Gill wears beliefs on her sleeve for Kings puck drop

When Amrit Gill was growing up in Vancouver, her parents couldn't afford to style their ever-growing toddler in NHL jerseys. So when Gill was about 3 years old, they got creative and dressed her in a traditional black-and-gold Punjabi suit to cheer on the Vancouver Canucks through the TV.

Nearly 23 years later, the "Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition" host found herself on center ice for the Los Angeles Kings puck drop, dressed again in a black-and-gold Punjabi suit. Except this time, she had full autonomy over the details.
"Sometimes you have to believe it's fate," Gill said of her cultural wear two decades apart. "I think this is a sign that I'm on the right path even though I haven't seen myself represented in the sport in the past."

On March 13, the Kings held an Indian Cultural Celebration Night to recognize the diversity of hockey's fan base and spotlight those of South Asian descent in and around the sport. Before the game against the Florida Panthers at Crypto.com arena, Gill, Robin Bawa -- the first person of Indian origin to play in the NHL -- and Dampy Brar -- the co-founder of Apna Hockey, an organization working to grow the game in Canada's South Asian community -- led the ceremonial puck drop.
"When the NHL chooses to recognize culture and people in all walks of life, it promotes acceptance through validating all our differences, all of which contribute to implementing a more inclusive infrastructure in the League," Gill said. "Once you have the fundamentals of inclusion down, diversity and equity will follow."
Three people of South Asian descent on the ice at one time is rare. Even more scarce is Gill's one-of-a-kind blazer, designed by Toronto-based Indian artist Jasmin Pannu. With it, Gill wanted to display that inclusion, equality and diversity is owed, not earned.
"Amrit wanted to see cultural representation, to support women and create a powerful statement around those," Pannu said. "In terms of aesthetics, she left that up to me."
Pannu wanted to match Gill's style, aiming for a chic and timeless design with a bold message. On the black blazer, Pannu used gold fabric paint to create a minimalistic design of a traditionally adorned Indian woman holding up her fist. The black heels were covered in silver-and-gold henna, centered with jewels. In Punjabi, "Amrit" was written at the top of the left heel and "Gill" on the right.
It was traditional but modern, loud in the quietest of ways and bright in the darkest of tones.

Gill wanted to step on the ice and bridge the gap between hockey and both women and her culture, representing that everyone has a place in the game.
"When you're talking about inclusion, you're not just looking at the race aspect of hockey, but you're also looking at the biggest challenges that face hockey today, which is accessibility," Gill said. "You're looking at creating environments that are sensitive to needs of various disabilities, identities, races, ages and so forth."
Gill said inclusion is more about making people feel welcomed, and diversity is about how the game looks. For Pannu, not seeing Punjabi people in her chosen field paused her from becoming an artist.
"When I was a kid, I never aspired to be an artist," Pannu said. "It's not because it wasn't something that I could imagine, but it was so outside the scope of my reality. You didn't see Indian women become professional artists."
Nor was the career path mentioned. Pannu said traditional jobs -- like that of a teacher, doctor, lawyer or nurse -- were the only discussed futures she knew. It's what influenced her to study psychology instead of initially pursuing her passion for art.
Now, Pannu pushes the bounds of what she's learned.
"I'm able to see further because I've stood on the shoulders of giants," Pannu said. "We can thank the previous generation for paving the path, but now we have the opportunity to do something that goes a little bit further than just ensuring your survival."
Which Gill did. In 2015, she became the first woman to host "Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition." Punjabi, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, is the fifth-most common language spoken in Canada.
"For 'Hockey night in Canada Punjabi,' the show is a vehicle for creating what we're truly after: social change and impact in our community," Gill said. "What makes me proud of the work that I do is we're creating a more inclusive narrative in the sport and making sure people who have been left out of the conversation for so long feel included now and moving forward."
And she'll continue to do that in style.
"When we're talking about hockey, it's not just about the stats or the analytics anymore. There's an appetite for so much more and fans want to feel represented and that the sport they care about represents their views," Gill said. "Fashion is a form of self expression that helps challenge the norms and encourage diversity of thought, and I hope that blazer can empower others to be their selves. I also hope it shows the power of sport as a vehicle for change."