Dear Hockey of Tomorrow reader,

Welcome to this week’s edition of Hockey of Tomorrow, the newsletter keeping you informed of everything innovation + culture + social + positive impact within hockey.

We know how many of you open this email up and read it attentively. We appreciate it.

Here are the top stories this week:

• Mayor of Mississauga and Former Professional Hockey Player, Hazel McCallion, Passes Away at Age 101

• Canada Tops the Rest of the World in PHF All-Star Finale

• Hockey Day Minnesota Features Outdoor Sledge Hockey Game

• Final few days for youth groups to get a big financial boost

Mayor of Mississauga and Former Professional Hockey Player, Hazel McCallion, Passes Away at Age 101

Hazel McCallion began serving the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada in the 1970s and served in the role for 12 terms before retiring at the age of 94. She passed away on Sunday at the age of 101.

Known as Hurricane Hazel by many of her political peers and adored by the Mississauga community, you may not know that she was one of Canada’s very first professional women’s hockey players.

She received her first pair of skates as a gift from her brother when she was just five years old. That was back in 1926. She grew up in Québec playing pond hockey with all of her siblings including her brother and two sisters.

In the 1930s she became a star player for the Gaspe Coast League in Quebec. She moved to Montréal in the 1940s and played professional hockey in a three-team league for a team called Kik Cola.

She truly was a trailblazer in more ways than one. RIP Hurricane Hazel.🌀♥

Canada Tops the Rest of the World in PHF All-Star Finale

Jade Downie-Landry's late goal gave PHF Canada a thrilling 3-2 victory over PHF World in the annual all-star game of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). 

The game was played at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto and saw PHF World's Fanni Garat-Gasparics open the scoring. Brittany Howard quickly responded for Canada, but Anna Kilponen put World ahead 2-1. Loren Gabel then tied the game for Canada, setting the stage for Downie-Landry's game-winning goal. World outshot Canada 10-6, but Corinne Schroeder won the award for the most outstanding goaltender for Canada. 

The all-star MVP, Loren Gabel, had a standout performance with three goals and an assist in the three games. The PHF consists of seven teams, including Toronto Six and Montreal Force. The all-star format was a round-robin tournament between PHF Canada, US, and World. PHF Canada defeated US 2-1 in a shootout to start the tournament, and World defeated both Canada and US to reach the final. 

The All-Star finale was nothing short of an awesome success for women’s hockey!

🏒🏆

Hockey Day Minnesota Features Outdoor Sledge Hockey Game

On the final day of Hockey Day Minnesota, White Bear Lake welcomed enthusiastic hockey fans who braved the harsh weather to watch sled hockey. Defenseman Sebastian Nevalainen struggled with the cold, sweating profusely despite wearing a coat over his jersey and pads. 

He found that he had to keep moving to avoid feeling the chill to his bones and even experienced cramping in his left hand. Woodbury second-grader Walker Ellis was also well-prepared, wearing four layers and heaters to stay warm. 

The game proved to be a test against the elements, but the athletes showed that hockey is a sport for all. Despite the weather, they displayed the passion and determination of true hockey players.

Shout out to Fox 9 in Minnesota for the story and photo.

Youth grants deadline Feb 5th!

A big Canadian consumer brand is making headlines by offering up $25,000 to 6 minor league Canadian hockey associations to help reduce and offset costs.

As we've often covered in our content, accessibility to the sport is so crucial today with inflation and rising costs everywhere. Would be great to have such a program across the US and Europe as well!

If you want your association to benefit from the program, or would want to nominate one that deserves the cash you can hit up this link: shorturl.at/dgvC8

Hurry, the deadline's fast approaching and if you care about your minor hockey, this sure would give them a boost!

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 edition of Hockey of Tomorrow.

Tom Sychterz, Founder

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