Ian Kennedy discusses Great Britain's win at the World Championship Div. I-A, Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a Canadian Para hockey first and more.

Growing the Game is Ian Kennedy’s weekly feature examining the global game, how social issues impact the sport, and how hockey’s important cultural shift continues to evolve.

Acknowledging Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month across North America. The contributions of Asian Canadians and Americans to the development of hockey, to breaking racial barriers, and through the continued success of athletes in the NHL, women’s professional ranks and internationally cannot be overlooked.

Recently, there has been a tremendous push to see Larry Kwong, the first player of Asian heritage to play in the NHL, enshrined to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Chinese Canadian played one game for the New York Rangers in 1948, marking a historic shift in the game. For years following that game, Kwong would remain one of the best players in Canada, despite never again receiving a call to play in the NHL.

George Chin is another prominent individual in history, as the Chinese Canadian came close to making the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1944. He was a star of their training camp in Owen Sound, Ont., but ultimately, was sent back to his hometown team. Newspapers called for the Leafs to bring him back as he obliterated the competition, but it never happened. Chin and his family would give another famous Canadian, Paul Henderson, his first set of hockey equipment, and members of the Chin family coached Henderson growing up. Eventually, George Chin would play for the Michigan Wolverines, leading them to back-to-back championships, earning all-tournament honors in both seasons in 1952 and 1953.

On the women’s side, Julie Chu and Vicky Sunohara are two of the greatest women to play the game and both broke barriers for other women of Asian heritage. Both won multiple Olympic medals and World Championships while paving the way for women to follow. Today, the duo continue their path as head coaches in Canada’s U Sports. Sunohara serves as the coach of the University of Toronto, where she’s been named the best coach in Canada three times, while Chu coaches at Concordia University, where she led the Stingers to a national championship.

Raphaelle Tousignant Makes History

Raphaelle Tousignant was historically selected to play for Team Canada at the 2023 World Para Hockey Championship. Tousignant becomes the first woman ever to play for Canada’s men’s Para ice hockey team.

"This is still surreal,” she wrote on social media. “So grateful and excited to get to wear the maple leaf again but this time at the Worlds."

Norway's Britt Mjaasund Oyen became the first woman to compete in a major international para ice hockey tournament on a men’s team when she competed at the 1994 Paralympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Since then, only two other women, Norway’s Lena Schroder in 2018 and China's Jing Yu in 2022, have competed at this level.

The tournament will take place in Moose Jaw, Sask., beginning May 28. It’s the first time Canada has hosted a major Para ice hockey tournament since 2010.

Great Britain Wins Div. I-A Men’s Worlds

Great Britain will join the top bracket of the IIHF men’s World Championship again next year after winning Div. I-A on home ice in Nottingham, England.

“We came here to win five games and we've done that," said Great Britain coach Pete Russell. "This was harder because people thought we would do this, the expectations were different. But doing it at home, seeing everyone now on the ice with their families, that's awesome."

Great Britain finished the tournament winning all five games they played, outscoring their opponents 24-7. Also earning promotion was second place Poland, whose only loss came in overtime to Great Britain.

Britain’s leading scorer in the tournament was Liam Kirk, who is currently under contract with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, the same team who selected him in the 2018 NHL draft. Kirk had 10 points in five games. Leading the tournament in scoring however was Poland’s captain Krystian Dziubinski, who edged Kirk by a single point and was ultimately named the tournament’s Best Forward.

Poland and Great Britain will be replaced by the bottom two finishers from the World Championships, which begin this week in Finland and Latvia. Check out the previews for Group A and Group B in the lead-up to puck drop.

Six-Figure Women Hockey Players Continue to Emerge

The PHF is making good on its promise to pay women. The league continues to announce women with six-figure salaries, with the Connecticut Whale leading the way in signings, and transparency. 

Through the opening weeks of free agency, the Whale have signed three players for six figures including former Olympic gold medallist Kacey Bellamy, who signed for $122,000 plus a $7,000 signing bonus, former league MVP Kennedy Marchment, who signed for $130,000, and former league newcomer of the year Taylor Girard who inked a $110,000 deal for this coming season.

While she didn’t crack the six-figure sum, Metropolitan Riveters captain Madison Packer also signed a big contract averaging $92,500 over two seasons. Signings have been announced for several key players, including Elizabeth Giguere, Corinne Schroeder and Ann-Sophie Bettez in Toronto, but no financial terms of the deals were announced.