by Daniel Johnson
July 6, 2025
The Nationwide Hockey League’s draft highlighted rising range throughout the sport as a document variety of gamers of shade had been drafted.
The Nationwide Hockey League’s latest draft highlighted rising range throughout the sport, marking a notable shift in a league the place, simply three years in the past, 84% of gamers, coaches, and entrance workplace employees had been white.
In 2023, the NHL launched its model of NASCAR’s Drive for Range marketing campaign, the Hockey Range Alliance, a gaggle whose seeds had been planted within the wake of the 2020 murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The preliminary chairs of the group had been former NHL gamers P.Okay. Subban and Anson Carter, each of whom are Black. The intention of the group is to create a extra inclusive and welcoming setting in order that one of many NHL’s slogans, “Hockey is for Everybody,” is greater than an promoting marketing campaign.
On draft evening, the work that the variety alliance has put in over the past two years bore fruit, as greater than 20 future NHL gamers from various backgrounds had been chosen within the NHL Draft.
Kashawn Aitcheson was chosen quantity 17 general by the New York Islanders and by advantage of his place as a high 20 choose, is seen by the group as a participant they’ll construct round and though his massive bodychecks are positive to garner highlights, he’s seen as a priceless piece of the group’s potential offensive manufacturing, per Islanders Normal Supervisor Mathieu Darche.
“Kashawn, (you) discover all his hits on-line, effective, however take a look at him, he’s virtually a point-a-game man in juniors,” Darche informed NHL.com.
Invoice Zonnon, a 6’2 185 pound winger who additionally has flashed the positional flexibility to play middle, was chosen with choose 22 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Zonnon is the son of Canadian immigrants who hail from Togo, and Penguins Normal Supervisor Kyle Dubas is worked up by the prospect’s skill to rapidly thrive when he was inserted into the lineup at middle. Zonnon nonetheless has some improvement to do, so he’ll play at Blainville-Boisbriand whereas he develops in direction of cracking the NHL roster.
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