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, March 1, 2024
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Olympic Commission Wants to Put the U.S. Government in Charge of Youth Sports
A commission created in the wake of sports abuse scandals released a report Friday that gives Congress a lengthy to-do list
Louise Radnofsky and Rachel Bachman, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 1, 2024
The way Olympic sports are set up in the U.S., the governing body for each sport is responsible for every stage of development, from getting tykes to learn to swim to putting the next Michael Phelps on a medal stand.
That process isn’t working, according to an independent commission’s report viewed by The Wall Street Journal before its release Friday. Sports organizations under the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee should focus only on selecting and training elite athletes, the commission recommends.
Leominster girls hockey upsets high-seeded host Longmeadow in MIAA state tournament
The ‘Miracle on Ice’ was inspiration to Leominster girls hockey almost 44 years to the day after the legendary game
Cait Kemp, The Gardner News, Mar. 1, 2024
WEST SPRINGFIELD ― The renowned “Miracle on Ice,” the USA men’s hockey team’s legendary win against the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, just celebrated its 44th anniversary on Feb. 22.
This heroic moment in sports history is retold in the 2004 film “Miracle,” which also happened to be the inspiration for the Leominster girls hockey team as the co-op prepared for its appearance in the state playoffs.
After being seeded 27th and matched up against the No. 6 Longmeadow in the first round of the tournament, the Blue Devils knew they would need to channel some of that same underdog energy in their game. On Wednesday night, on the eve of the Division 2 Round of 32 game, they put on “Miracle” in the background during their team dinner. But as the big speech from coach Herb Brooks began to play, team members stopped talking and all eyes were on the screen.
WKTV.com, Mar 1, 2024
USA Hockey announced a six-episode docuseries to air on NHL Network from March 9 to April 20 that will follow the U.S. women’s ice hockey team’s preparation for the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championships, where they’ll look to defend their gold from April 3-14. Click on the video for more.
Hockey association attempting to purchase Yakima Ice Rink property
Joel Donofrio, Yakima Herald-Republic, Mar. 1, 2024
The Yakima Amateur Hockey Association and others who use the Yakima Ice Rink are fundraising in an effort to purchase the ice rink’s property and keep the facility open.
The ice rink is on Beech Street, on a portion of a 46-acre parcel that once was home to the Yakima Speedway. The hockey association’s board of directors is hoping to negotiate a purchase price for the roughly two acres that house the venerable ice rink and parking area, YAHA President Chris Bartheld said.
“We’re essentially trying to buy this (ice rink) so we can continue to play hockey while we plan and fundraise for a new facility,” Bartheld said Saturday, between coaching and officiating several youth hockey games at the rink.
The business of Sarah Nurse: She’s one of the faces of hockey, but her sights are set on more
Hailey Salvian, The Athletic, Feb. 29, 2024
Sarah Nurse was driving home from a recent PWHL Toronto practice when she got a bit of sage advice.
It wasn’t from a podcast or a friend on the phone. The advice came courtesy of a billboard on the side of the road in Canada’s most populous city, featuring her own face with the Adidas slogan “You got this.”
“I was like, yeah, I do,” Nurse said with a laugh.
The billboard she drove past is one of many across the country, including a massive advertisement at Yonge-Dundas Square — Toronto’s closest approximation to Times Square in New York City — that pairs Nurse with Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and World Cup champion Lionel Messi.
Dallas Stars initiative raises bar for inclusion in hockey
Jeff Kolb, Fox4 News, Feb. 29, 2024
Black History Month comes to a close, and FOX 4 Sports wanted to share a story about an initiative the Dallas Stars have put into place.
It involves the Boys and Girls Club, and it’s all about making hockey more inclusive and more diverse.
Deron Bethea grew up in Dallas playing street hockey during the 90s.
“We used to play with rollerblades, street hockey, moved out the way when the cars drove by,” he recalled.
His love for the sports grew while watching those 1999 Dallas Stars achieve immortality by bringing back The Stanley Cup.
“Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, love them all,” Bethea said.
But as a Black kid cheering on an all-white team, it was hard for him to dream of placing himself in their skates.
LOOK: Anson Carter reps Michigan State hockey on national television
Cory Linsner, USA Today, Feb. 29, 2024
Anson Carter is one of the most decorated players in Michigan State hockey history. From 1992-96, Carter patrolled the wing in East Lansing, scoring 106 goals and getting 72 assists, for 178 total points, while being an All-American.
Carter went on to have an 11-year NHL career. Post playing, Carter now resides on the main desk for TNT’s NHL coverage.
In one of the latest shows, during the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers post game, Carter was repping his alma mater.
I Went to a Professional Women’s Hockey Game and It Was So Beautiful, I Cried
Of course, there are female hockey fans everywhere but the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is in its inaugural season and the games are hockey heaven.
Alyssa Mercante, Jezebel, Feb. 29, 2024
I’ve been to dozens of these events before but tonight, something’s different. The familiar smells are here: hot dog meat, spilled beer, and popcorn, all wafting up my nostrils as I stride through an equally familiar wide corridor to get to my seat. I recognize the thruways but they’re less crowded than usual, affording me a rare opportunity to pause and admire the memorabilia on the walls—and to note just how clean and fresh everything feels in this basically brand-new, brick-laden space that can fit 18,500 people. I finally hear the sound of a body slamming against the boards and the roar of the crowd reacting to the hit. This is hockey. I know it well.
But this is not my father’s hockey. This is so much better than that. This is a Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) match between New York and Montreal at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York (home to my mortal enemies, the Islanders). Walking alongside me to my seat are women and young girls—more women and young girls than I’ve ever seen at the 20 or so other hockey games I’ve been to in my life. Some of them are wearing National Hockey League (NHL) jerseys like myself (let’s go Rangers), but many are in the teal-and-navy-blue sweaters of the PWHL’s New York squad.
Brock McGillis delivers the perfect message about locker room culture in just 55 seconds
The gay former hockey player spoke with Toronto Maple Leafs player and delivered a powerful message.
Cyd Zeigler, OutSports.com, Feb. 28, 2024
Brock McGillis has been on a 100-day tour speaking with hockey teams, including hockey players, across North America about the importance of building a locker room culture that welcomes LGBTQ athletes.
McGillis is the perfect person to talk with hockey players about language and LGBTQ inclusion for a couple reasons. First, he’s gay and a former hockey player. He’s been inside these locker rooms, he knows what guys are like with one another, and he knows the impact it has on closeted gay athletes.
Second, he’s a great speaker, sharing an important message and doing it in a non-threatening, non-accusatory way.
Canadian dream: India origin ice-hockey star takes his Baba, Bibi to rink for NHL debut
Canada-based Arshdeep Bains, who has now played three matches with the Vancouver Canucks, has become the fourth Indian-origin player to lay in the National Hockey League
Nitin Sharma, The Indian Express, Feb. 28, 2024
On Saturday, as Arshdeep Bains strapped up to make his home debut for the Vancouvers Canucks against the Boston Bruins at the Rogers Arena, he pasted stickers of ‘Bibi’ and ‘Baba’ on his hockey sticks paying respect to his grandmother Guran Kaur Bains and late grandfather Kewal Singh Bains.
His father, Kuldip Bains, still remembers the time when he would take his three sons, including his youngest, Arshdeep, to the Canada Hockey Place by the Skytrain from Surrey to Vancouver to watch the Canadian Ice Hockey team’s winning campaign in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now, Kuldip and his family are harbouring Olympic dreams for one of their own.
“Arshdeep made a visit to our home to meet his grandmother and show her his team jersey before Saturday’s game. Earlier, when he made a lap of the rink before his debut at Colorado as per the rookie tradition, I recorded the moments and showed it to the family later. We all cried that night and we hope to see him in the Canadian jersey in the Winter Olympics one day,” Kuldip tells The Indian Express from Surrey.
Earlier that week, the 23-year-old left-winger made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut, becoming the fourth Indian-origin player after Robin Bawa, Manny Malhotra and Jujhar Khaira to do so. He recorded more than 12 minutes in each of the three games he has played so far.
Rheaume thrilled to see more opportunities for girls across youth hockey
Only woman to play NHL game honored at Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament
Shawn P. Roarke, NHL.com, Feb. 28, 2024
Nobody is more qualified than Manon Rheaume to explain the importance of having a girls division at the prestigious Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament.
Rheaume, the only woman to play an NHL game and one of Canada’s most decorated women’s hockey players, was the first girl to play in this tournament, the goalie for her Quebec-based boys team in 1981.
She was the first woman to coach an all-girls team in the boys division here, and she was the first to coach in a Quebec final between two all-girls team in the boys division.
She returned to the tournament as a VIP during its first weekend this time around and dropped the puck for the featured girls game on Feb. 11. There, she saw the impact of her groundbreaking appearance from 40 years earlier.
Ian Mendes, The Athletic, Feb. 28, 2024
Lawyers representing five members of Team Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who are facing sexual assault charges issued a statement Wednesday confirming their clients have elected to have a trial by jury.
“Earlier this week, all five players selected a trial by jury and they are confident that jurors drawn from the community will decide this case fairly and impartially after hearing all the evidence and testimony,” read a joint statement from the lawyers.
Earlier this month, London Police confirmed they had issued two counts of sexual assault for Michael McLeod, and one each for Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart, stemming from an alleged June 2018 incident inside a room at the Delta London Armouries Hotel. The incident followed a Hockey Canada gala at which the team had been celebrated for its gold medal win.
PWHL superfan Debbie Harrison ‘living the dream’ while soaking up league’s inaugural season
64-year-old a fixture at Toronto’s games; has witnessed progress of women’s game
Karissa Donkin, CBC Sports, Feb. 27, 2024
It takes Debbie Harrison more than two hours to make her way from her home in Lindsay, Ont., to downtown Toronto.
It starts with an hour-long drive, followed by a 45-minute GO Train trip, and finally, Harrison’s favourite part of the journey, a 40-minute walk through Toronto.
When she arrives at the historic old Maple Leaf Gardens (now called the Mattamy Athletic Centre), she finds her seat right in front of the glass, where she’s been close enough to see the smiles on the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Toronto players’ faces all season long.
Once she’s in the arena, Harrison is hard to miss.
When her jersey didn’t arrive in time for puck drop on the first PWHL game on Jan. 1, she got creative. She’s made a different outfit for every home game this season, including a crayon the shade of PWHL purple, a homemade Toronto jersey with buttons for all 26 players on Toronto’s roster, and the one that garnered the most reaction inside the rink: a PWHL referee costume, complete with accurate logos on her stripes.
20 years since NHL’s record-setting brawl, fighting is down across the league but not going anywhere
Twenty years since the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators broke the NHL record for penalty minutes with their brawl-filled game, fighting has evolved in hockey to the point of being rare but not gone.
Stephen Whyno, Associated Press, Feb. 27, 2024
Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno took a hit, delivered one of his own to Chicago’s Jarred Tinordi, and the two big guys dropped the gloves. Outdoors in front of 82,000 people in the Meadowlands, it took even less for Matt Rempe and Matt Martin to spice up the Rangers-Islanders showdown with a fight.
When Morgan Rielly cross-checked Ridly Greig for firing a slap shot into an empty net? Some pushing and shoving. Nothing more.
“How there wasn’t a brawl there, I don’t know how everyone didn’t start fighting,” wondered Todd Simpson, a 50-year-old retired player who piled up more than 1,300 penalty minutes in 580 NHL games. “That should’ve been a big fight.”
Season 3 / Episode 9 – Alex Kim
The Minority League podcast, Feb. 27, 2024
On this episode, Alex Kim – Anaheim Junior Ducks’ Director of Player Personnel and Head Coach – joins us. He also works as a scout for the United States Hockey League and is a founder of the Optimum Hockey Academy. He’s working to grow the game for the Asian community through coaching, scouting and running a hockey Academy. He’s even coached some current NHL players that you may recognize.
Ted Nolan to appear at March 14 game vs Eagles
Nolan wants to help raise awareness during Multiple Myeloma Month
CHL, Feb. 27, 2024
Former Wildcats coach Ted Nolan is returning to Moncton for the team’s game against the Cape Breton Eagles on March 14.
Nolan coached the Moncton Wildcats in the 2005-2006 season when the team won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s (QMJHL’s) President Cup and went to the Memorial Cup. Under his direction, they won 52 of 70 regular season games.
“I’m excited to return to Moncton and see the team’s new state-of-the-art facilities in the Avenir Centre,” said Nolan. “I also want to share important information and raise awareness during Multiple Myeloma Month.”
Case of unopened 1979 hockey cards from Sask. sells for over $5M at auction
A Canadian bidder won the case, which could possibly contain Wayne Gretzky rookie cards
Liam O’Connor, CBC News, Feb. 25, 2024
A Saskatchewan family just turned a case of hockey cards into millions of dollars.
Around 1:00 a.m. EST on Sunday, bidding came to a close for a highly touted case filled with thousands of unopened 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee brand hockey cards that a Saskatchewan family found in their attic.
Jason Simonds, the sport card specialist for the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions that sold the cards, says the family was “over the moon” about the sale. The family has chosen to remain anonymous.
“I was texting with them last night. We stayed up until about one in the morning when the bidding ended,” said Simonds over a video call on Sunday.
“The family is ecstatic, this is life-changing money.”
International Hockey Returning to Alberta
Province of Alberta invests $11 million to support men’s, women’s and para hockey events
HockeyCanada.ca, Feb. 24, 2024
Hockey Canada has announced that four marquee international hockey tournaments will be played in the Province of Alberta through 2027, in addition to Rivalry Series games featuring Canada’s National Women’s Team and camps involving Canada’s national men’s, women’s and para hockey programs.
The announcement was made before tonight’s Battle of Alberta between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers and included a commitment of $11 million from the Province of Alberta to host events in communities throughout the province.
“Alberta’s government is thrilled to be hosting these major sporting events,” said The Hon. Joseph Schow, minister of tourism and sport of Alberta. “These events will create excitement around the game of hockey while driving visitors to the province, increasing tourism and bolstering local businesses. These tournaments and events will be an inspiration to young Albertans as they get a chance to learn from and watch the world’s best hockey players.”
The first two tournaments will take place in 2024: the World Para Hockey Championship at WinSport Arena in Calgary from May 4-12 and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup at Rogers Place in Edmonton from Aug. 5-10.
Toronto Six Honor The Past And Celebrate The Future At Ring Ceremony
The Toronto Six paid homage to past leagues including the COWHL, CWHL, and NWHL, while celebrating the PWHL, and handing out Isobel Cup championship rings to last year’s PHF champions.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Feb. 23, 2024
At the Weston Golf and Country Club, a room filled with women’s hockey legends past and present gathered together to not only honor the PHF’s Toronto Six as Isobel Cup champions, but also to recognize all of the contributors who pioneered the game and kept the hope for a single, unified league alive.
While the primary purpose of the night was to hand out championships rings to the Toronto Six, the message of the evening transcended that purpose.
Mixed in with PHF players including Saroya Tinker and Lindsay Eastwood who have moved on to new jobs in hockey, were former members of the Toronto Six who not only won the final Isobel Cup title in PHF history last spring in Arizona, but are also now key members of the new PWHL …
… Throughout the evening, the Toronto Six honored members of the COWHL, NHWL, CWHL, PHF, Hockey Canada, and the new PWHL. Players including Danielle Goyette, Geraldine Heaney, Angela James, Sami Jo Small, Lisa-Marie Breton, Sommer West, Gina Kingsbury, and Stephanie Boyd, and builders like Fran Rider, Brenda Andress, Maian Jacko, and Bernice Carnegie were all on hand to celebrate the decades of work done to get to where the PWHL is today.
Little NHL officials drop puck at Sudbury game as Indigenous event marks 50 years
Angela Gemmill, CTV, Feb. 23, 2024
A long-running hockey tournament that started in Northern Ontario will celebrate a major milestone next month.
Before Thursday’s NOJHL game between the Sudbury Cubs and the Blind River Beavers, officials from the Little Native Hockey League tournament were invited to drop the puck.
James ‘Jim’ McGregor of Whitefish River First Nation is the only remaining co-founder of the tourney, which started in Little Current on Manitoulin Island.
This year, the Little NHL marks 50 years of bringing together Indigenous hockey teams from across Ontario.
How PWHL’s ‘Nursey Night’ is helping make hockey more inclusive for all
Sportsnet, Feb. 23, 2024
In this edition of Going Deep, Donnovan Bennett sits down with PWHL Toronto superstar and Olympic Champion Sarah Nurse to discuss the importance and significance of the PWHL’s first-ever ‘Nursey Night’ in support of Black Girls Hockey Club.
Professional Women’s Hockey League Pregame Primer – New York at Toronto
Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) News Release, Feb. 23, 2024
TORONTO, ON – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues this week with a Friday night game between Toronto and New York, at 7:00 p.m. ET at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Tonight’s game will be a Black History Month celebration …
… Tonight will be a celebration of Black History Month at Mattamy Athletic Centre with a number of different activations throughout the game …
… PWHL Toronto will also welcome members of the 2023 Isobel Cup champion Toronto Six to tonight’s game – a team that notably included BIPOC ownership in Bernice Carnegie, Angela James, Bryant McBride, and Ted Nolan. Saroya Tinker, the PWHL’s Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives & Community Engagement was a T6 defender.