Monthly Archives: May 2016

Joel Ward thinks the NHL should honor Willie O’Ree by retiring his number

30 Monday May 2016

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Joel Ward has an idea for the National Hockey League to honor the history and growing impact of black players in the sport: Retire the number 22 Willie O’Ree wore with the Boston Bruins when he became the league’s first black player in 1958.

“I definitely think Willie should be recognized for sure,” Ward told ESPN Sunday, the media day before his San Jose Sharks face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. “It’s a no-brainer. Without Willie, it would be tough for me to be sitting here today. I definitely think Willie should be a big part of this.”

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O’Ree, who serves as the NHL’s director for youth development and ambassador for diversity, skated into hockey history on Jan. 18, 1958 when he played for the Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the old Montreal Forum.

A right wing, O’Ree appeared in 45 games over two seasons for the Bruins – 1957-58 and 1960-61 – and tallied 4 goals, 10 assists and 26 penalty minutes. Though his NHL career was brief, O’Ree enjoyed a lengthy minor league career, playing primarily  for the San Diego Gulls and the Los Angeles Blades of the old Western Hockey League.

His career minor league numbers: 328 goals, 311 assists, 669 penalty minutes in 785 WHL games; 21 goals, 25 assists, 37 PIMs (penalties in minutes) in the Pacific Coast League; and 21 goals, 24 assists and 41 PIMs in 56 American Hockey League contests.

He enjoyed a long professional career despite playing blind in his right eye, the result of a hockey injury.

Diversity on display. Left to right: Philadelphia Flyers forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Wayne Simmonds with Willie O'Ree and former Flyer goalie Ray Emery (Photo/Philadelphia Flyers).

Diversity on display. Left to right: Philadelphia Flyers forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Wayne Simmonds with Willie O’Ree and former Flyer goalie Ray Emery (Photo/Philadelphia Flyers).

O’Ree’s contribution to the game can be measured beyond goals and assists. He’s the godfather to players of color, from pee wees to the pros. It’s not unusual for minority NHLers, from rookies to veterans, to seek him out for advice.

“He’s my elder,” high-scoring Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds told reporters during an O’Ree visit to the team in 2015. “I treat him with respect and let him know I have a lot of admiration for him. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be playing the game today.”

Karl Subban – father of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban,  Bruins goaltending prospect Malcolm Subban and Vancouver Canucks defense draftee  Jordan Subban – once told me that if one of his boys felt they were wronged in the hockey world, he’d remind them of what O’Ree and Mike Marson, the NHL’s second black player, endured.

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O’Ree isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he is in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame and the San Diego Hall of Champions. In 2007, he received the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

But Ward feels the time has come for the NHL to honor O’Ree by retiring his number, the same way Major League Baseball universally retired Jackie Robinson’s 42 in 1997. Ward wears 42 in honor of Robinson.

“It would be great if they did,” Ward told ESPN. “Obviously that’s something that would be a great discussion about. With the amount of respect Willie has around the league, it would definitely be something special if that did come up.”

Ward’s on the cusp of making hockey history himself. Either he or Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley will be the next black player to have his name etched onto the Stanley Cup.

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One of them will join goaltender Grant Fuhr (Edmonton Oilers –  1985, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990),  goalie Ray Emery (Chicago Blackhawks – 2013), defenseman Johnny Oduya (Blackhawks – 2013, 2015), wing Dustin Byfuglien (Blackhawks – 2013), and netminder Eldon “Pokey” Reddick (Oilers –  1990) as Cup winners.

With the Stanley Cup Final opening Monday, here’s a little more black hockey trivia:

Traded to Pittsburgh by Chicago, defenseman Trevor Daley may get his name on the Stanley Cup.

Traded to Pittsburgh by Chicago, defenseman Trevor Daley may get his name on the Stanley Cup.

There are only two black players in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Fuhr was inducted in 2003 and Angela James, regarded as one of Canada’s greatest female players, was inducted in 2010.

They will surely have company whenever Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla retires. Playing with the Avalanche, Penguins, Bruins and Calgary Flames, Iginla has tallied 661 goals, 662 assists and 1,273 PIMs in 1,474 NHL regular season games.

Iginla has 37 goals, 31 assists and 98 PIMs in 81 playoff games. He owns two Winter Olympics Gold Medals, earned in Vancouver in 2010 and Salt Lake City in 2002.

He also has gold from the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and 1997 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

Iginla, whose father is from Nigeria, will probably have the longest and coolest name on a Hall of Fame plaque if he choose to use the full handle: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla.

There are at least four ice skating rinks in North America named after black people. Willie O’Ree Place is in Fredericton, New Brunswick; the Angela James Arena in Toronto; Philadelphia’s Laura Simms Skate House in Cobbs Creek Park. Simms was a community activist who pushed the city to build an ice rink in a mostly-black neighborhood.; and The Art Dorrington Rink at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

Dorrington, a long-time minor league hockey player, began a popular youth hockey program in his adopted city to help kids stay out of trouble and stay in school.

 

 

No way, P.K.: Canada leaves Subban off its World Cup of Hockey roster

28 Saturday May 2016

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Teams participating in the World Cup of Hockey finalized their rosters Friday, providing plenty of news about who’s in and who’s out of the eight-team tournament.

Three black players will represent their countries in the games to be played Sept. 17-Oct. 1 at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban wasn't among the players picked for Canada's World Cup of Hockey team.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban wasn’t among the players picked for Canada’s World Cup of Hockey team.

Toronto is also the home town of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban. But Subban, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner as the National Hockey League’s best defenseman, won’t be there because Team Canada didn’t add him to its roster.

“The decisions weren’t easy, and with the depth of player talent we have in Canada, we knew it would be a difficult process to finalize our roster – but it’s what we signed up for, and we feel we’ve been able to put together the right balance to create a winning team,” Team Canada General Manager Doug Armstrong said.

Canada selected seven blue-liners: Brent Burns  and Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks; Drew Doughty  and Jake Muzzin of the Los Angeles Kings; Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks;  Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues; and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators.

Subban was 12th among NHL defensemen in scoring in the 2015-16 regular season with 6 goals and 45 assists in 68 games. Weber finished ninth among D-men with 20 goals and 31 assists and Doughty was tenth with 14 goals and 37 assists.

An article in Canada’s National Post Saturday had a lead that summed up the Subban skip best: “Call him P.K. Snubban.”

“OK, so the nickname needs a little work but that doesn’t excuse the fact the reimagined World Cup of Hockey will be devoid of one of its marquee talents: The marvelous P.K. Subban,” John Matisz wrote.

Subban’s talent is undeniable. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley, appearing in filmmaker Damon Kwame Mason’s “Soul on Ice, Past, Present and Future” black hockey history documentary, said Subban should simply be known as “Norris” – as in Norris Trophy.

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Subban represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, but Team Canada Head Coach Mike Babcock made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Subban’s game. He played only 11 minutes – all in one game – during the entire Olympics.

Many Subban fans feel he’s disrespected by the Canadian hockey establishment – be it the Canadiens, Hockey Canada, or old-school hockey heads who think he’s too mouthy, too flashy, too…whatever.

After Montreal endured the hockey season from hell –  a 38-38-6 record, no playoff berth – the Canadian rapper Wasiu had had enough with the Subban bashing.

Earlier this month, Wasiu picked up the mic and dropped “P.K. Subban,” a sometimes-explicit tribute to the player he says is “putting the city on his back.”

“The Canadiens had a bad season and the local media pointed the finger at P.K.,” Wasiu wrote in an essay for Fader. “It’s funny though, because he’s the best player and we all know he isn’t the problem. Same way when there’s violence that occurs at a club or in general, the thinking is to go check on the black people first because they look like they ‘fit the description’ – even if they weren’t the ones to start any problems.”

Wasiu’s is the second rap homage to Subban and his skills. Toronto-based rapper/producer Saukrates contributed “Say I” in 2011 as part of a Nike ad campaign that featured Subban.

If P.K. was P.O.’d about being excluded from the World Cup of Hockey, he didn’t show it over the weekend. Hanging out with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre Saturday, Subban told Canada’s Sportsnet “I just want to see Canada win gold. So, I’ll be there cheering just like everybody else.”

“It’s a selection process,” he added. “So either you get selected, or you don’t . All I can do is be a model citizen. I’m Canadian so I support my country and I support my team just like everybody else.”

Dallas Stars' Johnny Oduya.

Dallas Stars’ Johnny Oduya.

Another notable World Cup omission is Dallas Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya from Team Sweden’s roster.

Oduya, who won Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2013 and 2015, represented his country at the 2014 and 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

Despite no Oduya and no Subban, there will still be players of color to watch at the World Cup tournament.

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Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien  will skate for Team USA. The Minneapolis-born big man – 6-foot-5, 260-pounds – with the booming slap shot finished third on the Jets in scoring in 2015-16 with 19 goals and 34 assists in 81 games.

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Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones made the World Cup’s Team North America roster. The Texas-born Jones tallied 2 goals and 18 assists in 41 games for Columbus after being acquired from the Predators.

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Team Europe added Philadelphia Flyers left wing Pierre-Edourard Bellemare to its roster Friday. Bellemare, who is from France, had 7 goals and 7 assists in 74 games for the Flyers.

 

 

 

 

Coach John Brophy paid it forward, helped black hockey players in their careers

25 Wednesday May 2016

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When a lot of hockey people didn’t think Val James had the wherewithal to be a professional player, John Brophy did.

John Brophy (Photo/ Robert Shaver/Hockey Hall of Fame)

John Brophy (Photo/ Robert Shaver/Hockey Hall of Fame)

Brophy knew James had a hockey hunger because he saw it up close when Brophy was a fiery player for the Long Island Ducks and James was a youngster whose dad worked maintenance for the Long Island Arena, the barn where old Eastern Hockey League team played in the 1970s.

James’ dad had the keys to the arena, so young Val could skate whenever he liked. Brophy would watch James and his friends play in a local league at the arena and give them a little coaching.

“He thought I had the right stuff,” James told me recently. “I was just starting out so I wasn’t that much of a skater, or even a hockey player, for that matter. But he stuck with me and taught me a lot of things that did lead, eventually, to me going out and getting to where I got in hockey.”

John Duncan Brophy, a colorful career minor-league player who went on to become North America’s second winningest professional hockey coach, passed away earlier this week at the age of 83 following a lengthy illness.

Brophy is hockey history.  His 1,027 wins is second only to Hockey Hall of Fame Coach Scotty Bowman’s 1,224 victories. He accumulated a record 3,822 penalty minutes in an EHL playing career that spanned from 1955 to 1973.

He’s the only ECHL coach to lead a team, the Hampton Road Admirals, to three championships.

The two-fisted Brophy was dubbed as the “Godfather of  Goonery” and was thought to be Paul Newman’s inspiration for the goon-it-up player/coach Reggie Dunlop in the seminal hockey movie “Slap Shot.”

But Brophy is also black hockey history. He helped steer the careers of James, a tough-guy forward who became the National Hockey League’s first U.S.-born black player, and Bill Riley, who was the NHL’s third black player behind Willie O’Ree and Mike Marson.

Forward Val James, who became the NHL's first U.S.-born black player when he joined the Buffalo Sabres in 1981-82, said John Brophy treated him like a son.

Forward Val James, who became the NHL’s first U.S.-born black player when he joined the Buffalo Sabres in 1981-82, said John Brophy treated him like a son.

“Broph, he didn’t see color,” James said. “As a matter of fact, he and my dad were friends. To see them talk to each other, you’d swear they were enemies, but they were actually really good friends. Broph was always swearing – he couldn’t talk without swearing. My dad would be swearing back. You’d look at them and you’d say, ‘man, these guys are about to go’ and then they’d be laughing it up.”

Val James and Brophy also struck up a friendship rooted in mutual respect. When he coached in the American Hockey League, Brophy didn’t hesitate in sending out his enforcer to battle James, who was regarded as one of hockey’s most-feared fighters.

He also thought highly enough of James to add him to his St. Catharines Saints AHL squad in 1985-86. James rewarded Brophy’s faith with 3 assists and 162 penalty minutes in 80 games.

When Brophy coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for 2 1/2 seasons, he called James up from the minors for four games in 1986-87 to add toughness to the team. He responded with 14 penalty minutes in those games.

When James was working on his autobiography, “Black Ice: The Val James Story,” he sought out Brophy in 2013 for his recollections.

“He said to me ‘All the years you played with me, for me, against me, I had nothing but the best in mind for you and, you know what,  you performed better than I ever expected,'”  James told me. “‘I just wanted to let you know that you are one of my boys.’ I was very emotionally overtaken by that. He treated me like a son.”

Many players viewed Brophy as a tyrant –  a white-haired, red-face temperamental task-master with a fondness for bag skates and yelling until he was hoarse.

But James saw Brophy’s rough ways as tough love from one of hockey’s best teachers. Still, he was an acquired taste: Think Bobby Knight in basketball or Billy Martin in baseball.

“He made sure I did things right,” James said. “If I didn’t get things right, he’d explain it to me, maybe not the way a regular person would – he’d be screaming a lot – but that’s  ‘Broph.'”

Bill Riley, the NHL's third black player, had his pro career extended when John Brophy got him a contract to play for Nova Scotia in the AHL.

Bill Riley, the NHL’s third black player, had his pro career extended when John Brophy got him a contract to play for Nova Scotia in the AHL.

Riley, who was a forward for the Washington Capitals in the 1970s, skated for Brophy’s Voyageurs toward the end of his playing career in 1983-84. Brophy made Riley team captain and the player responded with 24 goals and 24 assists in 78 AHL games.

“Not only did he give me a contract, he paid me $5,000 more than what I was making in Moncton and he didn’t have to do that,” Riley said at a 2013 event in Amherst, Nova Scotia honoring his hockey accomplishments. “He really, really took care of me.”

Riley went into coaching and found himself going up against Brophy in a crucial minor league contest.

“We needed one point to clinch first place overall, and John didn’t give us anything. He played us hard, right to the wire,” Riley recalled. “I think the game ended up 3-3. When I got the point and the game was over, John looked over at me and saluted me.  I considered that one of the greatest honors in hockey.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diversity abounds in 2016 NHL Draft class, from top to bottom

15 Sunday May 2016

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You don’t have to look very hard to gauge the depth of diversity in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft.

Players of color populate NHL Central Scouting’s  list of talented skaters eligible for the June 24-25 draft at the First Niagara Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres, from top to bottom.

Let’s start at the top with forward Auston Matthews, the draft’s presumptive  first overall pick – unless the Toronto Maple Leafs shock the hockey world.

Auston Matthews is poised to go from Arizona to Zurich to the NHL Number One draft pick.

Auston Matthews is poised to go from Arizona to Zurich to the NHL Number One draft pick.

Matthews embodies hockey’s  growing diversity – both racially and geographically. His mother, Ema, is from Mexico, and his father, Brian, from California.

Born and raised in Arizona, Matthews  got hooked on hockey watching the NHL Arizona Coyotes play. He hails from a non-traditional market and will reach the NHL via an unconventional route for a North American teenager.

After playing two seasons for the  USA Hockey National Team Development Program, Matthews skated for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland’s professional National League A in the 2015-16 season, reportedly earning $400,000.

He scored 24 goals and 22 assists in 46 regular season games for the Lions and tallied 3 assists for the Zurich-based team in four playoff games.

Matthews also suited up for United States at the International Ice Hockey Federation 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland in December and January. He tied for the tournament lead in goals with 7 and finished fourth overall in points with 11 in powering the U.S.to a Bronze Medal.

He’s currently playing for the U.S. at the IIHF World Championship in Russia and has 3 goals and 3 assists in seven games.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Matthews is a “trailblazer, in all forms of the word,” his agent, Pat Brisson, told USA Hockey Magazine. “He’s an 18-year-old who’s ready to play in the NHL.”

California-born and Arizona-raised, Auston Matthews represented the U.S. twice this season in international tournaments.

California-born and Arizona-raised, Auston Matthews represented the U.S. twice this season in international tournaments.

Givani Smith, a right wing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm, is ranked as the 54th-best North American skater by Central Scouting. He’s hoping to follow in the skates of his older brother, center Gemel Smith, who was drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2012 in the fourth round with the 104th overall pick.

Givani  tallied 23 goals, 19 assists, and 146 penalty minutes in 65 games for Guelph in 2015-16. Gemel had 13 goals, 13 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 65 games for the Texas Stars, Dallas’ American Hockey League farm team.

Big brother Gemel has offered some sage advice to Givani ahead of June’s draft: “Don’t believe the hype – good or bad.”

Guelph Storm forward Givani Smith looks to join older brother Gemel Smith in the pros (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Guelph Storm forward Givani Smith looks to join older brother Gemel Smith in the pros (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

“Most of his advice has been ‘Don’t go on social media and read what people are writing about you,'” Givani told the website Hockey’s Future. “Play your game; and if you play a good game, you’ll be rewarded in the end…I have a Twitter account and I know what’s going on, but I try not to pay too much attention to it.”

Fans at OHL London Knights home playoff games weren’t showering a player with boos. They were chanting of “Puuu,” paying homage to Knights forward Cliff Pu, ranked the 75th-best North American skater by Central Scouting.

“At first, I didn’t know they were doing it,” Pu said of the special cheer to The Hockey News. “It’s pretty funny – and it’s better than them booing, so it’s all fun and games.”

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Pu notched 12 goals, 19 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games for the Knights. He became a beast in the OHL playoffs, tallying 8 goals and 5 assists in 18 games.

Size, speed, and desire are keys to London Knights' Cliff Pu's game - and path to the NHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Size, speed, and desire are keys to London Knights’ Cliff Pu’s game – and path to the NHL (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

“I like to use my speed and find my teammates,” Pu told The Hockey News. “But it’s all about the team and whatever I need to do, I’m down for it.”

Pu , whose parents came to Canada from China, gained a lot of attention in January by celebrating a goal in an unusual fashion in today’s game – with a handshake.

Peterborough Petes center Jonathan Ang is North America’s 95th-best skater, according to Central Scouting, up from 137 in the mid-term rankings. A  Canadian of Malaysian descent, he finished fourth on the Petes in scoring in 2015-16 with 21 goals and 28 assists in 68 games.

Jonathan Ang of the Peterborough Petes (Photo/ Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Jonathan Ang of the Peterborough Petes (Photo/ Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Ang led the Petes in playoff scoring, tallying 3 goals and 6 assists in seven games with one playoff  game-winning goal. In an OHL coach’s poll in March, Ang tied for second as the league’s best skater.

Like Ang,  defenseman James “J.D.” Greenway has moved up in the draft rankings – from 128 at mid-term to 121 in Central Scouting’s final report.

A member of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 squad that competes against United States Hockey League, collegiate, and international teams, Greenway scored 5 goals and 23 assists in 64 games.

J.D. Greenway wants to play in the NHL - after college.

J.D. Greenway wants to play in the NHL – after college.

The Potsdam, N.Y., native is hoping to continue the family draft tradition. His brother, Boston University left wing Jordan Greenway, was chosen by the Minnesota Wild last year in the second round with the 50th overall pick.

Like his brother, J.D. is going the NCAA Division I route before turning pro. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound D-man recently committed to play for the University of Wisconsin.

It looks like Yushiro Hirano’s decision last year to pay his own way to travel from hometown Sapporo, Japan to Youngstown, Ohio, is paying off. Hirano, a 20-year-old right wing for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms is ranked as the 184th-best draft-eligible player in North America.

Hirano – whose first name is sometimes spelled Yushiroh – came to the U.S.to catch the eyes of professional scouts. The 6-foot, 200-pound winger scored  24 goals and 22 assists 54 regular season games in 2015-16.

“I hope to grow the game in Japan and make everybody proud,” Hirano told me last year in an email exchange. “I also want to play well enough to get to the professional ranks here in the United States.”

Yushiro Hirano's decision to relocate from Japan to Ohio to play hockey might pay off at June's NHL Draft (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Yushiro Hirano’s decision to relocate from Japan to Ohio to play hockey might pay off at June’s NHL Draft (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Right wing Daniel Muzito-Bagenda is another import, from the land of Volvos and Saabs. The Swedish Muzito-Bagenda is a high-scoring forward for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads and the 205th-ranked player in North America available for the draft.

He had 20 goals and 17 assists in 63 regular season games for the Steelheads and 6 goals and 4 assists in seven OHL playoff games.

A product of Sweden's storied Modo hockey program, Mississauga Steelheads' Daniel Muzito-Bagenda hopes to hear his name called at the NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

A product of Sweden’s storied Modo hockey program, Mississauga Steelheads’ Daniel Muzito-Bagenda hopes to hear his name called at the NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

One player who didn’t make Central Scouting’s cut but still could draw interest in later rounds is defenseman Jalen Smereck of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Born in Detroit, Smereck  was the 299th overall pick of the 2013 OHL draft.

He signed with Oshawa in summer 2015 and was pressed into heavy minutes on the Generals’ blue line throughout the 2015-16 season. He responded by scoring 5 goals and 20 assists in 63 regular season games and 1 goal and 4 assists in five playoff contests.

“For a team that was certainly rebuilding, he was a stalwart on defense,” hockey blogger and researcher Margann Laurissa told me recently. “Jalen played in all situations for the Gennies and there is no reason why the Detroit native should not get consideration.”

Oshawa's Jalen Smereck isn't ranked by Central Scouting but some hockey folks think he has the skills to crash the NHL draft party Photo/(Ian Goodall/Goodall Media Inc.)

Oshawa’s Jalen Smereck isn’t ranked by Central Scouting but some hockey folks think he has the skills to crash the NHL draft party Photo/(Ian Goodall/Goodall Media Inc.)

The hockey blog OHL Prospects wrote that Smereck made a pretty seamless transition into Oshawa’s Top 4 defense rotation.

“With his average size, the development of his offensive game will be key to him becoming a serious NHL prospect,” according to the blog which concludes that “he could be worth a look.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaliya Johnson goes from being a BC Eagle to a NWHL Connecticut Whale

09 Monday May 2016

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Congratulations to Boston College Eagles defenseman Kaliya Johnson for recently signing a free agent contract with the Connecticut Whale of the second-year  National Women’s Hockey League.

“It’s a little surreal for me right now,” said Johnson, who inked a one-year, $13,000 deal. “Obviously, it’s always been a dream of mine since I was younger to play professional hockey. It feels like such a huge honor to be part of history and just to continue to play hockey, which I’m absolutely thrilled about.”

BC defenseman Kalyia Johnson inks one-year deal with NWHL's Connecticut Whale.

BC defenseman Kalyia Johnson inks one-year deal with NWHL’s Connecticut Whale.

So’s the Whale. Team General Manager Lisa Giovanelli said Johnson “is a great player and a strong , solid defenseman that adds depth to our blue line.”

“Coming off a tremendous senior season at Boston College, in which they finished with a record of 40-1, Kaliya knows what it takes to win games and consistently compete at a high level.”

She played 142 career games for the Eagles, scoring 43 points on 7 goals and 36 assists. The Eagles rolled through the 2015-16 regular season and lost in the  NCAA Women’s Frozen Four championship game in March to the University of Minnesota Gophers 3-1.

The California-born, Arizona-raised Johnson was one of the more compelling hockey stories of the 2014-15 hockey season. Prior to the season she learned that she suffered from a Chiari malformation,  a rare structural condition of the brain and spinal cord that contributes to a smaller than normal space for the brain, pressing it downward.

“Basically, my brain was sitting below the base of my skull. It was something I was born with,” Johnson told me in February 2015. “I had symptoms all my life  – little things like pressure headaches, getting migraines. I thought it was normal for me.”

Johnson had surgery in September 2015 that she said “opened up some space and removed the first vertebrae in my neck,  so there was more room to breathe back there.”

“It could have been a lot more damaging if I would have continued to keep playing and I got hit in the head wrong, or my back,” she said. “It would have been permanently damaging.”

She missed about two months of the 2014-15 season after the surgery and has been healthy ever since.

“I’m perfectly good,” she said.

As excited as Johnson is about joining the NWHL, Blake Bolden, an African-American defenseman for the league champion Boston Pride a former teammate of Johnson’s at BC, was excited about the possibility of the two being reunited in Boston.

“Her senior year was my freshman year,” Johnson said. “It was great having her by my side and her teaching me everything that she knows. That would have been an added bonus for me playing in the NWHL, to be able to play with her again. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.  But she’s a great competitor, and I’m real excited about playing against her because she’s a real sharp player.”

The NWHL consists of four teams – the Whale, the Pride, the New York Riviters, and the Buffalo Beauts. Players are paid and the teams adhere to a salary cap that was $270,000 in its inaugural season.

The salaries aren’t a living wage and players have to hold down jobs to supplement their incomes. Still, Johnson is proud to be called a professional.