Delving into youth ice hockey culture

By Charlie Broad ‘25

Young Justin Xia playing hockey.

Courtesy of Justin Xia ‘25

There is a perception of hockey as a sport of violence, brutality, and fighting. These jarring attributes can be synonymous with the sport itself and have bred ideas that hockey culture is toxic. 

The professional game, such as the National Hockey League (NHL), can exemplify much of this. It is commonplace to see players barreling into each other, or dropping their gloves and fighting. Recently, a game between the United States and Canada made headlines for having three fights occur in the first 9 seconds of the game.

In a youth setting, this can be worrisome for many, as parents wouldn’t want their children exposed to this culture for a variety of reasons. Additionally, this could be problematic in expanding the popularity of hockey, as those not familiar with hockey would not be attracted to the sport. 

Senior Lily Wang is unfamiliar with hockey, but in her perceptions, if she had a child of her own, playing hockey would be something to be wary of. Wang has concerns about the dangerous effects of hockey, such as brain damage.

Furthermore, Wang said “I wouldn’t be a fan because of the violent nature,” as the culture of the sport would make her stray away. This idea of toxicity can spill over into many forms, and these perceptions have real validity. In Canada, during the 2021-2022 season, there were “900 documented or alleged incidents of on-ice discrimination across all levels and age groups.”

These numerous cases of discrimination certainly make it clear that there are issues of toxicity within youth hockey, however, not everyone's experience reflects that culture. Senior Justin Xia played youth hockey for 10 years and felt a lot of positivity in the hockey community.

Xia has made some of his closest friends through his time playing hockey, “You see these people every day,” said Xia. Through traveling together on team trips, and interacting with his teammates for so long, hockey fostered a sense of community.

Similarly, ninth grader Henry AvRuskin—a member of the Junior Winterhawks, Portland’s local hockey club— has had these experiences. “I treat those guys like my brothers and we all love each other and try to work hard and improve together,” said AvRuskin.

Xia does acknowledge that hockey is a physical sport but disputes the idea that it is aggressive. In Xia’s eyes, “what happens on the ice stays on the ice,” as the physical actions on the ice hold no true bearing on mean-spiritedness. “Nobody intentionally does anything harmful,” said Xia, furthering the idea that in his youth hockey experience players weren’t trying to hurt each other.

It was important for Xia to separate the physical intensity of the sport from your emotions. Xia was cognizant of his coaches wanting him to be more physical, but he argues that it is an aspect of any sport that involves contact. 

A major contrast between the professional game, NHL, and youth hockey is the culture around fighting. 

Unlike every other major sport in the U.S. (basketball, baseball, football, and soccer), the fighting culture of the NHL is far more celebrated. Cheered on by the fans, and a part of the “unwritten rules”, the governing body of the NHL has taken zero efforts to remove fighting from the sport.

In the youth game, although physically intense, fighting is nonexistent, as it is completely illegal to partake in the act. In youth amateur competition under USA Hockey, “a punch, or an attempted punch,” will result in an immediate ejection for the player. This directly removes the worry of violence in this aspect.

As opposed to violence, some of the areas of concern in youth hockey are instances of discrimination. For Xia, some of his only bad experiences playing the sport were related to the way he was treated for being Asian. “The people of color who play…we’re just even more minority,” said Xia.

Xia noted how white people largely dominated the hockey demographic. In the NHL alone, “90 percent of players and officials are white, and 83 percent out of the whole league is white.” Xia experienced bad jokes about his race, “they don't actually hate Asian people…but it’s like when you do say mean jokes, it does come off like that,” he said. 

It is evident that issues concerning discrimination exist and need to be addressed. This type of culture is not desirable and can create harm. However, dismissing hockey entirely as dangerous or toxic can overlook the positive aspects that Xia and AvRuskin reaped.
Like with any contact sport, there are risks to playing hockey, yet its culture is complex and fosters valuable positive experiences.