Hockey Is For Everyone

St. Louis Blues ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ night will be a watch party for an away game

All 31 teams in the National Hockey League are expected to recognize the “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative during the 2019-20 season in order to “drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities.” But the St. Louis Blues won’t be in St. Louis for their HIFE celebration on March 24, as they will be 900 miles away, playing a game against the Washington Capitals.

Instead, Blues fans can instead attend a “Hockey is for Everyone Celebration and Watch Party” at Enterprise Center for the cost of $10 per person. Those in attendance “will have the best view in the city as they watch the game on the center-hung scoreboard in a home-game-like atmosphere.”

The Blues are going to have to do a lot more than just talk the talk if they expect to convince the members of any minority community that they’re included in the Blues’ definition of “everyone.” A “home-game-like atmosphere” is not a home game. St. Louis fans who have the “best view in the city” will still have worse views than any seat in Capital One Arena, since, in St. Louis, they’ll be craning their necks to see the game on the scoreboard, instead of watching their home team play on their home ice. A real commitment to diversity requires actual work, not empty gestures.

The event is an insult to the fans it’s meant to welcome.

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 4 years ago

16 Comments

Charlie Cook was told he’d never be able to walk. Friday, he took the ice during the Blue Jackets’ starting lineups.

On Friday, the Columbus Blue Jackets held their annual Hockey Is For Everyone night and the hockey world met a determined and driven youth hockey player.

Charlie Cook, who plays with Columbus Special Hockey, was introduced to the crowd during the Blue Jackets’ starting lineup announcements. Charlie lined up next to captain Nick Foligno.

Charlie suffered a stroke in utero and his parents were told a decade ago it was unlikely that he would survive, and if he did, that he would have limited to no independent movement. “We were told by the doctors that he probably wouldn’t be able to walk on his own or do anything else,” Valerie Cook, Charlie’s mom said.

Now 10-years-old, Charlie plays hockey with a specially crafted walker for the Ben Kyler coached Columbus Special Hockey team.

(more…)

By Donya Abramo 4 years ago

0 Comment

Two First Nations players will participate in first NHL game broadcast in Cree language

The telecast of the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes game on March 24 will make history.

Sportsnet and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network are partnering together to broadcast a National Hockey League game in a First Nations language for the first time. (First Nations denotes Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are not Inuit or Métis, and the Cree Nation is one of the largest.)

There are eight First Nations players currently in the league according to Native Hockey’s website (including the Capitals’ TJ Oshie, who is from the Ojibwe Nation) and two of them will likely be playing in the matchup. Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Carey Price, from Anahim Lake, is the son of Lynda Price, the former chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation.

The Carolina Hurricanes are the only NHL team with a Cree player: Micheal Ferland. The 26-year-old forward from Swan River, Manitoba will be playing in an NHL game broadcast in his Nation’s language for the first time. He is currently out with an upper-body injury but has returned to practice and could be back in the lineup on Friday.

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

1 Comment

Minnesota Wild forward JT Brown surprises Black Girl Hockey Club by donating over $3k to group’s GoFundMe

The Black Girl Hockey Club got an incredibly kind contribution Friday from a supportive NHL player.

Minnesota Wild forward JT Brown donated over $3,000 to the club’s GoFundMe that has some roots in Washington, DC.

(more…)

By Ian Oland and Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

2 Comments

Willie O’Ree and John Lewis will drop ceremonial puck for Black History Month before Senators game

The Washington Capitals will have a ceremony before Tuesday’s game as part of their “Hockey is for Everyone” celebrations. Two important figures in Black history will drop the ceremonial puck before the game against the Ottawa Senators.

U.S. Representative John Lewis is a lawmaker and civil rights legend who helped organize the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Lewis will be joined by Willie O’Ree, the first Black player in NHL history and recent inductee into the Hall of Fame.

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

2 Comments

Willie O’Ree to participate in ceremonial puck drop at Capitals’ Black History in Hockey Night February 26

February is Black History Month, and the Capitals have announced several initiatives to honor Black History in hockey.

On February 26, the Capitals will host Black History in Hockey Night during their home game against the Ottawa Senators. Prior to the game’s start, Willie O’Ree will be participating in a ceremonial puck drop. O’Ree became the first black hockey player to play in the NHL in 1958 as a member of the Boston Bruins, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

(more…)

By Rachel Cohen 5 years ago

1 Comment

Capitals players support women’s hockey: ‘It’s something that is on the rise’

Women’s hockey has been in a brighter spotlight in recent weeks with the inclusion of professional women’s players in the NHL’s All-Star weekend in San Jose, CA and the NWHL’s All-Star weekend in Nashville, TN. But women’s hockey has been thriving and growing in the USA at an impressive rate for a long time.

USA Hockey’s public registration numbers show a nearly five percent increase in women’s hockey in 2017-18, compared to only one percent increase in men’s. Men’s hockey still has larger numbers overall, but the difference in the rate of growth reflects a change in the broader nature of hockey in the USA.

We spoke with some Washington Capitals players about the importance of women’s hockey during the team’s “Hockey ‘n Heels” event.

(more…)

By Cara Bahniuk and Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

0 Comment

Capitals auction for autographed Pride Night pucks and sticks goes until February 11

The Capitals will hold a Pride Night on February 11 to honor the LGBTQ+ community as part of their Hockey is for Everyone events. They are running an auction for signed sticks and specialty pucks which will remain open until the second intermission of the Kings game.

The sticks were taped with Pride Tape and autographed. The Capitals will use sticks with Pride Tape in warm-ups prior to the game, making this the third year the Capitals have used Pride Tape pregame. Pride Tape is a partner of the NHL and supports You Can Play.

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

1 Comment

Capitals to host several Hockey is for Everyone events throughout February

With the NHL making their Hockey is for Everyone initiative year-round, the Capitals are using February to focus and celebrate diversity in the sport. They will also be one of the teams participating in the Black History Tour, as part of Black History Month.

This year’s Hockey is for Everyone Night will take place on February 5, when the Capitals take on the Vancouver Canucks.

(more…)

By Rachel Cohen 5 years ago

3 Comments

#PayDecker: CCM gives Brianna Decker $25k prize money after registering fastest time on Passing Challenge

Friday night in San Jose, Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first woman to officially compete in an NHL All-Star Skills Competition, finishing one second behind the eventual winner, Connor McDavid, in the Fastest Skater.

One of the other female Olympians turned in an even better performance. Brianna Decker’s time during the demonstration of the Puck Control skills was a full second faster than the eventual winner Leon Draisaitl.

Draisaitl won $25,000 despite having registered the second-best time. Fans on Twitter took issue with that and started a hashtag insisting that the NHL #PayDecker.

The NHL has not responded but CCM Hockey stepped up by giving Decker the same prize money as Draisaitl received. The hockey equipment brand has done a lot to support and promote women’s hockey, including support for the recent partnership between the Boston Pride and the Boston Bruins.

(more…)

By Brennin Weiswerda 5 years ago

5 Comments

12 3

Page 1 of 3