By: Kelsey De Melo
Hockey has become a national identity for Canadians and continues to connect people.
If you ask anyone from Canada about their culture, they’ll probably talk about how overly polite the people are and about how much they love their hockey. There’s not a whole lot that is considered to be distinctively Canadian. But the one thing that all Canadians can agree on is that hockey is their game.
Darryl Sittler, a former NHL player, said playing hockey definitely brought him closer to his country: “This country gave me everything, I felt so fortunate to be able to represent Canada through hockey and now I’m doing everything I can to give back to it,” Sittler said.
Sittler began playing hockey when he was three years old. His passion for the sport began on outdoor ice rinks in the small town of St. Jacobs, Ont. where he grew up with seven other siblings who all played hockey as well.
“I’ve always had a passion for the game. When I was young I understood the importance of practice and persistence, so I would constantly be practicing the little things I couldn’t do well and through that, I was able to find some success,” Sittler said.
After years of practice, Sittler was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs as their first pick when he was 20 years old. It wasn’t long before Sittler became the youngest captain in team history at age 24.
During his time on the Leafs, Sittler quickly became an NHL legend across Canada and the rest of the hockey world. He still holds the NHL record to this day for scoring the most points in a single game with six points and four assists. Throughout his career, Sittler also played for the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings before retiring in 1985.
Legends like Darryl Sittler have become a huge part of Canadian culture and continue to inspire and unite Canadians through hockey.
For many young Canadians, hockey is a rite of passage. Keelan Froats, a 16-year-old AAA hockey player on the Oakville Rangers team, said hockey has played a huge role in shaping the young boy he is today.
Froats began playing hockey at the age of four and he soon began to realize how important hockey was to him through the life-long relationships he formed both on and off the ice. He quickly became a hockey star in the small town of Oakville, Ont. for being one of the youngest and best players to join the AAA Oakville Rangers team.
“To me, hockey is so much more than a sport. I train up to 20 hours a week so the people on my team are my family and I wouldn’t be half the person I am today without them,” Froats said.
Froats said that playing hockey has helped him feel closer to his country and made him realize how proud he is to be Canadian.
The role that hockey has played in helping to shape Canada’s culture can be traced back hundreds of years. Both fans of the sport and players have developed traditions surrounding the game that has helped to develop a sense of nationalism across the country. Since 1952, Hockey Night in Canada has been a firm tradition for thousands of Canadians who tune in to CBC to watch NHL highlights and listen to Don Cherry and Ron McLean on Coach’s Corner.
@TO_sportsgirl on Twitter tweets about the impact of Hockey Night in Canada.
Hockey Night In Canada aren't just words … it's a lifestyle ???#GoLeafsGo | #HNIC | #LeafsNation pic.twitter.com/JiZTZJNzA2
— Toronto SportsGirl☕ (@TO_sportsgirl) November 11, 2017
Other rituals such as throwing your hat on the ice after your team gets a hattrick or refusing to shave your beard during playoffs as a sign of good luck have also contributed to uniting both the fans and players across the country.
Another long-standing Canadian tradition is team loyalty. Hockey fans in Canada are some of the most loyal fans in the world. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967 but despite this, their fan base continues to grow every day.
The addition of new players such as Auston Matthews has helped motivate younger generations to continue their passion for the sport.
“We Leaf fans always say, ‘there’s always next year,’ but now, because of Matthews, I’m starting to believe it actually might be true,” Froats said.
Although Sittler has retired from the NHL, he continues to encompass Canadian values and make Canadians around the world proud of their country. In 2017, Sittler received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers that commemorated the volunteer work he did for the Special Olympics in the 1970s as well as his volunteer work with ‘Have a Heart for Downs Syndrome.’
“I felt so fortunate to be able to represent Canada through hockey and now I’m doing everything I can to give back to it.”– Darryl Sittler
In a country like Canada that can really only be distinguished by its kind-hearted people and their passion for hockey, Sittler and many other NHL legends like himself, have been able to effectively represent what it truly means to be Canadian both on and off the ice.
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