friends, tournaments, trips, games, toys, pets, idols, dreams and of course, hockey, all helped to assemble Pierre into he person he is today.  No one knows what the future will hold for this promising young defenseman.  With the playoffs now in full swing, Pierre has a chance to show everyone what all his hard work has lead him too.  The story of Pierre starts with these memories but his story is still just in the beginning.