Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health on a global scale, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. (Movember/Website)

By Austin Mattes

Movember and the SJHL

Moustaches, mental health and hockey

Nov 6, 2024 | 2:24 PM

It all started in 2003 with two friends joking over a beer about how they can bring back the moustache, that turned into a worldwide movement, that’s now raised nearly a billion dollars to support men’s health projects around the globe.

November is Movember and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) along with all the teams in it are coming together to grow moustaches to raise money and show support for men’s mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

One in eight men in Canada will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and an estimated 1,300 Canadian men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2024. Despite both having a survival rate of 95 per cent and higher, it’s the long-term effects that compromise the quality of life and mental health that are the real issue.

In Canada, the rate of male suicide is alarmingly high with three out of four suicides committed, being by men.

And when it comes to young men and teenagers, especially in the world of hockey, the issue of mental health is sometimes overlooked.

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But one former SJHL Player, DJ McGrath, who played for the Kindersley Klippers from 2010 to 2013, uses his personal experience with mental health to promote and encourage other players to speak up and end the stigma.

“My mental health, my depression, anxiety led me to a serious drug and alcohol problem all due to me not speaking up, me being an athlete. The stigma of mental health going and that trying to be a tough guy mentality. So I went on 10 years with a drug and alcohol problem until June 6 of 2020, the day that saved my life, where I went over to my parents house, and I told them absolutely everything.”

“I ended up sharing my story and since then I’ve been traveling around Canada helping athletes, helping students with their mental health, showing kids that it’s OK to not be OK and it’s OK to have a bad day, it’s OK to be sad, it’s OK to be mad but talk about it,” McGrath said.

From giving speeches, to promoting mental health on social media and even hosting his own hockey tournament called the Mental Health Classic, which puts all funds raised back into the community, McGrath has dedicated his life to these issues.

When looking at hockey players and athletes in general, the reason why they have a difficult time opening up about mental health is because it just isn’t normalized and by fear of how it may affect their career, McGrath said.

“It’s just a simple fact, you don’t want to put your career in jeopardy. It’s just not a common thing to talk about your problems and emotions. You don’t want your coaches to think your distraction on the team. You don’t want to feel less than your teammates. And this all starts at home, having struggles opening because it’s a tough conversation with parents too.”

One way that can help improve the issue of mental health in sport is by having good leadership from coaches and players in the locker room.

“It also goes back to having the right leadership and guys in the dressing room. I think it’s very important to have team meetings and let your buddies know that it’s OK to talk, it’s OK to have a problem and that we have each other’s back. I think the biggest thing is having a good set of ears,” McGrath said.

With the topic of mental health becoming more prevalent in the mainstream media, there has been big strides made to bring awareness to mental health from the SJHL and even professional leagues like the NHL, NBA and NFL.

Doing initiatives like Movember is a great way for the SJHL to support mental health but even with the league doing what they can to help end the stigma, there are still people being affected by the issue.

“There’s still a lot of kids struggling and there’s a lot of room for improvement in mental health. I know it’s getting a lot better these last couple years, I got to share my story with every SJHL team, so Kyle McIntyre and the crew down in the SJ know that mental health is important. So it’s very good that they’re doing the Movember initiative and bringing mental health into hockey because it’s needed. Mental health is number one,” McGrath said.

If you want to show your support for Movember, be a part of or donate to the SJHL Movember Challenge or visit the Movember website to find out more.

If you or anyone you know is dealing with mental health issues, call HealthLine at 811 for mental health and addictions advice, education and support.

#Movember

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes