By Will Novosedlik

Canada’s overtime win against the Czech Republic last month at the World Juniors was about as exciting as it gets. It was one of those moments when any regional, cultural or political differences that exist across this country dissolve into a giant, collective high-five.

But there are some ugly truths beneath the ice. As he watched the game, Peter Shier, a former NHLer and now president of Toronto-based ad firm Naked Creative, was taking notes. He carefully documented each ad placement during the game, and with every commercial break his internal temperature went up another degree. For here was Hockey Canada, acting like the financial and sexual assault scandals in which it was (and still is) embroiled were just another line item in yesterday’s news cycle.

After almost every one of its major sponsors had withdrawn their support, Hockey Canada had to do something with all those 30-second spots, so it decided to run fundraising and merchandising ads to promote minor hockey. In other words, it acted as if nothing had happened.

“They could have used those spots to promote the Women’s World Championships, which are in Brampton this year, but Women’s was only given two little 30-second spots at the end of the broadcast. Instead, Hockey Canada was fundraising and selling its merch five times a period,” says Shier, who believes it’s time to flip the switch. “Put that at the end of the game. Stay away from the men’s stuff. And understand what consumers are going to take away from that,” he says.

There is a playbook for this kind of thing: We’ve seen a strong example of crisis management as a result of the 2008 listeria outbreak at Maple Leaf Food. “One of the most intelligent things Maple Leaf Foods’ CEO Michael McCain said was, ‘The two people I’m not going to listen to are the lawyers and the accountants. We’ll get out in front of this. If we need to take it on the chin, we are not going to hide,’” says Shier. “So I look at this and wonder, what would Michael McCain do if he was running Hockey Canada?”

We spoke to Hilton Barbour, senior director, marketing and thought leadership at strategy execution firm Gagen MacDonald what he would do if he were CMO of Hockey Canada. “Crisis management 101 is get out in front of it early. Number two, the most senior person available takes it on the chin. Not some person buried in the back office. And then, as befits the situation, a degree of contrition should be made. One thing the Maple Leaf Foods crisis taught us is that people will give you a lot of latitude if they believe you are taking accountability. But if you try to hide, people assume there’s something else going on, and that this is only the tip of the iceberg,” he says.

While there are problems within the NHL itself, Shier believes that the issues are systemic, stemming from the culture that surrounds hockey in the first place – from the minor leagues, to the fact that its fanbase regards it as something closer to a religion than a sport. “As a pro, at 6’3 and 225 pounds, I got into my share of fights. I can handle myself,” says Shier. “But as a minor league coach, there were times when I was more scared by the testosterone flowing through the stands than I ever was on the ice. There’s this attitude of ‘my kid’s going to the NHL so your kid better get the f*** out of the way,’” he says of some hockey parents who dream of their kid making it big. “It’s become endemic.”

That level of obsession can transform a kid who is talented enough to make it to the top into someone whose star status means he can get away with anything.

As a specialist in organizational culture, Barbour has a framework for situations like this. “I would do a basic culture audit,” he says. For Hockey Canada, that includes examining internal practices and behaviours such as how demonstrations of its words and actions might be perceived, what the organization is willing to tolerate and how to manage bad behaviour even if it’s coming from a top performer. He also recommends Hockey Canada determine exactly what it celebrates: Winning at all costs? And finally, what it decides to promote. “The fact that it’s good at winning sponsorship deals, or that it’s the kind of organization that is not afraid to confront difficult topics like racism or sexism in its ranks?” questions Barbour.

To save its reputation, the organization must decidedly stop putting the issues on ice and prepare to take the heat. “Those five young men who participated in the 2018 sexual assault are probably playing in the NHL right now, absolutely terrified that their names are going to be made public and that their careers and lives will be ruined. But they must pay for their sins eventually. So must Hockey Canada,” says Shier.