Colorado Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog has recently been named a Global Ambassador for the anti-bullying group called Friends.
Friends started in Stockholm, Sweden and since 1997 has been working to provide pre-schools, schools, and sports clubs the tools and resources to combat bullying. They opened Friends International Center Against Bullying in Stockholm last year, they hoped that this would centralize the research and resources used to combat and eradicate bullying.
Landeskog is "proud to support what Friends stands for, any effort that helps make young lives happier is worth the work. I look forward to helping Friends start a global movement to inspire young people to take a stand for respect and diversity. "
Along with providing support to the group Friends, he also committed himself to assisting Stockholm's amateur hockey association in the hopes of building better athletes on and off the ice, including anti-harassment in the off-ice benefits.
His involvement in Friends, both in Sweden and in the United States will include appearances at camps, releasing anti-bullying videos as well as other projects that support anti-bullying initiatives.
Lars Arrhenius, secretary general at Friends had the following to say: "We are extraordinarily proud to present Gabriel Landeskog as our new global ambassador. He truly represents the core values of Friends and he will inspire young people as a role model."
Since his rookie year, Landeskog has been trying to make a difference both locally, in Denver, and throughout the hockey world. During his first season in Colorado, Gabriel showed support for the Foothills Hockey Association with both funds and youth equipment. This is not the first time that Landeskog lends his voice to fight bullying and harassment either. Earlier in the year, You Can Play released a video that was shot with Landeskog supporting the cause. When the You Can Play video was released, he was the first professional athlete in North America to join forces with high school athletes for the You Can Play project.