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Growing The Game is Ian Kennedy’s weekly feature examining the global game, how social issues impact the sport, and how hockey’s important cultural shift continues to evolve.
Winnipeg Jets Unveil Logo For Filipino Heritage Night
The Winnipeg Jets unveiled a fresh logo for Filipino Heritage Night on Nov. 8 when they face the Dallas Stars. The game night events will include “food, music and community collaborations,” as well as warmup jerseys featuring the logo. The logo was designed by Filipino Canadians Marc Gomez and Jonato Dalayoan.
“I tried to make sure it represented our people and the energy we have – so something bold, something fun, something proud,” said Dalayoan. “It was obvious to use the Filipino flag because it’s an automatic thing that the community can connect to.
“I took inspirations from different patterns such as textiles, tribal patterns, and tattoos – things that represent our culture. Just wanting to make sure that when people look at it – not only the Filipino culture, but when people look at it – they know it’s a positive aesthetic and a proud aesthetic.”
The Jets will wear the logo during warmups on Nov. 8 before auctioning the jerseys off to support Filipino youth initiatives in the community.
Puck Drops On The PHF Season
Year 8 of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) gets underway this weekend with six games on the schedule including the debut of the league’s seventh franchise, the Montreal Force against the Buffalo Beauts.
Last season, the Boston Pride captured their second consecutive Isobel Cup but will face stiff competition this year as the league’s talent pool grew to include more past national team members from across the globe, as well as several players who competed in the PWHPA.
Notably, the league also saw a salary cap expansion increasing team limits to $750,000. This change resulted in several historic contracts, including that of Mikyla Grant-Mentis who signed an $80,000 deal, considered the largest contract in women’s hockey history.
The league also gained noteworthy names off the ice, specifically with the Toronto Six who hired Hockey Hall of Fame members Angela James as GM, Geraldine Heaney as head coach and Canadian national team star Sami Jo Small as team president. Similarly, USA Olympic standout Brianna Decker is now working at the league level with the PHF.
Raising the *Skates* on Representation
The annual North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference is set to take place between Nov. 9 to 12 in Las Vegas with the theme “Raising the Stakes on Representation,” bringing together some of the top hockey scholars in the world.
Highlights of the conference include the two sessions of Hockey Scholarship: Raising the *Skates* on Representation, and another titled Sovereign Ice: Indigenous Hockey Research, Reconciliation, & Resurgence.
They’ll discuss issues of whiteness, allyship, identity, reconciliation, violence and racism, as well as institutional and social change in hockey.
The conference features scholars such as Dr. Cheryl MacDonald, Martine Dennie, Brett Pardy, Jordan Koch, Sam McKegney, and Teresa Anne Fowler.
With hockey having a social reckoning, the voices present at the NASSS conference can guide meaningful change if those who hold power in the game are willing to listen.
Canada Wins Blind Hockey Series, Provan Makes History
Blind hockey has seen meaningful growth in recent years, and last week, Canada and USA faced off in the 2022 Blind Ice Hockey Series in Fort Wayne, Ind. with Canada sweeping the series taking 7-1, 5-1, and 7-1 wins.
Amanda Provan made history in the series as she became the first woman to compete and win a championship with the men’s Canadian National Blind Hockey Team.
PWHPA’s Dream Gap Tour Hits Truro
After their opening weekend of play in Montreal, the Secret Dream Gap Tour is back in action from Nov. 4 to 6 in Truro, N.S. The opening weekend of play saw the best PWHPA players divided into Team Scotiabank, Team Sonnet, Team Harvey’s, and Team Adidas, with each team winning and losing a game. This time around, each team will play a trio of games in Truro.
While the PWHPA continues to work toward a permanent professional women’s hockey league of its own, the Dream Gap Tour is providing space for athletes to compete and continues to showcase the women’s game across North America.
New Coaches For South Korean, Canadian Para Ice Hockey Teams
Kim Tae-ho will take over as South Korea’s new head coach after serving as the nation’s assistant coach for several seasons. Tae-ho was with Korea when the team captured bronze at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympics.
In Canada, another assistant coach is stepping up to take over the national program as Russ Herrington was named Canada’s new head coach. Herrington has won multiple medals with Canada since joining the national program in 2017. He is also the head coach of York University’s men’s hockey team that plays in U Sports.
IIHF’s Development Cup Ready To Roll In Kuwait
The IIHF’s 2022 Women’s Development Cup will take place from Nov. 6-12 in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The event will feature teams from Luxumbourg, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Andorra, and Ireland.
Recently, we featured the upstart Luxembourg team in The Hockey News as a representative of the worldwide explosion of women’s hockey. The Development Cup, which first took place on the men’s side in 2017, was established to provide a showcase tournament for non-competing IIHF countries.
