Peyton Whitequils watching his team from the bench during his game. Oct.14. Photo by Nakoda Thunderchief.
Hockey has always been a part of Canada’s identity, from the crowds cheering to booing.
Players getting three goals having fans come home without your favourite hat letting everyone know it was a good night. Even the bloody fights encourage many a fan to go wild.
But over time there have been changes off-ice from what is acceptable to wear in a locker room in minor hockey across Canada, to the NHL banning pride tape and jerseys to the WHL hiring coaches with controversial pasts.
With the hockey community being split with these changes some vocal and some not, Peyton Whitequils who has played minor hockey in Lethbridge feels he understands why the changes in the locker room were made for both inclusivity and for encouraging players to feel safer.
He also feels coaches should be held accountable for parents in trusting them with their children.
The change to make it mandatory to wear base layers in dressing rooms shocked the minor hockey world in Canada and there may be more changes coming.
Meanwhile, in the Western Hockey League, the Lethbridge Hurricanes have hired former head coach of the Calgary Flames Bill Peters for the 23-24 season after an exit from the team for calling player Akim Aliu racist comments on several accounts back in 2019.
It was a shock to the hockey world after the incident and only time can tell if Bill Peters has changed as he has stated in press conferences for the Hurricanes.
For the NHL as fans, you can expect other changes coming this season as the league has banned pride jerseys and tape. The announcement came during the summer that players will not be wearing any special jerseys in warmups for “themed nights.
” High-profile players such as Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers said, “I’ll use the tape, even if I have to buy it myself.”
Kristopher Wells, one of the co-founders of the pride tape themed nights says any players who make the request will get the support if they want to encourage inclusivity. “We will send him and any of the teammates all the tape they want.”
The outburst became known after certain players in the NHL chose not to wear the jerseys as it went against their beliefs.
What does this mean for the league as themed jersey nights added an extra flare to the game.
Fan of the game Chase Muswagon feels that at the end of the
day it should not affect the league as fans come to the games for the players
and the team, but also feels upset that we will not being seeing certain jerseys
like the Indigenous acknowledgement jersey and the fun jerseys including “hockey fights
cancer and the St. Patrick themed jersey.
As the 23-24 Season takes off for the NHL, it will be one to watch as fans will get to experience a different change for their favourite teams. Only time will tell as how much of an impact this will have on the league.
