toronto

'Their win is my win': Newcomer Leafs fans hope history will be made (CBC Toronto)

Growing up, Abrar Al Mouktaran and Brittany Morrison didn't know anything about hockey. 

A resident of Syria, Al Mouktaran, 23, says she didn't know the sport existed. Morrison too, a resident of Jamaica, says she had no knowledge of the game.

Now, both young women say they have learned how to play hockey and have fallen in love with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Al Mouktaran moved to Canada with her family in 2016, while Morrison, 19, came here with her family in 2017.

The two are among many new Canadians who have become huge fans of the team.

When the Leafs try to win their first playoff series in 19 years on Thursday, Al Mouktaran and Morrison said they will be watching and hope history will be made.

[Read 'Their win is my win': Newcomer Leafs fans hope history will be made in Game 5 via CBC News]

‘Unknown barriers’ (Greater Toronto Hockey League)

It’s an autumn morning in Toronto and Moezine Hasham is on his way to Central Technical School to officially kick off his version of the new hockey season – one that provides teenagers with the opportunity to participate in a sport they never thought they would play. 

Hasham started a nonprofit organization called Hockey 4 Youth in 2015, with the intent of making hockey accessible for people in high school who are newcomers to Canada.  

“The kids that we’re trying to get to are kids with a low-income status,” said Hasham. MORE >

NHL stars help to break down barriers on ice for young newcomers to Canada (Global News)

NHL stars like Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zack Hyman and Hockey Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour surprised a group of young hockey players across the country this week by giving their passion for the sport a big boost.

Partnering with several programs such as non-profit Hockey 4 Youth, which gives new Canadians a chance to play hockey for free, the athletes donated ice time and equipment for the upcoming season. READ MORE >

Hockey 4 Youth Foundation Profile (CBC News - The National)

Hockey 4 Youth profile about how we are making the game of ice hockey more accessible for newcomer and sidelined teens of all genders. Katie Nicholson from CBC News The National, speaks to Moezine (Moe) Hasham, Executive Director and Founder of H4Y, Keelin Farren, a Toronto University Women's Ice Hockey Player and profiles Gaurav, a newcomer teen originally from India. MORE >

'Hockey is Canada': Charity sends 10 teens to their first Leafs game (CBC Radio - Here & Now)

Javeria Mehmood, 18, expected her first time putting on a pair of skates to be her last. 

"The first time I went [on the ice], I thought 'I know nothing, I'm probably going to quit on the first day,"' she told Eli Glasner on CBC's Here and Now Thursday. 

Having grown up in Pakistan, she never had the chance to skate until she moved to Canada last year. 

But through the Toronto-based group Hockey 4 Youth, a charitable organization that provides new Canadians and low-income youth the opportunity to play hockey for free, Mehmood's been honing her skills on the ice. MORE >