Toronto

When James van Riemsdyk was approached to become the Maple Leafs’ ‘You Can Play’ ambassador, he didn’t hesitate to accept.

Perhaps a few years ago, it might have been a tougher choice for a macho hockey player to fulfill the role of “being a leader in the locker room and in the community on diversity, equality, and inclusion ... to lead the way in their market and fight homophobia in sports.”

The 27-year-old from Middletown, N.J., says this year’s club, with its young demographic in a time of greater awareness, has a strong sense of team inclusiveness and thus are ideal role models in one of the world’s most diverse cities with a large LGBTQ faction.

“I think that kind of stuff is important,” van Riemsdyk said Tuesday before the Leafs played the Dallas Stars. “We want to be inclusive to everyone, especially in this locker room. We have a great room and we want it to be at the point where these sorts of things aren’t a big story anymore, they should be normal.

“Obviously, we’re not quite there yet as a society. I know if we had someone who were to come out on this team, we’d be supportive, we would only care if they are a good teammate or a good player.”

The NHL annually asks teams to pick a You Can Play rep in each city for related activities during Hockey Is For Everyone Month in February. The Leafs were among the biggest supporters of the project after former general manager Brian Burke’s son, Brendan, came out just before a 2010 car crash took his life. Van Riemsdyk, who was acquired by Burke from Philadelphia in 2012, was particularly moved by the Burke family’s story.

The Leafs have appeared in many public address spots for You Can Play, including videos with members of the Toronto Gay Hockey League.

Van Riemsdyk’s younger brother, Trevor, is the ambassador for the Chicago Blackhawks and within a few days of both being named, the siblings had winning goals on the same night.

James says the message of inclusion is easier to spread in Toronto, already one of the most welcoming cities in the world to many cultures and religions.

“It’s a melting pot here for sure, which is such a cool part about playing in a big city such as this. What’s really special for us is (the Leafs) seem to be a bond that brings people together. In this city, with the following we get, you see it everywhere. The support we get is pretty impressive. You never take that for granted.”

He was asked if the language NHLers use in the locker room has become more considerate and carefully worded in regards to the LGBTQ population.

“Definitely. Once it was brought to people’s attention, they didn’t realize it was a malicious sort of thing. You definitely have noticed a shift in that sort of thing and that’s good to see — just having accountability to your words and actions and just being a good person.”

LHornby@postmedia.com