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.
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WEEKLY RECAP: Friday, March 15, 2024
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Who Is The Best Women’s Hockey Player From Every Country? We Try To Answer
The Hockey News counts down the best player from the IIHF’s top 20 women’s hockey nations as the 2024 IIHF World Championships approach.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, March 15, 2024
Women’s hockey is rapidly becoming a more global game. Originally a world dominated by only Canada and USA, Finland, Czechia, and Sweden have climbed into the conversation, which Switzerland fighting to gain ground as well.
But outside of these teams, women’s hockey across the globe is booming with stars at all levels. Here’s a look at the top player, or sometimes players, from each of the IIHF’s top 20 ranked nations. Russia, who was frozen in the IIHF’s rankings at sixth, is not included in this list.
Hockey Heroes scores 20 years of support for at-risk youth in North Van
Run by Hollyburn Community Services Society, the intiative provides gear and a supportive community in exchange for attending class
Nick Laba, The North Shore News, March 15, 2024
For some kids, their hockey hero is Sydney Crosby. For others, it’s Connor Bedard.
But for a group of North Vancouver youth, their beacon of hope on the ice isn’t a person at all. It’s a program.
Over the past 20 years, Hollyburn Hockey Heroes has been giving at-risk youth a shot at playing the great Canadian game in a supportive environment where the usual high-cost barriers have been removed.
After signing up for the program, teens aged 14 to 19 play hockey once a week through the school year, while committing to attending class. On the ice, the youth players are joined by mentors including school teachers, administrative staff, police, firefighters and social workers.
Former junior hockey player who joined lawsuit claims CHL treats teens as ‘disposable’
Ian Mendes, The Athletic, March 15, 2024
Isaiah DiLaura is not a household name in the hockey world by any stretch of the imagination.
The goaltender played in only 54 games across three seasons in the Western Hockey League with Prince George, Portland and Swift Current. His career wrapped up with a three-game stint with the Maryland Black Bears of the North American Hockey League during the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 season.
But DiLaura is one of two former junior hockey players named as plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit seeking to win increased rights and compensation for players in the Canadian Hockey League.
And for the 23-year-old, the decision to publicly attach his name to the lawsuit is not about trying to gain attention for himself. Instead, DiLaura and his family want to help shed light on what they believe is an unfair system that exploits teenaged hockey players in North America.
Madison Gay Hockey Association displays pride on ice
Clara Lefton, The Cap Times, March 14, 2024
Growing up, Avery Cordingley (they/them) loved playing hockey. But many times the sport was also a space where they felt “othered.”
As a transmasculine and non-binary individual, Cordingley realized early on in their playing career that “I always had to hide parts of myself in order to find any measure of acceptance on the team…For a lot of queer and trans players, hockey is not a very welcoming sport.”
As an adult, Cordingley is now far from closeted, and has made a home for players like them on the ice as president of a queer-inclusive hockey league. The Madison Gay Hockey Association (MGHA) provides a space different from all of the other local leagues as it focuses on fostering community for LGBTQ+ individuals. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization strives to provide recreational hockey for adults ranging from beginners to seasoned competitors.
“What makes MGHA special is just that everyone gets it and I don’t have to explain myself when I go in the locker room,” Cordingley said. “Because most people are queer you better be cool or you’re probably not going to have a good time. So, I feel safe in locker rooms. I don’t feel like I have to hide my body or my pronouns or anything like that.”
Permanent Lettuce: A Pageant of Hockey Hair
At Minnesota’s state hockey tournament, outrageously coifed high school stars competed for the best “salad” and “flow.” And then the games began.
Scott Cacciola, The New York Times, March 14, 2024
Making the state tournament is a big deal for boys who play high school hockey in Minnesota, where the best of the best face off — with championships on the line — at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
And while the tournament is a four-day smorgasbord of slap shots, glove saves and power plays, it has evolved into a full-blown spectacle — as the global hub for “hockey hair.”
“As soon as our players make the state tournament, it’s like, ‘Guys, come on, we’ve got to play hockey now,’” Ryan Neuman, the coach at New Ulm High School, said in an interview. “And they’re busy making hair appointments to get perms.”
Hockey hair has ranked among the sport’s more curious traditions for decades, stretching back to the days when N.H.L. greats like Guy Lafleur, Marty McSorley and Al Iafrate (for whom being bald up top was no great deterrent) took the ice with epic mullets.
With its tight sides and elongated caboose, the mullet is conducive to the hockey-specific concept of “flow,” a heightened state of being that is achieved whenever a player’s long hair pours out from under his helmet and billows behind him as he zips up and down the ice.
Sled hockey offers opportunity to players with physical disabilities
Ruby Rothman, Madison Commons, March 14, 2024
Twelve players artfully glide across the freshly smoothed ice as the orange Little Caesar’s Zamboni exits the rink. Bashing into the boards, carving with each turn, just like any ice hockey game — except this is sled hockey.
Joe Fitzgibbon, a pillar in the sled hockey community, has been playing the sport for almost 20 years.
“It’s a hockey thing, that if the bug bites you, it sticks with you,” Fitzgibbon said.
Sled hockey players practice at Madison Ice Arena. Video by Ruby Rothman
Sled hockey is ice hockey adapted to fit the needs of people with physical disabilities. The sport is played with players seated in a bucket seat that lies on top of double adjustable blades. The players then use two sticks that are outfitted with picks on one side to propel themselves forward and blades on the other to maneuver the puck.
One of Madison’s sled hockey team players off the ice. Photo by Ruby Rothman.
Madison has always been a hockey town, but it is also home to the state’s first sled hockey teams: a youth team, the Skeeters, and an adult team,the Sting, both started in the early 2000s at Madison Ice Arena on the city’s west side. The arena houses not only sled hockey for both youth and adults, but also youth and adult special hockey and a program called adaptive learn-to-skate.
They Care: Jaden Lindo inspires kids through Pens’ hockey programs
‘You realize how many things need to fall into place to get just the right opportunity to reach significant heights within the game,’ he says.
Abby Mackey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 14, 2024
Above the Highmark Hunt Armory’s central entrance is a stone panel. “Pennsylvania National Guard,” it reads, denoting its use by the 28th Infantry Division beginning in 1916.
Near the ceiling on one end of its airplane hangar-like drill hall is a half-moon-shaped spray of windows once rattled by the voice of President Harry Truman in 1948 and the crash of John Bonham’s cymbals during a 1969 Led Zeppelin concert.
The Pittsburgh Penguins leased the space three years ago to create the City of Pittsburgh’s first indoor community ice rink suitable for hockey in 20 years. Iterations of the team’s logo can be found along the boards and elsewhere, along with those of financial contributors and the Willie O’Ree Academy, a training and enrichment program housed at the Armory for local Black youth hockey players and their families.
Women’s hockey honouring its past helps it move clearly to the future
Ceremony for Toronto Six championship team fitting tribute for leagues that came before PWHL
Shireen Ahmed, CBC Sports, March 13, 2024
There are a few moments in my life that have struck me as incredibly poignant and historic in the world of sports.
On Feb. 16 I attended the PWHL’s Battle on Bay Street and sat in the press box as more than 19,000 people filled Scotiabank Arena. I watched as Toronto delighted an arena full of fans as it emerged victorious in a game with so much enthusiasm and flair that it was hard not to feel emotional. The music, the violet lights and atmosphere made me tear up.
I recall the thousands of little girls wearing their own hockey jerseys as a nod to the possibilities and power of the women’s game, and their identity.
NHL-sized hockey rink to open at Black Rock Mountain Resort in December 2024
Grace Doerfler, KPCW, March 13, 2024
A new NHL-sized hockey arena is under construction in the northern corner of Wasatch County. It’s scheduled to open before the end of the year.
The ice rink is adjacent to the Black Rock Mountain Resort, a hotel along state Route 248 just north of Hideout, about 6 miles from Park City.
It’s the future home of the Utah Outliers, an elite U-20 junior hockey team.
Kevin McCloskey, head of hockey operations for the Outliers, said he hopes the arena will become a destination for locals and tourists alike.
“We would anticipate hockey would be one of those things they could add to their list of things to do in Park City,” he said.
The arena will house an NHL-standard ice rink, locker rooms and other team facilities, a stage and a large fitness center.
Lawmakers ice lobbyists in sixth consecutive hockey challenge win
Clayton Vickers, The Hill, March 13, 2024
Lawmakers took home their sixth consecutive win in the Congressional Hockey Challenge on Tuesday, riding a second-period scoring surge to shut down any hope of a lobbyist comeback.
“There’s no such thing as a Republican or Democrat when you get on the ice,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a video released to X, formerly known as Twitter, before the event.
“No such thing, there are only winners and losers baby,” he said with a laugh.
Emmer, who was the only lawmaker to play last year, was joined by his colleague across the aisle, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), along with congressional staff and administrators to claim a 4-2 win at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Other lawmakers, such as Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) and Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), didn’t participate in the game, but they later joined their colleagues on the ice to celebrate.
Atlanta group formally requests NHL expansion franchise
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN, March 12, 2024
The Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, fronted by former NHL player Anson Carter, has formally requested that the NHL commence with an expansion process aimed at bringing a franchise to the greater Atlanta area for a third time.
Atlanta was previously home to the Flames (1972-1980), who relocated to Calgary, and the Thrashers (1999-2011), who moved to Winnipeg.
The announcement, published on Tuesday by Sportsnet, states that the group is seeking an NHL team for a new arena designed by architect Frank Gehry that will be part of a larger development at the North Point Mall site in Alpharetta, located around 30 minutes from where the Thrashers used to play.
“I have no doubt that the best league in the world will thrive in its return to Metro Atlanta,” said Carter, currently an analyst for TNT broadcast, in a statement. “I have been in dialogue with NHL commissioner [Gary] Bettman since 2019 about an expansion team returning to the Fulton County Metro Atlanta market, knowing that franchise decisions are exclusively decided by the NHL Board of Governors.”
Vegas Jr. Golden Knights 14U Team becomes first girls team to represent Nevada
Vince Sapienza, KVVU TV, March 12, 2024
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Golden Knights have made it a habit over their first seven years of re-writing history, and the trickle-down effect has produced youth hockey teams creating their own history for the state.
After a perfect 16-0 regular season in the Pacific Girls Hockey League, the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights girls 14U AA team punched their ticket to the USA National Tournament, becoming the first female hockey program to represent the state of Nevada.
“I’m so proud of them.” said Head Coach, Gordie Mark. “I believe it only sets them up for success going down the road too; playing under pressure, being the first to do something, representing their state, their city, their families, and themselves. It’s only going to set them up for success in the future.”
Hunter Crowther, Daily Faceoff, March 12, 2024
The Vancouver Canucks announced the extensions of assistant general managers Cammi Granato and Emilie Castonguay, as well as the promotion and extension to assistant general manager of Ryan Johnson.
Granato joined the Canucks after serving as the first female scout in NHL history for the Seattle Kraken. Granato is the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. women’s team with 343 points (186 goals and 157 assists). She was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010, joining Canada’s Angela James as the first two women elected into the Hall of Fame.
Former Coach Ted Nolan visits the Den Thursday night
Brad Smith, CHL.ca., March 12, 2024
Former Wildcats coach Ted Nolan is returning to Moncton for Thursday’s game against the Cape Breton Eagles. Nolan coached the Moncton Wildcats in the 2005-2006 season when the team won the President Cup and hosted 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.”
A year ago, Nolan was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He received treatment and is recovering.
“In hockey, I faced many battles on the ice,” said Nolan. “This is one battle I’m hoping others can avoid. Research is critical to help cure and prevent myeloma. If you’re able, please take part in fundraising and awareness events.”
Color of Hockey: Thimm face, force for diversity in Germany
Retired forward aiding development of female coaches, helping combat racism, sexism in sport
William Douglas, NHL.com, March 11, 2024
Miriam Thimm knew hockey was for her from the moment an uncle took her skating at a rink in Dorsten, Germany, when she was 7 years old.
“Figure skating is not really me,” Thimm said. “And I saw a couple of guys in my neighborhood playing hockey. So I started playing hockey. The first time I had a hockey stick in my hand, I totally knew it was for me.”
Thimm became one of the first Black women to play and advance in hockey in Germany. The 44-year-old retired forward played in the German Women’s Ice Hockey League — or DFEL — and for the women’s national team. She has coached men’s and women’s hockey in Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Bergkamen since 2013.
Thimm has become a face and a force for diversity in German hockey and beyond.
She is a member of the Ombudsperson, an independent arbitration panel that examines cases of racism and sexism in the German Ice Hockey League, the country’s highest professional men’s league, and in DEL 2.
Heartwarming friendship forms on the ice between young man and Minnesota seniors hockey group
Boyd Huppert, KARE-TV, March 10, 2024
A friendship formed on the ice between Minnesota seniors hockey group the “Mud Ducks” and a young man with a developmental disability who was looking to find his place after high school.
Brock McGillis, the ex-goalie who came out as gay in 2016, got more than 100 minor hockey teams across Canada to talk openly and honestly over 100 days.
Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star, March 10, 2024
So Brock McGillis is holding out his hand, waiting. He’s just outside Ottawa, visiting one of 100 minor hockey teams in 100 days, and on this stop the parents of five or six boys called and said they didn’t want their sons to attend. And the hockey club — the Canadian International Hockey Academy in Rockland, with players from all over the world — said: sorry, all the kids are going.
As it happened, the boys in question were Russian or Ukrainian, and McGillis is rather famously gay. He had worked his way from west to east, visiting each NHL market and branching out from each city. In Rockland, McGillis asked the captain to come up front, and it turned out one of the Russian boys was the captain. And the kid wasn’t ready to shake hands.
McGillis held his hand out and looked the kid in the eye. Not threateningly, just honestly. A few seconds passed. The kid shook his hand. A few minutes later, McGillis told a story he’s told a thousand times, and one of the Russian kids in the crowd laughed.
‘A gathering of our nations’: Little NHL celebrates 50 years
The March break tradition has grown from humble beginnings into the largest hockey tournament for First Nations youth in Ontario
James Hopkin, ElliottLakeToday.com, March 10, 2024
Larry Cachagee fondly recalls how proud he and his young teammates were to lace up the skates for the Garden River Braves during the first few years of the Little NHL Tournament.
Cachagee was just 11 years old when he took part in the very first tournament, which was held in 1971 with just 17 teams and 200 players taking part. Now on the cusp of celebrating its 50th anniversary, the annual March break tradition has since become the largest hockey tournament for First Nations youth in Ontario.
“That’s one thing I looked forward to every March break, because I knew that tournament was coming up,” said Cachagee. “It was a good hockey tournament with good hockey, and representing Garden River was an honour, you know?”
This year, 245 teams have registered for Little NHL (LNHL) — an all-time record for the event — with more than 4,000 Indigenous youth hitting the ice across 10 different rinks in Markham, Ont. from March 11 to 14. More than 500 games will be played within that span. The tournament will also see a record number of female hockey players, with 38 all-female squads taking part.
Girls Finding Their Why Through Grindstone’s Women’s Hockey Foundation
Lindsey Horsting, Vancouver Canucks, March 09, 2024
When Cadence Windsor started playing hockey just over a year ago, she didn’t expect it would change her perspective on life.
Before taking up the sport, Cadence didn’t know how to skate. She and her mother, Lisa, laugh thinking back to when she attended a Come Try Hockey skate, and she was the oldest skater by nearly a decade, but she had the courage to get her feet wet and learn something new.
“I was so nervous because the six-year-olds were so fast!” Cadence said.
Fast forward just over a year later and she’s working on backwards crossovers and her shot, playing for a Tri City Female Predators U18 C2 House Team.
In the spirit of lifting each other up on International Women’s Day Cadence and Lisa wanted to share their story in hopes of helping others.
No shortage of inspiration’: Moms and mettle make up International Women’s Day for PWHL Ottawans.
Devon Tredinnick, WomensHockeyLife.com, March 8, 2024
For International Women’s Day, there’s plenty of successful women to celebrate, especially within the PWHL Ottawa roster. Captain of the team, Brianne Jenner, spoke about how she feels to be alongside so many talented competitors.
“Got some pretty amazing women on this team,” she said. “There’s no shortage of inspiration for me when I’m with them.”
Jenner also mentioned how instrumental her mother was, on a more personal note. “I owe so much to her,” she said.
“What she gives me is that inner confidence to tackle any adversity that comes my way. She’s always solutions-focused.”
But it’s only until Jenner starts talking about her kids when she can’t help but crack a smile.
“That’s definitely the biggest part of my life. That’s what brings me the most joy.”
PWHL Superstar Natalie Spooner On What Brings Her The Most Joy | The Joy Of Sport
SportsNet, March 8, 2024
PWHL Toronto superstar Natalie Spooner visits her parents home to reconnect with her hockey roots and discuss what The Joy Of Sport means to her.
Ryan Matthey, KLAS, March 8, 2024
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Getting knocked down and bouncing back up is an art even more difficult to grasp while on solid ice.
Nathan Emens said his nine and eleven-year-olds learned that art without breaking the bank.
“Youth hockey is their life,” Emens said along a Central Valley street, speaking about his kids’ passion. “(We paid) significantly less than what we saw elsewhere, like a tenth maybe.”
They play for the Las Vegas Ice Warriors, an independent youth ice hockey nonprofit program Gina Usufzy established in 2017. She said the idea sparked after her first-born child began playing on the ice in 2012.
“There was a hockey community here, but it was very, you know, very small. You wouldn’t have known about it,” Usufzy said, sitting at a patio table outside 8 News Now’s station. “I remember talking to a parent one day, and they were like, ‘there’s just no way we can afford that gear.’ They weren’t going to spend six, seven hundred dollars on brand new gear for their kid to try hockey, to figure out a week later that the kid doesn’t even want it and you can’t return it because you kid already sweated in it.”
Paving the Path to Equity and Inclusion
Ameeta Vohra, IIHF.com, March 7, 2024
Women’s hockey has come far.
Over the years, there’s been traction. There’s been growth to the point there are more role models from diverse groups which motivate and inspire girls all over the world.
There’s also leadership that inspires positive change. Change not just within the sport, but also the communities they live in and globally.
What has emerged are a group of women who have made history and continue the push, while inspiring others. Here are five women who lead the charge for change in making hockey for diverse, equitable and diverse for everyone.
Huge Indigenous hockey tournament combines celebration of the game and culture
Thousands will participate in Little Native Hockey League event in Markham, Ont.
Shireen Ahmed, CBC Sports, March 8, 2024
What might seem like a normal March break week for many, will for some be an immersion in one of the largest hockey tournaments in the country.
From March 10-14, an estimated 10,000 hockey players and families from around Ontario will descend on Markham, located northeast of Toronto, as the Little Native Hockey League is celebrating and hosting its 50th edition of its tournament.
This event showcases the talent of Indigenous youth, and celebrates the connection of sport, history and identity. It is rooted in Indigenous practices, amplifies important beliefs and celebrates hockey with inclusiveness and generosity.
This year’s theme is “Honouring the Water” and seeks to teach participants and the wider community about the water crisis in different Indigenous regions in Turtle Island. Turtle Island is how the lands now known as North America are referred to by Indigenous people according to their origin stories. A documentary film, Boil Alert, about the water crisis will be screened twice on Sunday as well.
Upper Deck announces exclusive license with PWHL
Free e-Card set released for International Women’s Day
Anna Kulesa, NHL.com, March 7, 2024
An Upper Deck and PWHL partnership was in the cards for International Women’s Day.
On Thursday, Upper Deck announced their exclusive license of trading cards for the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
In celebration of the deal and International Women’s Day, the trading card company is releasing a free e-Pack collection named “Inspirational Icons.”
The digital cards collection features eight women’s hockey greats from the U.S. and Canada including Hillary Knight (PWHL Boston), Sarah Nurse (PWHL Toronto), Kendall Coyne Shofield (PWHL Minnesota), Marie-Philip Poulin (PWHL Montreal), Emily Clark (PWHL Ottawa), Savannah Harmon (PWHL Ottawa), Abby Roque (PWHL New York) and Natalie Spooner (PWHL Toronto).
The collection will be available to download until March 26th.
Good Question: How popular have women’s sports become?
Jeff Wagner, CBS News, March 5, 2024
It’s safe to say women’s sports are having a moment right now thanks to a record-breaking college athlete. Iowa University’s Caitlin Clark returns to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Basketball tournament this week.
How popular has women’s sports become? And what will help it keep growing? Good Question.
The fanfare surrounding the grand opening of “A Bar of Their Own,” a sports bar showing exclusively women’s sports in Minneapolis, is an in-your-face example of a shift happening across the greater sports world.
“I think it just speaks to how women’s sports and women’s basketball has grown so much in the last several years,” said one customer.
Digging into the data to prove what our eyes are seeing is the mission for The Collective at sports marketing agency Wasserman.
“It’s our dedicated women’s practice that seeks to elevate women in every way and advance their power,” said Thayer Lavielle, the executive vice president of The Collective.
Derrenbacher’s Path From Raleigh To A Gold Medal
“It was very surreal that our little girl from North Carolina was going to be representing our country.”
Walt Ruff, Hurricanes.com, March 4, 2024
When Mary Derrenbacher first put on a pair of ice skates, girls hockey in Raleigh wasn’t a thing yet.
Fast forward 10 years and she’s already a gold medalist.
There’s both “blame” and credit for that happening, and above all, an exceptionally talented 15-year-old hockey player with a very bright future.
“It’s all her brother Jack’s fault,” Mary’s father, Chris, said with a laugh when asked how a young girl born in 2008 wanted to get involved in ice hockey in the first place. “When he got into it, she got into it. It was one of those things that whatever he did, she did.”
Three years apart in age, Mary agreed that her sibling had initially inspired her love for the sport, even though it meant she had to play with the boys growing up.