Ian Kennedy looks at Hockey Canada's continued search for a new CEO, the Vancouver Canucks celebrating the Lunar Year and the PHF All-Star Weekend preview.
Growing the Game is Ian Kennedy’s weekly feature examining the global game, how social issues impact the sport, and how hockey’s significant cultural shift continues to evolve.
Hunt For New Hockey Canada CEO Continues
New Hockey Canada chair of the board of directors Hugh Fraser spoke to Radio Canada this week about the state of Hockey Canada. While the organization has many goals and targets, one of the primary responsibilities of Fraser’s interim board of directors is hiring a new CEO.
“We have a certain vision for how things should be done, and it will be important for the CEO to be in tune with the board on these issues,” Fraser told Radio Canada.
Fraser discussed other issues, including focusing on keeping elite Canadian women’s hockey players in Canada instead of the NCAA to develop and the perceived professionalism of members of the CHL.
The conversation also included an update on the status of allegations of gang sexual violence in 2018 by members of the CHL, including some on Canada’s national junior team. As Fraser confirmed, the internal investigation by Heinen Hutchison is completed, and the results are now in the hands of an independent committee.
“This matter is proceeding through an independent investigation process,” said Fraser. “Once the investigation is entrusted to a third party, our rules provide that the report must then be submitted to an independent committee. It is the members of this committee who review the report and determine the appropriate sanction. They tell us when they are ready to make their decision, but we must respect the independence of this committee until we get their verdict.”
Vancouver Rings in the Year of the Rabbit
The Vancouver Canucks helped to ring in the Lunar New Year this week, acknowledging the important event celebrated by many Chinese Canadians, as well as those from other Asian nations. To mark the event, the Canucks wore commemorative Lunar New Year warm-up jerseys featuring a rabbit in the logo to mark the year of the rabbit.
Vancouver’s first Chinese Canadian mayor Ken Sim was on hand. The team featured demonstrations, music, dance, and video presentations to celebrate and educate.
In one of those videos, Kelley Lee-Gilmore, a professor at Simon Fraser University, spoke of her experience as a youth in Vancouver. Growing up, Lee-Gilmore dreamed of playing hockey and going inside the arena to watch a Vancouver Canucks game live.
“Growing up, we couldn’t afford to go to a (Canucks) game,” Lee-Gilmore said on Twitter. “Other families did that. My season ticket was a transistor radio under my pillow. It was my dream to play hockey. I eventually did and still competing.”
“I think it’s unusual for a Chinese girl to actually watch hockey, but to play hockey would have been something very extraordinary.”
Eventually, Lee-Gilmore did play and continued. The Canucks invited her as a special guest with her family and teammates from Vancouver’s Adult Safe Hockey League masters division to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the game.
Proceeds from the sales of all Lunar New Year attire and jerseys will be donated to the Chinatown Foundation and Elimin8 Hate, a group specifically aiming to educate and empower government, media, and citizens to combat anti-Asian racism.
PHF All-Star Weekend
This weekend, three Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) all-star teams will take to the ice at Mattamy Arena, the former Maple Leafs Garden, in Toronto.
The teams – Canada, USA, and World – will play in an All-Star game Sunday at 7 p.m. The team captains are Madison Packer (USA), Kaleigh Fratkin (Canada) and Katerina Mrazova (World).
“This year’s captains were each selected by their all-star teammates to represent them on this stage, which is a credit to their skill, experience, leadership, character, and how well-respected they are among their peers,” said Reagan Carey, PHF commissioner in a league news release. “Both Madison and Kaleigh have helped build the league since its inaugural season, and Katerina was one of the league’s first international stars before the recent wave of incoming talent from overseas.”
Other notable players suiting up in the game include PHF leading scorer Loren Gabel, leading goal-scorer Brittany Howard and former league MVPs Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Kennedy Marchment, Jillian Dempsey, and Allie Thunstrom.