© Tom Gulitti

WASHINGTON – The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition put a spotlight Friday on how playing hockey can contribute to improving physical and mental health among adults and children across the United States.

Rob Wooley, the NHL vice president of legislative affairs and executive director of the NHL Foundation, and NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh participated in a panel discussion at the council’s annual meeting that highlighted programs that have helped grow participation in the sport such as the NHL’s Learn to Play and First Shift and the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams fund.

“It’s an honor to be part of the President’s Council for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition,” Wooley said. “It’s an appropriate place for hockey to be. For many years, we didn’t really have a seat at the table and now we’re able to influence policy, we’re able to demonstrate the value of hockey in the overarching strategy to get kids healthy and active and here we are being able to have a voice at the table with other sports.”

Co-chaired by renowned chef Jose Andres and two-time WNBA most valuable player Elena Delle Donne, the council is a federal advisory committee that promotes physical activity and healthy eating across the country, regardless of background.

“We’ve created an historic partnership that brings together all the major sports leagues, that’s very huge, and also the players’ associations, all across the country with this simple goal to create stronger, healthier communities, especially for the American children,” Andres said in addressing the meeting via Zoom from Mexico City. “We are working with our partners to expand access to sports and physical activity and educate more Americans about the importance of good nutrition and how we can all live healthier lives.”

© Tom Gulitti

The NHL and NHLPA are among more than a dozen sports leagues and players’ associations across the United States participating in the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities that was established in February and is part of an initiative announced by President Joe Biden in September of 2022 with the goal of ending hunger and diet-related diseases by 2030.

“Since then, we’ve been working with the sports leagues and players’ associations to figure out how we can create healthier humans by expanding physical activity, by helping reduce hunger, by attacking food insecurity, by thinking about food as medicine,” said Rayhaan Merani, executive director of the President’s Council. “There are so many other components to this.”

Representatives from the NFL and NBA also participated in the discussion at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Wooley and Walsh took the stage to answer questions from Elana Meyers Taylor, a four-time U.S. Olympian in bobsled and member of the council. Wooley and Walsh stressed how the NHL and NHLPA have been working together to increase youth participation in hockey, investing more than $14 million in communities throughout the 2023-24 season.

Learn to Play and First Shift introduced nearly 40,000 boys and girls to hockey and, along with Goals & Dreams, provided equipment to help youth players get started in the sport and encourage them to stay physically active. The Industry Growth Fund (IGF), a committee overseen by representatives from the NHL and NHLPA, was established in 2013 to support local hockey programs and reduce barriers to participation.

© Tom Gulitti

Walsh also noted the importance of the work of the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition to encourage more diversity within the sport and that begins with getting – and keeping — more youth players involved.

“When you look at the NHL and look at players, a small percentage of our players are players of color,” Walsh said. “But when you go to the minor leagues and you go below that, there’s more and more young people of color playing the game of hockey. It’s just very expensive and it’s very hard to continue on the track to make it to the NHL. So, the League has made some real investments in different programs. We’re working on those programs, too … and really focusing now inside the players’ association with the League in long-term.

“It’s not just a one-off donation to an organization. It’s how do we donate to that organization and sustain that donation for a while so that we can see some growth there. So, I’m excited about what’s coming.”

Wooley acknowledged the NHL has more to do to make the sport more welcoming but believes the League and NHLPA have taken good steps in that direction.

“Hockey culture is shifting quickly,” Wooley said. “We have no choice and we’re all behind that with the leadership of Commissioner Gary Bettman and Marty Walsh. But to Marty’s point, we have a lot of work to do to make sure our game begins to evolve and to look more like our country.”

Wooley and Walsh each stressed the importance of the strong relationship between the NHL and NHLPA and how much they can accomplish by working together.

“The power of both entities together is tremendous,” Wooley said. “We’re in this together from ownership to the Commissioner to the players and to Marty Walsh. We’re all committed to making sure that more children of all backgrounds are involved in our game.”