As both a father of a hockey player and as a volunteer at all levels of minor hockey in Canada, I would be hard-pressed to recommend hockey as a place for kids to go and participate in minor sports. 95% of minor hockey is wonderful. The game of hockey is incredible, and I have really enjoyed my time working with my son and countless other kids in the hockey system. But that 5% of problems is a big problem, and could well jeopardize the future of the sport in Canada.1 I am only one voice, but I have seen just about every angle of the minor hockey world, from play­ing hockey as a kid, to being a father on the side­lines during my son’s games, to coaching and ref-ereeing countless games, to sitting in boardrooms and talking about the workings of the organization, and finally serving a term as President of Hockey Calgary (before stepping down amidst controversy surrounding a blog entry I wrote entitled, “Neu­trons, Protons, Neurons and Morons,” which has since been called, “The Moron Memo”).
