from Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News,

Evander Kane, Joel Ward and other past and present minority NHL players on Monday announced the formation of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which aims to eradicate racism and intolerance in the sport.

Kane, a San Jose Sharks’ forward, co-heads the Alliance with former NHL player Akim Aliu. Ward, who played for the Sharks from 2015 to 2018 and recently announced his retirement, is part of the executive committee that includes Trevor Daley, Matt Dumba, Wayne Simmonds and Chris Stewart.

“We will strive to be a force for positive change in the sport of hockey not only within our game of hockey, but also within society,” the organization said in a statement. “Although we will be independent of the NHL, we are hopeful that we will work productively with the league to accomplish these important changes.”

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