Blake Wheeler helping kickstart NHLPA’s mental health training after his own experiences

WASHINGTON — Blake Wheeler put himself at Jay Harrison’s disposal when his former Jets teammate started creating First Line, a health and wellness program through the NHL Players Association.

However he could help promote it or endorse it, Wheeler was determined to help Harrison’s vision come to life.

Mental health had come to the forefront for Wheeler in the past couple years.

He had experienced some significant career-altering moments as his time in Winnipeg came to an end, including getting stripped of his captaincy as the club announced a culture change.

“It’s been something that’s been a lifelong thing for me, but didn’t really come to the surface until the last couple of years,” Wheeler told The Post while sitting in his stall in the locker room in St. Louis. “That’s when I had to do some things for myself and once I was able to kind of reach out and get help and talk to people, was when things started to really turn in a positive direction for me. That’s sometimes the hardest part.

“You battle, you battle, you battle, until you’re able to just speak and share your experience with somebody. It’s hard to really know what’s going on or how things could be better potentially.”

The Rangers forward was among the first 20 NHLPA members to complete First Line training led by Harrison, the association’s wellness, transition and performance specialist.

It was an in-person, informal discussion-based session that lasted a few hours.

Players were able to reflect on their experiences and how it can be impactful to other players in the league.

Studies have found that up to 35 percent of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis.

So the NHLPA paired up with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to develop an education and leadership program designed to strengthen the mental health knowledge and skills of its members.

The MHCC is a non-governmental and nonprofit organization working toward “improving mental health outcomes for all people in Canada.”

While Wheeler had kept in touch with Harrison from their playing days, the American wing recognized the importance of his friend’s work.

His own experiences had given him a deeper understanding.

The biggest thing for Wheeler was to find the willingness to not face it alone, to have the strength to ask for help.

He now hopes to help other players do the same and change their life for the better, too.

“I think the point of it is to almost be sort of like a middleman,” Wheeler said. “A lot of times these conversations are withheld just because guys are scared. You know, as young men, it’s sort of tough to be in touch with your feelings in the first place. Secondly, you don’t know where that information is going, how it’s going to be used for you or against you.

“So I think the real philosophy behind it is it to make it maybe an easier entry point for guys to talk amongst ourselves as teammates and if there’s something that needs to be addressed or guys need help, then guys that have gone through the training can kind of point you in the right direction so that these things don’t go just sort of boiling under the surface for long periods of time.”

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The Rangers recalled Anton Blidh from AHL Hartford in a precautionary move ahead of their back-to-back games against Washington this weekend.

After they were forced to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Blues, because of Mika Zibanejad’s lingering sickness, the Rangers want to have numbers just in case.