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Canada Kurtis Gabriel, a former NHL player, transitioned from the ice to actively championing inclusion and community engagement, earning recognition for his humanitarian efforts beyond professional sports.
Kurtis Gabriel is recognized by the NHL for his advocacy work, specifically for challenging the league to improve inclusion efforts for the LGBTQ+ community and for being the first NHL player to use Pride Tape in a game.
Gabriel served as a project ambassador for You Can Play, an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect, and safety for all in sports, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, particularly with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Gabriel collaborated with The Shared Grief Project, an initiative that provides resources and support to individuals experiencing grief, stemming from his personal experience with his father's suicide.
Kurtis Gabriel was born on April 20, 1993, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. His early life involved participating in multiple sports, including hockey, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. He began playing AAA-level hockey at age 10. After his father’s death, Gabriel’s focus on hockey initially shifted, but he later rededicated himself to the sport, encouraged by a friend to pursue it as a career.
Gabriel played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Owen Sound Attack from 2010 to 2014. Despite not being selected in the 2011 NHL Draft, he attended the Phoenix Coyotes rookie camp as a free agent invitee. His performance improved, leading to a career-high 28 points in the 2012–13 season. This led to him being drafted by the Minnesota Wild 81st overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Wild on March 3, 2014. Following his OHL career, Gabriel joined the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, in 2014.
He made his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild in the 2015–16 season. In 2016, he received the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his community contributions. After stints with the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Chicago Blackhawks, Gabriel retired from professional hockey on September 19, 2022. During his career, he played 51 NHL games, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points. Beyond his playing career, Gabriel is known for his advocacy for the LGBTQ community, notably becoming the first NHL player to consistently use Pride Tape during games, an effort that earned him a nomination for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2021 for his humanitarian contributions.
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