Ted Kulfan previews the Red Wings’ 2021-2022 season and former Michigan goalie Al Montoya is the interview guest on The Detroit News’ podcast, OctoPulse.
Montoya’s historic step as the NHL’s first Spanish-speaking player during a nine-year career and now as the first director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars highlights the significant strides of Hispanics and Latinos in the game but also shines a light on how far his underrepresented community has to go.
“I didn’t grow up in a hockey family,” Montoya said. “I was raised by a mother who was a Cuban refugee so there was no lineage, no path for me to follow. I had to learn on my own. I was this Spanish-speaking player looking up into this hockey world and didn’t see anyone like me. That’s why representation does matter.”
Montoya’s interview about being the first Cuban-American in the NHL is one of the highlights from episode 60 of OctoPulse:
►1:50: Ted picks the Islanders to win the Stanley Cup
►3:30: Ted predicts less than 76 points for the Red Wings this year
►6:00: Wojo asks Jeff Blashill about expectations in 2021-22
►10:00: Al Montoya interview
►26:00: Blashill on captain Dylan Larkin
►27:00: Larkin on Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider
►32:00: Raymond on making the opening-night roster
►34:00: News subscription for $1 for six months