Speaking to junior hockey teams in Manitoba, Brock McGillis, one of the first professional hockey players to come out as gay, challenges players to share interests outside of the “safe four” topics of conversation: hockey, women, sports and music.
At the start of this year’s hockey season, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) hosted a presentation from the LGBTQ rights advocate at each of its teams. The initiative is part of the league’s commitment to address criticism that mainstream hockey culture has not done enough to combat racism, sexism and homophobia.
“Most of them are much more inclusive than previous generations were at this age,” McGillis told CBC News.
“But their language and their behaviors don’t necessarily match, because in that environment they’re told, ‘This is how we’re supposed to act.'”
Across Canada, in arenas big and small, hockey players are chasing their dreams of NHL and university hockey, but they’re doing it under the growing cloud of Hockey Canada, amid calls to change the toxic culture that some say makes elite players feel like they can get away with anything, on and off the ice.
The controversy began in May, when it emerged that Hockey Canada had settled a $3.5 million lawsuit alleging a gang sexual assault in 2018 Charges have been laid against players on the Canadian junior team. The handling of assault complaints and the use of special funds, partly made up of registration fees, to pay legal compensation have drawn widespread criticism. New allegations have since come to light.
Hockey Canada has been abandoned by its major sponsors, and its CEO and entire board of directors have resigned. A new board of directors will be elected on December 17.
But people CBC News spoke to say that The entire hockey system needs to be overhauled because it often ignores bad behavior from elite players at a young age. Over time, this can turn into a sense of entitlement and what some describe as toxic masculinity within hockey culture.
Last week, A report from Hockey Canada found that there were 900 documented or alleged incidents of on-ice discrimination at all levels and age groups during the 2021-22 season.
Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge recently said that a reinvented Hockey Canada “must develop not only exceptional athletes, but also good citizens who respect women, the public and the law.”
WATCH | Players push for change:
Hockey culture is under scrutiny in the wake of the Hockey Canada scandal. Karen Pauls speaks with junior players and coaches about the calls to change the sport.
“Not all hockey players are like that”
The scandal and its fallout are sensitive subjects for young players, most of whom would like to wear a Canadian team jersey in international competitions.
“A few of my friends played for Team Canada. Not all hockey players are like that,” said forward Davis Fry, 19, of the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons Junior A team.
“Yes, there are always going to be bad people and their actions are obviously not good, but it sucks to be seen that way,” agreed team captain Dawson Milliken, 20.
“We’re not all bad people,” added Travis Hensrud, a 20-year-old assistant captain.
“We’re young men trying to become good human beings and get involved in the community. Oh, we’re hockey players. We like to have fun, but we also want to become young men.”
It’s not just talk. The Pistons have committed to completing 1,500 hours of community service this season. That includes everything from playing pickleball with seniors to reading at schools to helping out at the local food bank.
There’s a lot of good things happening in the hockey community, said Pistons general manager and head coach Paul Dyck.
“We want to develop their dreams on the ice, but our responsibility is that once they leave this place, they will be better people.”
Junior hockey is an important time in a young man’s development, he said, with some players still in high school and others away from home for the first time, living with foster families.
And while everyone makes mistakes, Dyck says everyone must be held accountable for them and accept the consequences.
Dyck’s mantra is simple: respect.
“First and foremost, we need to have respect for each other in this room, and then for people in our community, of different ages, genders and races,” he said.
Life skills, not just hockey skills
This concept is shared by junior teams across the country.
In British Columbia, players from the Coquitlam Express Junior A team participate in minor hockey practices. Team captain Ian Devlin, 20, said this type of volunteer work not only benefits the community, but it makes him a better person by teaching him to face the facts.
“It’s really essential to be able to see the world through another person’s prism.”
VIDEO | Junior A player reflects on Hockey Canada scandal:
Ian Devlin, captain of the Coquitlam Express Junior A hockey team, gives his thoughts on the culture of his sport.
Devlin hesitated when asked how he thought junior players were perceived at the moment.
“It’s not a good image, so obviously it wouldn’t make you feel good about yourself,” he said, adding that every player has to look in the mirror and do the right thing.
Devlin said he thinks the culture change has to start early, when players start playing AA or AAA hockey, when they’re spending up to seven days a week on the ice, when peer pressure becomes an issue in the locker room.
He says coaches can’t turn a blind eye to bad behavior from their top players. They have to crack down on unacceptable behavior and show that it’s not acceptable. And as players get older, they have to be able to hold each other accountable, he said, which can be difficult.
“Especially when it’s one of the older players on the team who should know better, you know, it’s a time where you absolutely have to be able to hold them accountable,” he said.
“We must curb this bad culture”
On the wall leading to the Coquitlam Express locker room, a poster outlines the team’s “championship values.” Those values include having character, being grateful, developing good habits and being responsible.
“To be, you know, a good teammate, a good player, a good human being, you have to follow all of those things,” general manager Tali Campbell said.
Campbell grew up playing hockey and saw “bad things.” He declined to get into specifics, but said it had to do with respect and a sense of entitlement.
When he became the youngest general manager in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League four years ago, at age 23, he knew he had a big responsibility: to make them better hockey players, give them opportunities to earn college scholarships and help them become good human beings.
“Little by little, over time, we’re putting a stop to that sense of entitlement. We’re putting a stop to that bad culture that, unfortunately, is still present in hockey,” he said.
Campbell acknowledges the seriousness of the allegations surrounding the 2018 world juniors and says they must be addressed. Players, coaches and Hockey Canada must all be held accountable for their actions, he said.
“We have to point the finger.”
But he doesn’t want his players to be unfairly lumped together by people who say “all hockey players are horrible people. Every one of them is a rapist. Every one of them is disrespectful to women.”
“It’s incredibly frustrating to hear that,” Campbell said.
WATCH | Tali Campbell reflects on hockey culture, the good and the bad:
Tali Campbell, general manager of the Coquitlam Express, says her organization is looking to develop both better hockey players and better human beings.
“They have influence”
Back in the Pistons’ players’ room, Millken, Fry and Hensrud review excerpts from McGillis’ presentation. In one section, McGillis talks about the damage caused by homophobic slurs.
“Before you know it, it keeps spreading. Keeps spreading, keeps spreading. Your whole team starts using it, all your friends start using it, because you’re influencers,” he told players.
Junior hockey teams are present in communities across the country, interacting with each other, school children, seniors, fans and host families, he added.
“The reality is that our system was set up and they have influence. And because of that influence, what they do with it matters,” he told CBC News.
The players seemed to understand, as they talked about holding each other accountable.
“It takes a lot of courage for a guy to stand up, but when you do, your voice is loud and other people follow,” Hensrud said.
“Usually it just takes one person to speak up and create a culture of, ‘Look, we’re not going to do this. This is not how our organization operates or how we operate as individuals in our communities.’”
