The CI Aggregator is a compilation of recent stories regarding the hockey world, The Carnegie Initiative, our Board members, other industry influencers, similar organizations doing work to change the culture of the game, related issues, and anything aligned with our important mission to make hockey more inclusive, supportive, and welcoming to all.
A new edition is posted each Friday.
Please feed us news! We welcome submissions to be considered for the weekly “CI Aggregator. Send stories to “[email protected]” with “CI Aggregator” in the subject line.
WEEKLY RECAP: Friday, October 6, 2023
Scroll. Read. Click on headline for full story.
Michael Russo, The Athletic, Oct. 6, 2023.
Natalie Darwitz’s life has been turned upside down, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’ve spent more time on my phone in the last month and a half than in the last five years,” she told The Athletic in the midst of what has quickly become the most exhilarating yet overwhelming time in her storied hockey career. “I am losing sleep at night in a good way. I’m excited. I’m invested. I’m super zen-ish, but I just feel like everything that has happened in my life has prepared me for this role.”
Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame to host 2023 induction dinner on Nov. 2
Toronto.com, Oct. 5, 2023
The Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame (ESHOF) is holding its 27th annual induction dinner on Thursday, Nov. 2.
Tickets are available online at etobicokesports.ca.
The 2023 inductees are as follows …
• Angela James, honorary member: Considered the first superstar of modern women’s ice hockey, the homegrown Toronto athlete has been honoured by numerous halls of fame.
High stakes, big opportunities await undrafted hopefuls invited to PWHL training camps
Bujold, Jackson among numerous players looking to leave mark in pre-season tryouts
Karissa Donkin, CBC Sports, Oct. 5, 2023
Sarah Bujold thought her hockey career was going to take her to Montreal in 2019.
Then 23, Bujold was poised to play for Les Canadiennes in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) after five seasons with St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.
But the league folded just as Bujold was about to begin her CWHL career, changing her plans and the landscape of professional women’s hockey.
After a journey that took her through Sweden and the New York area, the former U Sports player of the year will finally get the chance to make a professional hockey roster in Montreal.
Parents want arrest after son ‘deliberately kicked’ in neck during Edmonton hockey game
Sean Amato, CTV News Edmonton, Updated Oct. 5, 2023
***Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions and images.***
A Junior C hockey player says he is lucky to be alive after his neck was sliced open by a hockey skate last week in an act his parents believe – and the referee ruled – was an intentional kick.
“I was on the ice. He stepped on my head,” Richie Compo recalls of the Sept. 27 incident at Castle Downs Recreation Centre in north Edmonton.
“I checked my neck, my hand, there was blood. So I ripped off my helmet.”
Compo – who plays for the Junior Braves in the Noralta Junior C Hockey League – recalls begging for the help of the opposing team’s trainer, who jumped on the ice to assist …
… The player accused of kicking him, Nate Plaunt of the South West Zone Oil Kings, was given a match penalty with 57 seconds left in the game. The final score was 9-5 for the Oil Kings.
In his written incident report to Hockey Alberta, game referee Spencer Acheson stated that he gave Plaunt a match penalty for “deliberately kicking” an opponent in his “neck/face area.”
PWHLPA Plan “Extremely Dangerous To Players” Agent Says
The PWHL sent a memo to players on behalf of the PWHLPA last week, stating the intent to ban agent fees on contracts below $50,000. Agents and players fear the move could hurt the lowest paid players in the league.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Oct. 5, 2023
Many of the PWHL’s lowest paid players may soon be without representation and advocacy in the form of player agents if a memorandum sent to players by the PWHL and PWHLPA comes into action.
In a memo sent by the PWHL on behalf of the PWHPA to players last month, it was stated the league plans to ban agents from taking a commission fee on player contracts paying less than $50,000. As players and agents who contacted The Hockey News fear, this could cause lower paid players to lose their representation, remove career supports and protection for athletes, and hinder their ability to earn through sponsorships, endorsements, and other bookings.
With eye on future Augustana ready to set sail in the world of Division One College Hockey
Vikings open inaugural season on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin
Zach Borg, Dakota News Now, Oct. 5, 2023
”I don’t know if we’re good or if we’re bad, we just are. And that’s enough for me right now. We’re moving in a good direction we feel but we got to get out on the ice against somebody else. WE got to make mistakes, we got to get opportunities for growth.” Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin says.
What the Vikings have is a college of freshman and transfers of various experience that have had about a month to practice and come together …
… Though Augustana won’t play a full Central Collegiate Hockey Association Schedule in their first two years, they are immediately eligible to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
BYU professor, students participate in late-night hockey
Derek VanBuskirk, The Daily Universe, Oct. 5, 2023
Although most are not yet ready for the cold, there are a few BYU students and professors who deal with the cold all year long.
BYU religion professor Daniel Becerra spends his nights playing hockey at Peaks Ice Arena.
“I played in high school for like a season of roller hockey, and then a guy in my ward wanted to know if I wanted to do this. So, I learned to ice skate in a couple of weeks and came out here, and this is my second season with the Gladiators,” Becerra said.
The Gladiators are a hockey team based in Provo.
SportsNet Pittsburgh hires Bryan Trottier, Matt Bartkowski as analysts
Seth Rorabaugh,Triblive.com, Oct. 5, 2023
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Trottier and former NHL defenseman Matt Bartkowski have been hired as analysts for SportsNet Pittsburgh.
The network announced their appointments via a release Thursday.
Trottier is one of the most prolific players in NHL history. An enshrinee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Trottier is the league’s 19th-leading scorer with 1,425 career points. A vital component of the New York Islanders’ dynasty teams in the early 1980s, Trottier won the Stanley Cup six times in his playing career, including twice with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.
Trottier, 67, also serves as a liaison with the franchise’s partnership sales and marketing department.
NHL clarifies stance on specialty initiatives, source says
Ryan S. Clark, ESPN.com, Oct. 5, 2023,
The NHL sent an updated memo to all teams Thursday clarifying previous guidance about what players and franchises could do this season as it relates to special initiatives such as Pride Night, a league source told ESPN.
A team source told ESPN earlier this week that several NHL clubs sought clarification while also expressing concern with the league’s initial memo, which they considered restrictive. The NHL issued the first memo, titled “Game and Practice-Related Special Initiatives,” late last week.
The update was sent because of “confusion” about the guidance, the league source said. The new, “much clearer” memo explained that restrictions cover on-ice activity and noted that “players should be encouraged to express themselves off the ice,” the team source said. Player participation in club-related messaging is voluntary if permitted.
WHL Suspends Kevin Constantine Indefinitely for Derogatory Comments
Wenatchee Wild coach Kevin Constantine is suspended indefinitely after violating the WHL standard of conduct policies.
The Hockey News, Oct. 4, 2023
The WHL announced Wednesday afternoon that Kevin Constantine is suspended indefinitely after an investigation found he made “derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature.”
Constantine is Wenatchee Wild’s first coach since the WHL franchise relocated from Winnipeg over the summer, but the team will now have to look for a replacement. Constantine will have to formally apply for reinstatement to the WHL commissioner if he wishes to return to coaching in the league, but he won’t be eligible for that opportunity until July 2025 at the earliest.
Minor hockey players required to wear bottom layer to dressing room or change in washroom
Hockey Canada says new policy promotes inclusion and privacy for all players
Paul Palmeter, CBC News, Oct. 4, 2023
It’s early in the 2023-24 minor hockey season, and many players and their parents are getting adjusted to a new policy from Hockey Canada.
This season, all minor hockey players are being encouraged to wear the base layer they wear under their equipment to the arena. If they don’t do that, they will have to change into their base layer inside a closed washroom stall at the rink.
The new policy is trying to promote inclusion and to respect the privacy of all participants on a team. It is now the responsibility of all coaches and team staff to instruct players regarding the minimum attire rule and make sure they are in compliance with it.
Professional Women’s Hockey League injects extra fizz into Rivalry Series
Defending champion Canada opens this edition vs. rival U.S. on Nov. 8 in Tempe, Ariz.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press, Oct 3, 2023
Emily Clark hasn’t played a hockey game in her hometown in over a decade.
She was named to the Canadian women’s team for the 2018 Four Nations Cup in Saskatoon. An ill-timed leg injury before the tournament planted her in the stands wearing a walking boot.
So, the 27-year-old forward wants to play for Canada in this winter’s seven-game Rivalry Series against the United States that includes a stop in Saskatoon.
“Who gets to play for the national team, so few people get to, in your hometown? That was one of the hardest things I had to go through with that injury and kind of missing out on that opportunity,” Clark told The Canadian Press.
Michigan hockey dismisses Johnny Druskinis for allegedly vandalizing Jewish site on campus
Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, Oct. 3, 2023
Michigan hockey removed sophomore defenseman Johnny Druskinis just before the start of the 2023-24 season for allegedly defacing the property near the university’s Jewish Resource Center with male genitalia and a homophobic slur with another student in August.
“Johnny Druskinis is no longer on the Michigan Hockey roster, following a violation of team rules,” a Michigan spokesperson said in a statement.
The Michigan spokesperson did not elaborate on the reason why Druskinis was dismissed.
The Ann Arbor Police released a statement via social media on Tuesday afternoon, after this story was originally published online. The statement confirmed that two suspects vandalized the sidewalk of the resource center. A male suspect spray painted the genitalia and slur and a female suspect spray painted her initials on the sidewalk, according to police.
Ice hockey team investigate racist abuse claims
BBC, Oct. 3, 2023
Allegations of racist abuse during an ice hockey game at Hull’s Ice Arena are being investigated, a club has said.
According to reports, racist comments and monkey noises were heard being made in the crowd during Sunday’s Hull Seahawks versus Telford Tigers match.
In a statement, Hull Seahawks said it was aware of the reports, adding that “racism or discrimination of any kind” would not be tolerated.
Seahawks boss Joe Lamplough said such behaviour would lead to a ban.
How Many College Ice Hockey Programs Are There?
During the 2023-2024 college hockey season, there will be 64 Division I men’s programs across 21 states, led by New York and Massachusetts with 11 each.
Oct 3, 2023 by Jacob Messing, FloHockey, Oct. 3, 2023
During the 2023-2024 college ice hockey season, there will be 64 NCAA Division I men’s programs across 21 states, led by New York and Massachusetts with 11 teams each.
The 64 programs are dispersed into six conferences, with six independent programs all competing annually for a spot in the 16-team, single elimination NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.
Regular-season play and conference tournament champions are weighted during the selection process.
Each conference tournament champion receives an automatic berth to the national tournament, leaving 10 at-large spots for the selection committee to determine.
Division I college hockey has been recognized since the 1947-1948 season, when 26 programs made up the league. Between 1948-1999, 27 Division I programs joined the league. Since 2000, 11 more programs have been added, with seven of those programs joining since 2020.
Yahoo Finance, Oct. 3, 2023
Today, less than 8 percent of hockey players in the U.S. identify as Hispanic or Latinx. To recognize Hispanic Heritage Month and help make the sport of hockey more inclusive, AEG’s LA Kings teamed up with 24 Degrees of Color, a diversity skate program, to transform the Toyota Sports Performance Center (TSPC) in El Segundo, CA into a hub of cultural immersion for Hispanic and Latinx youth hockey players.
Sixty Hispanic youth from across Los Angeles, CA had the chance to participate in a skate session led by Al Montoya, a former NHL goaltender and the first Cuban American in the league. Expressing their cultural heritage, the kids decorated their skates and outfits and participated in a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration that included listening to traditional music performed by a local Mariachi band and tasting authentic cuisines from seven regions in Latin America
“Whether it is due to financial difficulties or language barriers, not all children get the same opportunity to participate in sports and hockey is one of the most expensive sports to play,” said Celia Garth, Coordinator, Kings Care Foundation. “By partnering with 24 Degrees of Color we are hoping to break down some of those barriers and to make the sport of hockey more inclusive to all kids from different backgrounds.”
How Much Does It Cost To Play Ice Hockey?
Playing competitive hockey at any level comes with many expenses, from equipment to ice time to travel. Jacob Messing breaks it down.
Jacob Messing, FloHockey, Oct. 3, 2023
I grew up playing the best sport in the world: ice hockey.
I had three older brothers who all played, too, and for a number of years, we all played at once.
My parents not only shuttled us to practices and games at all hours and spent entire evenings at the rink when our teams’ schedules conflicted, they paid for it all.
Learn-to-skate, house leagues, travel programs, school teams – my brothers and I did it all, and my parents dished out every penny it took for gear, gas, ice fees, out-of-state tournaments – even some injuries and surgeries along the way.
It wasn’t until I grew older that I finally understood the endless hand-me-downs and appreciated my parents’ forfeited nights and weekends.
Ibram X. Kendi launches ESPN+ series on sports and race
Russell Contreras, Author of Axios Latino, Oct. 2, 2023
Boston University professor and author Ibram X. Kendi has kicked off an ESPN+ series that focuses on racism in the sports world.
Why it matters: Kendi, whose bestselling books on racism and its history in America have been banned by some schools after complaints by conservatives, is jumping into streaming with the sports project and an upcoming Netflix documentary.
The big picture: His ESPN+ series comes shortly after Kendi was forced to lay off several staffers at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, where he’s a founding director.
Hockey Day Minnesota in Warroad will celebrate Henry Boucha’s life and career
The three-day event, to be held the final weekend of January 2024, will see players wear jerseys that honor Henry Boucha, who died Sept. 18 and was remembered at memorial services Thursday and Friday.
Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune, Oct. 2, 2023
The town of Warroad remembered its own Henry Boucha on Friday, when about 800 people attended an afternoon funeral service.
They’ll remember him again in a different way when the 18th Hockey Day Minnesota comes to Warroad — Hockeytown USA — the final weekend in January 2024.
The three-day celebration features five high school and Division III college games played outdoors, in all the elements.
Native America Calling: Remembering Native hockey legend Henry Boucha
Indianz.com, Oct. 2, 2023
Henry Boucha (Ojibwe) served as an inspiration for many Native hockey athletes and fans.
Boucha, who was a citizen of the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in Ontario, Canada, was a star high school athlete who went on to become a member of the silver medal-winning United States ice hockey team in the 1972 Winter Olympics. He also played for the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars and the Detroit Red Wings. A debilitating eye injury cut his playing career short.
Off the ice, he worked as an advocate for better Native representation in sports. Join Native America Calling to get insights in Henry Boucha’s sports legacy with relatives and others.
Ouellette “Inspired” By UMD Honor
Caroline Ouellette was inducted to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Athletics Hall of Fame.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Oct. 2, 2023
Caroline Ouellette was honored this week as an inductee to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Hall of Fame.
Ouellette played three seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs scoring an incredible 229 points in only 97 games. This year Ouellette also joined the IIHF Hall of Fame and will soon be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“My first impressions of Caroline Ouellette as a person and as a player, is that she was calm and strong, and the more I got to know Caroline, the better I got to know Caroline, she became even more calm and even more strong, and she’s the epitome of that on the ice and as a human being,” said Shannon Miller, who was Ouellette’s head coach in each of her three seasons at Minnesota-Duluth in a tribute video.
Color of Hockey: Baez, Guerra, Hernandez friendly collegiate rivals
Advancing game in Hispanic community with play at Army, Holy Cross, Canisius
William Douglas, NHL.com, Oct. 2, 2023
Joey Baez, Matt Guerra and Randy Hernandez have a bond forged by Florida, hockey and their Hispanic heritage.
The three forwards played with and against each other on elite Florida youth and summer tournament teams growing up, despite being from different parts of the state.
“Randy’s out of Miami and I’m in Orlando, so it was a little bit of a travel to play with him,” Guerra said. “Joey and I played together for five, six years. He’s one of my best friends.”
Now they are friendly rivals in NCAA Division I hockey, where they are among the scoring leaders on their respective teams in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Jason, Nicholas Robertson humbled to host hockey clinic for military kids
Stars, Maple Leafs forward partner with NHLPA, United Heroes League to teach skills in North Carolina
Tracey Myers, NHL.com, Sept. 30, 2023
Jason and Nicholas Robertson were looking for an opportunity to give back to the community.
The brothers got that chance when they partnered with the NHL Players’ Association and United Heroes League to host the Jason & Nick Robertson Hockey Clinic for military kids at Cleland Ice Rink at Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, in North Carolina in August.
“I know how privileged we are to do what we do. We went down there to see what goes on behind closed doors,” Jason, a Dallas Stars forward, told the “NHL @TheRink” podcast at the NHL Player Media tour in Las Vegas last month.
“You see a lot of the commitment. It’s truly humbling. We tried to give their kids and people a good experience, and I think we were able to do that.”
United Heroes League is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Hastings, Minnesota, that assists families of all branches of the military by providing free sports equipment, free youth camps and financial grants to pay for sports fees, special experiences and professional sports tickets.
Fred Sasakamoose’s Legacy in Hockey
HappyCaraT, Arctic Ice Hockey, Sept. 30, 2023
When Fred Sasakamoose was a child, he was taken from his home on Ahtahkakoop First Nation which is also known as Sandy Lake First Nation to St. Michael’s Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. Like many Indigenous children who were sent to a residential school, Sasakamoose endured abuse. In his book Call Me Indian, Sasakamoose details the atrocious conditions in which all the children of the residential school endured. He talks about how little the children were actually taught and how they were used as free labour. They were abused; which is detailed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports. While Sasakamoose does not go into detail about the actual abuse endured at the school, he does not make it hard to imagine what children at the school were going through.
Sasakamoose found refuge in two places: with a family member who lived close by and could take him and his siblings on the weekend for a visit and in hockey. The connection between residential schools and hockey is an interesting one. It was first brought to light in the book Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese which later became a movie by the same name. Indian Horse is loosely based off of Sasakamoose’s life as Wagamese new friends of Sasakamoose in Kamloops.
Looking At Minor Hockey’s Top Feeder Programs To The PWHL
The Toronto Aeros are the minor hockey organization with the most alumni in the PWHL thus far, followed by Shattuck St. Mary’s, Stoney Creek, and Oakville.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Sep. 29, 2023
Looking at the the NCAA programs sending the most players to the PWHL, some stand out, like Wisconsin, Clarkson, and Ohio State combining to provide more than 33% of the players in the league.
But when you step back even further, it seems some development pathways have yielded more results beginning in minor hockey, all the way to the PWHL.
The Toronto Aeros topped all programs with 9 players, followed by Shattuck St. Mary’s, the Stoney Creek Sabres Oakville Hornets who each sent seven alumni to the PWHL.
Discussing Truth and Reconciliation featuring Ted Nolan
Going Deep with Donnovan Bennett, Sportsnet Radio Network, Sep. 29, 2023
With the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation arriving as a moment of reflection for all Canadians, Donnovan sheds some light on Indigenous athletes and coaches across the country. First, Natteal Battiste, Boxer and Council Member at Acadia First Nation, opens up about the trials and tribulations that have made her into the person, and fighter, she is today. Afterwards, Donnovan speaks to former NHL head coach Ted Nolan about his journey through hockey as both athlete and coach, and also catches up with Trechelle Bunn, who founded the Reconciliation Run as a varsity hockey player and law student at the University of Manitoba.
Mosaic Hockey Collective Prides Themselves in Creating Equality in Hockey
The organization saw nine players excel at the 2023 Amerigol LATAM Cup in southern Florida
Brianna Rhone, USA Hockey, Sept. 29, 2023
The chorus of the vuvuzelas blasting throughout the rink helped the players of the Mosaic Hockey Collective glide across the ice in south Florida in August. The chants of the countries competing at the Amerigol LATAM Cup rang throughout the Florida Panthers Ice Den.
“Argentina!”
“Columbia!”
Passionate fans stood on their feet, opened their vocal chords with pride and waved colorful flags as the athletes of the Mosaic Hockey Collective drank in their praise too.
The Amerigol LATAM Cup is one of the biggest and fastest growing international hockey tournaments with over 20 countries, 44 teams and 750 players participating this year.
Three of the youth teams participating was a joint effort between the Mosaic Hockey Collective, a 501©3 organization and the Hockey Players of Color.
New hockey sticks aim to spark conversation about Every Child Matters movement in Canada
Stick designers from Sask. hope they can spread awareness
Will McLernon, CBC News, Sep. 29, 2023
Thousands of new orange and black Every Child Matters hockey sticks now on shelves of sporting goods stores across Canada are meant to do more than just send pucks into nets.
Clay DeBray designed the sticks to spread awareness about what happened to generations of Indigenous children who were forced into Canada’s residential school institutional system.
“My oldest son is a junior hockey player and I want him to have a stick so his teammate sitting right next to him can look at that stick and ask the questions about what that stick is about,” said DeBray, a Métis man originally from Duck Lake who is now manager of the Snipe and Celly Sports Excellence retail outlet on Flying Dust First Nation in northwest Saskatchewan.
“My son will be able to tell the story. He’ll be able to explain the symbols and use it as a conversation piece.”
UMD Women’s Hockey Will Unveil 25th Anniversary Team Throughout 2023-24 Season
Umdbulldogs.com, Women’s Hockey, Sept. 28, 2023
The University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey program, which will embark on its 25th season in 2023-24, will commemorate the milestone with a UMD Women’s Hockey 25th Anniversary Team that will be announced throughout the regular season.
The 25th Anniversary Team was selected by longtime local media members and local hockey historians. Each member of the selection committee privately selected a total of 25 players, which included a starting six players that will represent the six best players so far in Bulldog history. The only requirements for the other 19 players selected by committee members was that at least three of them were positionally defenseman and at least two goaltenders.
A list of greatness, the 25th Anniversary Team will span the more than two decades of players that have skated for one of the most successful NCAA Division I women’s hockey programs in all of women’s college hockey.