Rebels’ Dwayne Jean Jr. bares soul with ‘Every Child Matters’ stick message
Dwayne Jean Jr., a Red Deer Rebels forward, is sharing some of his heart with the world this week.
On Sept. 29, a day before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Jean Jr. wrote on his stick the words ‘Every Child Matters,’ a phrase synonymous with the occasion also known as Orange Shirt Day.
He finished the night with one assist, which came on the game’s opening goal by Hunter Mayo, who is also Indigenous and is Jean Jr.’s billet brother. The Rebels didn’t have a game the next day.
Now in his second season with the Rebels, the 19-year-old said he didn’t write the phrase on his stick just for himself or without much thought.