The 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Finals – Indian Head Logo or Indian on the Ice?

May 25, 2010

As we get set for the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals to begin with the heavily favored Chicago Blackhawks facing the surging Philadelphia Flyers, Native people will have a choice to make.  Will it be the Indian on the jersey, or the Indian IN the jersey?  

The Blackhawks are an “Original Six” team, sporting a rich history that includes the first player of native descent, Fred Sasakamoose, and a glorious team logo.  

Philadelphia is the team featuring Portage la Prairie’s favorite son, Aaron Asham. 

Arron Asham fights for the puck in the regular season

Of Metis descent, Asham has been a positive force in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring timely goals and eating up plenty of ice time in key situations.  

While Chicago has a history of great tradition, the Flyers have a history of success when it comes to aboriginal players in their lineup.  Back in 1974, the Flyers acquired Reggie Leach.  Most recently, in July of 2008, Asham signed with Philadelphia.

Both Leach and Asham are natives from the province of Manatoba, with Leach hailing from Riverton.  Known as the “Riverton Rifle”, and also “The Rifle”, Reggie Leach lived up to that reputation with a deadly accurate shot that found the net 381 times in his NHL career.  To date, Reggie Leach is the only non-goalie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy on a Stanley Cup runner-up as a member of the Flyers in 1976.  Aaron Asham may not get his name on the Conn Smythe this year, but has a great chance of joining Reggie Leach by getting his name on the Stanley Cup.

Other native players that once also donned the orange and black jersey for Philadelphia include Gino Odjick, and former player turned current Flyers assistant coach, Craig Berube as well as lesser-known players such as Scott Daniels, Sandy McCarthy and Kimbi Daniels.

However, one plus for Chicago is that they look suspiciously like the old Kainai Chiefs hockey team, in team logo and colors anyway.  Playing rough and tumble senior Mens’ hockey in the Ranchland Hockey League of southern Alberta, and hailing from Standoff on the Blood Tribe First Nation, the Kainai Chiefs were a team of speed and finesse, with a few enforcers to keep things under control on the ice, much like the Chicago Blackhawks of today.  That might give Native people enough reason to cheer for the Blackhawks, at least those natives from southern Alberta.

On the other side of the ice we’ll have the Philadelphia Flyers, with native representation on the ice and behind the bench, and not so much in the team colors and logo.  The Flyers are the team with a rich tradition of featuring native hockey players, while the Blackhawks look like they could use some native representation on the ice or behind the bench.  True, the Blackhawks look the part in color and logo, and in the 2003-2004 season had Chris Simon on their team, but their only brush with native hockey player affiliation in the Stanley Cup playoffs came in 1982.  During the Campbell Conference Finals vs the Vancouver Canucks, native hockey legend Ron Delorme of the Canucks, pulverized Chicago’s Grant Mulvey in a fight that inspired the Canucks on to the Stanley Cup Finals that year.  Not exactly the kind of association the Blackhawks and their fans had in mind.  

In the end, which form and image of Native representation will we see?  Will it be the Flyers, Aaron Asham and Craig Berube lifting the Stanley Cup in June, or will it be the Chicago Blackhawks skating the Cup in their jerseys adorned by that sharp team logo? 

No disrespect to the Kainai Chiefs, but for many the choice has been made.