"I think in the first beginning years, maybe it was tolerance among a lot of guys. Now it's acceptance around the League, which is a huge difference," Wingels said Tuesday. "People are actively going out of their way to include everyone. I think people realize we live in a diverse world and a diverse locker room and it needs to be a place that everyone feels comfortable in, not just the room but within a community, an arena and the United States. It's a great project and it continues to get bigger and bigger every year."
\[RELATED: Complete Hockey Is For Everyone coverage\]
The Blackhawks will hold their Hockey Is For Everyone night on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks at United Center (8:30 p.m ET; NBCCH, PRIME, NHL.TV).
Blackhawks players will use rainbow-colored Pride Tape on their sticks during warmups and some of those sticks will be auctioned online, with proceeds benefitting the You Can Play project. The United Arab Emirates women's hockey team is in town for the game. Josh Pauls and Brody Roybal, two members of the U.S. Paralympic Sled hockey team, will participate in the Shoot the Puck promotion during the second intermission. Pauls is a Special Ambassador for Hockey Is For Everyone month.
"It's awesome that the League is showcasing, highlighting it like this," Wingels said. "The Blackhawks have done an incredible job in the city of Chicago. I may be the rep here but a lot of guys were talking about it here this morning and all year. Just because I'm the rep doesn't mean I'm the only one who's proud of it. There's a good group of guys here who are supportive of everything I've talked about and the organization as a whole definitely is as well."
Wingels was one of the first supporters of the You Can Play project, founded by Patrick Burke, the NHL's Senior Director of Player Safety, in honor of his brother Brendan, who came out in November 2009. Wingels played with the University of Miami men's hockey team; Brendan was the student manager. Brendan died in an automobile accident in February, 2010.
"He was brave in doing it, Brendan that is, and Patrick is doing a great job starting the You Can Play project and I was on board right away," Wingels said. "It's an important step in the hockey community and it's grown incredibly. It's something that was talked about a lot at the time and it's much more action now. We've moved from talk to action, which is important, and it's something that everyone in this room, and the NHL, has accepted.
"At some point, we will have an openly gay hockey player," Wingels said. "That's always the question is when, when you do think? I don't know. But we're on the right path there."
