Consider Me is set in the real-world culture of the National Hockey League (NHL), where elite players navigate immense fame, wealth, and media scrutiny. Yet hockey is firmly entrenched in the history and culture of Canada, stretching far beyond the realm of professional athletics. The modern sport of hockey was developed in Canada, influenced by games from both Indigenous cultures and imported games from England and France. The first official game of indoor hockey was played in 1875 in Halifax, and the tools and equipment used in the modern game, as we know it, were developed in Canada as well. Considered the national pastime and the country’s official winter sport, hockey is played at every level in Canada. In Consider Me, although Carter plays professional hockey, he isn’t the only character on the ice. Olivia admits to having played hockey for 15 years, and she coaches her niece Alannah’s youth hockey team.

The adulation of professional hockey players in Canada is established in the novel by both Alannah’s and Olivia’s brother Jeremy’s idolization of Carter. Even as Jeremy reacts negatively to the idea of Olivia’s relationship with Carter, he still asks Carter to autograph his jersey. Jeremy’s reaction to the Stanley Cup on Carter’s table also reflects the level of importance the sport holds in Canadian culture: “His shaky hands fly to his face. ‘Oh. My. God. It’s the…It’s the…’ He whimpers” (399). The Stanley Cup, first awarded in 1893, is the highest honor in professional hockey. By establishing the importance of winning the Stanley Cup, the pinnacle of professional hockey, the novel also illustrates Olivia’s importance to Carter: After he achieves the win, he realizes that reaching the peak of his professional career still comes in second to attaining Olivia’s love and commitment. Mack uses this moment, in which Carter realizes that the Cup isn’t as important to him as Olivia’s love, to emphasize the depth of his commitment to her.