Travis Dermott had a lot on his mind as he carefully wrapped the shaft of his hockey stick with rainbow-coloured tape.
The NHL had dispatched a memo to teams before the season reiterating its ban on altering on-ice gear for warmups and practices to reflect theme nights.
"I wasn't happy," Dermott said of the league's initial decision."Since I've been a little kid, I thought it was really important to have people to look up to.The 26-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., said working for causes away from the rink is great, but on TV under the bright lights is where there's the most exposure.
The move against rainbow-coloured tape came after the league received widespread criticism last season when a handful of players opted out of wearing Pride-themed warmup jerseys. "This got laid out in front of me," he said."And with the amount that I care about community and the amount of ties that I had before doing this, and now the amount of people that have come out of the woodwork saying that this affected them in a way that I didn't even think was possible ... it lets you know it was probably the right move.
Wells, the Pride Tape co-founder, said earlier this month some NHL players ordered the product after the league's ban."Whenever I got it, I got it ... and I was going to wear it the next game," said the blueliner, who added most of the Coyotes didn't know his exact plans in the moment last Saturday.
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