by Daniel Johnson
July 6, 2025
The Nationwide Hockey League’s draft highlighted rising variety throughout the sport as a report variety of gamers of colour had been drafted.
The Nationwide Hockey League’s current draft highlighted rising variety 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 workers had been white.
In 2023, the NHL launched its model of NASCAR’s Drive for Range marketing campaign, the Hockey Range Alliance, a bunch 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.Ok. Subban and Anson Carter, each of whom are Black. The purpose of the group is to create a extra inclusive and welcoming atmosphere 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 range alliance has put in during the last 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 total by the New York Islanders and by advantage of his place as a prime 20 decide, is seen by the group as a participant they will 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 Common Supervisor Mathieu Darche.
“Kashawn, (you) discover all his hits on-line, tremendous, however have a look at him, he’s virtually a point-a-game man in juniors,” Darche advised NHL.com.
Invoice Zonnon, a 6’2 185 pound winger who additionally has flashed the positional flexibility to play middle, was chosen with decide 22 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Zonnon is the son of Canadian immigrants who hail from Togo, and Penguins Common Supervisor Kyle Dubas is happy by the prospect’s means to shortly 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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