I have had this article conceptually in the works for quite some time. For those who listen to our podcast, you may recall that I used to talk about occurrences such as the ones discussed in this article often in the early phases of the Canadian Hockey League’s constituent organizations’ seasons. However, I was withheld from creating it by my schedule which had me intensively following and covering multiple leagues, and I had some general uncertainty about the product itself. I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to go about this: Whether or not this should have some sort of diagnostic undertone, about whether or not the leadership of the Western Hockey League was to blame for setting the tone or enabling a negative or toxic culture in what I felt was indicative of a pattern or overarching issues. However, I confess that, while I watched a great number of games this season to get a feel for up-and-coming prospects and kept up with the headlines pretty closely, occasionally getting the drop on things fairly early despite this not being a “job” for me, I am no expert. I am an American who lives on the Eastern Seaboard and I have never set foot in any CHL arena, much less the arena of any WHL team. It is not my place to weigh in on this conversation saying if these actions are anyone’s “faults” other than those who perpetrated them. As such, I will simply let the facts speak for themselves, and the reader can have any takeaway that they choose.

The first headline that caught my attention was the hiring of ex-Carolina Hurricanes/Calgary Flames/Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg head coach Bill Peters by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Peters notably resigned from his job in Calgary in the wake of allegations from former player Akim Aliu, who was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and a Ukrainian mother, that he had been on the receiving end of racial abuse from Peters during his time with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. Peters underwent DEI training as part of his hiring process with Lethbridge, but this certainly raised an eyebrow from a public relations standpoint. At least, I can say that for myself. Perhaps most importantly, however, Aliu himself was not particularly impressed by Peters.

Next, the Red Deer Rebels made a worrisome recruitment choice of their own. The team included the announcement of C Kai Uchacz as their captain when introducing their leadership group for the 2023-24 season. This was a troubling development, as Uchacz was removed from the 2020-21 Seattle Thunderbirds roster due to racist bullying and taunting of black teammate Mekai Sanders. Uchacz underwent anti-racism training upon his return to the league with Red Deer after having sat out the year (WARNING: registration required, but free); however, this did not seem to improve the reception to this decision. Scott Wheeler additionally reminded readers of key points raised by Sanders’ representation when Uchacz was dealt by Seattle to Red Deer, primarily centered on inaction by the league itself.

The next story had a similar underlying issue to it and has been covered on this site previously. The Wenatchee Wild, in their inaugural season in the WHL after relocation from the dub and having existed in the sense of intellectual property and ownership previously as a BCHL team, made an already arguably questionable hiring choice by bringing on board Kevin Constantine given his checkered past. In short order, he would be suspended indefinitely by Wenatchee and subsequently terminated due to alleged use of a racial slur. It was truthfully remarkable to me, in the worst way possible, that three headlines of this nature occurred in such a small amount of time. I could take some solace in the fact that Constantine was dealt with swiftly, but I still was simply blown away by the way the bad headlines were piling up.

Player abuse-related headlines sprung up in another context this season, as well. Now former Swift Current Broncos head coach Devan Praught was suspended for five games for violating the league’s standards of conduct, at a time where a team that was expected to compete was playing to a middling record and outside a playoff spot. It was not announced by the league or the club what the offense was, but video in the previous link shows that Praught had slashed D Josh Fluker’s stick out of his hands and was screaming and cursing at Fluker. The team and Praught would agree to part ways within the following week.

Lastly, Kristin Ostrowski, who served as the Everett Silvertips’ team photographer for nearly two full years, took to Twitter/X to be candid about her experiences in this position. She opened up and stated that she had been sexually assaulted by an arena employee during her time working for the WHL club while photographing a home game during the 2022-23 campaign. She further noted that this was simply a microcosm of further cultural issues that had been cultivated within the organization. In the first few months of the WHL season, there were quite a number of concerning stories, and this was among the most devastating to read.

I use this space now, this exit paragraph, not to accuse, not to levy criticism, but to contemplate. To ponder. What lies ahead for the WHL as it begins a new era? For the first time since 2000, an individual other than Ron Robison is the commissioner. Robison was replaced by Dan Near several months ago, with his successor bringing in a plethora of experience as a terrific ambassador for the sport as the global head of Adidas Hockey. Near will almost certainly bring innovation to the league as the individual responsible for Adidas’ ventures into hockey. This is something that it most certainly needs, as the CHL at large, from where I’m standing, is not exactly the best at marketing its product. However, it also would appear that the cultural landscape of the WHL (and probably all of junior hockey) is due for an extreme change, as well. This does not rest on the shoulders of one person, as a lack of accountability and other issues of the sort usually can be tied to different entities of a system. However, will what will surely be a changing environment also become one that is significantly safer than it is now?