Hockey Humanitarian Award Presented to Gabbie Hughes

The Hockey Humanitarian Award is one of the most important awards presented annually in the hockey community.  The board members at Sophie’s Squad would like to thank the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation for their efforts to highlight players that have “blades of steel and hearts of gold”.

Gabbie Hughes was selected as the 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient for her work with Sophie’s Squad since inception.  Sophie’s Squad was founded in 2021 to improve the mental health of athletes by raising awareness of mental health issues and removing the stigma associated with seeking help.

Gabbie is the type of athlete we seek to help, and has been a shining example of how athletes can help other athletes.  As our first Ambassador, she is instrumental in delivering our message of Hope and Help.  She has set the example for future generations by sharing her struggles, and demonstrating that it’s OK to not be OK.

Hockey can teach so many life lessons, but none more important than individual athlete mental health in a team setting.  Gabbie has helped us share the message of checking in on your own mental health and, perhaps more critically, the mental health of your teammates.

From the Board Members of Sophie’s Squad, thank you Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation.  Thank you for celebrating individuals who embody all that is, and can be right, with sport.  We are honored and thrilled you have chosen Gabbie Hughes as your 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient.

In an era of ever-increasing ego display when so many of today’s athletes are sending the wrong message to our children and when success often seems measured solely by dollar signs and contract signings, it is time to call attention to individuals who embody all that is, and can be, right with sport. While the media often seem preoccupied with the antics of players after the whistle or outside the game—all the while decrying the absence of better role models for our youth—the Hockey Humanitarians want to put sports, and all of its participants, in the proper perspective. And, while team games, by definition, encompass both teamwork and the contributions of the individual to the success of the group as a whole, we want to acknowledge the accomplishments of personal character, scholarship, and the giving of oneself off the ice to the larger community as well. The Humanitarian Award is meant to be seen as a true measure of a person’s worth, not just as an athlete, but as someone who embodies those values that merit our recognition.

It is our hope that in some small way such a display will have a positive influence on future generations of hockey players. We feel an obligation to help our children find the proper balance as they confront deciding who their role models are and what values they should embrace in this increasingly complex world. Our foundation believes there are Humanitarians to be found in programs everywhere and that it is time for many in the media to reconsider their focus on the frequently destructive and selfish behavior of those athletes who often receive too much of our attention. We feel that the great majority of us share the values represented by The Humanitarian Award and that the time has come for this message to be more widely disseminated.

John R. Greenhalgh, Founding Director
Jeffrey Millman, Founding Director