Everyone deserves a team

Watch hockey stars Nick Suzuki and David Savard travel to Mani-Utenam, Quebec to surprise the young hockey players of Innu Nation.

Teaming up to make a difference

Everyone Deserves a Team is a giving program created by the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund in partnership with Sonnet. It builds on the success of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund over the last 20 years. Our goal is to make hockey more accessible and inclusive for young players. By partnering with organizations across Canada, we’re excited to bring friends, coaches, players, and teammates together through the game of hockey.

Learn more about the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund.

Creating Community

This year we’re uniting people, cultures, and communities from all walks of life to share their stories. Through the game of hockey, they learn from one another and work together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, they build a support system rooted in inclusivity and accessibility. A passion for hockey connects these communities, and it also creates new ones. Watch star hockey players Nick Suzuki and David Savard bring this to life in our latest video series.

Goals & Dreams & Sonnet Insurance, Everyone Deserves a Team 30 second TV spot EN - Transcription

[Ariel view of an outdoor ball hockey court, in a water-side community]

[On-screen text: Mani-Utenam, Québec]

[Shots of kids playing ball hockey, hanging out by the court and on the ice at the indoor rink]

>> Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot (VO): There are so many kids that need help in indigenous communities.

[Normard JR Thirnish-Pilot speaks to camera from a chair on the ice]

[On-screen text: Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot | Innu Auasset Committee, Founder]

That's why we ask

[A quick succession of shots of the indoor ice rink, kids getting ready in the locker room and wearing Goals & Dreams jerseys]

for the support of the NHLPA with their Goals and Dreams Program

[A rink board displays 'sonnet' branding]

and Sonnet Insurance.

[With an old, grainy film-strip camera effect, we see shots of the kids on ice, playing, smiling)

We just want to give them a vision of something greater.

[We see adult players from behind, making their way towards the ice as the crowd cheers]

[Announcer introduces Nick Suzuki and David Savard in the background]

[The players skate and interact with the kids]

>> Nick Suzuki: The Goals and Dreams Fund has giving 50 full sets of equipment to the kids. I know they're gonna do great things with it.

[The kids from the hockey school and committee members cheer from the ice, wearing their Goals & Dreams jerseys)

>> Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot: It was a beautiful day. It was beautiful to witness that joy.

[NHLPA Goals & Dreams, Sonnet Insurance branding/watermarks]

[on-screen text: 'Watch the full story at sonnet.ca/goals']

[legal disclaimer: Music credit: "Traditional Song" by David Hart. Sonnet Insurance is a registered trademark. Sonnet Insurance is a federally regulated insurance company. NHLPA, the NHLPA logo and NHLPA Goals & Dreams are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League Players’ Association. © NHLPA. All Rights Reserved]

Goals & Dreams & Sonnet Insurance, Everyone Deserves a Team Documentary EN - Transcription

[On-screen text: Since 1999, the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund has worked with communities across Canada to provide support for grassroots hockey programs. In 2021 Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot, an inspiring community leader from Innu Nation, Quebec, reached out for assistance with their indigenous youth hockey program. This is their story.]

[Hockey net rustling and blowing in the wind]

[View of a single hockey net in an outdoor ball hockey court, through two open gates]

[Close up of the corner of the net]

>> Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot (VO): Hockey here, it's almost like

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot driving his car]

a religion.

[Shot of a hockey net and bicycle on a residential street]

[Sound of car driving past in the distance]

[gentle music]

[Cut to another shot of a hockey net outside someones home on a residential street]

[Downward panning shot of an indoor ice rink]

[On-screen text: The NHLPA and Sonnet Insurance would like to respectfully acknowledge and thank the Innu Nation for welcoming us onto their Nitassinan land.]

[Drone shot over Mani-Utenam streets, with the rising sun in the sky and a pick-up truck driving through slowly]

[On-screen text: Mani-Utenam, Québec]

I know what it's like to grow up here.

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot driving his car]

[Children playing in the street]

I know it can be hard.

[Clothes drying on a line in a summer breeze against a backdrop of houses, power lines and a blue sky]

I felt it when I was young.

[A man walking towards his house]

[A dog crosses the road, a child in a yellow t-shirt stands outside his home]

[A series of kids appear in the foreground with an old, grainy film strip camera effect]

People I love

[Children playing outside a house]

were affected a lot

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot driving his car]

by alcohol, drugs.

[Two young boys stand on the street as a car drives by]

And every time I see a kid,

[A young girl with a pink jacket cycles down the street with the sun behind her]

I see myself,

[Some boys below a scoreboard at a local sports ground]

[A young boy with glasses and hockey sticks walks past, looking into the camera]

I see my little brothers, my little sisters,

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot driving his car]

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot playing with kids, on swings]

and I just want to help.

[Old film reel camera effect]

[We come out of a tunnel to see road and trees ahead and cut to scenes of Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot walking through grass and standing looking out across the water]

I was affected by a lot of suicide cases from young people and I wanted to do more,

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot gets out of his car and enters Arena Mario-Vollant]

so we decided that we would help kids

[Lights come on in a dark, indoor rink]

through hockey.

[Young boys lace up their skates and get ready, with an old grainy film-strip camera effect]

[A split screen, with the left side of the screen showing the boys getting ready and in the right, we see Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot walking across the ice towards a blue chair in the foreground.

One day I heard my father say

[The split screen disappears and Normand is sitting in front of us.]

[On-screen text: Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot | Innu Auasset Committee, Founder]

we should take care of every kid, create good memories for them so that when they grew up,

[Kids raising their hockey sticks together]

they have something that could bring them hope when they need it.

[Kids playing ball hockey outside, moving from split screen shots to full screen shots]

I don't have so much good memories from my childhood, but the few ones I have were very helpful.

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot speaking to camera, from his chair on the ice]

That's why the committee Innu Auasset was created

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot sitting at a table speaking with other committee members]

to dedicate myself in helping create those good memories.

[Boys help each other with their skates in the locker room before we cut to scenes of the kids on the ice]

Playing hockey, it can be really expensive. That's why we ask for the support of the NHLPA with their Goals and Dreams program and Sonnet Insurance.

[Nick Suzuki wears an NHLPA Goals and Dreams jacket and speaks to the camera in between shots of the kids skating on the ice]

[On-screen text: Nick Suzuki | Montréal Canadiens]

>> Nick Suzuki: Hockey is very important for communities like this because it brings people together. Kids from all different ages get to play with each other, bond over watching and playing the sports, and

[The players walk, silhouetted by the light, through a corridor, towards the ice]

that's why I'm proud to represent Goals and Dreams with Sonnet Insurance.

[On-screen text: Goals & Dreams and Sonnet Insurance are supporting the Innu Auasset program with over 50 sets of equipment and funds to help create memorable experiences for the children.]

[Announcer introduces Nick Suzuki and David Savard as they skate onto the ice to meet the kids before signing autographs and presenting Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot with equipment]

The Goals and Dreams fund has given 50 full sets of equipment to the kids. I know they're gonna do great things with it.

>> Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot: It's very generous, thank you.

>> Nick Suzuki: Yeah, thank you.

>> Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot: Merci.

When they received that equipment,

[A series of shots of the players on the ice with the kids playing and skating]

it felt like Christmas morning. It was a beautiful day. It was beautiful to witness that joy.

[An elevated view of a young boy cycling down a residential street, in a pink t-shirt]

There are so many kids that still need help in Indigenous communities, and

[Three kids walk and play in grass with a hockey stick]

I just hope that by doing something positive with them, that we could keep that fire, that light in their eyes very, very bright

[Normad JR Thirnish-Pilot sits on the sidewalk, smiling with his family]

their whole life.

[Normad JR Thirnish-Pilot stands by rocks at the waters edge, looking into the distance]

Receiving the help

[A series of shots of the kids skating on the ice, playing ball hockey outside and smiling radiantly]

from programs like Goals and Dreams is so important. I just want to give them a vision of something greater like they are worthy of their life because

[Normand JR Thirnish-Pilot is in the foreground]

everyone deserves a team.

[Normand JR Thinish-Pilot, his family and community members on the ball hockey court cheering]

[NHLPA Goals & Dreams, Sonnet Insurance branding/watermarks]

[on-screen text: 'Visit sonnet.ca/goals']

[legal disclaimer: Music credit: "Traditional Song" by David Hart. Sonnet Insurance is a registered trademark. Sonnet Insurance is a federally regulated insurance company. NHLPA, the NHLPA logo and NHLPA Goals & Dreams are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League Players’ Association. © NHLPA. All Rights Reserved]

About the NHLPA

The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) was established in 1967. It represents 750 players in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHLPA works on behalf of the players in an effort to promote its members and the game of hockey. The NHLPA gives back to the game of hockey by donating equipment to deserving children and supporting grassroots hockey programs, through the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund.

Learn more by visiting www.nhlpa.com.

Sonnet is an official partner of the NHLPA.

NHLPA, National Hockey League Players’ Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under license. © NHLPA. All Rights Reserved.