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.
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WEEKLY RECAP: Friday, December 22, 2023
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New Women’s Hockey League Is Experimenting With Hockey’s Oldest Rules
Ahead of the first PWHL game on January 1, the league experimented with different power play, penalty kill and long change rules
Dan Lauletta, TheMessenger.com, Dec. 22, 2023
When the PWHL gathered its six teams in Utica, New York, for a series of preseason scrimmages, it was more than just the teams getting a test run. The league tinkered with some different rules and is now close to publishing an official rulebook ahead of the inaugural season, which begins on January 1.
“I always like when you experiment with things like that,” PWHL Toronto coach Troy Ryan said during a press conference on Wednesday. “I thought it was a great decision by the league to throw a few things out there, give it a shot in a controlled environment like we had in Utica. And then open up the conversation.”
“These little nuances are fun because they might help grow the game,” echoed PWHL Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod…
Injured B.C. hockey player alleges assault, negligence in lawsuit
Kitimat Ice Demons player alleged fractured orbital bones, cheek bones and a fractured jaw.
Jeremy Hainsworth, VancouverIsAwesome.com, Dec. 21, 2023
A B.C. hockey player is suing another player as well as national and provincial hockey organizations for injuries he suffered in a game in Hazelton Jan. 28.
A B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim filed Dec. 18 said plaintiff Steven Ronald Venman was playing when he alleges Milo Johnson struck him in violation of BC Hockey and Hockey Canada rules.
Also named as defendants are the Regional District of Kitimat Stikine and the Skeena Ice Arena Association.
The mess that is Hockey Day North Dakota
The event, which last took place in Jamestown two years ago, appeared to be a success. But the failure to secure a location has doomed the event recently.
Rob Beer, TheRinkLive.com, Dec. 21, 2023
At some point, organizers of North Dakota Hockey Day need to realize that continuing to promote the event 75 days out, then canceling it 42 days later is not good business.
Not for the community and certainly not for the kids.
If you don’t have your ducks in a row three months from hosting the event, Travis Tritt sang it best. “I smell t-r-o-u-b-l-e.”
Granted, Hockey Day North Dakota — yes, it has been a thing, sporadically at least — is not Minnesota’s version. It can’t and doesn’t have to be.
Through sunshine or snow, Hockey Day North Dakota was held in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Go back to the 2020 version when it took nearly four hours for the University of Jamestown to beat Minot State in an overtime shootout as the area was under a blizzard warning.
Dropping the gloves: Hockey N.L. to eliminate post-game handshakes
Handshakes teach sportsmanship, life lessons, says disappointed parent
Alex Kennedy, CBC News, Dec. 21, 2023
Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador announced in a memo to community associations on Wednesday that it will eliminate post-game handshakes beginning in the new year, citing incidents that have led to the suspension of players and coaches.
The memo doesn’t get into specifics, but Hockey N.L.’s minor council executive committee chair Gonzo Bennett said the post-game handshake will be replaced with a pre-game handshake. Teams will be directed to their dressing rooms by referees after a game is over.
CBC News has asked Hockey N.L. executive director Craig Tulk for comment.
Stephanie Jones, a Torbay mother whose seven-year-old daughter plays for the Northeast Eagles, said she and other parents are upset by the decision…
New Jersey Devils Troll the NHL by Wearing LGBTQ+ Pride Jerseys in Spite of Ban
Ryan Adamczeski, The Advocate, Dec. 21, 2023
The National Hockey League banned players from wearing themed jerseys during warm-ups, but they didn’t say anything about wearing them before warm-ups.
That’s the loophole that the New Jersey Devils are exploiting as the organization marks its LGBTQ+ Pride night on Thursday. The team announced ahead of their game against the Edmonton Oilers that the specially-designed jerseys would be “worn during player arrivals,” in an apparent bypass of the league’s new policies…
Hockey 4 Youth launched the 16-week Larry Kwong Memorial Program
Hockey4Youth Linkedin Post, Dec. 21, 2023
Via CBC News: “Hockey 4 Youth launched the 16-week Larry Kwong Memorial Program to teach ice skating and hockey to newcomer students at Mission Hill Elementary School in hashtag#VernonBC…
The program is funded by the Canucks for Kids fund and named in honour of local legend Larry Kwong, the first person of Asian descent to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kristina Heintz, Kwong’s daughter, was at the hashtag#Okanagan Training Rink on the program’s first day.
Watching the kids slip and slide on the ice, Heintz says her father, who died in 2018, would have been “thrilled” to see the program in his hometown.
“Hockey changed my dad’s life. It gave him so many opportunities that he may not have had,” said a teary-eyed Heintz.
PWHLPA Chooses Player Representatives
Players selected PWHLPA representatives from each of the PWHL’s six teams this week.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Dec. 20, 2023
The PWHLPA, the union representing players in the new PWHL, has selected player representatives for each of their six clubs.
The players selected by their teams to serve as representatives this season including Hilary Knight (Boston), Natalie Spooner (Toronto), Jincy Roese (Ottawa), Laura Stacey (Montreal), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota), and Micah Zandee-Hart (New York).
All members were previously involved in the PWHPA.
Lexington resident’s documentaries highlight Black sports figures
Skip Perham, Boston Business Journal Dec. 20, 2023
Lexington resident Bryant McBride, whose documentary “Willie” highlights the first Black player in the NHL, has a new documentary on a Canadian hockey player and mentor as well as the journey of Negro League baseball legend Buck O’Neil.
Governor general presents medal to NHL’s Panjabi commentator
Brooks Bulletin, Dec. 20, 2023
Harnarayan Singh made history in 2008 when he became the first Punjabi-speaking commentator to call the play-by-play on Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition.
The former Brooks resident was presented a Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) during a ceremony last week by the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon.
“Through his work, he has connected Canada’s South Asian community with our quintessential Canadian hockey experience,” states the governor general’s webpage.
“He has since appeared on six English-language NHL broadcasts, working as a host in English and doing play-by-play in Punjabi.”
Singh received the award during a ceremony in Ottawa on Dec. 7.
Sarah Nurse hopes to leave lasting off-ice legacy
CBC, Dec. 20, 2023
Toronto forward Sarah Nurse describes what it means to be one of the faces of women’s hockey and her excitement for the beginning of the inaugural PWHL season.
How a Former Minor Pro Hockey Player Found a Lane With His Own Line of Sticks
Jason Jones, The Athletic, Dec. 19, 2023
Zechariah Thomas had plenty of reasons to feel good before he stepped into “the Den.”
“Dragons’ Den” is a television reality show where guests pitch their ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in an attempt to find a new investor. Very popular in Canada, the show has similarities to the U.S. show “Shark Tank.” Both shows stem from the Japanese version of the reality series from 2001.
Thomas’ company, Swift Hockey, already had buzz. The former minor-league pro from Oshawa, Ont., roughly 35 miles from Toronto, is now the president of the company and has found a niche selling affordable hockey sticks, but after appearing on “Dragons’ Den” and securing a $70,000 investment, life has been even better. The appearance on the show, which was recorded in May but aired in September, has helped to not only increase sales of his sticks but also give Swift the opening to one day put itself in the same stratosphere as hockey’s well-known equipment giants.
Karen Koch 1st Professional Female Hockey Player in the World, 1969
Hockeygods.com, Dec. 19, 2023
Karen Ann Koch – Born October 3, 1951 in Gibraltar, Michigan is retired ice Hockey goaltender.
Koch was an 18-year-old freshman enrolled at Northern Michigan University / NMU in Marquette, Michigan when she attended a tryout with the Marquette Iron Rangers of the United States Hockey League / USHL at the Palestra Ice Arena in Laurium, Michigan, a Historic Hockey Arena which was the first building in the world built specifically for the use of ice Hockey, also hosting some of the 1st ever professional Hockey games.
Iron Rangers coach Len Brumm talked with Koch after team captain Barry Cook approached him and said “Coach, did you know that little squirt of a goalie is a girl?”
Koch said she had enrolled at Northern Michigan University specifically to try out for the Iron Rangers. She had been playing Hockey and lacrosse with the boys in Gibraltar ever since she could remember.
Meet the St. Paul hockey mom working to keep girls hockey alive in the Capital City
Angelique McDonald Flohrs is on a mission: Get more girls on hockey rinks in St. Paul.
James Walsh, Star Tribune, Dec. 19, 2023
Angelique McDonald Flohrs used to be a board member of the St. Paul Capitals Hockey Association, which for 50 years has given boys and girls who want to play competitive hockey an outlet in the city.
Now, she says she’s a hockey mom only — with a daughter playing for Cretin-Derham Hall’s varsity team. But Flohrs continues helping with a dizzying number of events and fundraisers to attract girls and help the sport…
PWHL players pick their Mount Rushmore of greatest women’s hockey players
CBC, Dec. 19, 2023
Erin Ambrose, Sarah Nurse, Taylor Heise, and Jocelyne Larocque pick their four greatest women’s hockey players of all time.
Laliberte chosen to serve as North American Indigenous Games Council president.
Sam Laskaris, Windspeaker.com, Dec. 18, 2023
“We need to have the states more involved. Many of the (American) regions don’t take part in the Games now.” —Marc Laliberte, newly installed president of the North American Indigenous Games Council
Marc Laliberte will continue to be the head of an Indigenous sports organization.
But now it remains to be seen whether Laliberte will be the president of the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Council while continuing to also serve as the president of the Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario (ISWO), the provincial governing body which he co-founded in 2009.
At the recent North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Council annual general meeting in California, Laliberte was appointed NAIG Council president. Laliberte could technically also retain his ISWO presidency.
This 81-year-old hockey player says the game keeps him young
CBC News, Dec. 17, 2023
Gerard ‘Smitty’ Smith learned to skate at 16 and is still going at 81. He’s been a regular fixture in sports across P.E.I. over the years. We caught up with Smitty during one of his games in the lunchtime league in Summerside.
‘Get to know your players’: Jets’ Bowness on the key to being a successful NHL coach
SportsNet, Dec. 16, 2023
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness joins Ron MacLean and his former player Kevin Bieksa on Hockey Night in Canada to discuss his memories of Roberto Luongo, how he picks a captain and what is the secret to staying behind the bench for so long.
N.B. goalie prepares for ‘Christmas morning feeling’ ahead of inaugural PWHL season
Marlene Boissonnault of Dundee and Sarah Bujold of Riverview will play for Montreal in the team’s first season.
Philip Drost, CBC News, Dec.16, 2023
Even if Marlene Boissonnault doesn’t get a win in her team’s first game in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the existence of the league is already a victory.
“The night before the first game is going to be that Christmas morning feeling, where you go to bed really excited about the fact that finally we’re where we want to be,” said Boissonnault, who will play for Montreal’s PWHL team in their first game on Jan. 2, 2024.
“We’ve been dreaming about this since we were little girls and girls nowadays are still dreaming about it, right? Struggling to believe that it’s true or maybe not knowing that it’s a thing yet.”
The league announced its rosters earlier this week, and it will be easy for New Brunswick fans to choose a team to cheer for. Montreal is not only the closest team in the league, which also includes Toronto, Minnesota, New York, Boston and Ottawa, but it also features two New Brunswick players.
New commission to look at systemic abuse in sports launched by federal government
Mouhamad Rachini, CBC Radio, Dec. 15, 2023
For former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, the federal government’s commission to investigate systemic abuse in Canadian sports is a step forward he’s never seen taken before.
“We’ve been in this space for a long time now, and I think it’s the first time at that level that we’ve heard an acknowledgement of the magnitude of the issue within sport,” he told The Current’s Matt Galloway.
On Dec. 11, the federal government launched a three-person commission to look at systemic abuse and human rights violations in Canadian sports.
The work of the planned three-person commission will be “trauma-informed, victim-centred [and] forward looking,” Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough told CBC News’ Ashley Burke. It will be based on the “understanding that a group of vulnerable people have been harmed. The system didn’t protect them and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” she added.
Boy, 11, dies after being struck in neck by puck at hockey practice in Saint-Eustache, Que.
Psychological support offered to families, teammates and community members
Verity Stevenson, CBC News, Dec. 15, 2023
An 11-year-old boy, who was in intensive care for days after he was struck in the neck by a puck at his hockey practice Tuesday in Saint-Eustache, Que., has died.
The city, a suburb northwest of Montreal, released a statement Friday morning announcing his death.
“We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones,” the unsigned statement read. “All our thoughts are with the family, loved ones, teammates and the Saint-Eustache sporting community.”
Local police published a similar statement saying they had notified the Quebec Coroner’s Office, which would look into the causes and circumstances surrounding the boy’s death. Officials have not yet publicly identified the boy.
Ontario coaches lack training and diversity, new report says
Ontario coaches are primarily white men and only 42% have standardized training, per the report
Patrick Swadden, CBC News, Dec. 15, 2023
Most Ontario coaches aren’t properly trained to instruct young athletes and handle critical issues like concussion protocols, youth mental health and athlete development, says a new report examining the overall landscape of coaching in the province.
The 2023 Ontario Coaching Report says only half of the province’s coaches have completed some type of safe sport training, while over a third have not signed a code of conduct or completed a background check prior to coaching.
“Those that are trained and certified feel more confident dealing with some of the more challenging parts of coaching,” says Jeremy Cross, executive director of the Coaches Association of Ontario, which authored the report.
But, he adds, it’s not easy to impose training standards — or to achieve diversity in coaching — when three-quarters of the province’s coaching force is made up of unpaid volunteers.
NHL highlights hockey trailblazers with mobile museum visit to The Cube
Tyler Wainfeld, The Signal, Dec. 15, 2023
The Cube in Valencia had a group of unique visitors set up shop in the parking lot on Wednesday in the form of the National Hockey League’s “United by Hockey” Mobile Museum, which welcomed guests throughout the afternoon and evening.
Eric Knight, a tour manager with ALXMOBILE, which operates the museum, said that attendees got an opportunity to travel through the history of hockey and see some of the firsts in the sport, including the first Black player in the NHL in Willie O’Ree, the first south Asian NHL player in Robin Bawa and the first Black woman in the National Women’s Hockey League in Blake Bolden.
New program teaches neurodivergent girls how to play hockey
Dave Charbonneau, CTV News Ottawa, Dec. 14, 2023
A new program for neurodivergent girls in Ottawa is teaching them the game of hockey, with many of them coming from backgrounds where they would never get the opportunity to do so.
Hockey4Youth(opens in a new tab), an organization launched in 2015, has a goal to break barriers for kids, focusing on newcomers to Canada and high-priority youth. The new program by the organization is focusing on neurodivergent girls in Ottawa.
“This is our first program where we’re working with girls who are neurodivergent,” said Moezine Hasham, the executive director for the Hockey4Youth Foundation.
“They might have different forms of trauma. And so for us, at the end of the day, it’s all about social inclusion through the game of hockey, which is so beautiful to play.”
“I’ve made a lot of progress. I’m trying to be humble but I’m really proud of myself,” said Evelyn Powless a student at Ottawa Tech Secondary School.