Dear Hockey of Tomorrow reader,

Thank you for being part of the 14,000 readers that enjoy diving deep into everything hockey + tech + culture.

Here are the top stories this week:

• The DEL Winter Game was an Eye Opener

• 16-year-old Coquitlam Hockey Player Dealing with Racism

• Carey Price Apologizes for Poorly Timed Social Post Surrounding Gun-Control

• Hayley Wickenheiser Inspires Young Girls at Annnual Wickfest Tournament

The Germans know how to put on a hockey show

Ok, so with over 30 years of being involved in the hockey community I've never been pleasantly surprised by a high-caliber professional hockey game. I love the sport, loved playing it competitively, and still have fun seeing it evolve.

However, I've always felt I've been "had" when it comes to the overall pro-game fan experience, price, and just downright fun of it all. The quality of the event never did a good job of matching the on-ice quality of play.

Well, this all changed last weekend.

Holy-Mother-of-Lord-Stanley's-Salad-Bowl was I in for a treat at the DEL Winter Game this past Saturday. Hockey of Tomorrow was graciously invited to take a gander at the Euro version of the North American Winter Classic hosted in Cologne, Germany.

I'll be doing a deep dive into the experience in next week's newsletter, but here's a SparkNotes version:

35$ tickets.

Lots of families.

40,000+ excited fans.

Chanting-band-fan clubs.

Roaring outdoor pre-game.

Local Country-ish singer serenading in a rock-show-vibe.

5$ flat ( tax and tip in) for massive german sausage sandwiches & gigantic beers.

Fireworks. Not 30 seconds of fireworks.... 15-non-stop-mins-of-blowing-up-200-feet-into-the-air-man-this-feels-dangerous-fireworks.

^ This is my actual footage from the game.

This is what hockey is all about. Bravo to the DEL for this, and for any fan reading this: it's worth an 8-hour flight, and cost-wise might even be cheaper all-expenses-in than watching a local Leafs game.

One of our focuses at Hockey of Tomorrow is to showcase hockey across all of its various colors, geographies, and cultures. There's so much out there that the regular hockey community member is missing.

16-year-old Coquitlam Hockey Player Dealing with Racism

A 16-year-old hockey player in Coquitlam, British Columbia is having his name publicly protected by news outlets because of multiple incidences of racism that occurred within the Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association.

 The news story featured by the local CityNews outlet in the city states that the player of South Asian descent (publicly referred to as Zach) dealt with several instances of being called the N-word by other players and that parents involved promoted the KKK in chat groups and degraded the player and his parents.

The alleged incidences of eventually reached a boiling point leading to physical altercations and subsequent suspensions of both the accused and the accusers.

The most heartbreaking part of the story is that Hockey Canada reported more than 900 cases of on-ice discrimination just last year alone.

As bad as all these stories keep feeling, we can all agree that the more we air this out, the better it will be for the game long term.

Carey Price Apologizes for Poorly Timed Social Post Surrounding Gun-Control

A few days ago, Montréal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price came under fire for a social media post he published over the weekend in which he stated that he supports The Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights. He was alluding to having the right to “keep my hunting tools.”

Price’s post was terribly timed given that this week marks the anniversary of the horrific École Polytechnique mass shooting that took place in Montréal back in 1986, claiming the lives of 14 women.

Price has since followed up with an apology on social media and the hockey club says he didn’t know about the history of the shooting and didn’t mean to be insensitive on such an important date.

Hayley Wickenheiser Inspires Young Girls at Annual Wickfest Tournament

Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and women’s hockey GOAT Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser ( yup, she's an actual MD) hung out with an Under-11 girls team as part of her annual Wickfest tournament in Airdrie, Alberta over the weekend.

Her former Olympic teammate Cassie Campbell-Pascall also attended as the two women’s hockey legends spoke about leadership, being a good teammate, and going out there and doing your best.

These two women have been a bright light for women’s hockey ever since we can remember. Scratch that. They've been a bright light for HOCKEY, full stop.

Those are the top stories for this week.

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See you again soon,

Tom Sychterz, Founder

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