Battalion’s Shamar Moses joins MyHockeyHero Podcast

One of the newest member of the North Bay Battalion, right winger Shamar Moses, joined Dean Barnes and the MyHockeyHero podcast (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music) to discuss several different topics, including Moses’ upbringing in Scarborough, Ont., his time with the Barrie Colts, and his excitement about his new landing spot in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Battalion.

As part of his conversation with Dean, Moses talked about why he wore the number 78 growing up while playing house league for the Scarborough Ice Raiders and as a co-captain of the Don Mills Flyers Under-16 AAA team. It turns out that the 17-year-old drew inspiration from two CHL alumni – P.K. Subban (Belleville Bulls / OHL) and Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Océanic / QMJHL) – in selecting the number.

“Growing up, P.K. Subban – he was everything to me. Being a kid from Scarborough, a black defenceman, the 78 [I wore] weirdly enough was chosen just because it was close to him. It was a number too that I chose because, if I am being honest when I was really young, I thought [Sidney] Crosby was 78, and not 87,” laughed Moses. “So, that was also part of it, but this was when I was super young and it was the first number I ever picked.”

Moses also spoke about his experience with Hockey Equality, which is an organization led by OHL alumnus and former NHLer Anthony Stewart (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL) that helps BIPOC and disadvantaged players. Through this program, Moses was able to earn a scholarship to attend Blyth Academy (a private sports school in Toronto) and work with Matt Nichol, who is now the Director of Player Heath and Performance for the Ottawa Senators. Moses felt the support he got from Hockey Equality had an important impact on his development towards the OHL.

“I’ve only had unreal experiences with Hockey Equality. They’ve done so much for me – whether it was back in my minor midget year I got the scholarship to Blyth [Academy]. That was huge for me and I got to spend the year there training every morning, skating every morning, working with Matt Nichol. Seeing how it is with the elites of the elites,” said Moses, who was one of 155 CHL players who were identified last Wednesday on the NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2025 NHL Draft.

When asked about the growth of the game of hockey, and the increased diversity among players competing in the CHL and OHL, Moses pointed to his former teammates in Barrie to showcase why he feels the game is growing in this regard.

“You can see it. There are more [raciliazed players] in the sport. I was lucky to have Kash on my team. Kashawn Aitcheson. He is an unbelievable player,” stated Moses about his former Barrie Colts teammate Aitcheson, who is set to play for Team CHL at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada on November 26-27. “We also had three Indigenous players on our [Colts] team. Two from Sudbury: Nolan Newton and Cole Dubowsky, and then Justin Handsor as well. It is cool to see how much the game is changing and just the quality of the game as well.”

As part of the CHL’s continued efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the sport of hockey, the CHL along with its Member Leagues (Western Hockey League / WHL, Ontario Hockey League / OHL, and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League / QMJHL) are working alongside Dean Barnes and his My Hockey Hero podcast (available on all major podcast directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music) to tell stories of racialized players as a way to help expose more fans to the growing impact that people of colour are having on the game of hockey.

To view clips from various episodes and guests on the My Hockey Hero Podcast, be sure to check out the podcast on Instagram @myhockeyhero_. To see some of the unique hockey cards found in Barnes’ extensive collection, be sure to follow @diversityhockeycards on Instagram.

(Photo by Tom Martineau)