Tucson Roadrunners center uses mullet to spur mental health conversations

Douglas is encouraging people to ask about his mullet to get people to open up and talk about mental health. This year, Douglas’ hair is shaved on much of the sides, short in the front (business) and long (party) in the back.

Douglas is also raising money for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation through a GoFundMe campaign that can be found on his Instagram, @curtisdouglas21.

He said the #askmeaboutmymullet effort has been going great this year. This season, there’s shirts and hats.

“It's been great actually, it’s more about the message than the donations, but the GoFundMe is up and doing the #askmeaboutmymullet thing, which has been really awesome and kind of just raising awareness with the mental health stuff and seeking to help and having those conversations,” Douglas said. “It's really a special topic to me, and so it's been it's been awesome.”

“March Mullets for Mental Health” started when Douglas was playing for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2022, and he brought it to Tucson, creating a tradition. The idea is that people will ask him about his hair and start the mental health dialogue.

“Honestly, I think the coolest part about doing it is connecting with the fan base and people coming out to me and sharing their stories and obviously not asking me for feedback, but knowing that I'm there to listen and to be there for them in in a sense is really special to me,” Douglas said. “And I think it's been really awesome and I'm looking to continue to do it for my career looking forward.”

On Saturday and Sunday, Douglas and his mullet and the rest of the Tucson Roadrunners (27-25-3-2) host the San Jose Barracuda (29-20-4-3) for a two-game series. The San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate is one spot ahead of Tucson in the standings, by six points.

Douglas has noticed that the hockey world has become more open about mental health of late.

Earlier in the week, Utah Hockey Club goalie Connor Ingram announced he was entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

Douglas, who is from Oakville, Ontario, is in his third year with the Roadrunners, and his second full season.

“I think every year the mental health world has become bigger and bigger and I'm raising funds for the CAMH, it’s an organization that’s special to me, it’s from my hometown,” Douglas said. “It's the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health foundation, it's pretty special because they’re severely underfunded, so just being able to give back to them and so many amazing things that they're doing it is really special to me.”

The 6-foot-9 forward has become big in the Roadrunners’ locker room.

“Off the ice he’s been doing what he can to elevate the boys in the room and elevate the mood and he's a big contributor, he’s got a personality that can energize them,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin.

This season, Douglas has added goals to the March mullets. He scored a goal in each of the Roadrunners’ last two games against the Ontario Reign.

He credits linemates Julian Lutz and Ryan McGregor.

“Yeah, I think it went well, I mean I got to play with Lutz and McGregor and they did an awesome job of getting pucks in and getting to work,” Douglas said. “I thought we did a good job and did our job and kudos to them, they played great.”

Last March, he had one goal and the year before he had two, separated by 15 days.

Through 49 games this year, Douglas has 16 points, including five goals. Last year, he had five goals and 21 points. He’s down in penalty minutes with 91 compared to 148 last year but is second on the team.

“I think he’s been playing the way he needs to play, he’s playing with a lot of pace in his game," Potvin said. "We’ve been asking him to really mind his details and make sure that he was on the right side of the puck and be a forechecking presence.

“I liked his last couple goals these last two games. He's been finding ways to get to those loose pucks in front of the net, that's important for a big fella like him, he needs to continue on that.”

Douglas said he’s just trying to grow his game, and the Ontario series was promising.

Potvin said he’s gotten more aggressive on the ice.

“Yeah there’s no doubt, that’s been a mandate of ours and his, he’s gotta buy into playing that nature of game," Potvin said. "He’s a bigger man that not a lot of players want to play against him. He's definitely playing more physical and he's buying himself a little bit more room out there.”

Slap shots

— Earlier in the week, Utah HC general manager Bill Armstrong announced that defenseman Juuso Välimäki underwent a successful surgery to repair a torn ACL and will be out eight to nine months. Välimäki got injured in the second period of his first game as a Roadrunner.

— Saturday is First Responders Night, which starts with a game at 4:30 p.m. between the Tucson Fire Department and the Tucson Police Department. Then on Sunday the Roadrunners celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a pre-game tailgate with Celtic music band Out of Kilters playing outside the arena starting at 2 p.m. The first 1,000 fans will receive St. Patrick’s Day shirts, and the Roadrunners will wear special jerseys that will be auctioned after the game.

— The Roadrunners are also holding a contest on their Dash App page to win a St. Patrick’s Day pint glass and two center ice tickets for Sunday’s game through Saturday morning.