A banner supporting the Hells Angels in Winnipeg. A link to a family member who's a full-fledged member of the outlaw motorcycle club.
These are the things you'll find on Winnipeg NHLer Riley Cote's MySpace page.
Cote is a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, who open the NHL's Eastern Conference Final against Pittsburgh tonight.
A rugged player who used his fists to help earn a job in the world's best hockey league this season, he's not only the co-winner of the Flyers most improved player award, he's also been nominated for an NHL award for humanitarian and community service.
But the head of the Winnipeg Police Association and a university criminologist say he hasn't used good judgment on his internet site.
There, you'll find a banner that reads, Support Red and White, Winnipeg, a moniker for the Hells Angels. There's also a link to his cousin, Sean Wolfe, a member who's had several run-ins with the law.
"It certainly makes you wonder about the suitability of the guy as a role model for aspiring hockey players," Winnipeg Police Association president Mike Sutherland said yesterday.
Dr. Robert Gordon, the director of criminology at Simon Fraser University, who specializes in organized crime, agrees.
"Anybody who associates with people who are known to be actively involved in organized crime are clearly not providing good, positive role models for kids," Gordon said. "I don't think having a Hells Angels member or associate as a pal is something to be proud of. If I were his team manager, I certainly would be chastising him for this one.
"This is not the kind of image the NHL needs to be portraying."
Cote, reached in Pittsburgh late yesterday, stood by his decision to support a man he described as his "big brother" growing up in Southdale.
"I do not have a criminal record," Cote said. "I've never been charged with anything. I'm not involved in the Hell's Angels. He supports me, I support him. You've got to make a living.
"I'm not hiding it. You've got to support your family. I'm not going to forget where I came from. That's probably where my role is coming from -- an on-ice version of what he's doing."
Cote, 26, is one of the NHL's busiest fighters, having amassed 202 penalty minutes in 70 games this season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder also earned a three-game suspension in December for an elbow on Matt Niskanen of the Dallas Stars.
But he's also earned a reputation as a positive role model.
He spends hours doing charitable work in Philadelphia and Winnipeg, from taking part in hockey clinics for kids to going for walks to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, which afflicts his older sister.
"If you do any kind of research on me, it's all positive," Cote said. "My cousin happens to be involved in that. It's a lifestyle. If he's not going to do it, the next guy's going to do it. There's money to be made. And if you knew him, he's probably the most genuine, nicest guy you'd meet in your life. Just don't stomp on his toes.
"In a perfect world, I'd probably wish something different for him, but he's my big brother. He supports me. Why not throw a little banner up on MySpace, which no one even has a clue what it is, except for the people that know?"
Cote says the banner and link have been on his page for at least two years, and he's never heard a complaint.
"What do you want me to tell you -- I live in a fairy-tale life?" Cote said. "What would you do, shun your family member?"
Wolfe, 31, was in the news for an assault charge last year. He was also one of several Hell's Angels whose charges were dropped when a proposed mega-trial fell apart in 2004.
