The Fife Flyers announced their first batch of player numbers for the 24/25 season and one number caught all the fan’s eyes and that was Drake Pilon. Drake Pilon played as number 70 last season with the Fife Flyers but has taken the step to change his number to 77 and this got many fans questioning why.
Many fans believed Pilon’s number change was because his brother Darien Pilon was coming to Fife however, this isn’t the case as Darien Pilon has signed for the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL. The Fife Flyers confirmed on social media why Drake Pilon changed his number to 77 and it was for his partner. Pilon’s partner was playing ice hockey throughout university and Pilon is believed to have said she was skilled enough to play professionally however, has decided not to due their being very little money in female ice hockey, therefore he has decided to wear her number while he plays.
Female ice hockey is becoming more popular by the day, especially with the rising audience for the PWHL, the top flight of female ice hockey however, the money isn’t the best in it at the moment which is why most female players opt out of playing as they can not financially live on it. The PHF which is the Premier Hockey federation who own the PWHL pays Kennedy Marchment $130,000 which is the second top salary in the league compared to some male players making that in a month. To earn above $100,000 (£78,571) you have to be one of the top players in the game, the average female player earns around $35,000 (£27,499.85) - $80,000 (£62,856.80) which is fairly low considering the way the cost of living is in the current world.
Numbers mean more than just digits to players with most players selecting numbers with significant meaning to them and this is exactly the same for Drake Pilon. So far there are no more number changes for the Fife Flyers.
Author: Calan Yule
Last Edited: 07:27 - 02/08/2024
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