Iceplex rebranded hockey for all centre

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This article was published 14/11/2022 (1068 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The intense scrutiny surrounding Hockey Canada’s mishandling of sexual assault allegations against former members of its national junior teams continues to have a ripple effect on the game’s corporate side.

On Monday, True North Sports & Entertainment, in a partnership with Scotiabank, announced it was changing the name of its four-rink Iceplex — just west of the Perimeter Highway — to hockey for all centre (purposely in lower case).

Earlier this year, corporate heavyweights such as Scotiabank, Telus Corp., Esso and Tim Hortons announced they were suspending support of the Canadian men’s hockey programs for the 2022-23 season, including the upcoming world junior hockey championship.

The scandal has led to the resignation of Hockey Canada’s board of directors and president and chief executive officer Scott Smith.

In response, corporations have been directing financial support to other areas of the game.

Scotiabank launched the ‘hockey for all’ platform in late 2021 to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in the game by breaking down cultural and financial barriers.

The hockey for all centre, which serves as a practice home for the NHL’s Jets and AHL’s Manitoba Moose, is also intended to be an inclusive and accessible facility and including programs for underserved communities.

“Sport is a powerful tool that not only brings the community together, but creates community,” said True North Youth Foundation executive director Dwayne Green in a release. “Every day through our Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy, we see the positive impacts of hockey on youth, and especially how hockey can build that sense of belonging that is so important for new Canadian families to feel at home in their new country.”

The hockey for all centre will host the Scotiabank Girls HockeyFest events in Winnipeg. Girls HockeyFest is a free event for girls ages seven to 16, intending to advance the game for young athletes with both on-ice and off-ice comprehensive training sessions.

“When we launched hockey for all in 2021, we made a commitment to making impactful change and eliminate barriers to make Canada’s game more inclusive,” said Scotiabank chief marketing officer Laura Curtis Ferrera. “Hockey for all centre is an important step forward in this commitment, as an accessible and inclusive place for the community to enjoy.”

Meanwhile, national women’s hockey team stars Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, Indigenous pioneer Brigette Lacquette of Mallard, Man., and men’s parahockey captain Tyler McGregor are among the prominent Canadians who have been enlisted by Tim Hortons for a new hockey diversity and inclusion campaign.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my story and experiences with the goal of inspiring future generations of all backgrounds and abilities across Canada, both on and off the ice,” McGregor said, in a statement.

The restaurant chain’s Let’s Up Our Game campaign aims to tell stories about diversity in ice hockey. It launched Monday with a new television commercial.

Through television, web and social media content, the campaign will feature the experiences of seven Canadian players who have broken barriers while playing hockey.

Para-hockey player James Dunn, ex-NHLer Georges Laraque and blind player Mark DeMontis are also involved in the campaign.

— staff / with files from The Canadian Press