Dreamer

No one who knows the game is unfamiliar with the story of the NHL’s first Muslim Stanley Cup winner, Nazem Kadri, nor does anyone doubt his warmth and openness in front of a microphone, or his eagerness to challenge the next generation of Muslim athletes. He is a league All-Star, a highlight-reel player, and someone who has been called upon to be the face of his community from the moment he put on skates. Nazem Kadri was a top-ten draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, chosen not only for his elite skills but because he would reflect Toronto’s immense diversity and huge Muslim population. And he was soon a fan favourite, not only with a new generation of diverse fans, but with traditionalists too, who admired his willingness to play the game with old-school toughness. In the end, he was traded to Colorado as management sought to shake up the team. But it was the Avalanche, not the Leafs, who benefitted most, and Toronto fans missed him. When Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2022, Kadri (by then a fan favourite in Denver) was a clutch player in high-pressure games. Today he is a veteran leader with the Calgary Flames, and still making the highlight reels. But the core of Kadri's story is what happened off the ice—both shocking and heartwarming. Kadri faced brutal anti-Muslim harassment during Colorado's Cup run from Blues fans and received incredible support from Denver fans. When a controversy arose about an uncalled penalty on the championship-winning goal, this founding member of the league’s Hockey Diversity Alliance used the opportunity to make humorous t-shirts, which raised over $250,000 for the Kadri Foundation. And when he had his traditional day with the Stanley Cup, he took it to the mosque in his hometown of London, Ontario, along with the message that the highest success, not just in hockey but in life, is a destiny any of us can choose.