Yet while those around him dreamed of playing in the NHL, Houle did not. Not until later when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. I asked him why. He paused a moment, choosing his words carefully as if unsure I would understand. “You see, working-class people have no confidence,” he said in his quiet, straightforward way. “It just takes a while to get some.” Later, he explained it to me another way, and in doing so told much about himself. “I never dream of something I cannot be,” he said.
