“They all had to work on the farm before they played. And I felt bad about it at the time, but now they thank me for the work ethic that they created by having to do that,” Newell told CBC in November 2017 when his grandson was a member of the Ottawa Senators.
In addition, Duchene paid homage to both of his grandfathers before a game.
He wore a Carhartt suit to represent long hours and hard work.
“My grandfather worked on transport trucks most of his life, and my other grandpa was a farmer. My dad was always doing stuff outside,” he told GQ in November 2023. “Growing up in Haliburton, there's a lot of hunters, fishermen, and hardworking people. And living in the South now, having lived in Tennessee and then Texas, it's a brand that represents that lifestyle.”
Adam Henrique
Edmonton Oilers centre Adam Henrique grew up on his family’s 50-acre tobacco and ginseng farm in Burford, Ont.
In a May 2024 Sportsnet production about him titled From Farm Fields To Frozen Glory, he recalled doing his part to support the farm – whether he liked it or not.
“I certainly probably wasn’t dad’s favourite employee,” he told Sportsnet’s Christine Simpson, adding that he’d sleep in, try to leave early, or hope for a hockey tournament to take hm away from the farm.
Jordan Staal
The family of Jordan Staal, the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, operates Sunshine Sod Farms, a 500-acre operation near Thunder Bay, Ont.
Brent Burns
Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Brent Burns grew up in Barrie, Ont. and has since invested in agriculture south of the border.
He purchased the 420-acre Always Something ranch in Texas while a member of the San Jose Sharks where he raises and harvests animals, and gets away from hockey.
Some of the animals on the ranch include antelope, wildebeest, goats, sheep and deer.
“I just really love it. It’s great at home when I prepare a steak, and I can remember things like where I got it and who I was with when we harvested the animal. It’s special, you know?” Burns told GQ in January 2020. “You’re preparing the whole meal. I really just love the whole process.”
The Sharks documented some of Burns’s life on the ranch in a three-part series.
Some players in this year’s playoffs also have connections to ag in Western Canada.
Tampa Bay Lightning player Conor Geekie, for example, spent time on his family’s Manitoba farm, and his dad works in farm equipment sales.