Players, coaches react to Kyle Beach's story: 'The system failed him'

After Kyle Beach identified himself as the John Doe victim involved in the Chicago Blackhawks scandal, reaction around the league was swift, with players, former teammates and former players from all corners of the NHL offering support and hope that the world will learn some lessons from Beach’s story.

“It was hard to watch. Punch in the gut. Emotional. Sad. Can’t imagine what a player goes through. I acknowledge him for being courageous. You can see how hard that was for him. Hope it helps him heal.” – Former player and current Canucks coach Travis Green

“I’m shocked and it’s a terrible thing that has happened. I really feel for him and the victims. It takes a lot of courage to come out and tell his story. Just a terrible situation that shouldn’t happen.” – Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad

“There are no words that can do justice to the pain and suffering Kyle has gone through over the past 11 years. My hope is that the courage he has shown throughout this process will help other victims come forward. This shines a light on the shortcomings we have in the hockey community and what we MUST improve upon. This is an opportunity for everyone within the game to learn, grow and do everything within our power to ensure we create a safe and supportive environment for all involved and I look forward to being a part of that process.” – Former 2010 Blackhawks player and current Coyotes forward Andrew Ladd

“… the system failed him and let him down. That’s basically the job of the PA. I think they’re going to look into that and make sure that doesn’t happen again. But the NHLPA is there to protect the players and, in this situation, it obviously failed him.” – Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher

“From what I’ve seen it’s pretty awful and I’m happy he could at least have the courage to say something. I wish him and his family the best and I’m glad he said something.” – Canucks forward and former teammate of Beach J.T. Miller

“You don’t want stuff like this to happen. Our organization is welcoming that we can go to anybody to talk about anything. I can’t believe things like this are happening.”

J.T. Miller & Justin Bailey address media ahead of tonight’s game#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/rlKL1E54OQ

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) October 28, 2021

“Our goal as coaches, players, staff, all that, we just gotta make sure that doesn’t happen. That’s all. We can’t fix it. We just gotta make sure it doesn’t happen again.” – Islanders coach Barry Trotz

“My heart goes out to Kyle, his family, and commend him greatly for speaking up about this. Obviously, no one should have to go through a situation like that. Extremely tough. … Whatever we can do as a group, everywhere, just to kind of make sure that these things don’t happen again. I think we try to create something around here where it’s a lot of open dialogue, people feel safe [with] one another, and that’s the kind of environment we want to have.” – Islanders captain Anders Lee

“The pain of it. Certainly you think of Kyle, but think of the family. How would you feel if that was your child? I don’t know if I have words after – it’s tragic that the event happened, just tragic.” – Jets head coach Paul Maurice

“The courage it takes for him to be public in his situation, it’s something we all have to learn from.” – Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey

“It’s really tough to watch. And really chokes you up just as a person watching it.” – Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, as reported by the New York Post

“It’s pretty devastating to hear the details and what he went through. I feel for him, and hopefully this will let him heal. And obviously it’s not a situation that anyone wants to deal with — especially in this game. Hopefully something like this never happens again.” – Sharks captain Logan Couture

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