Ice hockey collective aims to open the sport to more children, and their parents
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At an ice rink in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield, Bao Vang and Noah Her kneel on the floor in front of their three children. They pull out pads, tug on skate laces and snap facemask straps into place on their children's helmets.
As she finishes tying his skates, Vang asks 8-year-old Sean, “So who is going to be the first Hmong hockey player to play in the NHL?”
Sean, who had just scored a hat trick in a game the day before, quickly answered.
“Me!” he said, but admitting it might be his sister, Nina, because she’s older.
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While Minnesota boasts more youth hockey players than any other state, the state of hockey hasn't done as well in diversifying the sport.
In 2019 USA Hockey began tracking race and ethnicity in its annual participation reports. Last year, the data showed around 86 percent of the 4- to 8-year-olds playing hockey in Minnesota were white. Statewide, the population in that age group is about 67 percent white.
That’s a big part of why Meredith Lang decided to start Mosaic Hockey Collective — to support young players of color.
“What we're trying to do is provide these opportunities, because we know that the better experiences they have, the longer they'll stay in the game,” she said.
Lang played hockey as a young girl. She played girls hockey for Richfield High School in the 1990s, just after the sport was sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. She said she was usually the only Black girl on the ice.
She says that experience and knowledge has helped her daughter to adjust.
“I know the game enough to feel confident in my Black child playing. I know how to put on equipment. I'm not intimidated by a locker room by a bunch of dads, you know, I can kind of give her a few pointers from what I remember, I can reach out to teammates, “ she said. “I'm already kind of in. And so it just made hockey more accessible for me being my daughter being a second generation hockey player."
There are other efforts to diversify the sport. The DinoMights and North Minneapolis Hockey and Figure Skating programs in Minneapolis are introducing many children to the sport. And Minnesota Hockey has implemented several programs to make the sport accessible.
Mosaic intentionally builds that community for kids and parents. The adults sit in the stands during practices, and text each other during the week. Some say they've become a tight knit family.
The children range from 5 years old through high school. Many play in their own associations around the region, but meet up regularly to skate and practice together. Mosaic relies on by in from the hockey community — guest coaches from associations, schools and leagues from across the state volunteer to lead practices each week.
Behind the rink’s glass, Vang reflected on her family's ice hockey journey. They started in Hockey is for Me, run by the Minnesota Wild, a program focused on introducing children to the sport.
Vang says her kids were immediately hooked, but there was a steep learning curve for the Hmong family in a largely white sport. Vang said it was intimidating walking into a locker room for the first time not knowing the terminology, equipment, or the ins and outs of the game.
"There's this little cult around hockey. And if you're not in, boy, you can really feel like an outsider,” she said.
Now Vang and Her volunteer for and manage their kids hockey teams in the East metro.
‘I’m not the only one’
Mirella and her 13-year-old son Ben joined Mosaic a few months ago. They moved to Minnesota after living in New York and Switzerland. They wanted to live in a place that had a strong hockey culture.
But soon Ben began hearing racially tinged comments while playing for one local hockey association. His mom does not want to say which one because they are trying to address it within the association. She asked that MPR News not publish their last names.
“I didn't truly believe he would quit hockey but he did say I don't want to do this anymore,” she said. “Right now he's a 13-year-old boy, he just wants to have fun. He doesn't want to be an activist right now, he just wants to have fun.”
On the ice with Mosaic, Ben said he feels at home.
“I mean, it's good to know that I'm not the only one that's going through this and I feel support,” he said.
Across the ice, Vang reflected on what Mosaic has done for her family, as well as others.
“I get teary eyed thinking about kids who face very, very specific challenges, very nuanced challenges to be really good on the ice. And there's a lot of barriers out there,” she said. “But I can tell you, Mosaic is breaking it down one layer at a time, it is going to make a difference.”
