Ice Hockey Annotation

Ice hockey is an adrenaline packed, high speed, physically demanding sport played on a sheet of ice between two teams consisting of six players who compete to score goals by shooting a rubber puck into the opposing team’s net. Known for its speed, skill, and physical intensity, ice hockey captivates audiences with its thrilling combination of strategy and athleticism. Ice hockey is traditionally played in a rink, with each team comprised of five skaters (three forward, two defensemen) and a goal tender, who work as a cohesive unit to outmaneuver their opponents while balancing offense and defense. While the exact origins of ice hockey are unknown, it is believed to have originated on the frozen ponds of Canada in the 19th century, perhaps taking some of the ideas for the basis of the game from earlier European stick and ball games such as shinty from Scotland and bandy from England. It certainly came to fruition as a complex sport in North America though. Traditionally thought of as a Northern Hemisphere sport with major popularity in countries such as Canada, Sweden and Russia. In more recent years the sport has flourished, gaining popularity in new and different areas around the globe. Despite this rise in popularity the game remains a predominantly White sport with very little representation from other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. There are also economic elements at play due to the high cost of ice time, equipment and travel associated with the sport. In this paper I plan to delve deeper into the social and economic factors, such as class barriers and access to resources that shape participation and representation and cultural norms within the sport of ice hockey.

Annotation

Buchanan, Liam T. “Hockey and Its Struggle with Underrepresentation.” The Journal St. Mary’s University’s Independent Student Publication, June 16, 2021,

https://www.thesmujournal.ca/athletics/hockey-and-its-struggle-with-underrepresentation.  Accessed 09/15/24

Due to the amount of expenses associated with playing ice hockey, it is generally well-known (but not discussed as much as it should be) that the sport is dominated by middle-to-upper class children whose parents or guardians can afford to enroll them. Hockey in Canada increasingly favors wealthy families due to major increases in the cost to play. Hockey has become drastically more expensive over the past 20 years, for many different reasons. Two large factors for these rising costs are registration fees and the cost of ice time. In the 2011-12 season alone, the average Canadian hockey parents spent on average just under $3,000 per child for one season (about 20 weeks). Which would not include any private lessons or camps. For elite players the cost can be even more astronomical with the immergence of hockey academies which charge roughly $40,000 a year. Upon closer inspection, one can see how these discrepancies bleed into the sport’s demographics as a whole. Which brings to light the fact that there is a significant underrepresentation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) athletes in the sport. In January of 2020 WDET 101.9 FM out of Detroit, MI reported that there are only 43 BIPOC players in the National Hockey League (NHL) making up just under 5% of the total players in the league. The first Black athlete didn’t debut in the NHL until 1958 when the Boston Bruins called up New Brunswick’s own Willie O’Ree to play against the Montreal Canadiens. It wasn’t until just recently in 2021 that the Tampa Bay Lightning became the first organization to start a line of forwards all three of which were Black.

While in recent years the NHL and hockey in general have pushed for equality within the sport, there is still a long way to go in order to make hockey a more inclusive sport.

Fogel, Curtis A, “Social Problems in Canadian Ice Hockey: An Exploration Through Film” (2014) Lakehead University Orilla, Canada

https://intapi.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/.pcssr-2014-0024 

Accessed 9/23/2024

While celebrated as the National winter sport and widely considered to be part of Canada’s identity and character, there are many social problems which exist in the world of ice hockey. The author points out that these problems are often overlooked and rarely pointed out in academic and journalistic research. These social problems include, but are not limited to: extreme violence, hazing rituals, sexual violence, drug abuse, financial corruption, as well as various forms of prejudice and discrimination. This paper focuses on the realism of these issues embedded within various seemingly fictional films. The author dives into violence, injury and death in the 2011 film “Goon” that follows a Minor League hockey player Doug “The Thug” Glatt and his team the Halifax Highlanders as they navigate a season trying to make a playoff run. Glatt’s role on the team is that of the enforcer, he doesn’t actually play much hockey instead his role is to shadow his more skilled teammates and to make sure none of the tough guys on the opposing team try to injure them. In one of the more powerful scenes of the movie Glatt gets into a serious fight with Ross “The Boss” Rhea a veteran enforcer from the opposing team. During the fight Rhea gets his nose broken and Glatt appears to break his ankle before landing the final blow leaving Rhea unconscious on the ice. While this is a fictional depiction of an on-ice fight, the violence in hockey is far too real. The NHL had an incident of violence going to far in 2000 when Marty McSorely violently struck his stick against the head of an opposing player and was later convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. There have been numerous incidents comparable to this over the years with multiple players being struck in the head leading to severe concussions and even death. In recent years the NHL has done their best to clean up the violence and the role of enforcer in the NHL is all but extinct.

In the 1986 film “Youngblood” actor Rob Lowe depicts the struggles of a 17-year-old trying to fulfill his dream of playing in the NHL. He is a highly skilled player who appears to lack the toughness to compete in Canadian Junior Hockey which is often a precursor to the NHL. A coach for the Hamilton Mustangs takes a chance on the player and adds him to the roster where he is forced to endure a series of hazing rituals including underage drinking, sexual activities with an older woman while a teammate watches, and getting pinned down by teammates and having his pubic area shaved down bare. 

While on ice violence remains the theme of the film, the depictions of hazing are of particular interest as another social problem in Canadian ice hockey. Hockey films and documentaries are a glimpse into the darker side of the sport and the issues that hide from the public’s view.

Khalegh, Ali, “Thousands of low-income and racialized youth face barriers accessing minor hockey even as participation falls in Canada” (2018-2022) Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication 

https://capitalcurrent.ca/low-income-hockey-accessibilty/   Accessed 9/24/2024

The Maple Leaf signifies dominance in hockey at an international level yet despite all the professional success, youth participation in Canadian hockey has been steadily declining. For example, according to The Athletic, Hockey Canada saw a 6% drop in the number of players enrolled in the 2019-2020 campaign from the previous year. The author suggests that a substantial reason for the drop could be accessibility to the game for low-income communities. Sharon Jollimore, director of Programs and Innovation at the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation laments, “Many young people experience barriers to participation by virtue of the family situation. I think the biggest constraint to participation is the cost… It’s not just registration and equipment.” Tournaments are a big part of hockey culture, and to participate in the Greater Toronto Hockey League youth tournament in 2014 you are looking at an average cost of $1,000 dollars per player when you include all the travel expense such as food, gas and lodging. According to a 2019 survey conducted by Scotiabank, more than 25% of Canadian hockey parents take on another job to support the season; Not to mention that 80% of parents say they spend more than five hours per week at hockey-related events which makes participation a huge time commitment for the parents as well. A 2016 census found that 20.8% of people of color in Canada were low-income compared to only 12.2% of White people.

Looking towards the future, Khalegh suggests that generating youth participation in low-income communities may be critical in stopping the decline of hockey participation. Cracking down on discrimination and increasing accessibility for low-income communities could be the place to start.

Koller, Julia E, “The Narrative of Black Athletes in the National Hockey League” (2019) Student Publications. 856. 

https://capula.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/856 

Accessed 9/24/2024

Professional Sports in the United States have existed since the 1920’s, today we have four major sports leagues. Baseball (MLB), Football (NFL), Basketball (NBA), and Hockey (NHL). Although hockey originated in Canada it is still recognized in the U.S. as a major sport. All throughout the 20th century Black people fought for their rights, both in and out of sports. For these Major Sports League’s integration did not begin until the mid 1950’s. 

The book by William C. Rhoden entitled “Forty Million Dollar Slaves” quotes Jimmy Snyder when he says, “I’m telling you that the Black is the better athlete….” In which Snyder is referring to pre-Civil War days where according to Snyder, Black people were bred purposefully to be bigger and stronger so they would be better slave workers in the fields. This led to the narrative that Black people were better than White people at athletics, which rocked the core of the White community; at the time White people held a firm belief in the intellectual and otherwise superiority over the Black community. However, instead of accepting this reality the White community tried to keep Black people from being better at athletics. Rhoden described this phenomenon as Jockey Syndrome. This Jockey Syndrome was witnessed throughout all major sports and led to several rule changes within the games to stifle the Black players’ superior athletic ability. As the years went by, the acceptance of the Black athlete grew to a point where they were the overwhelming majority in sports such as Basketball with 74.4% of players being Black and in Football with the NFL consisting of 69.7% of the athletes being Black. Hockey, however, remains a much different story with the total percentage of Black hockey players in the NHL being only 4.1%. The author goes on to discuss that the possible and most likely reason for this isn’t necessarily racism but a broader socioeconomic issue. In order to begin playing both football and basketball all one needs is a ball and either a patch of grass or a concrete driveway. Hockey is much more complicated. To play hockey, one must first learn how to ice skate, which is neither cheap nor easy. Furthermore, there are additional costs to make this possible, ice time is not cheap, and neither are the skates. Also, most of the best skaters who do end up being professionals learn how to skate at a very young age. So, families with two working parents or families with only one parent are at an extreme disadvantage because someone needs to have the time and the funds to get their child to the rink. The author also points out that Black families in Canada (where the majority of NHL players are born) make an average of $30,000 dollars less a year than their White family counterparts. 

Conclusion

This assignment was eye-opening for me into the unfortunate underbelly of my favorite sport: ice hockey. While the sport has so many wonderful aspects, such as bringing communities together and teaching children how to be a part of a team, there are so many aspects of the culture that can be improved. Like anything in life change happens when people are made aware of an issue and then put in the effort to change. I plan to use my newfound knowledge to do what I can to make the sport I love better for all those who wish to participate in it.