It was June of 2022 and Dampy Brar was in the stands for one of the biggest moments of Nazem Kadri’s career.
Kadri had returned to the Colorado Avalanche after missing a couple weeks with a broken thumb and marked the occasion in the most dramatic of fashions, sniping an overtime winner to put his team up 3-1 in the Stanley Cup final over the Lightning.
“I was thinking ‘If they win, guaranteed he’s going to bring the Cup to the mosque (in London, Ont.),’“ said Brar, who won the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Award and runs South Asian Hockey, which helps South Asian Canadians find their way in the sport. “He wears his culture and religion on his sleeve and he’s open about it and respects it and that’s what we want for our youth in any sport they play, to be proud of where they come from and their religion and their culture.
“I’ve seen coverage where kids are going ‘he’s inspiring and moving’ and that’s the impact you want to have. As a Lebanese-Canadian, you’re proud of your culture, proud of your heritage, proud of where you’re from and your grandparents are from and you respect them by taking (the Stanley Cup) to the mosque and influencing and impacting and motivating those youth. That’s a very special moment.”
In addition to his impact on the ice in the 1,000 NHL games he has played, Kadri equally is proud of being an inspiration to young Muslims and players from diverse backgrounds trying to make their way in the hockey world.
As a Canadian of Lebanese descent, Kadri has blazed his own path. Growing up, there weren’t NHLers who looked like him or came from his background. Even as a kid, he’ll tell you he faced racism in opposing rinks.
Nobody is saying that has changed completely, but Kadri’s presence in the NHL and the way he has been proud of his culture, religion and background has been an inspiration to countless people.
Moe Jamal is just one example. Jamal is the president and general manager of the Olds Grizzlys and a proud Muslim.
“I didn’t grow up playing hockey and getting into the business of hockey and being an owner and GM of a team in the AJHL, these were not things I thought growing up were ever possible for guys like me,” Jamal explained. “Maybe the biggest impact he’s had for me, personally, is he doesn’t shy away from who he is. You can get caught up in this business just trying to fit in and trying to be with everyone else.
“He’s kind of given me the power and the strength and for guys like me, the ability to say no and stay true to who you are and still succeed and still create opportunities within the game.”
That impact is only more profound for young players.
“Even for my own kid, who is playing, they’re so worried about fitting into the traditional sense of what a hockey player should be and can be,” Jamal said. “I try to get him to look at Naz as a role model even beyond the game of hockey and just be like ‘Always try to be who you are and be comfortable with who you are.’
“It’s a tough thing to ask for from guys who are 13, 14, 15 or 16, but the more you see it from guys like Nazem presenting that out there, it gives them a voice and lets them know it’s possible and accepted and they can be successful with it.”
Nowhere was that more clear than at the London Muslim Mosque in the summer of 2022. Just weeks after Kadri had won it all with the Avalanche and shortly before he signed with the Calgary Flames, he became the first player to bring the Stanley Cup to a mosque.
It was a proud moment for everyone, especially his father.
“I came from a time where racism was in the open, it wasn’t in the closet, it was wide open and I had to deal with that a lot, so to see it evolve and him being a Muslim player with brown-coloured skin, where predominantly you see white, Anglo-Saxon players, it opened the doors for a lot of other people,” Samir Kadri said on Wednesday at the Saddledome, where he was surrounded by his grandchildren in anticipation of his son’s 1,000th NHL game. “I’m very proud of the way he’s handled himself. He’s had to deal with a lot of racism himself, but it’s come a long way.
“For me, I don’t like to look at the negative stuff, I like to look at the positive. Even through minor hockey as we were growing up, we were like families. It was different colours and races. I’m glad he put his stamp on it and led the way. I’ve seen the numbers, even in London, of lots of Muslims and different ethnicities playing hockey now.”
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As for Kadri himself, Wednesday’s 1,000th game ceremony will be a proud moment and an opportunity to reflect on a career that might have seemed impossible when he was just getting started.
Because of him, though, playing hockey in the NHL might feel like it’s possible for Muslim kids or children of any race, religion or background.
“It means the world to me, really,” Kadri said. “I just try to be a role model. As a young kid myself, I never really thought that would be a possibility. I was trying to figure out my own way. Now, as a veteran player I’ve obviously learned a lot of lessons along the way and tried to be the best example I possibly could.
“(I’m) not perfect, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, a lot of things I wish I could take back and a lot of things I wouldn’t take back. For me, being looked at as somebody to follow, it means a lot to me.”
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