Left to right: Lorna Arcand, Travis Dech (3L), Eugene Arcand, and Thomas James-Davies (2L) at the 2025 Hockey Conference at Fort Garry Hotel.
From June 17 to 19 this summer, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Hockey Conference. The Hockey Conference is a biennial conference for members of the hockey community, where the work of scholars, practitioners, and others is shared, and those with a vested interest in improving the game we all love are given a forum to share their vision for doing so. Winnipeg had the good fortune of playing host to the Hockey Conference this year at the Fort Garry Hotel thanks to the tireless work of the Faculty of Law’s own Dr. Martine Dennie, my fellow 3L students Stefan Lewis and Seth Garcia, and the other members of the Conference’s Committee, whom I list below. The theme of this year’s Conference was “In the Echoes of Reckonings.” It centred around how the sport—at all levels—could respond to the light being shone on hockey’s history of violence, homophobia, classism, misogyny, ableism, racism, and other related issues in hockey culture.
Left to right: Associate Professor Brandon Trask, Tréchelle Bunn (3L), Assistant Professor Martine Dennie (facilitator), and Mark Wilson (3L) spoke on a panel titled Determining Intent to Injure: Potential Lessons from Law in Assessing Match Penalties in Hockey in which panelists drew from lived experiences ranging from working as a referee to playing varsity hockey to playing and coaching junior hockey. Panelists examined the relationship between the rules of ice hockey – both written and unwritten – and Canadian legal principles, with a focus on intent, provocation, and accountability. The discussion also considered hockey’s informal “code” of violence and retaliation, and whether such cultural norms should influence legal or disciplinary outcomes. The presentation concluded by asking: what is the test for intent, and how should it apply within the unique socio-cultural environment of Canadian hockey?
I do, and always will, love hockey. I’ve loved hockey and thought it to be the best sport in the world for as long as I can remember. Despite the fact—due to a more complicated relationship with the game in recent years—I no longer call myself a ‘hockey player,’ there are few things that take up more of my day-to-day thoughts than does hockey. Over the course of the Conference, I time and again attended presentations that highlighted problems with the game I loved, but more importantly, I learned about the ways these inspiring individuals were working to make the game more accessible to people of all identities. I sat and watched enlightening presentations about motherhood in sport, the revisionist history of racialized players, player attitudes toward instances of sexual assault, concussions, Indigenous excellence, hockey in residential schools, Reconciliation in sport, and even the linguistic roots of hockey slang to name only a few. Each was more interesting than the last. I was left with an overwhelming sense that sport, specifically hockey, could be the beacon of progress in making Canada a more equitable place for all.
Some people think [hockey] is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.
-Bill Shankly, OBE
Dr. Martine Dennie with keynote speaker Rick Westhead, investigative journalist for TSN and author of We Breed Lions: Confronting Canada’s Troubled Hockey Culture (forthcoming Nov. 2025). Having covered the 2018 sexual assault allegations against five World Junior players and Hockey Canada’s response, Westhead explores in the book, systemic issues like hazing, homophobia, and the failure of institutions to protect victims. His June 18 keynote talk covered the culture of misogyny, abuse, hazing, and silence in hockey. He discussed how the Hockey Canada incident exposes deeper problems across hockey culture, despite the eventual acquittal of the players in July 2025.
There are many things in life more important than a game. However, sport has a unique ability to highlight systemic issues that may be harder to see in other aspects of life. Further, law and policymaking can often serve as the first step in ensuring a community’s goals are met. Combining these two fields goes to show the impact that the game could gave on our society if we are to make the game welcoming to all. If hockey is Canada’s game, why can’t it lay the blueprint for inclusivity across Canadian society? Many of the speakers demonstrated to me how far we still have to go to reach a point where the sport can truly embody the NHL’s credo that “Hockey is for Everyone,” while others showed just how far we’ve come. All of them are people I’m grateful to have met.
Eugene Arcand and his wife Lorna were two of the most inspiring individuals whose names I could not, in good conscience, omit. Eugene and I spent hours together talking about his history in the game, a history that he and Bob McKenzie brought to life far better than I could on the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website. Eugene shares the truth about his past playing hockey at a residential school and the impact it had on his life well into adulthood—I believe it’s a necessary read for any Canadian, doubly so for hockey fans.
Another individual I had the pleasure of meeting was Bernice Carnegie, the daughter of pioneering black hockey player and Hockey Hall of Famer, Herb Carnegie. Although Herb was excluded from the NHL, he worked tirelessly to ensure that no child would know the hurt he felt from being excluded, and started the first-ever hockey school that accepted people of all races and backgrounds. He never ceased that effort and wanted to transcend the barriers that prevented his NHL aspirations, emphasizing sportsmanship, respect, and diversity for all. Both Eugene and Ms. Carnegie indulged my interest in their hockey history and shared anecdotes with me that were so laden with emotion that I had to dab them from my eyes. I am beyond grateful I had the opportunity to meet these amazing people and receive a sliver of their vast knowledge.
Dr. Cheryl MacDonald (pictured left), CEO of Sport New Brunswick and Research Associate at the University of New Brunswick and Dr. Martine Dennie (Assistant Professor, Robson Hall), members of The Hockey Conference Organization Committee.
None of the experiences I mention above would ever have been possible without the generosity of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, especially Dr. Dennie, Dr. Shannon Moore from the Faculty of Education at UM, Stefan Lewis and Seth Garcia, as well as the other members of the Conference committee including Dr. Cheryl MacDonald, Dr. Kristi Allain, Dr. Sarah Teetzel, Jamie Ryan, Dr. Teresa Fowler, Dr. Tim Skuce, Dr. Kyle McCallum, Dr. Jonathon Edwards, Dr. Christine O’Bonsawin, and Brent Poplawski.
I can’t wait for the next Hockey Conference in 2027!
In addition to the UM Faculty of Law, the 2025 Hockey Conference was sponsored by the UM Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, The Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law, Saint Mary’s University, Research Manitoba, The Legal Research Institute, Taylor McCaffrey LLP, UM Faculty of Education, St. Thomas University, Hockey Winnipeg, Hockey Manitoba, OJ Graphix, The Office of the Vice-President (Indigenous) University of Manitoba, the Centre for Human Rights Research, and the Manitoba Law Foundation. Conference organizers also acknowledge support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Hockey Conference 2025 research magazine, which can be found online.
Story submitted by Travis Dech, 3L
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