General posts, including essays and discussions.
*Content Warning: Suicide statistics* Dear James Reimer, Once upon a time, I was your biggest fan. Even when most of the Toronto Maple Leaf fandom questioned you as the starting goaltender over Jonathan Bernier, I fervently advocated for you. I saw your passion for the sport, and win or lose, I could tell you…
Today, the Chicago Blackhawks, who have worn Pride jerseys in warm-up in past years, announced they will not be wearing them this year, supposedly to protect Russian players from consequences of Russia’s expanded “gay propaganda” ban. This is the first NHL team to officially use this explanation for cancelling the jersey, after speculation this was…
The ‘Out with the Old-School’ series is based on the findings from Donna Cumming’s MA thesis. The study involved interviews and focus groups with 11 Canadian varsity women hockey players about their hockey leadership experiences, perceptions, and intentions. In my last post, I talked about the potential for a more inclusive hockey leadership culture. But…
Roundtables are an occasional feature on Hockey in Society. Roundtables present brief commentaries from Hockey in Society contributors on pressing or timely issues within hockey and its culture, with the aim of presenting multiple critical viewpoints on the topic under discussion. On January 17, 2023 the Philadelphia Flyers hosted its annual pride night celebration. James…
It’s a battle within yourself. You want and need to play hockey so bad, as it’s a way to feel like yourself again, but at the same time feeling judged by others for bringing your kids with you and parenting from the ice and bench, like a bad mom. ~ Heidi When I started playing…
The Men’s World Junior Championships (WJC) are back, coming at the close of the year where Hockey Canada’s shadowy, unaccountable leadership has fallen apart and their image tarnished. The year has seen two Hockey Canada CEOs go, two Hockey Canada Board Chairs resign, and two secret slush funds for sexual assault claims exposed. All of…
Co-Authored by Courtney Szto and Brett Pardy You want to keep salaries low? Don’t let employees talk about them. For decades, owners of NHL teams knew this. In Gordie: A Hockey Legend, author Roy MacSkimming writes about how Gordie Howe discovered at the age of 40, in the 1967-68 season, just how underpaid he was.…
The ‘Out with the Old-School’ series is based on the findings from Donna Cumming’s MA thesis. The study involved interviews and focus groups with 11 Canadian varsity women hockey players about their hockey leadership experiences, perceptions, and intentions. Today’s post is all about leadership. It’s safe to say that in the last couple of years,…
The ‘Out with the Old-School’ series is based on the findings from Donna Cumming’s MA thesis. The study involved interviews and focus groups with 11 Canadian varsity women hockey players about their hockey leadership experiences, perceptions, and intentions. Most of this series will focus on women and hockey leadership, but this first post is all…
“It’s just the old boys’ culture of hockey that serves as a barrier of entry for women to get into leadership positions because it’s like an exclusive club, and they don’t really want to let you in. There’s a lot of sexism in it really, the men at the top just want to keep their…
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