Sportsnet.ca — Mark Bell’s father was right – a drunk driving charge was the best thing that could have happened to his son.
“As soon as it happened my father said this is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you, and he was right,” Bell said in an exclusive interview with Hockeycentral’s Christine Simpson. “I just made a life choice when the incident happened to stop drinking and to get it out of my life.”
Bell was suspended on the eve of training camp after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge and leaving the scene of an accident, the result of a September 2006 incident when he was with the San Jose Sharks. Bell was traded to Toronto, along with goaltender Vesa Toskala, this past summer and he is scheduled to make his debut with the Leafs Tuesday night against Ottawa.
Since the incident, Bell has been in a substance abuse program and said he has not had a drink in more than a year.
“People make mistakes. I made a mistake,” Bell said. “I made a poor judgment and it was a really quick decision and I have lived through. For me it’s been a tough ride, but it’s been one I’ve learned a lot of things from.”
