The first time Tricia McGuire-Adams, an Anishinaabekwe from Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek, spoke with Anishinaabe hockey player and coach Ted Nolan was when she received the Rose Nolan memorial scholarship as a PhD student. The scholarship was established in memory of Nolan’s mother Rose to assist First Nations women in achieving their educational and training goals, while maintaining strong community involvement.
On June 11, in celebration of National Indigenous History Month, Nolan was a special guest of McGuire-Adams, now an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, who invited him to an online discussion of his book called Life in two worlds: A coach's journey from the reserve to the NHL and back.
“It means so much to see your success,” an emotional Nolan told McGuire-Adams.
Nolan, who grew up on the Garden River First Nation reserve, played in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. When his on-ice career ended, he started coaching, first with the Soo Greyhoound and then with the Buffalo Sabres.
However, despite producing excellent results, the Sabres failed to re-sign him. Nolan’s book chronicles those tumultuous years – the devastation he felt when he was shut out from the NHL and the inspiring come-back he was able to mount with help from his family.
“I remember coming home for Christmas pretending I was having the greatest time of my life,” said Nolan of his first forays into professional hockey and the subtle and not so subtle racism he endured. “I don’t remember winning cups, because you block everything and try to survive and that’s what our people did for many years.
“It helped me for a while, protected me, but at some point, those walls come crashing down.”
Nolan’s love of hockey started when he was a young boy still living on the reserve. He built an ice rink in his own backyard and skated under the moonlight in skates so big, he had to put on rubber boots first to make them fit.
Still, he describes the experience as magical and said whatever else was happening in his home or in the community, evaporated on ice. His father encouraged him to have fun over winning and he did, enjoying many years of playing recreational hockey in house leagues.
“That’s why I loved it so much,” said Nolan. “I was just playing because I enjoyed it, not playing for anyone else.”
When he made it to the NHL, Nolan brought his Anishinaabe cultural protocols with him, inviting his teammates - and later players - to participate along with him. He credits his mother Rose, who used to organize powwows and host meetings for the American Indian Movement (AIM), a grassroots movement for Indigenous rights, for passing on these traditions and raising him to be proud of who he was.
“My first game was against the Chicago Blackhawks and as I walked onto the ice surface, just a skinny Ojibwe kid, I was grateful and proud of my upbringing and wanted to honour my predecessors,” said Nolan.
“Later on, I coached players from many parts of the world and I thought it important to tell them who I was besides being a coach.
“I really wanted to introduce our culture to them and tell them how I became a coach, how my brother Rick, who was a fireman, coached baseball and hockey, and how I learned to coach watching him interact with others and seeing how he made them feel important.”
Nolan took Team Latvia to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in 2014, where they faced off against a team of superstars on Team Canada.
“During that game against Canada, I brought out an ax and said, 'This ax can cut a tree, but it will take time and patience … That’s how we can play, one bit a time' and we held them off for a long time with a score of 1-1.”
Canada beat Latvia when Shea Weber scored a second goal with less than seven minutes remaining, but Nolan remains proud of the Latvian team’s efforts.
“Ordinary people can do extraordinary things, if you have a group of people who believe in them and if they believe in themselves,” said Nolan. “To be a good player, you just need to have a heart and a love of the game.”
That’s a message he is committed to share with as many Indigenous kids as he can reach, along with his two sons Brandon and Jordan, both former NHL players (Jordan won two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings). Together, they created the 3NOLANS First Nation Hockey School in 2013 for First Nation youth in First Nation communities across Canada.
In addition to developing the youth’s hockey skills and knowledge, the program teaches them about the importance of living healthy active lifestyles, how to be positive role models and how to become future leaders in their communities.
“This has been the best coaching I’ve done in my life,” said Nolan.
While he is yet to hear from NHL about his experiences, Nolan hopes his account will make a difference.
“Treat everyone with dignity and respect and the results will come – not just in sport, but beyond.”