Color of Hockey: South Asian women thrive at Apna Elite Camp

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, as part of NHL.com's celebration of Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage month, he profiles players and coaches who participated in the inaugural Apna Hockey Elite Female Camp April 24-25 in Surrey, British Columbia.

Chanreet Bassi didn’t know what to expect.

The 24-year-old former University of British Columbia forward who became the first South Asian drafted by a Professional Women’s Hockey League team had no idea about the number or talent level of players she would join at Apna Hockey’s first elite female camp in Surrey, British Columbia, last month.

“There were, like, so many other girls out there,” said Bassi, who had 116 points (42 goals, 74 assists) in 127 games with UBC from 2019-25. “It blew me away.” 

Bassi was one of 20 players who participated in the April 24-25 camp at the North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex organized by Apna Hockey, an initiative that provides a network and support for South Asian hockey players in Canada. 

“It was crazy just to see, like, 20 of us come together and practice, which was pretty fun,” Bassi said. “I think it kind of just shows, like, the growth of the game. When I started playing hockey, there were not many of us. Now, there's so many more (South Asian) girls playing, which is just exciting for the sport.”

The players ranged in age from 16 to 26 and in experience from AAA hockey to NCAA and Canada U Sports athletes and commits to a pro like Bassi, who was selected by Vancouver in the sixth round (No. 48) of the 2025 PWHL Draft and played nine games with Linkoping HC of the Swedish Women's Hockey League this season. 

“They're not good. They’re really, really good,” Apna Hockey co-founder Lali Toor said of the players. “It shows you that not only are we in hockey, but we are also thriving at it, to a point where we gain critical mass now on the women's side.” 

Toor said it’s part of a trend of members of the South Asian community rising to visible and impactful positions in hockey on and off the ice.

Sunny Mehta became the first NHL general manager with a South Asian background when the New Jersey Devils hired the former Florida Panthers assistant GM on April 16.

The Malhotra family with the Ottawa Senators and Michael Nijjar with the Vegas Golden Knights are among Canadians and Americans with South Asian roots who are part of NHL Club ownership groups.

Former NHL forward Manny Malhotra  -- no relation to the Malhotras of the Senators' ownership group -- coached Abbotsford, the Vancouver Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate, to the Calder Cup championship last season with Harry Mahesh as an assistant and with forwards Jujhar Khaira and Arshdeep Bains, who each have NHL experience, on the roster.

Caleb Malhotra, Manny’s son, is a forward for Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League and ranked No. 6 among North American skaters ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The first round is June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with Rounds 2-7 on June 27 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN).

Sudarshan Maharaj, who survived pancreatic cancer in 2023, is director of goaltending for the Anaheim Ducks, overseeing the organization’s goaltending, coaching development and scouting for the position.

Siya Grewal, an 18-year-old former San Jose Jr. Sharks forward who plays for Bishop Kearney Selects 19U AAA team in Rochester, New York, and has committed to NCAA Division I Merrimack College for 2027, said the women’s camp was an uplifting experience.

“It was great just seeing other girls," Grewal said, "other South Asian girls that look like me, walking out of that locker room, and be the first group that's done it, and being and inspiration for younger girls.”

But the camp was about more than history and optics. Players were put through brisk training camp-style practices on ice and video sessions and combine-like testing off it.

Kush Sidhu, director and a coach with the Washington Pride, a girls’ hockey program that has sent more than 140 players to NCAA Division I and Division III schools since its inception in 1995, ran the sessions with Roshen Jaswell, an assistant with Swift Current of the Western Hockey League.

“It was no different than being on with a bunch of really good players, to be honest,” Sidhu said. “I coached them like I would coach anyone in front of me. I thought they were actually better than I had anticipated.”

Sidhu said he was inspired during the camp by working with Jaswell, a former NCAA Division III and professional minor league defenseman who is believed to be one of the first coaches of South Asian descent in the WHL.

“He's an excellent coach, has a great presence,” Sidhu said. “I really enjoyed having somebody with me that has really been coaching at a high level, because I don't normally have that.”

Sidhu and the players don’t see the camp as a one-off event. They are aiming to play exhibition games in Montreal in July in the Challenger Series, a tournament for developing hockey nations with and teams with strong heritage in the Americas. The series features teams representing Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Lebanon and Greece.

Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association president Scott Vargas, looking at the Apna camp roster, said games against the South Asian women would provide a measuring stick for the progress of his association’s players.

“We'd rather punch up because we have a goal, a destination,” Vargas said of Puerto Rico’s women’s program, which won the gold medal 2025 IIHF Women’s 3X3 Series in Buenos Aires in November 

and silver at the inaugural tournament in Sao Paulo in 2024. “We’re trying to find something that will show us where we’re truly benchmarked, and that’s why we want them to come in.”

The South Asian players say they look forward to the challenge.

“I'm beyond thrilled, super excited for that see what the group looks like together," Grewal said, "because we already looked great practicing together in little battle drills, small-area games. Just to see that come to light in a game situation, I think, will be really exciting to see.”