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Australian LGBTQIA+ hockey club, Historic win for Women's hockey in Iran & Special hockey sticks for Every Child Matters

Your all-in-one innovation + positive impact + culture news in hockey.

Author

Tom Sychterz
June 13, 2023

Dear Hockey of Tomorrow reader,

The only thing I’ll mention about the Stanley Cup result is that they should test whatever’s in the mustard he’s using because I can’t to this day understand how he 1) keeps winning 2) is the all time ironman leader with over 1,000 consecutive games played.

Let’s move on from this witchcraft and cover the headlines.

FEATURED PIECE

We’ve covered this before, but Gary’s words bring in a different perspective.

MUST READS

The Southern Lights are the first LGBTQIA+ ice hockey club based in Melbourne, Australia. Did you know that there were LGBTQIA+ hockey teams? I did not.

There’s a lotta noise being made for Pride Nights but it’s even more meaningful to see that it’s not just about welcoming every fan to hockey, but also every player. Brendan Parsons and Karen Powell are two of the board members from the Southern Lights. Our contributor, Ponné Thrift, sat down with them to discuss about where the idea came from and the impact it had in the community. Learn more about it here.

Imagine going from Mississauga to Japan? Quite a turn of events. Well, this is exactly what Brad Bowden, a former Para-Ice hockey player, did to serve as the high-performance director for Japan’s men’s Para-Ice hockey team. Clayton Theriault talk to him about his new role and why he decided to make the jump from accross the globe.

....+ two stories that haven't been covered yet on our platform

  • The Iran’s Women Ice hockey team has won the silver medal at the Asia and Oceania World Championship

  • New hockey sticks to create awareness for Every Child Matters

Historic win for Iran, their Women’s team and the growth of Ice Hockey

The Iran’s Women Ice Hockey team did not even exist three years ago.

In May, they won the silver medal in their 1st world competition.

via @iranhockeyteam on Instagram

Look at the smile on their faces. Priceless.

There are not a lot of things better than small countries having unlikely success worldwide. It’s not only a historic win for Iran, but also for women’s hockey. Especially in a country where women are not allowed into stadiums to watch soccer!

“Hockey and ice hockey are not popular in Iran at all, they are [among] many sports that not a lot of people know about. It was our first official Asian ice hockey championship experience. All our competitors had much more experience in ice hockey than us, so even getting to the tournament was a huge step. It was the proudest moment to get to the final and take second place.”

via @iranhockeyteam on Instagram

This is the kind of story you love to see.

Honouring Indigenous people

Clay DeBray, a Metis from Duck Lake in Saskatchewan, has conceived a hockey stick with the hopes that the Every Child Matters (ECM) movement and the Orange shirt on September 30 will get visibility.

By early September, 3,000 sticks will be available to purchase online or in certain Sports Excellence outlets in Canada.

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“I’ve been selling thousands of Every Child Matters orange T-shirts for years now,” said DeBray. “But a lot of people take that orange T-shirt off, and they don’t ever put it on again until a year later. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we had an orange Every Child Matters hockey stick that players could actually use and maybe that would generate more year-round conversation and awareness of residential schools in Canada and what Every Child Matters is really all about.”

DeBray attended one of the residentials schools, before they were shut down. He graduated in 1996. DeBray said that he was fortunate enough to not suffer the atrocities that his adoptive parents or friends suffered, but it is all about being part of the conversation.

Creating these sticks is continuing the conversation.

There are six symbols in total on the stick, and they all carry deep meaning in the context of residential schools and Indigenous Peoples culture. One is an orange Teddy Bear because residential school children were not allowed to bring teddy bears in these situations. Now, survivors are carrying them for comfort and joy.

Clay DeBray showing the sticks to young kids.

What an amazing initiative.

That’s it for this edition of the Hockey of Tomorrow newsletter. As we continue to highlight the best, most diverse, and most interesting, off-ice hockey stories, we would appreciate any feedback you might have.

Thanks again for reading this new edition of Hockey of Tomorrow.

Tom Sychterz, Founder

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