Brock McGillis Launches 'Culture Shift Tour' to Visit 100 Teams in Canada's Seven NHL Cities

Brock McGillis is heading across Canada to talk to 100 youth teams in 100 days to ensure hockey takes crucial steps toward being a welcoming space. Ian Kennedy has details on that and more.

Brock McGillis wants to change hockey culture, so he's taking to the road. 

The former professional goaltender, who was hockey’s first openly gay professional player, plans to visit 100 high-school aged youth teams in 100 days across Canada to share his story, “embarking on a mission this upcoming hockey season to ensure the game of hockey takes important strides to be a welcoming space.”

"I love the game of hockey, and I want it to continue to thrive and grow," said McGillis.

"That means ensuring the game is fun and welcoming to everyone who wants to play. This Tour is about celebrating the game of hockey, while acknowledging that we can be doing better to ensure everyone feels welcomed to participate."

McGillis’ 'Culture Shift Tour’ will stop in all seven Canadian NHL markets, sharing his own story as a case study to humanize the experience of those from the LGTBQ+ community or others in hockey who may not feel welcomed or safe in the game. Vancouver is the first stop from Nov. 15 to 25 and continues until Toronto from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3, 2024, according to his website.

McGillis’ tour was made possible by a number of corporate sponsors enabling teams and organizations to welcome McGillis without financial barriers, he said. Those sponsors include Canadian Tire JumpStart, Scotiabank, Skip The Dishes, Air Canada, MLSE, Toronto Maple Leafs, Access Storage, NHL, Greater Toronto Hockey League, Gatorade and The Carnegie Initiative.

For the past two years, McGillis has appeared on The Hockey News’ 100 people of power and influence list.

While McGillis tours Canada to change hockey culture, the discussion of safe spaces in hockey is again bubbling to the surface as another season progresses.

In London, Ont., the U Sports Western Mustangs women’s hockey team threatens to boycott all future games and practices involving head coach Candice Moxley. Earlier this year, players alleged sexual harassment by strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson, which the school substantiated in an investigation, resulting in Watson's dismissal. The players, however, are also alleging misconduct directed at Moxley regarding how the sexual harassment allegations were dealt with and in her treatment of players.

The investigation that led to Watson's dismissal cleared Moxley of breaching Western's non-discrimination and harassment policy. The players questioned the impartiality of Elizabeth Hewitt, the person Western selected to carry out the investigation. Hewitt is a London-based lawyer with experience in independent external investigations, but she also once taught at Western's faculty of law.

"We had an expectation that Western University would believe us, the survivors of the psychological abuse we faced from coach Moxley,” the players wrote in a letter to the school.

Multiple outlets reached out to Moxley after the letter was forwarded to media on Friday, but she has not commented at this time. John Doerksen, Western's vice-provost, students, said the university was working with Moxley, the interim coaching staff and the university's sports and recreation program on a plan for the rest of the season, according to a statement emailed on Monday to The London Free Press. The university had also met with players before and after the investigation into Moxley to provide updates and address questions from players, according to the statement.

This occurs while a civil case plays out involving the Chicago Blackhawks and a second player from the 2010 Stanley Cup winning team, identified only as John Doe. In the filings, the player alleges sexual abuse by Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich, gaslighting from staff and inaction during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. The allegations have not been tested in court. It’s a similar case to the one put forward by Kyle Beach, which was ultimately settled out of court.

Continuing the look at hockey culture, ex-NHL player Georges Laraque spoke out against the alleged racist acts of two members of Gatineau's Intrepid M15 AAA against a Black teammate while also sharing his own experience.

“It’s a real shame. Something has to be done. It doesn’t make sense,” he told le Droit in a translated interview from French. “The players who did this should have been automatically suspended, suspended from school. It's a crime what they did. Those who said that what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room are hypocrites. The parents who tried to diminish the act that was done, they are disgusting.”

As a youth playing in Quebec, Laraque himself faced rampant racism from fans and opponents.

“The parents called me an (N-word) in the stands, the young people from the other teams too, they sang songs with that word in it, it was ridiculous. The only motivation I had was to shut the door on them by breaking into the National League. It was the biggest battle of my life.”