Emma Kyte was born in 1998, the year after her uncle Jim retired from a professional hockey career that saw him log 598 games on the NHL blue line.
She never witnessed Uncle Jim — known in his younger days as “Radio Shack” due to the clunky hearing aids tucked under his helmet — attempt to shut down the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Hakan Loob. She never saw the linesmen scoop up his hearing aids and deliver them to the penalty box after many of his 68 heavyweight fights.
But listen to 18-year-old Emma explain what she brings to the Canadian national women’s deaf hockey team, and you’ll hear a distinct echo of Jim Kyte — the first legally deaf skater in the NHL.