DFO Rundown: Kevin Weekes on diversity in hockey, interviewing for general manager jobs, and goaltending

Seravalli: How do you fix this?

Weekes: You have to be real. I said that on the first Zoom call. You have to be real. People look at me like I have 10 heads but you have to be.

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I think that right now, there’s a lot of competing interests, unfortunately. There’s a lot of perception, there’s a lot of needless jockeying, there are some needless factions, there are people taking lead positions that, quite frankly, shouldn’t have them, there are people taking lead positions in self service, not in service to the game.

That’s why I say it starts with being real.

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I was just cutting my teeth in the league but I knew I was playing for something more, something bigger than myself.

Obviously, you’re playing for your teammates and your fans and your family as a young provider. But I also knew I was playing for the game, and for the community, and also for the game in a way that wasn’t opportunistic. Like, I didn’t even get a box of free hats to give the kids. Not even some mini sticks. Zero. Zero resources or support.

So, I think, now what’s important going forward if I’m king for a day is that we’re real about where we are and where we’re not. We’re real about what intentions look like, not trying to get headlines, not trying to be self-serving. And, ultimately, serve the game. I’m a big believer in serving the game and growing the game.

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, talks about that. He always says ‘everything my family and I have we have due to the game.’

If that’s coming from Gretz, it’s coming from the summit of the mountain and I don’t think any of us should approach it any differently. Whether it’s club, whether it’s league, whether it’s any organization, I think we have to be in service to the game and to the sport. The intentions have to be clean and when your intentions are clean then your actions will follow that.