M’Chigeeng First Nation citizen elected to Greater Toronto Hockey League’s Board of Directors
By Sam Laskaris
M’CHIGEENG FIRST NATION – Kevin Eshkawkogan has joined the Board of Directors for the world’s largest youth amateur hockey league.
Eshkawkogan, a member of M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, was elected to the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) board at its annual general meeting held in July in Toronto.
Eshkawkogan will serve a three-year term.
Eshkawkogan’s already hectic life will become even busier now. He’s also a M’Chigeeng First Nation councillor as well as the president and CEO of Indigenous Tourism Ontario.
“I’m always interested in helping the game,” Eshkawkogan said of his new GTHL position. “It’s given a lot to me and I want to give back.”
Eshkawkogan splits his time between a pair of residences. He has a home in Little Current, Manitoulin Island’s largest town, and a home in Vaughan, located just north of Toronto.
Eshkawkogan’s son Kohyn played in the GTHL the past two seasons. He was a member of the North York Rangers’ Under-16 AAA squad this past year.
He was the team’s top-scoring defenceman, racking up 65 points (13 goals and 52 assists) in 76 matches.
Kohyn Eshkawkogan had suited up for the Mississauga Reps Under-15 AAA club during the 2022-23 campaign.
The teenager will be moving up to the junior ranks this coming season. He’s signed on to play for the Ottawa 67’s, members of the Ontario Hockey League.
As for the elder Eshkawkogan, he is believed to be the first Indigenous person to serve on the GTHL’s board of directors.
“They’re genuinely and legitimately looking to learn from me,” he said of league representatives. “And they’re hoping I can bring my network of Indigenous players to the GTHL.”
The GTHL is the world’s largest amateur hockey league as it has about 40,000 registered players each year.
The league stages monthly in-person meetings for its Board of Directors, on the last Wednesday of each month. The elder Eshkawkogan is hoping he will be able to attend the majority of those meetings.
The GTHL also has dozens of committees. And he’s joined four of those, including the league’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee.
Eshkawkogan is now also part of the league’s Risk Management Committee, Legacy Fund Management Committee, and the GTHL Summit Task Force, which is preparing for a November event.
“They know I travel a lot for work,” Eshkawkogan said, adding at times he will attend some league meetings virtually. “They’re respectful of that.”
Though he’s a newcomer to the GTHL board, Eshkawkogan is no stranger to working with hockey organizations. He had served as a regional director for the Northern Ontario Hockey Association from May 2019 through May 2021. He also had stints as president and vice-president of the Manitoulin Panthers, a youth hockey organization. And was also the president for almost two years for the Manitoulin Islanders, a Junior A squad that operated out of Little Current and competed in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
His other hockey gigs include serving as the manager of Kohyn’s team last season. And during the past dozen years, he has held various roles, including head coach, assistant coach, manager and trainer, for numerous squads that have participated at the annual Little NHL tournament.