QMJHL rookies talk consent, healthy relationships as part of effort to change hockey culture

A Halifax Mooseheads rookie is welcoming sessions the league has held on consent and healthy relationships for first-year players, but welcomes more given the severity of the topic.

Patrick McNab said the session he attended was insightful and he would be open to more things like that throughout the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season. 

"They're definitely some mature topics," said the 17-year-old forward from Montreal. "I feel like being in this league and being a young guy, like you definitely need to mature."

All 143 rookies entering the league sat down before the start of the 2024-25 season to hear presentations from a sexologist, a Crown attorney and a nurse.

The sessions, held in person for the first time this year in Moncton, N.B., and Trois-Rivières, Que., were launched in 2022 in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual assault involving former junior hockey players in Canada.

Martin Lavallée, assistant commissioner for the QMJHL, said the workshops are important for young hockey players coming into the league.

"They're sort of the heroes in their communities," he said. "There can be bad actions because they think they're prestigious."

Five former members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team are set to go to trial in April on sexual assault charges related to an alleged incident that year in London, Ont., involving a woman.   

Earlier this year, Halifax Regional Police confirmed they were still investigating a historical sexual assault allegation against members of Canada's 2003 world junior hockey team. 

In October, a woman alleged to police that eight former Ontario Hockey League players sexually assaulted her in 2014. 

Players keen to discuss issues

An expert who spoke at the most recent QMJHL sessions said the young men there wanted to talk about consent and healthy relationships.

"They were participating a lot," said sexologist Anne-Marie Lavoie.

Lavoie said she told the players consent isn't as complicated as they might think. It's just a matter of being aware of the other person's feelings and what they want, she said.

Lavoie, who works with sexual assault offenders, said young men playing competitive hockey can be used to winning and getting what they want.

"It's already challenging being a teenager. But on top of that, they are hockey players seen as superstars. They're trying to build their identity through that context, which is unreal in a way," Lavoie said.

"We don't necessarily always give them tools" to deal with that, she added. She said coaches and mentors can have a significant effect on young athletes by being good role models.

Lavallée said QMJHL coaches and staff participated in similar workshops as the players did, and the league will look at improving these sessions each year.

"It's still a work in progress," he said. "Each year there's new kids coming into the league ... and we do not think that because we did it last year, it will be all good this year."

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.