Player Support

The CHL has a long-standing partnership with Respect Group Inc., which has worked alongside the CHL annually since 2011 to help educate both players and staff alike on how to create a positive and safe environment within our hockey community.

Specifically, each of the CHL’s three member leagues has adopted the Respect in the Workplace training program, which is a program championed by the CHL. The Respect in the Workplace program educates players and staff in many different areas including harassment, domestic violence, diversity, and the risks of bullying, hazing, harassment, and abuse – just to name a few.

It is a foundational online training program developed to empower and engage individuals with the information and tools required to understand, prevent, and respond to incidents of Bullying, Abuse, Harassment, and Discrimination (BAHD). The training encourages this by engaging participants with illustrated real-world scenarios, expert clips, practical questions, and helpful tips that can be applied within one’s work environment.

For more information about Respect Group Inc., please visit their website at respectgroupinc.com.

It is a foundational online training program developed to empower and engage individuals with the information and tools required to understand, prevent, and respond to incidents of Bullying, Abuse, Harassment, and Discrimination (BAHD). The training encourages this by engaging participants with illustrated real-world scenarios, expert clips, practical questions, and helpful tips that can be applied within one’s work environment.

RESPECT is at the root of our broader efforts to create a hockey environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.  We all have a part to play in creating a positive and safe environment within our hockey community. Our Respect in Hockey program provides the knowledge and confidence to “step-up and step-in” when we experience Bullying, Abuse, Harassment and Discrimination, referred to as BAHD behaviors.

If you witness BAHD behaviours taking place within the CHL environment, please report it on our confidential channels. You can do so without fear of reprisal by contacting the reporting channels listed here:

CHL Related: [email protected]

WHL Related: [email protected]

OHL Related: [email protected]

QMJHL-related (English): [email protected]

QMJHL-related (French): [email protected]

Launched in 2014 as a partnership between CMHA Ontario and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Talk Today program has provided over 5,200 players, coaches, billet parents, and staff from the Western Hockey League (WHL), OHL, and Quebec Maritimes Hockey League (QMJHL) with mental health and suicide awareness training since its inception.

One of the most comprehensive mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs for amateur sports in Canada, Talk Today aims to promote suicide prevention, the mental health of young athletes and to spread awareness about the benefits of positive mental health throughout communities across the country.

The CHL and its member leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) have been proud partners of CMHA’s Talk Today program for the better part of the last decade. The program not only provides mental health education and support to players but also involves working with teams to promote positive mental health in their communities.

This February, the Talk Today program is celebrating its 10th season of Talk Today. As part of celebrating this major milestone, teams across the CHL will host a dedicated mental health awareness game in partnership with their local CMHA. To find a game near you and purchase tickets, visit www.talktoday.ca. You can also read more about Talk Today’s 10th anniversary here.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, visit www.cmha.ca/find-help/ to find a CMHA in your area.

The CHL is proudly partnering with The Carnegie Initiative (The CI) as part of the league’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion among its fans, clubs, and the hockey community at large.

This collaboration will see the CHL hold public screenings of the award-winning documentary “Beyond Their Years: The Incredible Legacies of Herb Carnegie and Buck O’Neil” at its two marquee events — the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow. The film captures the story of Herb Carnegie (hockey) and Buck O’Neil (baseball), who were both excluded, because of their race, from competing at the highest professional level of their sport. Yet, without anger or bitterness, they channeled that injustice into pioneering work that made their respective sports, and the world, more inclusive.

All CHL clubs will also have the opportunity to view the documentary on their own along with a panel discussion about both the film and its themes. The panel features representatives from each of the CHL’s three member leagues, including Rico Phillips (OHL’s Director of Cultural Diversity and Inclusion), Wacey Rabbit (WHL alumnus and current assistant coach of the Saskatoon Blades), Yvan Mongo (QMJHL alumnus) and The CI Co-Founder Bernice Carnegie. The panel will then be followed by post-viewing exercises aimed at sparking important conversations and increasing awareness of the importance of inclusivity and equity.

For more information on the CHL’s partnership with The Carnegie Initiative, please visit this link.

In October 2023, hockey leagues across the United States and Canada, including the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and its three member leagues (WHL, OHL & QMJHL), came together to form the Respect Hockey Culture Center – a centralized platform that provides access for players, coaches, and employees to confidentially receive mental health support services and to report on incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

Specifically, all CHL players, coaches, and staff can find this centralized reporting and information platform at respecthockey.com, which also gives them an accessible, confidential, and safe place to come forward if they feel they need to.

This collaboration with REES and the other North American hockey leagues seeks to reduce barriers to reporting abuse and misconduct, an essential step in fostering a respectful, psychologically safe, and inclusive environment in hockey. The leagues take allegations of unethical behavior and misconduct seriously and will review all reports made on the platform to determine an appropriate course of action.

The Respect Hockey Culture Center is operated by an independent third party, REES Community, with mental health supports available through the Canadian Centre for Mental Health in Sport. The initiative was made possible by way of a grant from the National Hockey League.

The CHL and its three member leagues – the WHL, OHL & QMJHL – entered into a multi-year education and bet monitoring services agreement with Sportradar in 2022.

With the support of Sportradar, along with the CMHA, the CHL has developed a Sports Betting & Integrity Policy and Program for all persons associated with the CHL (ie: players, coaches, staff, officials, etc.) who must complete this online education program. The program aims to: (1) ensure that everyone is fully aware of the prohibited activities within the CHL’s Sports Betting & Integrity Policy; and (2) increase awareness about accessible supports related to problem gambling.

Speaking of the latter, the CHL has specifically worked alongside the CMHA to help educate players on the signs and symptoms of problem gambling as part of the online education program in order to help provide them with the support they require to not only support themselves, but their teammates, loved ones, and/or others as well.

Additionally, as part of the CHL’s partnership with Sportradar, all three member leagues of the CHL will be monitored by Sportradar Integrity Services through its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), an advanced and proven bet monitoring system that has been independently assessed and verified by recognized experts in the field of sports betting and integrity.

The CHL and its member leagues have a partnership with Comprehensive Drug Testing (CDT) to provide testing and education services in support of the CHL’s anti-doping policy that aims to combat the use of performance-enhancing substances among the CHL’s 60 clubs.

CDT has focused its efforts both on educating CHL players on the dangers of using performance-enhancing substances and using the latest technology and methods to carry out an extensive program that tests against the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list.

The CHL first introduced its drug education and anti-doping policy in 2007, focusing on education and providing players with the proper tools to ensure their health and safety. Since its introduction, more than 18,000 players from 2007 to 2021 have been involved in education and testing, including the full range of substances prohibited by the WADA.