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, November 17, 2023
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Luke Prokop on NHL’s Pride missteps and preparing to make hockey history
Joe Smith, The Athletic, Nov. 17, 2023
The day Luke Prokop shook the hockey world by coming out, he needed to get away.
And stop looking at his constantly buzzing phone.
It was July 21, 2021, and the right-shot defenseman had just become the first openly gay hockey player under an NHL contract. The Nashville Predators’ No. 73 pick in the 2020 draft was just 19 years old and hadn’t even turned pro yet. He didn’t know how it would impact his future. His nerves were fried.
Alberta parents raised concerns about Madison Biluk in letter before she returned to coach in Manitoba
Alana Cole, CBC New, Nov. 17, 2023
Two teenage hockey players say they saw manipulation, along with abusive and inappropriate behaviour, during a season with Madison Biluk as their head coach on an under-18 team in Alberta.
Biluk, who has coached in both Alberta and Manitoba, has been charged with 15 offences, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and luring, Winnipeg police said last week.
They say the charges stem from a sexually exploitative relationship that occurred between 2019 and 2021 in Manitoba between Biluk, now 28 years old, and a teenage player.
The investigation started last month, police said, after a social media post detailed allegations of abuse.
Now, two players are detailing what they experienced during the 2021-22 season with the U18 AA Rocky Mountain Raiders, based in Okotoks, Alta., when Biluk was the team’s head coach.
What NHL stars want the next World Cup of Hockey to look like
Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, Nov. 17, 2023
Nikolaj Ehlers remembers his eyes welling up with pride as he walked into a cramped dressing room in the Jordal Amfi Arena in Oslo.
It was August 2021 and the Winnipeg Jets forward had every right to be relaxing after his fifth-straight 20-goal NHL season. But Ehlers chose to represent Denmark in the final round of qualification for the 2022 Winter Olympics. It was a tournament Ehlers and his fellow NHL players wouldn’t even play in. But surrounded by teammates, that was the furthest thing from Ehlers’ mind after Denmark beat a higher-ranked Norway team to qualify for the Olympics.
“We had guys crying,” Ehlers said. “That’s what I want to feel again.”
Ehlers believes representing your country is supposed to elicit those emotions.
Puck drops on official countdown to Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada in Victoria
Independent Sports News, Nov. 16, 20232
All eyes on Greater Victoria as region celebrates four days of hockey Jan. 17-20
A ceremonial puck drop at the November 17 Victoria Royals game will mark the start of the official countdown to Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada in Victoria’s Inner Harbour January 17-20, 2024.
Hosted by Ron MacLean and featuring Sportsnet’s all-star roster of NHL® hosts, analysts and reporters, Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada will bring a line-up of hockey icons and family-friendly events to Ship Point in January.
Scotiabank Hockey Day festivities will begin on Wednesday, January 17 and will feature community hockey events for all ages in Greater Victoria leading up to the main event on Saturday, January 20, Canada’s biggest single-day hockey celebration featuring all seven Canadian NHL teams in action.
PWHL Will Use NHL Rules and AHL Officials
Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s vice president of hockey operations explains that the league will use NHL rules, to be upheld by AHL officials.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Nov. 16, 2023
When puck drops on the inaugural PWHL season, the league intends to use a rule book extremely similar to the NHL’s.
That’s according to PWHL vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford, who said the PWHL will use NHL rules with a “few small adaptations.”
Hefford also spoke of the league’s goal to have consistent officiating, particularly when it came to calling the difference between body checking and body contact.
Tributes pile in for Cree player, coach and hockey champion Charly Washipabano
Washipabano had an easy laugh, a quick handshake and hockey in his blood
Susan Bell, Cheryl Wapachee, CBC News, Nov. 16, 2023
Hockey sticks are being left outside, flags are at half mast and a tribute flashed Tuesday on the jumbo screen at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The tributes are pouring in this week for Charly Washipabano, an iconic figure in the Cree Nation hockey world.
Washipabano died Sunday after a health emergency driving home from a hockey tournament in the Montreal area, his family says. He was 41. His death has left a profound sense of sadness, loss and solidarity across Cree communities in northern Quebec.
“I did not realize how many lives he affected in a positive way,” said Mark Wadden, Washipabano’s cousin and deputy chief of Washipabano’s hometown Chisasibi, Que.
“There’s a lot of well wishes and condolences pouring in from the whole Cree Nation. We had a candlelight vigil [Tuesday] at the arena. I couldn’t find parking.”
Across Cree communities, people are leaving hockey sticks outside their front doors, youth are gathering outside arenas, raising hockey sticks in the air and the Cree Nation Government has asked that flags across the nation be at half mast until Washipabano’s funeral. There aren’t yet details on when that will be.
Brett Peterson named USA Hockey GM for 2024 worlds
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN, Nov. 16, 2023
Florida Panthers assistant general manager Brett Peterson is the new general manager for the 2024 United States men’s national team, becoming the first Black executive to hold that position.
Peterson, 42, will lead the effort to build the Team USA roster for the 2024 IIHF men’s world championship, which is scheduled for May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia.
“He has done a terrific job in helping build the Florida Panthers, and his extensive knowledge of the overall player pool in our country will be really beneficial in putting together our team for the world championship,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, who led the selection process.
Tinker-ing With History: Looking At Saroya’s Lasting Impact
Saroya Tinker’s impact and legacy will last long beyond her time on the ice, as she has changed, and will continue to change hockey history in a meaningful way.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Nov. 15, 2023
Saroya Tinker’s impact on the game of hockey has always stretched outside the arena. Tinker, who retired this week at age 25, has become one of the most important voices in the sport, changing the course of hockey history for women and people of color.
Tinker, who won an Isobel Cup title last season as a member of the Toronto Six, and played in the PHF all-star game, has stepped away from playing, but not from the game, or from her efforts to change culture, break barriers, and open doors for others.
Hall of Famer used hockey to make a better life for himself to the point that even Swedes who don’t know hockey know the Salming name.
Kevin McGran, The Toronto Star, Nov. 15, 2023
Reminders of Börje Salming seem to be everywhere in the Swedish capital. A giant Leafs jersey with Salming’s No. 21 hangs over the main lobby of Stockholm’s Central Station. Posters of Salming — or, more accurately, an actor that plays Salming — are wrapped around poles throughout the multi-level train station.
Coming up on the one-year anniversary of the death of the Maple Leafs legend from ALS, his life story, “Börje — The Journey of a Legend,” is now being told. And the Leafs are in town to help tell it.
“Part of coming here was our connection to Börje,” Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said. “An old teammate of mine, Henrik Lundqvist, is getting much deserved recognition as King Henrik (inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this week). Before Henrik, Börje was the king. He was the original king..
Salming’s life is anything but glamour, beginning in the Arctic mining town of Kiruna where he was part of an oppressed minority, Laplanders. But he used hockey to make a better life for himself to the point that even Swedes who don’t know hockey know the Salming name.
Dr. Richard Norman Discusses New Role and the Direction of Curling
Curling.ca, Nov. 15, 2023
Note: Dr. Norman was the recipient of grants from The CI.
Recently, Curling Canada welcomed Dr. Richard Norman onto their team as Director of Community Futures and Innovations. If you’re unclear about what that title implies, that’s all right.
With a slight laugh, Richard will be the first to admit that it’s not the most self-explanatory of monikers. In simple terms, Richard’s goals are to look at all levels of curling and help create functional strategies to bring about constructive and impactful changes to curling at the community level, developing connections and generating action to bring curling forward towards its goals of inclusion.
Sport has long been a part of Richard’s life, playing varsity soccer and the like. When he got into tennis a little later in life and began playing tournaments at “old school” clubs that still enforced traditional rules, such as “tennis whites,” he began to think about sports traditions and the barriers they can create. This eventually led him to pursue a master’s degree in Strategic Foresight and Innovation, where he looked at the future of tennis in Canada.
He continued his research, critically looking at social issues in sports, completing his dissertation in 2020 focusing on the intersection of race, colonialism, and sport. In particular, he was concerned with the barriers they create for non-traditional people to participate.
No team names, venues or TV deal. But Sarah Nurse and the Professional Women’s Hockey League are asking for more time, with puck drop two months out.
Mark Colley, Toronto Star, Nov. 14, 2023
Sarah Nurse stands atop a black box, two or three feet above the ice in the empty CAA Centre in Brampton, wearing her newly-revealed blue jersey with “Toronto” stitched across the front.
She’s shooting a promotional video as one of Toronto’s star players in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, but her team has no name, no logo, no official home arena and no TV deal.
Before Tuesday, her team had no jersey.
It’s part of the mad dash to the starting line for the PWHL, which plans to drop the puck on its first season in January. With several important announcements yet to materialize — the league admitted Tuesday that team names and logos may not be ready for opening day — Nurse and the PWHL are urging fans to be patient.
Caroline Ouellette’s road to Hockey Hall of Fame wasn’t an easy one
It took her two years to convince her parents to let her play the sport and she was the only girl on her team from age 9-17 in Rosemont.
Stu Cowan, Montreal Gazette, Nov 14, 2023
Women’s hockey has come a long way from when Caroline Ouellette first started playing at age 9 in Rosemont.
Ouellette’s father, André, didn’t want his daughter to play the sport and it took her two years before she could convince her mother to let her play.
“My dad had never seen a girl play hockey,” Ouellette, 44, said Monday night during her acceptance speech in Toronto after becoming the 10th woman inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. “It was eventually my mom, Nicole, that brought me to the store — without my dad — to buy me my first pair of hockey skates.”
Report on 2018 Hockey Canada alleged sex assault not released amid appeal
Sean Boynton, Global News, Nov. 14, 2023
Hockey Canada says the final report from an independent adjudication panel that looked into an alleged 2018 sexual assault of a woman involving members of that year’s world junior team will not be released publicly amid an appeal.
The organization said in a statement Tuesday that the panel was provided a final third-party investigative report into the matter in November 2022 and held a hearing to determine if any of the accused players violated Hockey Canada’s code of conduct, and what sanctions may be imposed.
“That hearing is complete and the panel has provided its final adjudicative report to all involved parties. Shortly thereafter, a notice of appeal was filed, as is permitted under Hockey Canada’s Investigation and Adjudication Procedures,” Hockey Canada said.
As NHL seeks to play game in Mexico City, Stars are eager to be among first considered
The Stars have made efforts to grow a Hispanic fan base in Dallas. Playing in Mexico is the next step.
Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, Nov. 14, 2023
Former NHL goalie Al Montoya could always tell when his mother was calling to him from the stands during his games while growing up. She was the only one who’d yell in Spanish.
He entered the locker rooms with his youth and college teams and looked around to the backs of the jerseys but never saw names like his. Those names were nowhere to be found on NHL rosters, either.
When Montoya — the son of a Cuban refugee and the first native Spanish speaker in the NHL — was drafted sixth overall by the New York Rangers in 2004, he played a key role in bridging his hockey community with the Hispanic community. Fast forward nearly two decades, and Montoya, the director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars, is continuing that mission and playing a part in extending it across the nation’s southern border.
With the NHL continuing talks about playing a game in Mexico City, an opportunity presents itself for the league to further develop a Hispanic audience. The Stars, with the help of Montoya, plan to be at the forefront.
With rosters and staff in place, new women’s pro hockey league ready to open training camps
John Wawrow, Associated Press, Nov. 13, 2023
The title of general manager doesn’t completely capture the many tasks on Danielle Marmer’s to-do list in the two months since taking over the Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise in Boston.
“It’s funny you should mention that,” Marmer said with a laugh. “I just came from the carpentry shop where I was looking at what our locker stalls are going to be like, and making decisions on where we want the hooks to be, how many shelves — things I’m not an expert in.” …
… Though the teams have yet to be officially named and the schedule yet to be released, piece by piece the PWHL is coming together. Next up is Wednesday, when players report for the start of training camp in each market — Boston, New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa — and teams taking the ice for the first time the next day.
Japanese hockey players in Calgary to play exhibition series
Steve Hunt, CTV News, Calgary, Nov. 12, 2023
A group of Japanese youngsters got a very Calgary welcome Saturday.
Hockey Calgary members white-hatted the kids as they arrived at Max Bell Centre.
Team OHS from Japan will face off against Calgary’s U-13 Double-A and Division One teams in a series of exhibition games this week.
Hockey Calgary’s vision is that hockey is ‘everyone’s game’ – and events like these expose more players to the sport, making it even more global.
“It’s about meeting new people, developing their leadership and people skills. It’s an all-round exciting event for the young kids,” said Hockey Canada’s Kevin Kobelka.
Karissa Donkin, CBC Sports, Nov. 12, 2023.
When the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) begins play in January, Isabelle Aubé plans to be in the stands, cheering on the Ottawa team.
It’s been more than 15 years since Aubé played professional hockey in Ottawa, juggling a full-time job as a physiotherapist with weekend road trips that sometimes saw her playing four 60-minute games in two days.
In her first season, there wasn’t much money for ice. Aubé remembers driving an hour out of town to Spencerville late at night for the team’s weekly two-hour practice.
“We all played for the love of the game,” said Aubé, who played in two different leagues in Ottawa from 1998 until 2007.
Junior Gryphons create unique third jersey to honour veterans
Team will wear Remembrance Day uniforms in special game tonight against St. Catharines
GuelphToday, Nov. 11, 2023
The Guelph Junior Gryphons under-18 AA women’s hockey team has created a special third jersey to honour veterans.
The jersey, which features a Desert CadPat pattern, a poppy and features a veteran’s name, will be used at a special game Nov. 11.
The girls were visited Tuesday by hockey commentator Ron MacLean to present him with his jersey, honouring fallen Col. Geoff Parker, killed in Afghanistan and a former resident of Oakville, where MacLean lives.
The team chose this special project as a personal way to honour veterans and events that they have a family connection with.
The Bruins-Canadiens rivalry searches for another spark
Tim Rosenthal, Bruins Daily, Nov. 11, 2023
Over the last century, the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens provided the hockey world with historical moments.
Among the plethora of highlights from the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry: the Maurice Richard riots in 1955; Willie O’Ree’s NHL debut in 1958; Ken Dryden’s sensational performance in 1971; too many men in Game 7 in the old Montreal Forum in 1979; the Bruins exorcising the demons with their first playoff series win over Montreal in 1988; Nathan Horton’s overtime heroics in 2011.
The hockey haircut, perfected: NHLers react to a youth player’s ‘genius’ method
Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, Nov 11, 2023
Rita Schenn, the mother of NHL players Brayden and Luke Schenn, is a hairstylist who once had a full salon with a sink and hydraulic chair in the basement of the family’s home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
When her boys were growing up, she would receive every request imaginable when it came to styles and colors.