Background 

Through my past work in Indigenous hockey spaces, I have executed research projects, conducted surveys, and uncovered significant statistical insights concerning the journeys of Indigenous hockey players. I plan to share these findings through the CSC’s platform, with the main goal being to inform the public about the inequities in some Indigenous youth hockey experiences as well as to promote under-scouted high-level Indigenous hockey players. My expertise in statistical analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) has led me to new conclusions about current Indigenous hockey players upon learning about their paths to junior or high school hockey. I plan to present these findings to demonstrate the differences between some Indigenous athletic journeys and some privileged athletic opportunities that co-exist in neighbouring cities/communities. In doing so, I hope to contribute to the growing collection of Indigenous athlete research pieces and publicize issues that are not currently being promoted in mainstream media.

Current Projects 

Many of my research projects concern Indigenous sport through a strong partnership with the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport & Recreation Council (MASRC). One project that I recently completed was preparing important documents for the 2025 Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games. This event will be held in two nations, Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation serves as both an athletic and cultural celebration next summer. I also created the High-Level Indigenous Hockey Players Map. This has been a 5-month project to collect and organize Indigenous hockey players into a database to promote their achievements. I used my database management expertise to create database and map templates for volunteers to easily attach player info to their hometowns and eventual points on a map. The project began as a Google Doc of 80-ish names and has since become a full-fledged database with over 1000 high-level Indigenous hockey players. The Google My Map visual for this database has amassed over 32,000 views, which has completely surpassed my expectations. A special shoutout goes to Hockey Indigenous for their help throughout this process and for promoting the map on their website.

What is your Favourite TV Show? 

Prison Break or Bojack Horseman

What are your current Hobbies and Interests? 

Practically every day, I will watch, track, scout, research, or play hockey. When not focused on hockey, I like to read and play guitar or piano. I recently also started playing disc golf and I enjoy many outdoor activities like basketball and Spikeball.

What’s your Favourite Sport? 

My favourite sport is hockey, and my favourite team is the Dallas Stars. They don’t get much media attention in southern Ontario, but I have been following them closely since about 2014.

Achievements/Memorable Moments 

Being part of a panel at the Indigenous Hockey Research Network’s inaugural conference at McGill University in October 2023 was a proud personal moment. I was also selected to be a page in the Ontario Legislature when I was in Grade 7, which is a proud memory of moving to Toronto for 5 weeks in 2014 to work for the provincial government at Queen’s Park.

Future Plans 

During my Master’s, I plan to continue working/volunteering in my 5-6 positions if time allows. The main goal throughout my Master’s is to apply the Indigenous hockey organizational learning and knowledge from the Master’s research into a live environment. I hope to build relationships with Indigenous hockey organizations as part of working with Indigenous youth athletes. I also hope to work with non-Indigenous Junior and Professional hockey organizations over the next few years, both locally and potentially overseas. The end goal is to work in a meaningful management space within a professional hockey organization, and I will continue to work until that happens.