The Importance of Representation: Tyler Woodley

Like most community members of Peterborough, Tyler Woodley’s childhood was defined at the rink. Woodley, whose dad is a faithful Maple Leafs fan, grew up playing minor hockey in Ennismore and Peterborough starting at four years old. 

“I started doing boy’s church league at that time and I played there until I was 11 or 12 I think and then I switched over to girls rep from there and played in Ennismore.”

Although Woodley possesses the skills to fly between the defensive and offensive zones, he spent the majority of his time perfecting his lateral movement between the pipes as a goalie – a position desirable to any local program. 

“There was one year where I signed up for boys hockey, then Ennismore reached out and said, ‘hey we need a goalie one year above your age range, we have no goalies.’”

And just like that, Woodley committed to two programs and doubled down on his minor hockey schedule. 

“I had a taste of all levels from church league, to the more competitive levels and rep.” 

As he looked back at his favourite memories while playing minor hockey throughout the Kawarthas, Woodley points to one season with the Eagles where he only lost two games and tallied an impressive 32 shutouts throughout the entire season.

“We went to provincials and did the whole thing. Going through that whole experience and winning All-Ontario’s, it was incomparable to anything.”

Additionally, the local goaltender recalls his father organizing a night out for his church league team to attend a Petes game and meet Hurricanes’ phenom, Jordan Staal, “I think that was pretty cool, I watched him for years after that.” From 12 to 18 years old, Woodley wrapped up his minor hockey career with the Ennismore Eagles. 

Woodley, a 23-year-old transgender man has been openly out since he was 16 years old and began medically transitioning at 20-years-old.

In response to the coverage of players like the Buffalo Beauts Alumnus Harrison Browne and PWHPA’s Jessica Platt, Woodley stated, “It was awesome seeing that representation and seeing people be open about it. A lot of times people are afraid of the backlash, especially because in professional sports, nobody really knows how people are going to react.”

In addition to the advocacy of Browne and Platt, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was host to the first openly transgender athletes at the games. The international competition saw Quinn, a non-binary mid-fielder play soccer for Canada, Chelsea Wolfe, a trans woman represent Team USA in BMX freestyle, and Laurel Hubbard, a transgender woman who competed in weightlifting for New Zealand.

Upon reflecting on what he would tell another minor hockey player who desires to be open about their transition, Woodley stresses the importance of prioritizing yourself above all else. 

“I don’t care what others think, people are going to judge you in your life and people don’t really care that much. Most people move on with their lives and then there are a select few who have a problem with it, those few who have problems with it, they don’t usually create that big of a storm. A lot of the time people worry about what others think, instead of worrying about what you think. Think about yourself and be selfish in that moment and do what you want to do and be yourself.”

Throughout his life and medical transition, Woodley has leaned on his brother Nolan and sister-in-law Kari, and girlfriend Maya, as pillars of support. 

“They’ve been so fantastic and there for me no matter what and my brother may not fully understand everything but he’s 100% there and he may not get it, he says, ‘as long as you’re happy that’s all that matters.’”

“My girlfriend has been a huge support as well. I’m glad I do have a good support system.”

Woodley’s girlfriend, originally from the Caribbean, grew up playing roller hockey until she swapped rollerblades for skates when she attended boarding school in Canada.

Although Tyler no longer plays hockey, he hopes to return to the sport one day when his schedule allows it. In the meantime, he remains a fan of the on-ice game, although -like many- he hopes to see it’s culture evolve and support all fans and athletes with more nuanced, less binary and nonsensical policies that are currently in place. 

“More general acceptance… I see a lot of times in professional sport there being strict rules set for trans people especially if you are on hormones medically transitioning there’s a lot of strictness in that. They say, ‘your hormone levels can’t be above this,’ and compared to any other player they wouldn’t really question or think about it. Some trans people are afraid to medically transition because they feel like they won’t be able to play their sport anymore.”

“Hockey has always been a very black and white sport.”

Sharing the stories of players beyond those whose identities already dominate hockey’s narrative, is critical in making the sport more welcoming, understanding, and safe. Continued representation is something Woodley wants to see continue to happen. 

In October, Woodley will be receiving top surgery to help his body feel more aligned with his gender. To support Tyler’s top surgery or to read more about his story click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/2fwz6n1ii0