Brock McGillis, bringing a ‘Culture shift’ to hockey in Canada

Former Ontario Hockey League and professional hockey player, Brock McGillis, left a mark with young Montreal hockey players, as he is aiming to speak 100 teams in 100 days.

As one of the first openly gay men’s players in the sport, he’s embarked on a national speaking tour of Canada that he’s calling the “Culture Shift Tour.” He wants to uplift young hockey players while being an advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

“I can pick out a hockey player anywhere I go. A mall, a school, it doesn’t matter where. They dress the same talk, the same walk, the same, you know, and there’s more to them than that. And the more they embrace who they are, the happier they’re going to be and the better environment they’re going to create for everybody to be themselves,” McGillis says.

At the focus of his discussion, an emphasis on sensitivity around the use of words and language.

“Because it’s a hyper-masculine space where the language behaviors and attitudes in the room – even if it doesn’t reflect personal views – it’s a reflection on the culture where people use stuff and words to fit in,” the activist says, adding that growing up, “What did impact me was the language I heard, the homophobic language. It made me feel like I was bad or wrong, like I couldn’t be myself, and play the sport that I love.”

Antoine Gangnon, a young right-winger in attendance acknowledged “you hear it and you don’t really know who it’s touching.”

McGillis urged the young players from the Saint-Laurent Patriotes to step up.

“I think after today I’m going to take a bigger role in the room to make sure none of that [bullying] is happening,” says forward-center Louis-Charles Cunningham.

“I feel I have a responsibility as team captain,” says center, Simon Chartrand.

Hugo Lamoureux, general manager for the Saint-Laurent Patriotes hockey team saying, “we think it’s important as a team that our players are inclusive and open to all, whether we’re talking about race,  identity.”

McGillis hopes to continue breaking the behaviours in the sport that have been perpetuated generation after generation.