Olympic Games: P.K. Subban told he wasn’t allowed to celebrate

When you think of P.K. Subban as a hockey player, you think of a guy who was pretty flamboyant. That’s what made him so popular in Montreal… but also what displeased some of the club’s hockey staff.

Remember that Michel Therrien had banned his famous “triple low five” with Carey Price. We didn’t necessarily feel that Therrien liked his player’s intense personality.

But clearly, it wasn’t just in Montreal where his personality rubbed some people the wrong way.

How do I know this? Because Subban admitted it himself.

Speaking to CBC’s Black Life: Untold Stories, Subban explained that, in 2014, when the process of making the Canadian Olympic team was underway, he was told that if he wanted to represent his country, he “wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate”.

Nothing less.

CBCGEM- In the NHL, P.K. Subban was blasted for his showy style on the ice, and told that he couldn’t celebrate scoring goals if he was going to play for Team Canada.

A lifelong Canadian, P.K. was told “it wasn’t how Canadians were supposed to conduct themselves.”

Black Life:… pic.twitter.com/zeVnaNSqMS

– P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) December 8, 2023

Subban explains that, at the time, he was told that “this is not how Canadians should behave”. Inevitably, this frustrated Subban, who was born and raised in Canada.

Because in effect, it implies that Subban “doesn’t act like a true Canadian”, and I can understand why he was insulted.

Remember that, at the time, Subban had just won the Norris Trophy, which theoretically made him the best defenseman in the NHL, the best league in the world. Whether he was really the most deserving candidate is open to debate, but the fact remains that he was one of the best in the league at the time.

But despite all this, you get the feeling that he wasn’t really respected, and that he was bullied for simply having a personality.

Hockey is really, really behind other major sports when it comes to letting athletes express themselves, and this is another example of that.