Hockey was always my escape from politics. In recent years, however, there have been a number of incidents that merge hockey with the political sphere. While I would love nothing more than to go back to the time when I could turn on a Los Angeles Kings game and forget about the rest of the world for a few hours, doing so would be ignoring the fact that the game I love so much is plagued by systemic problems that require a deep reckoning and cultural shift.
On October 6, 2020, the Los Angeles Kings made a historic selection with their second overall draft pick. Quinton Byfield became the highest-drafted Black player in National Hockey League (NHL) history. The next day, the Arizona Coyotes drafted Mitchell Miller, a player who had been convicted in juvenile court of repeatedly bullying an intellectually disabled Black classmate, calling him racial slurs and tricking him into eating a urine-soaked candy.
While this story was met with immediate backlash from inside and outside the NHL community, the Coyotes defended their pick for three weeks stating that they believed Miller had grown as a person and that the team saw an opportunity to support his becoming a leader in preventing racism and bullying.
By October 29, the Coyotes realized that retaining Miller created a public relations nightmare that was not going to go away. The team officially renounced their rights to Miller and apologized to the family of his victim.
The situation should have ended there, but it did not. After taking the 2020-2021 season off, Miller returned to his junior team and, on the ice, posted incredible offensive and defensive metrics. His play was akin to a kid that would excel, if not star, at the NHL level with proper development.
On November 4, 2022, the Boston Bruins saw an opportunity to add a potential star to their prospect pool and signed Miller to an entry-level deal. The team released a statement that led with a quote from Miller that said he apologized to his victim. According to the victim’s mother, this “apology” was an Instagram direct message that was sent a week before the Bruins signed him.
The rest of the statement was similar to that of the Coyotes two years earlier and effectively said that the organization believed Miller’s past served as a teaching moment.
The backlash was swift. Bruins fans and current players were quick to come out against the signing. The fact that the signing was announced on a Friday, a day where NHL news tends to be buried, was criticized. Within twenty-four hours, the NHL’s commissioner, Gary Bettman, released a statement saying that the league was not consulted before the signing and that Miller was not currently eligible to play in the NHL.
Mitchell’s tenure with the Bruins ended the same way as his time with the Coyotes. On November 6, 2022, the team rescinded their rights to him.
While particularly egregious, the Mitchell Miller saga is not an isolated incident. The NHL and hockey as a sport is predominately white and is known for a culture that, at times, promotes intolerance. Over the past several seasons, there have been several instances of racism, abuse, and homophobia at all levels of the sport.
Bokondji “Boko” Imama is a Black professional hockey player. Between 2020 and 2022, he faced two incidents of on-ice racism, both of which resulted in suspensions. In 2019, Calgary Flames Head Coach Bill Peters resigned after allegations of racism and physical abuse were corroborated by witnesses.
One of the worst scandals in league history arose in 2021 when an investigation found that the Chicago Blackhawks covered up the 2010 rape of a player, Kyle Beach, by one of their video coaches. The team who was in the midst of a championship run failed to address the allegations when they were made. According to Beach, other players on the team were aware of the incident and did not act. One of those players was Jonathan Toews, who is still the Blackhawks’ captain today.
Hockey has not learned from these incidents. In the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected Logan Mailloux with their first-round pick. Mailloux admitted to taking sexual pictures of a woman and distributing them without her consent in a Swedish court.
Teams feel comfortable drafting players like Miller and Mailloux, but players known as squeaky-clean class acts slip in their drafts for the most absurd reasons.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan was ranked in the top five for his juniors draft. The 16-year-old went 14th overall. The reason? He happened to have lesbian moms. Teams took one look at his family and told him that they were not interested. Anderson-Dolan is currently playing for the Kings in the NHL.
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ scouting team was excited to select Slovenian player Anže Kopitar with their sixth overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. They were, however, overruled by General Manager Doug MacLean, who made xenophobic comments about Kopitar’s background. Kopitar is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who currently serves as the Kings’ captain while the player they did select, Gilbert Brulé, currently plays in the Polish league.
As much as the NHL and hockey perform stunts to promote inclusion, diversity and equality, actual hockey culture does not reflect these ideals. It is time for the game to go beyond initiatives like Committing to Change and Hockey is for Everyone and actually start investing in deeper systematic change.
How do they start? The answer is actually quite simple. Make hockey accessible to everyone. Hockey is an extremely expensive game to play and there are limited financial aid opportunities available to players who cannot afford to buy necessary equipment. If the game becomes more inclusive when players are little, then the next generation can pave the way for a much deeper cultural shift.
