All language subtitles for The.Hockey.Player.2026.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.GG - YTS.BZ]

How'd you meet her?

Oh, you know childhood
friends that are hinge? One

Downloaded from
YTS.BZ

Of the two?

Yeah, one of the two. Yeah,

- One of the two
- Name?

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Oh.

Let's keep that off.

Oh, Megan's said not allowed to.

There's no talking about
girls in here. I'm tired.

Come on. It is bullshit. Oh
no. We need to hear that stuff.

That was bullshit. - I'm
tired of hearing about it.

Would you rather
us talk about boys?

I can do that if you like?

Yeah, please.

I am not known as Luke
Prokop, the hockey player.

I'm known as Luke Prokop,
the gay hockey player.

It's always gonna
follow me wherever I am.

And things have kind
of settled down a

little bit, which is nice.

Where I can actually, you
know, really focus on my hockey

and not so much
the background noise.

When you're growing up,

that's when you become immersed
in the culture of hockey.

That's where you
learn the lingo.

That's where you
learn the style.

That's where you learn what
to say, what not to say.

That's where you learn how
to act. I grew up in hockey.

I'm another hockey guy,
you know what I mean?

There he is.

- Always on time, baby.
- Never on time.

Let's go. Woo!

Always on time.

- Luke Prokob. - Luke Prokob.
- Luke Prokob.

A historic monumental day

as the first player ever
under contract has come

out as gay.

For the NHL, it's long overdue.

Luke was getting himself
into the unknown.

Oh wow. He's really
the first.

Finally somebody
has done it.

I was high fiving people.

Where are the current
players? They are out there.

Sometimes it takes one person
to take a big step forward

so that other people can
take little steps forward.

Scores. Luke Prokob!

My games in a really good
spot.

Prokob, scores!

My whole goal was just
to help one kid out there

and someone has to say, fuck it,

I'm gonna be the first
person to come out.

I'm gonna show that
it's okay to be

who you are and
do what you love.

Nervous.

I'm trying to think.
1, 2, 3, 4. Five. Five.

So I came out, I was
still playing for Calgary

and then I was traded to
Edmonton after that season.

I tried to turn pro, I played
a little bit in Norfolk,

Virginia, and then
I left Pro Hoc.

He went back to Junior,
played in Seattle.

Then I officially turned
pro the year after.

Started in Milwaukee and
then ended up in Atlanta.

Right now we're
in Georgia,

playing for the
Atlantic Gladiators.

My team in the East
Coast Hockey League.

When I was going through
the training camps,

I thought I was gonna play
in the American League level.

I had a really good season
previously. They sent me down.

I couldn't understand why
you wanna play in the NHL,

but realistically
you're two leagues

below the NHL right now.

You know, you
sometimes you just need

to be patient.
Hey mom.

- Hi.
- Do you watch the game?

- Yeah,
- I do. Yeah.

- Yeah. Tough one.
- Yeah.

I thought you guys
might've had it in

the bag right at the end though.

Yeah. I don't know.

I don't know why we just, we
can't, like, there's some games

where we play like good

and we can't play like
that for a whole game.

It's like we can play it that
for 10 minutes or 20 minutes,

but we can put it
all together for one.

My family is heavily
involved in hockey.

My grandfather
played, my dad played,

my older brother
started before me.

So it was just kind of a
family thing that all the,

all the boys played hockey, lots

of time spent on
the outdoor rinks.

At the younger stages it's
more just about, you know,

making sure you're
getting, having fun

and, and that's
what I was doing.

That's why I loved the game.

I think as a kid that's like
the most fun it ever is.

Here we have Luke, the
champion of pre novice.

Oh, right at the
goalies face.

I think one of the best
ways to describe Luke

as a child was his nickname,

which was the big
friendly giant.

I mean, he was six feet tall
when he was in like grade five.

And always just
that like young boy

who had never heard a fly.

He was always so kind
to everyone around him.

I think my sister's the loud
one. Luke is pretty quiet,

Hes waving, say hello.
He he.

He was just a, I
think like he is today.

Like he's just very easygoing.

Nothing really seems
to bother him that much

and he was probably the
easiest of the three for sure.

I think the dream of
the NHL was, I mean,

real early on watching hockey,
growing up with my family,

going to Oiler games,
just seeing it on TV

and wanting to be
them.

There was a lot of push and
motivation from my dad

to get me to where I am today.

It started from when
I was seven years old

and I was getting pulled
outta school early

to go to practice.

My dad would come pick me up
at one o'clock every single

Tuesday and take me to the
local rink to work with

a coach. At seven years old,

like, not a lot of
people are doing that.

You know, if you're
a hockey player, that's

what you aspire to, to want
to be in the NHL one day.

He was just so natural.

He was such a natural skater.

Like it was sort of
effortless for him.

I think the one game he had
10 or 11 goals

or something, right?

Hed just skate through
everybody and

- Yeah,
- You know, that's when

you could kind of sense that

The parents wanted to see his
birth certificate, something

because they didn't
believe how old he was.

And yeah. was some
comments like that.

There was some
comments like that.

Luke!

It just becomes part of
your family lifestyle, right?

And you're in Edmonton, like
you mean you play hockey.

The Edminton Oilers,
the Stanley Cup

Champions of 1985.

Hockey players,

we're a fraternal group.

The way we commit to each
other physically on the ice,

I think it really does
create a special bond.

Boy, look at the mob scene
down on the ice surface.

Gretzky has got it up high.

It's fools that are willing
to lose teeth to win a game.

I would describe male
hockey culture as one

that's super competitive

and one that glorifies

that prototypic,
dominant brutality

and celebrates that.

Hockey's the last
professional sport

with sanctioned fighting.

The language is terrible.
I mean, I'd use the language

You cocksucker.

Come on!

I was growing up, I definitely
heard homophobic language.

I used homophobic language,
you wanted to fit in.

It's still this like,

super masculine,

pretend like you're big
and tough culture in hockey,

and it takes really strong
people to stand up to that,

because it's just so acceptable.

It is just not who I am.
I don't love confrontation.

I don't, I don't love the
idea of like harming someone,

but in hockey, in my role,
I'm gonna have to be able

to tap into that and find it.

I think the main message that
I've gotten working at such

varying levels of competitive
men's ice hockey is

that there is a very
narrow definition

of the socially
acceptable competitive

men's ice hockey player.

And I think that definition
becomes even more narrow

as you reach the
NHL, for example.

There's a fear of drawing
attention to yourself.

If there's four things you
can talk about in men's team,

hockey locker room: women,

video games,
partying and sports.

I asked a player one time

what would happen if you brought
books into the locker room.

He's like, oh God, I
would've been ripped apart.

And this stuff impacts
the straight kids too.

If you can't conform to
the culture, you might

as well be the fag.

'cause you're gonna be
treated like the fag.

It's always number six.

'cause Shea Weber was my
favourite player growing up.

14 was the, the age that I knew

I was a little different
than, than all my teammates

In my own mind,

like, it was like, yeah, I
know something's different,

but I'm gonna like
just hold it back.

I'm gonna not think about
it and not talk about it.

It was like you're living
two different personalities.

You wanna play
hockey, you wanna be

the best player you can be.

On the other hand, you wanna
be yourself. At that age,

felt like it couldn't,
couldn't be both.

I was probably too young

to even really think
about if it would have an

impact on my hockey career.

Obviously I had to hide it.

When you go to the rink,
especially as kids, as soon

as you get there, you
get to the locker room

with all your friends, all
your problems disappear.

They're in the moment, they're
hanging out for an hour

and then they get on the ice

and everything disappears
on the ice.

Yet for those queer kids,

now somebody's using a
slur between whistles

or you're in a practice

and your coach makes you
do something you don't want

to do, like skate.

And then everyone's
like, oh, this is so gay.

A safe space for others is
now an oppressive space.

We grow up in a culture
where saying that stuff is okay

and it's not frowned upon,
it's not looked at, it's not

addressed at all.

You didn't want to bring
too much attention to it

because then that puts
the attention on yourself.

'cause when you're 15, like
standing up for stuff is cool.

Fitting in is cool

and that's what, you know, I
kind of had to do to survive,

I guess.

My goal was to play in
the NHL, not to be myself.

It was to hide myself
and make the NHL and

however I could get
there, I was gonna do it.

All kids, when
they start hockey,

everybody thinks they're
gonna go to the NHL,

but the reality of going to the
NHL is a lot more difficult.

In Luke's case, the
expectations have been very

realistic for him.

Prokob, score!

He has the skills,
he's got the size,

he's got the
agility. For someone

six foot five, he
moves incredibly well.

What a gorgeous shot from Luke

Prokob in from the lines, top
shelf...

Prokob shooting
it scores!

He's got a great shot, a
good knack of being eyes up,

looking up ice and making plays.

He's, he's really big.
He's a right-handed shot,

which is hard to
come by these days.

Goes to the blue line. Luke
Prokob, a shot.

And then Prokob scores.

Luke Prokob has made
this a one goal game,

and he leads and
Edmonton celebrate.

He has everything he needs
to move to the next level.

The Western Hockey
League Champions

Seattle will hoist
the HNL cup.

My goal would be,

it's not even news if a
player comes out anymore,

that's the day I yearn
for and probably won't see.

So we're getting
there. It will get,

they'll get more comfortable
with it and we'll get there.

I look at the
progress we've made

since I got involved in this
cause,

in that short time,

we've made massive
progress. Massive.

Brian Burke, the
general manager

of the Toronto Maple
Leafs is with us.

Also With us tonight is
Brendan Burke, Brian's son

When I was
watching TV,

and there's this young guy
being interviewed, Brendan Burke

and I wasn't really
paying attention,

but then he said something
that caught my attention.

He said, and I'm gay.

Two years ago, Brendan
went to his family

and told him for the
first time that he is gay.

And my head whipped around,
stare at the TV in shock

and never heard somebody say
they were gay in men's hockey

before, unless there was one
player calling another player

gay on the ice or
in the locker room.

And I said, wow.
His dad's an NHL exec.

I think it's important that
my story is told to people,

because there are a lot
of gay athletes out there

and gay people working in pro
sports that deserve to know

that there are safe environments
where people are supportive

of you regardless of
your sexual orientation.

Then Big Burke gets up
there and pounds the table

and like Burke does
in his brash fashion

and says, you know, we
would be accepting of,

of a gay, you know, person.

Well, I said, it won't
change anything Brendan.

You know, it doesn't change
our view of we love you,

we're proud of you and it
doesn't change anything in

my mind and never will.

They were ahead
of their times.

That was really
an epiphany for me.

He's obviously courageous.

I mean, it, it takes a lot
of jam to take this step.

He's obviously a fearless kid,
but he is a real bright kid

and a sweet kid and
I'm very proud of him.

Courage and character. A
couple of things you always look

for in your player as you
have it in your son Brendan,

we really appreciate you sharing
your story with us tonight.

Thank you James.

Well, I think what happens
is you have that, that agent

for change, you have
that lightning routes.

There's the GM of the Toronto
May Police, his son is gay.

So I think that one event

with Brendan really
galvanised a lot of change.

I remember Brent Sopel
brought the Stanley Cup

and the Pride Parade in
Chicago. God bless him.

Let's hear you
cheer for the cup. Ah,

We're now joined by
hockey players from

around the world supporting
my son Brennan's

simple message. If you can play,

You can play.

- If you can play.
- You can play.

If you can play.
- You can play.

That first window of time
when the teams really got

behind it, it was,
it was amazing.

If you can play, you can
play. That's the mandate

the Edmonton Oilers are
adopting this Valentine's Day

during you can play night.

Part of the NH L's hockey
is for everyone month.

This Rainbow Pride tape was
used during their warmup.

It was created right
here in Edmonton

and was recently
adopted by the league.

We've made so much progress.

Every time a player comes
out, an athlete comes out,

a family comes out, supports us.

We take those as major victories

and then I think just,
we need some more firsts.

We need some more pioneers.

And being a pioneer
can be a lonely job.

You know, when you,
when you're growing up,

you don't hear about
much about this league.

It's kind of frowned
upon back home.

If you play in the, in the coast

Growing up it was, you know,
where careers go to die

and this and that and just
not a place you wanna play,

basically.

I think two weeks ago
we lost six nothing.

And I was, I was minus five.

I didn't play well and I just
broke down after the game

because I was like,
I didn't know.

I didn't, I didn't
know what was happening to me.

It's been three
years since I got drafted.

There are guys younger than me

that are playing in
the NHL right now.

You know, if I don't figure
that out, I'm gonna get stuck

behind and not be
able to make it.

No, cannot, you cannot do
that.

Dude, you, you have
to tell 'em, man,

Where did you get those?

Let's go.

There's a lot of guys.

Like I was, I've been
on a couple teams, like

in this league already,
it's not a good brag,

but in the coast,
like, you know,

everyone's kind of
in the same boat.

Like no one really
wants to be here.

You know, we haven't
been doing well,

like we've been losing a bunch.

The only reason
that we keep going

to the rink is because
the guys are good.

- Yeah. The guys.
- And we enjoy being

around each other.
- Yeah.

Pick up that.

No, you did pick up I saw you.
- No I didn't. No I didn't.

Wow.
Check the film.

We actually can
check the film.

- I didnt know that one.
- Out.

Fuck off.

Im looking toward
the future

and his name
is Luke Prokob.

He was the hitman's first round
seventh overall draught pick

in last week's WHL
Bannon draught.

When I was 16, 17, I was in
Calgary playing junior hockey.

That's kind of when started
having relationships and,

and things like that

and you know, how do you
want to introduce someone

to your family when you're
not out to them yet.

I couldn't continue on like
that, you know, I couldn't

continue to, you know,
wear a hoodie and,

hide myself from,
from the rest of life.

It was hard for,

a lot of, there's a
lot of long nights.

I was in my room

and I remember I just
got a text saying like,

can I come up and talk to you?

And I was like, yeah, of course.

I went up and I sat
down, I looked at her

and, there were just like,

nothing was coming
outta my mouth.

It was just tears. It was, it
was crying, crying, crying.

I just, I just finally,
you know, came out

and I said it, you know, like
I was Atlanta, like I'm gay.

I probably in less than
three seconds I was just like

wrapped in her arms,

and we sat there and
we had a good cry

and you know, she
instilled in my brain that

it doesn't, it didn't matter,
you know, that I was gay.

She loved me no matter what.
I was still her brother.

and that nothing
would ever change.

It's something
I'll never forget.

Like, just to know that
we had that relationship

that he felt like he
could come to me first.

It was the probably the
best experience I could've had

for the first person
I told that I was gay.

Oh, look at him. Come on.

Just fall for one
and not in the water.

Once you come out
for the first time

and it goes well, you want

to tell the next
person right away,

but you've expended
so much mental energy

trying to come out to the
first person that like,

you're just exhausted
by the end of it.

That looks pretty good
too. Right side there.

There was one night
we went to this cabin

and he was like hanging out
with this girl all night.

And honestly I like
she was, I don't know,

I don't even know how to say it.

- She was all over me.
- Yeah.

Like kind of that.

Luke didn't like kiss her
or anything that night.

And I honestly like, it kind

of clicked in my
head that night.

- Controls him to drink.
- Oh no.

It's gotta go. - You
know, Luke opening up to me

that let me open up to
him about some things that

I probably would've
never told him otherwise.

Right? So sometimes
it takes one person

to take a big step forward so

that other people can
take little steps forward.

Oh that looks like a dart.

Oh, I thought
that was perfect.

Fuck.

I remember specifically,

I was terrified of
coming out to my dad.

I love my dad. Very
passionate man.

He loves me, he loves my family.

He expects a lot from us
and is extremely hard on us.

We've never had a real
great, like personal,

personal relationship.

It's, it's always How was
practice? How was the gym?

How was your skate? Are
you getting stronger?

Are you getting faster?

Dont get frustrated.

So it's all, it's
like my relationship

with dad's all about hockey.

I was Luke's coach until
he was, until he was 13.

And what was
that dynamic like?

Oh, I mean, some nights
it wasn't great, right?

Some of the car rides
home weren't great,

but, you know, the kids
are, the kids are different.

You know, Josh being older, I
was probably more hard on him

because he would just
react differently to it.

Right? And I, and
then I would, I would,

regrettably I would kind of use
the same tactic on Luke and,

and he wouldn't respond
the same way Josh would.

I think Luke sometimes took
the criticism maybe a little

bit, a little bit
personally, right?

And, and not shut down

but just, just withdrew
maybe a little bit more.

You know, how how could I
feel good about going into

a game when I just got
ripped by my dad, you know,

a few hours earlier.

The car rides, the not talking

for a few days wanting to
have a sleepover with one

of my teammates after a
game when I played bad.

Just so you know, he
didn't feel comfortable

ripping me when
there was, you know,

when my teammate was with me.

Yeah. I, those things
have definitely

stuck with me for sure.

The story with my dad
of how I came out

to him was a lot different
than my sister and my mom.

He was always
concerned about my dad

and so we kind of like came
up with a little plan on

how we were gonna
do that together

and when also was the
right time for him.

I mean, that was
the person I really

wanted it to go well with.

The person that has probably
instilled the most in life in

me today as a person.

He told me first and he wasn't
ready to tell his dad yet.

And it was hard too

'cause I couldn't
talk to Al about it.

So it was really hard to -

She had to, you
know, have these,

you know, she
had this secret

she couldn't tell me. Right?

No. And I, yeah, it
was, it was a secret.

I think it was September,
this is now probably three

to four months since
I told my sister.

I went to my best
friend's house.

I asked her, I said, if, if
things don't go well, like

with my dad, can I live here?

So that's kind of when the,
the suicidal thoughts came.

'cause my family is, is the
most important thing in my life.

And to think at that age to try

and continue on with
life without them is,

and you know, not
knowing if was a

great idea, if this was gonna
be the best thing that happen

to me or the end.

Came home from work one day
I was, she was like, you need

to tell dad, you
need to tell dad.

I'm like, Alana, stop. I need
to tell him on my own time.

And there was a
little bit of silence

and then she said he knows

and she then told
me that she wanted

to make it easier for me.

So that was two weeks
that my dad had known.

When my sister told
me that I freaked out.

I never really got to tell
my dad on my own terms,

which is something
i, I still kind

of regret too to this day.

So finally I met up
for lunch with my dad

and I mean we just kind
of had a discussion about

why I didn't feel
comfortable telling him,

When you do learn of it,

you have all these
different emotions,

and I think the
biggest one that,

I think we both felt was
that he had all this time

where he was dealing with it.

Right? So you go through
this sadness for him being

I can, you know, tell anybody

He loves us so much.

So he was the one that
took it the hardest

that I couldn't tell him.

I mean, you feel a whole
bunch of different stuff,

but I mean, at no
time do you ever

like lose sight
that he's your son,

You know, he probably,
you know, had these,

these feelings at 14, you
know, now he's 18, right?

So four years of being alone.

- When he told you...
- Stop for a second.

No? Let me go
grab some tissues.

Everyone get ready
for the picture.

If you look at
most sports growing up

they're playing at school.

You're exposed to
people of different races,

different interests,
different genders.

Hockey, we take our kids, we put
them in locker rooms with

20 people just like them.

Race, gender, presumed sexuality
socioeconomics, et cetera.

And they're there six nights
a week from the age of seven

or eight years old till
they're 16, then they go off

and it's reinforced
even more in junior.

It's a culture of machismo

and it is a culture
that does not

interest itself in
any form of diversity.

I think I was so
used to being around it

that it really didn't
affect me a whole tonne.

If I wanted to be myself at
an earlier age, there's no way

that I would be still playing.

I still have nightmares
about it, honestly,

like here and there like that.

I'll be back playing
on that team.

I ended up playing AAA hockey.

You know, they were trying
to breed like OHL Stars.

I was getting called
faggot and gay

and got made fun of the
way I dressed at the time

that the bullying was happening.

I was still like trying
to figure it out.

So people calling me a faggot

or making fun of me for being
gay, my instinct was like, no,

I'm not like, why are
you saying this about me?

And then I'd have to
like deepen my voice

or something to change it.

Like showers were a
whole thing getting made

of the way your penis looks
like not just me, like everyone.

Like it was a really
cutthroat environment.

It was the assistant coach.

He actually would get included
in on the jokes with the guys,

and would make fun
of me for being gay.

He wasn't like a teenager,
he was an adult in the room

with these kids, with
them, seeing them shower,

seeing them naked, you know,

making all these jokes
about body stuff.

I think if I saw
him again, I would

tell him to go fuck himself.

Like I hate that guy.

And everyone loved him and it
made me sick. It was so crazy.

Holy shit. He went
that high? That's really cool

actually. He played his whole
junior career in Washingtons,

gets to kind of
stay in that area.

That's cool for
him and his family.

How do you feel when you
watch the draught happen?

I get jealous a
hundred percent.

My draught was the first
year I guess of COVID,

it was the first virtual
draught they did.

I mean, I was just really
hoping I didn't get

drafted during a commercial.

There's no guarantees, right?

You got 32 teams

and you need one team
to, to like you. Yeah.

We decided to gather
as a family of friends

and some Luke's coaches or
special people in his life.

And so the thought comes
across your head like

what happens if they don't call
his name and we're all here.

And then they
called his name out

and he always loved Nashville.

He always, he had a couple

of Nashville jerseys
growing up,

so he was pretty excited

that it was Nashville
that called his name that day.

It was like a dream come true.

Yeah.

The million dollar question
for me constantly is like,

why isn't there
a gay NHL player?

And you know, Luke now is
under contract with an NHL,

which is such a
great breakthrough.

Where are the current players?

We have gay players. Any
statistician will tell you that

we have gay players in the NHL.

We have since the league opened

for business a
hundred years ago.

What we don't have
are out gay players.

The question is why are
they not comfortable in this

environment, in the
hockey environment?

I ended up having this
phone call with George Larock

that had played in the NHL,
the Canadians, the Oilers.

He said, you need to find out
why it's not okay to be gay.

He said, you know, there
are gay men in the NHL,

their teammates
keep their secret.

They, they are out there.

And, and I know I've been privy
to some brokering some deals

where an athlete NHL
player's going to come out

and always at the last
minute it falls through.

Oh.

I don't see, especially
as there's no out alumni.

No, - That's, that's so
disturbing. Like shocking to me.

I can't like wrap
my brain around it

of being like an adult

and still being kind of
ashamed of who you are

or not letting yourself
be your true self.

I don't, I don't
understand that.

I mean, I didn't think it
should matter that I was gay.

I think, you know, if a gay
player were to be in the NHL,

it's because of
his hockey talent.

Luke called us for and says,
you know, we need to talk.

So we'd had no idea
what was going on.

- How's it going
- Buddy.

How are you doing?

Good to see you. You
too. How are things?

And yeah, Luke tells
us, he says, I'm gay

and this is what I'm doing.

And we're like. I'm the
only one that talked.

And I get a phone call
from Jerry Johanson,

Luke's agent, right?

He goes, I have a
player in the Western

League that wants to come out.

Can you connect with him? And
I was like, what? Like really?

Like, and he's like,
yeah, he's just,

you know, he's
a signed prospect.

He wants to, I was like, whoa,

If things didn't
go well with hockey,

I didn't really have a
backup plan for that.

Hockey was my entire life.

I don't know what I would be
doing if I wasn't playing.

I believe that an openly gay
man should be able

to have an NHL career,
but,

people dont like change.

There, there was no
guarantee the, you know,

what the impact of this
would be on his career.

I worried about his hockey.

I worried about he
as a mum you worry

and I so you worry where is
his life trajectory gonna go?

What's gonna happen? How
is this all gonna work out?

there aren't teams
out there that,

that wouldn't support a gay
man in professional hockey.

So we had a, you know, we
had that discussion, Hey,

do you really want to do this?

Knowing that it could affect
ultimately how far you're able

to go in this game.

And he didn't care.

I'd be fine not playing hockey
if, if it wasn't accepted.

Hockey's a game. I love hockey.

It's given me so much in life,

but there's no way
I would jeopardise

my life for a game.

There's no way.

I think I sent
the Instagram post

and Twitter post out
at like 7:30.

And we did a
good job with it.

Like, I didn't have any
control of my social media.

Like, I logged out on my
Instagram and my Twitter.

You let it fly, said you guys

Let it fly.

You guys deal with it.

My whole goal

outside of doing it for
me personally was just

to help one kid out there

and someone has to do it.

You know what I mean?

Like someone has
to take that step

and say, fuck it, I'm
gonna be the first

person to, to come out.

I'm gonna take all of the
shit that comes my way

and I'm gonna show
that it it's okay to be

who you are and
do what you love.

Hi everyone. While the past year

and a half has been crazy, it
has also given me the chance

to find my true self.

Today I'm proud to publicly
tell everyone that I'm gay.

I hope that in sharing who I
am, I can help other people see

that gay people are welcome
in the hockey community

as we work to make sure that
hockey truly is for everyone.

I may be new to the community,

but I'm eager to
learn about the strong

and resilient people
who came before me

and pave the way so I could
be more comfortable today.

This is just the
beginning of my journey

and I'm excited to see

where it takes me both
in hockey and in life.

Fuck. Finally, like finally

somebody has done it.

Like, holy smokes, thank God.

I think I read pretty
much all the stories

that I could find at the time

and so I was just so impressed

And I said, the media's gonna
take this and run with it.

Luke Prokob came out
with an Instagram post.

He will be the first openly
gay player in the NHL.

As the first player ever
under contract has come

out as gay.

Luke Prokop of the Nashville
Predators Organisation has

officially come out
on social media.

Edmonton born Defensemen
said he didn't know

how others were going
to react.

On top of the world.

I was taken back by
how positive it was

and that's,

that's all you want
when you're coming out.

Yeah, Elton John called me.

That was sick, that
was the morning after.

So I got a text message
from Austin Matthews

that was really cool to see.

I couldn't believe what
a different person he was

because he was
struggling before.

Yeah. - So he would
participate in more things

and just be more open to things.

Everything changed. So
like the, the switch flipped.

What you think
of that shoot man?

That was dope.

Yeah, - Like nothing, never
done anything like that so

little definitely way
out like my comfort zone.

But they made me feel like
I was doing a good job

and said I was a natural
and things like that

and got to wear some
pretty cool fits.

- Yeah.
- So it was dope.

There's a real difference
between reacting to a gay player

and welcoming a gay player.

I think that the, the notion

that we're gonna
create a a safe space,

no one's really done that.

You can have an out player,
but it's what comes

after that announcement.

It's really the ecosystem
that needs to take over.

When we knew that there was
a potential trade to happen

and bring Luke in, like we
had some conversations, like

anytime you go through an
experience that no one has dealt

with before, you're gonna
have questions like, oh,

are we gonna be able to room him

with different
players on the road?

Or like, what if we had a player

that was extremely
homophobic, like

how would we deal with that?

There's still hurdles

and burdens as there
always will be,

but the players accepted him

and you know, I thought

his teammates did
a tremendous job of

just letting him come to
a place that felt normal.

It's the Edmonton
Oil Kings by far

that made me feel
the most comfortable

within an organisation.

When Luke came in, it was
the captain at the time,

Jake Neighbours and our
assistant captain that stood up

and were like, Luke is one of
us, so if you have questions,

ask them now.

Otherwise we're not
making a deal about this.

You know, this massive
weight has lifted off

his shoulders.

He's, he's basically,

he's basically become
like a different person,

like it translated into
his hockey big time.

Able to create the
turnover here for Edmonton.

Here comes Prokop and
over the Raider line.

Luke Prokop shows
off the hand-eye

I have the most
goals I've ever scored.

I have the most
points I've ever had.

I set a WHL record in the
playoffs for plus minus.

Prokop scores.

What a gorgeous shot
from Luke Prokop.

There were so many
things statistically

that you can look at
where it was like,

okay, what was the change?

And it was all coming up.

It wasn't extra skills,
it wasn't extra workouts.

- Luke Prokop.
- It wasn't better

sleep, it wasn't
better nutrition.

It was me coming up.

The horn sounds, the wait
is over the Edmonton Oil Kings

sit at their throne once again.

Their crown, the 2022 Western

Hockey League champions.

Oh, what a nice, oh, what
a season. Oh, what a team.

The year couldn't
have gotten better.

You know, I got
traded to my hometown

team, they accepted me.

It was awesome. We won.

Everybody just wants
to say that it's good.

And it's hasn't been,
it hasn't been easy.

It hasn't been the
worst thing ever,

but it hasn't been easy.

He got a lot of hate
when he was playing

and he kind of, I think
pushes it under the rug

because he doesn't want
that to be the spotlight.

But it was there.

I think fans more so,

but opponents too, like
I've, I've seen it.

There was a certain
incident where there was a,

how do I say this in
the nicest terms,

a cock sucking gesture
towards me from

the other guy on the other team.

Our guys saw it

and went to absolutely bananas
at the end of the game.

Went after the kid, our
coach went to their coach

and was like, did you not just
see this gesture they made?

And the coach was like, I
didn't see it. Well you did.

I feel like it's glossed
over really easily

how hard it's been for him

because he will
not tell you that

Luke was 19 when he came
out like that was too young

to take on the burden
that he's taken on.

I mean, playing hockey in the
southern United States like

that's, they've been
very loud with their laws

and their decisions that they've
made in, in certain states

that people like
him aren't accepted.

There's been at
times this season

where it feels like you,
they just forget about you.

So feeling like the team
that drafted you, signed you,

it doesn't believe
in you anymore.

It's hard to continue to go out,
play and try to please them.

Number 25,

What would Luke need
to do to show he's

ready to play in the NHL?

Yeah, it's rounding
out your game in terms

of defensive habits

and that's being engaged, being
athletic, you know, you have

to be hard on guys defensively,

you expect that from a
six foot five guy,

and probably, that's an area

where it doesn't come
naturally to him.

It's just this innate
ability to go

to a different place and
be like, you're in my way,

get outta my way.

This wants to be your
career and your livelihood.

Like let's kind of foster
these habits and this attitude.

And it's always
been the same thing

for the past five years ever
since I got into junior.

You need to be more physical.

You're six foot five, you
need to use your body more.

You know, like that's
not my personality off,

outside of the rink at all.

And I have a hard time just kind

of flipping the switch
when I get to the rink.

It's just who I am as a person.

Not to, not to want
to do those things.

Penetrate their house. Let's
get fucking inside tonight.

Lots of fucking shots, lots

of second thirds crash
that fucking net.

Get some bodies there. If
we're going low to high, it has

to be fucking low to high.

There's always an underlying
feeling of like, you know,

why are these
decisions being made?

Right? And, and
we'll never know.

We will never know it

because no one will ever,

they're not gonna tell you
if reasons are made based

on, you know, him
being openly gay.

But I think it's,

I question it I think
a lot more than he

does, which is good.

But, I wonder, you know,
why he's in the situations

that he's in and if
it will ever happen.

Why do you draught a
player in the third round,

sign him within two months

and basically give
him no opportunity

to develop within your
system all coinciding

with when he came out.

So I mean, you guys
can connect the dots.

Sometimes you wonder if it was

easier if I didn't come out.

I wanna put my whole
focus on hockey.

And then you have to add
on the fact of, you know,

do I feel like my
teammates respect me?

Do I have to be
careful around them?

Do I have to keep my mouth
shut if I didn't, you know,

come out, I wouldn't
have to worry about all

that extra stuff And
I don't know, maybe,

maybe my life would be
more where I want it to be

if I didn't in terms of
hockey, I have to deal with all

that extra stuff because I want
live the way I want to live.

I really believe that we
were making steady progress.

There's been kind of a hard
right turn on the right wing

fringes of America

and Canada where it's been
pushed back against the

LGBTQ+ community, which I
resent and fear greatly.

At least four NHL players
have pride night this season.

The players cite their
religious beliefs as reasons

for not donning the
pride warmup jerseys.

We made such a stride with
the NHL wearing pride jerseys,

having pride
nights, all of this.

And then a handful of guys
call it three or four came out

and said something
and we pulled back

The NHL banned pride
tape and specialty jerseys

after several players
sparked controversy

for sitting out
pride night activity.

Luke and I just walked
out of an interview

and all of a sudden
Elliot Friedman called me

and said, Hey Gary
Beman just announced

that pride juries are now

banned 'cause they're
a distraction.

That's just become more

of a distraction from
really the essence of

what the purpose of
these nights are.

And I'm like, oh, should
we go retake this interview?

Probably have heard in
the commissioner say yes

or the league would
accept a gay player,

but there's always
a but. But, we need

to respect everyone's views.

So your your goalie's from
Russia, so you're dealing

with a Russian culture
as part of your team.

I'm gay. Well, you're
gonna have to deal

with a little gay culture
as part of your team.

You know, the people at the
very top have been in hockey

all along and they've grown
within hockey culture.

And hockey culture
has not been one

that's ever celebrated
diversity or inclusivity.

Hockey is not a
diverse sport sexually,

it's not a diverse
sport racially it's
not a diverse sport.

You know, like hockey is the
only sport where you have

to divide up white people into
categories where you're like,

no, no, no, he's Finnish
and he's Swedish.

There's very little
queer representation.

So people are making
decisions without even talking

to us, without knowing
the impact of any of this.

The NHL still has a lot of
committed people in its office,

but even those people know
that they don't, at the end

of the day call the shots.

It's the team owners.
If you take an example

of the Jersey issue that
there was 32 people around

that table who decided they
knew what the impact would be

and they thought it would
be minimal.

It's this cycle.

You're not exposed to
any form of diversity.

How are you expected
to change this?

We need seats at the table.

I can't necessarily speak
my mind on a whole tonne

of things when you don't wanna
talk badly about the people

that you work for.

Basically they own you.

The banning of pride tape,
the banning of pride.

Jerseys, actions speak
louder than words.

I don't have time to
be patient anymore.

Maybe the onus is on me

and maybe I have to train
hard in the summertime

and just work extremely
hard to make them, you know,

not set me down.

The start of the summer

after everything that
had happened with
my previous season,

it was like a rock was
put into my pocket.

That was the pressure from
myself, my parents, friends,

coaches, agents, Nashville.

And I could feel it
weighing me down.

I'm putting my body
through hell right now

for Nashville just to
say, fuck you going

down to the coast league.

As the summer got on, I got
stronger mentally, physically,

and I was like, I
know the rock's there,

but I don't care that
it's there anymore.

I think I've grown so
much as a person, I just kind

of want to go out
and play hockey

and be the best version

of myself every day
on and off the ice.

So this year I've probably
got an extra month, month

and a half in the gym and
I've ran my fastest benched my

most, squatted my
most, so excited to see

what I can do on the ice.

And you know,

how good I'll feel when,
when the season turns around.

This feels like the
last hurrah for me.

If I don't have a good year,

then I might not make
the NHL ever again.

I also know there's a
lot of scouts here, so

I'm showing not just Nashville,

but I'm showing all those
other scouts the side

that they've wanted to
see for me since I was

16 years old and junior.

You know, you're
playing against guys now

who have mortgages,
kids, families,

and it's like, you're in my way.

I'm trying to provide for my
family. This is my livelihood.

I'm fighting
for this.

I am in a battle right
now with three other guys

to make this team and
I need to do something

to separate myself.

It is gonna be that ugly sort
of defence in the trenches,

battles down low, net front
play, like, these hard ugly jobs

where the game gets
ugly, slow, gritty.

Anytime a coach sees a guy
who's willing to commit to that,

it's like, we have
something here.

You know?

And I was just
like, fuck this.

Like, I need

to start doing this stuff
if I'm gonna play pro.

Not to say I was
looking for a fight,

but you know, I would've
happily gotten in one today.

- Let go, let go, let go.
- What?

I thought rookie camp
went pretty well for me.

I had some feedback from the
coaches and stuff like that.

They had noticed a big
change in me right away.

I do. Like, I was
just mad at nationals,

so it came out onto the ice.

He's had a couple cups of
coffee I would say there,

as we say in the game, but
we've had very strong teams too.

So he's come in at a time where
there's steep competition.

So hopefully Luke can crack
the Milwaukee squad this year

and you know,

hopefully continue his
journey with the organisation.

We are in the first week

of the regular season in
the American Hockey League.

I finally got my opportunity
playing against Chicago.

seventh game of the year.

I was actually the third star

of the game when we
were going off the ice

and they said that, I was
like, no, you got that wrong.

But I did. I mean,
I did play well.

Just excited to finally be
in the spot that I've wanted

to be, to be playing in
the league that I've wanted

to be playing in,
the competition

I've wanted to be
playing against.

All the hard work I
put in the summer feels

like it's paid off.

The first American Hockey
League goal for Luke Prokop.

Luke Prokop gets his
first a AHL goal at

18:28 of the first period

to give Milwaukee
a two nothing lead.

Bound by a job to go
to the rink every day

and work my bag off

and make it so that
there's not even a question

to take me out
of the lineup.

Okay guys, hello right here.

Mayor of Milwaukee,
Cavalier Johnson has

Declared and proclaim that
Wednesday, January 29th, 2025

to be Luke Prokob day
City of Milwaukee.

- Wow.
- Holy shit.

The man of the hour.

It's really nice
to, to meet y'all and,

and know that I, you know,
have some people in my

corner that are rooting for me.

So, I really appreciate
it. Thank you.

I hope that this is a point
in the history of the game

where the people that make
institutional decisions

are electing to think about
this in a more serious way

of like, look how much
more you could have.

- Awesome, thank you.
- Nice to meet you.

Leagues that dont start
to listen to that.

They're gonna find
themselves in an echo chamber

that at some point isn't gonna
sell out stadiums anymore.

Course.

Okay. Maybe not a
personal question.

No, I'm not dating
anyone right now.

It'd be nice to, you know,
share this space with someone

or start, you know,
actually dating someone,

but I'm not gonna
rush into anything,

or you know, be with
the wrong person.

We're gonna, you know, wait
for that person to come.

I haven't played a game
since beginning of April.

I've been having these episodes.

Whenever I exercise,

my heart rate will get
really, really fast.

It actually happened during
a game against Rockford early

March, and I got
pulled from the game.

The diagnosis is called
Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia.

So it's tomorrow
morning, I'm getting

a procedure done on my heart.

This surgery's basically kinda

officially ending my season.

Just gonna pause
Your favourite colour.

Oh, good one mom.

What'd you wish for?

Everything goes well
tomorrow. Hopefully.

The future of my time
with Nashville is

still up in the air.

I still could be here next
year if they wanna sign me.

I don't think they will.

I don't know if I've done enough

to prove myself to other teams.

I only have 40 games
of a AHL experience,

my entry level contract.

Is that enough? Did I do enough

to earn myself another contract?

- Doing okay? - Yeah.
- You have any pain?

I have no idea what
next season looks like for me.

Where I'm gonna be, if
I'm gonna get a contract?

If I don't, I might have
to go over to Europe.

It feels great to be
home for the summer.

And I've only been
out for three years,

so, I don't know a whole tonne
of the history, you know,

but within my community and
the province and the city.

1992 King's College
fired Delwin Vriend

solely for being gay.

It was a policy
of King's College.

If you were gay, you can't
be a teacher.

At that time,

the Individual Rights Protection
Act did not include the

word sexual orientation.

So, we went to Court of
Queen's bench in 1996.

The lead judge, you
know what this guy did?

He was so homophobic,

and so outraged that we
were even in his courtroom.

He turned his chair around.

Seven years in the making,

we finally get to
the Supreme Court

of Canada.

We won.

And now the Supreme Court
decision in the Vriend case is

used in law courts
around the world

to bring sexual orientation
into their legislation.

And let's be clear, this
fight will never end.

And that's why I'm really
proud that Luke is here

with us today, because
this has to continue.

Discrimination hinders coming
out, coming out hinders

discrimination.

All the stuff that
they had to go through

to get our rights in this city

and in this province was,
was something really cool.

And, you know, Pride was a
protest. That's what it was.

And, and they were protesting

for our rights basically
in this province only,

you know, 25 years ago.

I think I've learned
a lot about myself.

You know, with hockey, these
decisions are probably gonna

seem super tiny and super
small in five years.

Life's gonna be okay.

I think it's just time for
me to get a fresh start.

That's what I'm hoping is
gonna happen this summer.

The Edmonton Oilers
have signed Luke Prokop

to their organisation.

He'll play for their
a AHL affiliate,

the Bakersfield Condors
starting this month.

Obviously super happy to
sign with my hometown team.

It's it's in the
basement at home.

It's been kind of a breath

of fresh air just being
in a new organisation,

which is, you know
what I wanted.

Prokop worked
it up the board.

Training camp was really cool,

seeing Will Mc David on the ice

and he came out to, he's
like, hi, my name's Connor.

And I'm like, I know
who you fucking are.

I was able to showcase myself
in a way where like, okay,

this kid belongs and
he's an actual prospect.

Prokop, shot, and it scores!

Prokop for the point, score.

It's feeling like I was,
when I was back in junior,

just playing carefree

and truly feeling like

that these people in the
organisation believe in me.

I've been really happy
with how I've playing,

and the Stan Bowman
is like, yeah,

well you look like
a real integral

piece for us for the future.

I think we've played 15
games, I've played 14 of them.

It's everything that I
thought it would be just

with a fresh set of eyes
and a new opportunity.

Heated rivalry
going to number one is

so incredible.

The story we're telling
in heated rivalry

is a distinct fantasy and
it is there to be joyful.

It shows men being vulnerable
and it humanises people.

The queer community, they
finally feel like they have a

seat at the hockey
table of conversation.

It's a reminder that,
like, hockey has the potential

to appeal to everybody.

But I do hope that they
hear the rallying cry

of these new fans

and these people who want to
be fans who have been asking

for change in this culture.

They're making themselves
so heard that I think the rest

of society is having no choice

but to pay attention
to what they're doing.

And I think it's beautiful.

Luke is a big tough hockey
player and he goes out there

and he hits in
the corner and he,

and he stands up
for his teammates.

And so him being also gay,

it's like melding worlds
together for people to see.

He's existing in a space

that doesn't have
people like him.

So just his existence matters.

Just his existence will get
people to critically think about

what they do and what they say.

There's lots of guys that
learned that it wasn't a thing,

that he's just a
regular teammate.

They learned so much
from being with Luke

that they can now take
to other teams.

Lets go. Woo!
Always on time.

My coach in Bakersfield
won't ever say

girlfriend or wife anymore.

He'll only say partner. You
know, there's guys on my teams

that are asking questions
if I have a boyfriend

and what was it
like to come out?

So it's like throwing
a stone into a pond,

the ripples spread.

Yeah, there's a lot of things

to be grateful for
in my life right now.

I have a boyfriend,
first time I've ever said

that on camera.

First time that like, I'll
even like say it to my parents

and stuff, which is cool,

but also terrifying
at the same time.

With my dad this year we're off

to a little bit
of a better start.

You know, if I have a bad game

and we're able to kind
of go back to normal,

Why very much fisticuff
served hitting or anything?

I kind of like that when
I gotten that scrum.

From my perspective,
all of us are probably

at some point living
our childhood again

through our sons.

There's so many things
that I'd do different.

I mean, they didn't play
it to become a NHL player.

They played it
'cause it was fun.

If hockey is done
right, if it is inclusive,

if it is accessible, it
has incredible benefits.

Here we have Luke,
the champion of Pre-novice.

You know, accolades
are amazing.

Winning championships
are amazing,

but people forget
all about that.

They remember the people
that made a lasting

impact on the game.

If it worked out from a
hockey perspective, great.

If it didn't, you
know, he's kind

of feel like he's did his job.

Coming out I've been
able to connect with kids

who are kind of in the
same spot that I was

and being able

to help them along their
journey has been amazing.

It didn't matter to him
at the end of the day,

whether he gotta play
one NHL game or not.

It was more important
for him to help people

and throw this huge
weight off his shoulders

and be able to move forward.

If one kid watches this
and says,

yeah, I'm having those
same fears and anxiety,

but Luke's done it,
Luke's helping to say

that it can be okay.

My main goal with this
whole documentary is for it

to reach kids like me.

If I could help one person,
I feel like I've done my job.

I know that he truly feels
like he's making a positive

impact on others
and in his own life and,

and you are just proud of him.