TEAM Huddle: Guest Speaker Devin Buffalo | Waniska Athletics – Navigating the Pressures of Sport

Student-Athlete Only Event

Devin Buffalo is from Samson Cree Nation and played Division 1 NCAA hockey at Dartmouth College from 2014-2018. During this time, he earned a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science and Government. Over the course of his NCAA career, Devin earned a Hobey Baker nomination, was named the MVP of the Men’s Hockey program, and named Second Team All-Ivy League. After his college career, he played one season of professional hockey in the ECHL. 

Devin founded Waniska Athletics in 2020; an organization aimed at providing opportunities and training to Indigenous athletes. Devin holds goalie camps and speaking engagements across Canada. In the last couple of years, Waniska Athletics has held seven goalie camps, training over 50 Indigenous goalies. 

Additionally, Devin serves on committees such as Hockey Alberta’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, and the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship board. He recently graduated law school from the University of Alberta, and is now articling at MLT Aikins in Edmonton, Alberta. 

This presentation will canvas Devin's life journey through education and hockey. It will cover how he navigated the struggles elite hockey can bring such as isolation, bullying, and racism. He will also share how reconnecting with his culture helped him manage the stresses of law school. There will be interactive visualization exercises associated with Devin’s presentation.