Season 3 / Episode 10 - Ice Hockey in Harlem, part 1

Apna Hockey President Lali Toor shares his hockey history which compelled him to start the first hockey based organization serving the South Asian community. His love of the sport combined with his business background brings a fresh perspective to the community.

Abbotsford Canucks development coach Harry Mahesh tells us about his journey from minor league hockey player to NHL coach. He shares his insight as a hockey player of Indian descent, how he’s learned to embrace his culture and now finds joy in the sport.

We continue our discussion with Speekes’ founders Megan and Kevin Weekes in this episode. Kevin tells us about his experience playing hockey from youth leagues to the NHL as well as his journey into broadcasting.

Powerhouse duo Megan and Kevin Weekes tell us about their new media and advisory company, Speekes. Kevin is a retired NHL goaltender and current broadcast analyst for various outlets, including ESPN, CBC and the NHL network. Megan is a Chief Marketing Officer who’s worked with some of the biggest companies in the world, such as Tropicana, Major League Baseball, Revlon and the NHL. This is part one of our amazing chat with them!

New episodes coming on October 22! We will be hearing from entrepreneurs Kevin and Megan Weekes, Apna Hockey founder Lali Toor, Canucks hockey coach Harry Mahesh, author Renee Hess, and many others!

Our interview continues with Ice Hockey in Harlem's Executive Director Malik Garvin and Board President JJ Velez. They talk about the need for community partnership to keep a program like theirs thriving and how corporate sponsors, the NHL and local volunteers are all crucial to this mission. We also discuss the need for growing the game and bringing new audiences to it, and we share all of our favorite hockey memories on our last episode of Season 3. 

Malik Garvin and JJ Velez tell us about their organization Ice Hockey in Harlem. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1987, and runs hockey and educational programs for lower income youth in New York City. Malik and JJ both participated in the program as kids, and now they are keeping the legacy going for the next generation.

We are taking a short break and will be back on March 26 with a new episode featuring Ice Hockey in Harlem.

On this episode, Alex Kim - Anaheim Junior Ducks' Director of Player Personnel and Head Coach - joins us. He also works as a scout for the United States Hockey League and is a founder of the Optimum Hockey Academy. He's working to grow the game for the Asian community through coaching, scouting and running a hockey Academy. He's even coached some current NHL players that you may recognize.

Sports agent John Kofi Osei-Tutu and professional hockey player Marc Johnstone join us on this episode. Johnstone made his NHL debut December 8, 2023 with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they played the Florida Panthers. They share their experiences navigating the sport and what it felt like to make an NHL debut after many years of dedication and hard work.