Sonny Sekhon O’Ree finalist builds Punjabi Elite League

NHL Willie O’Ree Community Hero finalist Sonny Sekhon on founding Edmonton’s Punjabi Elite League and expanding hockey access.

A love for hockey that once felt like it might push him out has turned into a mission to pull others in, and it’s now put Sonny Sekhon in the national spotlight.

Sekhon. a long-time Edmonton community organizer and hockey advocate. was announced as one of three Canadian finalists for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.. The league’s honor recognizes people who create meaningful. positive impact in their communities through hockey. and Sekhon’s work centers on expanding who gets a fair shot at the game.

For three decades, the sport has been more than an activity for Sekhon—it’s been a thread connecting generations.. He remembers being four years old in Edmonton in 1990. watching the Oilers on television beside his grandfather as the team’s dominance defined the city.. Sekhon recalls the intensity of that moment. including his grandfather cheering in Punjabi at a time when the NHL’s cultural and linguistic worlds didn’t always feel welcoming to everyone.

That sense of belonging and not belonging came into sharper focus when Sekhon first went to the rink.. At his first tryouts. coaches delivered names in the usual Canadian register. and when it was time for “Harinder. ” the reaction from other kids stung.. He says he sat in the room crying. but the same early experience also offered a counterweight: the father of another player offered reassurance after noticing his distress. encouraging him to keep trying and reminding him it would be okay if hockey didn’t work out.

What happened next. according to Sekhon. is the story he still tells today—hockey took hold. and eventually he helped build a doorway for others.. Over 33 years later. that doorway now has an organizational name: the Punjabi Elite League. a ball hockey program designed to foster connection in Edmonton’s Punjabi community and create opportunities for Punjabi youth to participate in the sport.

Sekhon’s pathway into the league began with earlier community tournaments.. About eight years ago. he and friends organized three-on-three ball hockey events in Edmonton as a branch of a larger tournament held in Calgary.. Over time. the Punjabi Ball Hockey League emerged through community leadership. bringing together hundreds of players. including Sekhon when he played as a captain for one of the PBHL squads.

A major turning point arrived in 2025.. Sekhon describes a moment when he wasn’t even playing anymore because of family priorities—specifically the needs of his young son—only to find his phone filling up with calls from PBHL captains.. He says it was April 1st. and he was in Las Vegas planning to attend an Oilers game when the messages came: the league had decided to fold.. With the PBHL’s structure suddenly disappearing, Sekhon was asked to help chart a new path.

Rather than treating the moment as a stopgap. Sekhon leaned on years of experience organizing the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament. a long-running youth event that has hosted big NHL names as children.. He says he already had infrastructure from that work and that while he didn’t promise anything. he agreed to try. even though launching a league quickly is expensive and logistically demanding.

The challenge wasn’t only scheduling and facilities.. Sekhon points to personal strain during that period as his family dealt with his son’s health issues and the search for answers.. Still. he says the effort depended on reaching out beyond his own circle. including working with Arjun Atwal—an Edmonton-linked junior hockey and USports standout who is also deeply involved in the city’s community sports scene and was previously a nominee for the O’Ree Award.

Sekhon describes the early weeks of the pivot as a blur of calls: seeking ice time. floor access. referees. and support from anyone who could help.. He emphasizes that hundreds of combined hours went into trying to make the Punjabi Elite League viable quickly. with the goal of sustaining it once it was underway.

Now in “Season 2,” the Punjabi Elite League is built around eight teams, each run by its captain.. Players are selected through a live draft. trades are allowed. and a waiver wire exists to manage injuries that can shift rosters.. The league plays a 14-game season and uses a social-media team to share player stories along the way.

Looking ahead, Sekhon says the league wants to keep expanding its reach.. Plans include adding a women’s hockey season and growing programming for kids.. He also notes that while the league charges for men’s hockey in line with other men’s leagues in Edmonton. its current women’s hockey development and youth hockey programs are free.

The proof of impact. for Sekhon. is visible in the children who show up nervous and then grow into the game.. He points to one example from within his program: a player who took time away because he wasn’t sure hockey was his fit. attended a summer summit. and returned to participate in both ball hockey and ice hockey. along with seminars.. By this year. Sekhon says the same child was at an Oilers game as the “Rona Skater. ” taking part in warm-up moments alongside the Oilers flag—an outcome that he describes as surreal.

Underlying that progress is a belief system that Sekhon ties directly to his family and community upbringing.. Raised in a Sikh household. he says the Sikh principle of seva—selfless service to the community—has always shaped how he understands community involvement.. For him, it’s about spiritual connection expressed through action: doing work for the people around you.

That idea, Sekhon says, also echoes through how the Punjabi Elite League operates.. He describes a particularly large kids’ event on April 1 this year. with 63 registered children and 47 showing up after they anticipated about 30.. When the turnout overwhelmed what he and Atwal could handle. Sekhon contacted captains. and he says every one of them responded.. Female coaches from the ice-hockey side. sponsors. and parents also stepped in. and he describes the effort drawing around 75 people with people taking half-days off work. all without pay.

The league’s culture. he argues. reflects a broader need in society: making room for people to feel they belong in hockey.. Sekhon recounts how that need has been illuminated by his own family story. including his father’s move from Ludhiana. Punjab in 1974 and the work he took on along the way before building a life in the west.. He says that years later. after requesting that the Oilers mark a South Asian night with a jersey name and number for his father. his dad insisted Sekhon keep the jersey.. Sekhon says watching his father react—turning the jersey around and looking at the number—brought him close to tears.

At the emotional center of his work is an hope that one day such gestures won’t carry the same weight.. Sekhon says his long-term goal is to put himself out of business. because he would like a world where community-based leagues are no longer necessary and acceptance is simply the norm.. But until that reality arrives. he says the Punjabi Elite League—and the people running it—will keep filling the gap.

For Sekhon, the Willie O’Ree finalist announcement is not an endpoint.. It’s recognition of a community project that began with a personal struggle and has grown into an organized effort to ensure hockey. in Edmonton and beyond. belongs to more people than ever before—starting with the kids who arrive at the rink unsure. and leave ready to try again.

Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award Sonny Sekhon Punjabi Elite League Edmonton hockey Punjabi youth hockey community sports