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Hockey’s diversity in pictures from pee wee to the professional leagues

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

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Black History Month showed how far hockey has come in terms of diversity and inclusion and how much further it has to go.

The contributions of black players were chronicled aboard the National Hockey League’s American Legacy Black Hockey History bus, a mobile museum that toured eight cities as part of the league’s Black History Month celebration.

Women of color enjoyed attending games together in New York, Nashville and Brooklyn last month as part of the Black Girl Hockey Club, a sisterhood that keeps growing after each event.

Willie O’Ree continued to be showered with the accolades that he deserves as the NHL’s first black player and the godfather of a generation of minority players and fans through the league’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

O’Ree, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, was feted at the Canadian Embassy in Washington last month. There, attending members of the U.S. House of Representatives announced that they’re introducing a bill to award O’Ree the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress.

But February’s hockey highs shared headlines with a low when some people – let’s not call them fans – racially taunted black forward  Jonathan Diaby, a 2013 Nashville Predators third-round draft pick, and his family at a semi-professional Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey game in Quebec.

Some of the spectators in the arena acted as if they had never seen a hockey player of color before, a sad reaction considering that minorities are part of the game’s past, present and future.

So I asked Color of Hockey readers to send pictures to show just how entrenched we are in the game. And, boy, you responded big time – from pee wee players to pros. Thank you all for sharing your photos, your stories, and your love of the game.

Consider this a Hockey Family Photo Album. There will be a Page 2 with more photos in the coming days. People who sent pictures without information like the names of the people in the shots, please send them again to colorofhockey@gmail.com with the relevant information.

Kendall Day. left. and Dmitri Williams, Columbus Ice Hockey Club (Photo/Courtesy of Deneen Day).

Reilly Love, Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. “I played elite hockey growing in NY. I still play men’s league in the Philly area,” father Julian Love said in an email. “Sometimes I felt like I was the only one of color playing hockey.” (Photo/Courtesy Julian Love).

Hockey is a generational thing in Trazana (Brown) Powell’s family. “So my dad, Carl Brown, 67 YEARS YOUNG. plays hockey twice a week with the Quincy Bald Eagles and a pick up league of older guys,” Powell wrote via email. “Born In Jamaica but when he got to the States he fell in love with hockey!  Taught himself to skate and never stopped.”

Carl Brown getting ready to skate with the Quincy Bald Eagles (Photo/Courtesy Trazana Powell).

“FAST FORWARD to the birth of me!” Powell continued. “My dad put (me) on skates at 1, started hockey at 10, excelled. Played on numerous teams mainly with boys, played in high school (varsity) played at Northeastern University and now Coach! Which I believe is my passion! Even til this day I am known in my town as “that black girl that played hockey”

Trazana (Brown) Powell playing for Northeastern University (Photo/Courtesy Trazana Powell).

“My oldest son, Cameron Powell,age 10, started hockey about 2 years ago
and I’m so proud of his determination and love for the family game,” Powell wrote. “He plays on two teams, The Southeast Cyclones and with Score Boston Hockey. Last year he had the opportunity to meet Willie O’Ree and its a day he still talks about today.”

Cameron Powell (Photo/Courtesy Trazana Powell).

Twins Cree and Chloe Powell, 5. Cree plays hockey. Chloe “hasn’t gotten the hockey bug yet but stay tuned!!!” her mother said (Photo/Courtesy Trazana Powell).

Desmond Allman “is all hockey, all the time,” dad Marc Allman wrote. “It’s not easy being a black hockey player in a mostly white sport (with white parents on top of that), but Des thrives. He got his first N word thrown his way in a tournament a few weeks ago, but he continues to march on” (Photo/Courtesy Marc Allman).

Kevin Horton, left, and his buddy, Brad. “We do that hockey,” Horton said in an email. Photo/Courtesy Kevin Horton).

Adrien Bray sent a photo “From my first year of beer league (The Beerwings of Detroit,MI),” she wrote. “We won our first tournament… I was the only woman and my friend and I were the only black folk. ” (Photo/Courtesy Adrien Bray).

Adrien Bray and her Beerwings teammates (Photo.Courtesy Adrien Bray).

Washington Blind Hockey Club player Tyrese Springer. He is visually impaired due to albinism. (Photo/Courtesy Washington Blind Hockey Club).

Washington Blind Hockey Club player Tyrese Springer in action (Photo/Courtesy Washington Blind Hockey Club).

Courtney Szto plays for the Hatchicks in Vancouver (Photo/Courtesy Courtney Szto).

Mark Fraser, a former NHL defenseman who’s now playing for HKM Zvolen in Slovakia, sent this via Twitter:

Roman Ephron, 8, of Houston Texas. He began hockey through the Dallas Stars’ Learn to Play program in 2015. “He began skating in 2014 and fell in love with ice skating,” mother Bea Ephron wrote “There is no place he’d rather be.” (Photo/Courtesy Bea Ephron).

Donna Zephrine, Long Island Rough Riders sled hockey (Photo/Courtesy Donna Zephrine).

Leah Frazier from Odenton, Maryland. “The tutu is for Halloween,” she wrote. (Photo/Courtesy Leah Frazier).

Nathan King, goaltender, St. Mary’s Catholic Central High School in Ohio. I” was born in Accra, Ghana my family moved to the United States when I was 3 and I started skating at around 7,” he wrote. “I’m 17 now and have been playing goalie ever since I started.” (Photo/Courtesy Nathan King).

Max Nguyen of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings. Mom Lydia Nguyen said Max is “1/2 Vietnamese 1/4 Japanese” and is one of 8 players of color on his team (Photo/Courtesy Lydia Nguyen).

Nate Mitton, forward, for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. “I grew up outside of Toronto, my mom moved to Canada from Jamaica with my grandmother,” Mitton wrote. “My dad put me and my brother in hockey and it’s been my passion ever since. I am very proud to be a black hockey player I remember when I was little my dad got me a Willie O’Ree collectors hockey card. My dream is to inspire other kids to chase their dreams.” (Photo/Courtesy Nate Mitton/Tony Bailey Photography).

Rachel Woods and Erica Melcher (Photo/Courtesy Rachel Woods).

Erica Melcher getting down to business on the ice (Photo/Courtesy Erica Melcher).

From a little boy in New York to a grown man living in Amsterdam, hockey has always been a part of Ted Iglesias’s life.

A young Theodore Iglesias (Photo/Courtesy Theodore Iglesias).

“I am bi-racial, from Curaçao and southern Spain,” Iglesias wrote. “I am 49 and have been playing and skating since age 4. I am originally from the NY metro area and played in junior boarding school, prep school and college. I now coach skills here in Amsterdam with the Amsterdam Tigers organization.” (Photo/Courtesy Theodore Iglesias).

Isaiah Marquez-Greene and Arthur Smith. “There was a 2017 summer hockey tournament in Foxboro, Ma. Isaiah’s team was coming off the ice and Arthur’s summer team was about to play,” Alex Smith wrote. “The kids’ parents knew each other through goalie camps but had no idea they’d be on the same team a season later.” (Photo/Courtesy Alex Smith).

Isaiah Artis, 15, Lehigh Valley Phantoms Youth Hockey Organization. “He agreed to try hockey at the urging of our neighbors/friends we
used to go watch play,” proud mom Eunice Ofori Artis wrote. “He eventually went to “Try Hockey for Free Day”, and he was hooked.” (Photo/Courtesy Eunice Ofori Artis).

Rayla Wilkes, 6, serving as honorary captain for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League (Photo/Courtesy Amanda Wilkes).

Calvin Conway, Wasington, D.C., area. “He eats, sleeps and breathes hockey!” mother Joy Conway wrote. (Photo/Courtesy Joy Conway).

Zander Shank, 8, of Ohio “He has been obsessed with hockey since he was 3 years old!” mom Stephanie Mohr Shank wrote. ” We don’t really know where it comes from other than watching the Pittsburgh Penguins on TV. He LOVES hockey. Loves, loves, loves it.” (Photo/Courtesy Stephanie Mohr Shank.)

Eli Shank, 11, was inspired to play hockey by his younger brother, Zander (Photo/Courtesy Stephanie Mohr Shank).

Tarasai Karega, far right, with NCAA Division III hockey championship Trophy she won with Amherst College in 2009 (Photo/Courtesy Tarasai Karega).

Ayodele Adeniye, Carleton Place Canadians, a Junior A team in the Central Canada Hockey League. Adeniye is committed to play hockey for the University of Alabama-Huntsville in 2020 (Photo/Courtesy Ayodele Adeniye).

Meet the Lowry brothers.

Jake Lowry. “They are half African -American and half Indian. We live in Summit NJ,” their mother, Camellia, wrote. “Jake Lowry #17 played Bantam Minor AAA for NJ Titans this past season. He also played for Summit Middle School. He’s been playing travel hockey since 1st grade and is now in 8th grade (Photo/Courtesy Camellia Redmerski)”

“Jordan Lowry #18 played Bantam Major AAA for NJ Titans this last season,” his mother wrote. “He also is on the Varsity and JV roster for Summit High School and is a freshman. He’s been playing travel hockey since 2nd grade (Photo/Camellia Redmerski).”

Rivington D. Jones (Photo/Courtesy R. Douglas Jones).

The Fort Dupont Cannons of Washington, D.C., 2018 (Photo/Courtesy AJ Messier/Hogtown Studios).

Maryland’s Tucker Road Ducks, 2017 (Photo/Courtesy Tucker Road Ducks).

The Tucker Road Ducks and the Banners of Baltimore, Maryland, 2019.

Ice Hockey in Harlem, 2016 (Photo/Courtesy Ice Hockey in Harlem).

Inner City Education program of Chicago. “We provide the children with equipment, coaching, practice twice a week, tutoring every time they come to practice and the opportunity to earn scholarships!” Coach Mark Giarelli wrote (Photo/Courtesy Mark Giarelli).

Brandon Romany of the Kitchener Dutchman (Photo/Courtesy Brian Romany).

Brandon’s father, power skating instructor Brian Romany laces up the skates (Photo/Courtesy Brian Romany).

Peyton Francis, right), who’ll play hockey for the University of Alabama-Huntsville next season, is a Carleton Place Canadians forward who also skates for the Jamaican national team initiative (Photo/Courtesy Mark Francis).

Isaiah Nokken, 12, of Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. Isaiah was born in Ethiopia and got involved in hockey through his cousins. “His grandfather was a high school hockey coach so has been around a lot of hockey watching and playing,” mom Kari Nokken wrote (Photo/Courtesy Kari Nokken).

Stay tuned for Page 2 of the Hockey Family Photo Album.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

Southern comfort: Black Girl Hockey Club attends Predators, NWHL All-Star games

10 Sunday Feb 2019

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NASHVILLE  – The Black Girl Hockey Club got a heaping helping of Southern hockey hospitality over the weekend.

The group of female hockey fans of color took in the Nashville Predators-St. Louis Blues matinee Sunday followed by the 2019 National Women’s Hockey League All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban met with the Black Girl Hockey Club, which gathered for the Predators game against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

The Preds and the NWHL gave BGHC members and supporters the ya’ll come treatment.  The Predators hosted a Saturday morning skating session for the group on Bridgestone Arena ice and showed Canadian filmmaker Damon Kwame Mason’s award-winning “Soul on Ice, Past, Present & Future” black hockey history documentary on the stadium’s Jumbotron.

BGHC members met Predators defenseman P.K. Subban after the Blues 5-4 win over Nashville. The game’s outcome didn’t diminish Subban’s graciousness in posing for pictures and chatting with the group.

The NWHL reserved a prime seating spot for BGHC at the All-Star game’s skills competition which was held Saturday at a packed Ford Ice Center, the Predators’ practice facility.

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban talks with Black Girl Hockey Club member Eunice Artis while signing the T-shirt of her son, Isaiah Artis.

The women watched Buffalo Beauts defender Blake Bolden win the hardest shot contest by launching an 80-miles-per-hour slap shot. Bolden, the only black woman on the two NWHL All-Star squads, said she was pumped by the BGHC presence.

“It’s so great, I definitely noticed when my name was called you guys were hollering, it made me feel so good,” Bolden, who has 1 goal and 7 assists in 13 games with Buffalo this season, told the group after the competition. “I appreciate you guys so much being there.”

Blake Bolden, a defender with the NWHL’s Buffalo Beauts shares a moment with Black Girl Hockey Club member Rayla Wilkes, 6, at the 2019 NWHL All-Star Game skills competition Saturday in Nashville.

Nearly three dozen women of color, their families and friends, journeyed from California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Washington, D.C., and Georgia to attend the weekend festivities and bask in the soul sisterhood of hockey fandom.

The Black Girl Hockey Club was founded by Renee Hess, a Riverside, California, woman who sought to gather a critical mass of women of color who, like her, are interested in hockey but might be hesitant to attend games in stadiums where minority fans are truly a minority.

A dapper Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban signs autographs and poses for pictures with the Black Girl Hockey Club in Smashville Sunday afternoon.

“The whole reason I wanted to come to Nashville was to see the girls play,” Hess said of the NWHL players. “I’ve seen them on video, but never live, so this is really cool. They’re fast, they’re good, I got to see some (Olympic) gold medalists skate today, I mean that’s really awesome.”

Buffalo Beauts defender Blake Bolden, back, and members of the Black Girl Hockey Club after Bolden won the hardest shot competition at the 2019 NWHL All-Star Game festivities in Nashville.

Lisa Ramos drove nine hours from Biloxi, Mississippi, to join the BGHC meet-up in Nashville. She said the drive was no sweat since she and her husband sometimes drive to Canada see her son,  defenseman Ayodele Adeniye, play for the Carleton Place Canadians, a Junior A team in the Central Canada Hockey League.

Adeniye has committed to play hockey next season for the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers, an NCAA Division I team in the  Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

“It’s been great getting together with other black female hockey fans and just enjoy the sport, talk about the sport, find out how they came to the sport of hockey – everybody came through different avenues,” Ramos said.

Eunice Artis and her teenage son, Isaiah Artis, said they “felt at home” attending the NWHL events and the Predators game. They ventured to Nashville from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

“It’s nice to see a lot of people of color enjoying hockey,” Eunice Artis said. “You go to hockey games, whether it’s my son playing or a professional games, and literally you’re the only person there or you’re one of two people there. I just feel there’s unity here and I feel at home. It was great seeing the women play, especially a professional woman of color (Bolden) bringing it home.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

 

 

The Black Girl Hockey Club road show continues with N.Y. Rangers visit

03 Sunday Feb 2019

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NEW YORK – The Black Girl Hockey Club took Manhattan over the weekend.

The group of women of color and their supporters attended the New York Rangers-Tampa Bay Lightning game at Madison Square Garden Saturday night, visited the National Hockey League’s Manhattan office, and met Commissioner Gary Bettman Friday.

The group also did a walk-through of the American Legacy Black Hockey History Tour –  a 525 square-foot mobile museum that will tour six U.S. cities as part of the league’s and the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s celebration of Black History Month.

“It’s really just fun to see women who look like me, especially women who are older than me, who like hockey. I’ve not seen that,” said Fatou Bah, an events/marketing/social media entrepreneur and die-hard Washington Capitals fan, who attended the weekend’s festivities.

BGHC was founded by Renee Hess, a Riverside, California, woman who sought to gather a critical mass of women of color who, like her, are interested in hockey but might be hesitant to attend games in arenas where minority fans are truly a minority.

The group held its first meet-up in Washington in December a drew more than 40 women and their children from across the country for a game between the Capitals and Buffalo Sabres.

Some Black Girl Hockey Club members take to the ice at Madison Square Garden after the New York Rangers-Tampa Bay Lightning game (Photo/Courtesy Fatou Bah).

The Rangers invited the group to New York and put on the hospitality with a tour of Madison Square Garden, an ice-level view of the team’s pre-game warm-up, and a meet-and-greet with right wing  Pavel Buchnevich and center Vladislav Namestnikov post-game.

The women also spoke with Anson Carter, the hockey analyst for New York’s MSG Network, NBC Sports Network, and veteran of 674 NHL games.

Black Girl Hockey Club members Fatou Bah, left, and Erica L. Ayala check out black hockey artifacts aboard an American Legacy traveling museum parked outside Madison Square Garden last week as part of the NHL’s Black History Month celebration ((Photo/Jared Silber/MSG Photos).

“We’re trying to diversify our fan base, right? And it’s not just with men, it’s women, too.” Carter said. “To see the Black Girl Hockey Club coming and the momentum that they’re getting, it’s getting parents to see other black women that are down with hockey, too. It’s all about the parents, as far as I’m concerned. If you can get the parents convinced and hooked, then the kids are going to play.”

Stephane Clare arrived from Brooklyn for Saturday’s game in the Full Lundqvist – adorned in a blue Rangers jersey with All-Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist’s name and number 30 on the back. She was excited to join the BGHC meet-up and have company inside MSG.

Black Girl Hockey Club member Stephane Clare takes a tour of a mobile museum dedicated to black hockey history parked outside Madison Square Garden Saturday (Photo/Jared Silber/MSG Photos).

“Usually I’m the only one at the game – it’s a little better when I go to Islanders games in Brooklyn – but, yeah, at MSG I’m very much in the minority. The more people that get involved with (hockey), off all races and genders, hockey should be much bigger than it is. It’s a great game.”

NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes, rear right, photo bombs Color of Hockey’s William Douglas, Black Girl Hockey Club members and New York Rangers center Vladislav Namestnikov after Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden (Photo/Rebecca Taylor/MSG Photos).

BGHC’s next stop? Nashville next weekend for a February 10 matinee between the Predators and St. Louis Blues.

The Smashville weekend coincides with the National Women’s Hockey League  All-Star Game, where BGHC members will see Buffalo Beauts defender Blake Bolden and the rest of the league’s best players in action.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman with Black Girl Hockey Club member Fatou Bah at the league’s New York office Friday (Photo/Courtesy Fatou Bah).

BGHC mebers will also be in the house at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center February 16 to watch the New York Islanders take on the Edmonton Oilers.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild’s Matt Dumba sees Black Girl Hockey Club tweet, donates to help send girl to international tournament

05 Saturday Jan 2019

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Call it Black Girl Hockey Club Magic.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.

When Black Girl Hockey Club founder Renee Hess heard that Kalei Forga, a 12-year-old hockey player from Forest Lake, Minnesota, set up a GoFundMe page to raise $3,700  to play on a World Selects Invitational team that’s competing in France for 10 days in April, she spread the word on BGHC’s Twitter account hoping that followers would kick in a few bucks for the cause.

A surprise follower stepped up Friday with $500 and encouraging words for Kalei: Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.

“Go Kalei! I had a similar opportunity when I was younger and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a lot of good people in my community and the sacrifices made by my parents!” Dumba said in a tweet Friday. “Tear it up over there!”

Dumba, who was leading National Hockey League defensemen in goals before he had surgery last month to repair a ruptured pectoralis muscle, told Minnesota’s WCCO-TV Friday that “I was so happy to take advantage of the opportunity I saw this morning and I definitely wanted her to go on her trip.”

Kalei, who plays for the Forest Lake Rangers Under-12 team, was thrilled by Dumba’s gesture.

“It feels special to me that he took the time to write that to me and donate the money – it makes me happy,” she told Minnesota’s WCCO-TV.

Michelle Forga, Kalei’s mom, was shocked.

“When Matt Dumba did it, I was like, ‘Is that THE Matt Dumba? Like the real Matt Dumba? That can’t be,'” she told WCCO-TV. “And then I saw it on Twitter.”

As for Hess, she’s elated to record an assist to Dumba’s assist in helping Kalei reach her goal.

“Pretty damn awesome!” she told me in a text.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

Washington Capitals roll out welcome for the Black Girl Hockey Club’s first meeting

16 Sunday Dec 2018

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All Renee Hess wanted was a little company.

“I had never seen two black women at a hockey game before,” said Hess, a Riverside, California resident who likes to attend Anaheim Ducks games. “So I made it my mission this year to make that happen.”

Mission accomplished, big time.  Hess’ organization, the Black Girl Hockey Club, held its inaugural meetup at the Washington Capitals–Buffalo Sabres game Saturday night at D.C.’s Capital One Arena.

The Black Girl Hockey Club meet members of the Washington Capitals after a game between the Buffalo Sabres and Capitals at Capital One Arena (Photo/ Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).

More than 40 women of color traveled from across the country to join Hess and witness Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly notch his 100th National Hockey League career point in Washington’s 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo.

The game was exciting but so, too, was the sight of so many women of color and their hockey-playing children quickly bonding by sharing their experiences of being minorities in love with and involved in a predominately white sport.

“The more I started talking to women who were hockey fans, the more I realized that so many hadn’t been to games because they didn’t feel comfortable going to games or they didn’t know anybody who was going to go with them,” said Hess, an associate professor of English at La Sierra University in Riverside.

Black Girl Hockey Club Founder Renee Hess meets Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey after a game between the Buffalo Sabres and Capitals (Photo/ Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).

“Doing this in D.C., it turned into this big ‘ol thing that snowballed. Once people started hearing about it they were telling their friends – that one black friend who plays hockey,” she added. “We’re not islands, we just didn’t know the others existed. So what I wanted to do is make us more visible.”

Hess identified Washington as the perfect spot for the first meetup because the Capitals have two black players, Smith-Pelly and defenseman Madison Bowey; two black part-owners in Earl Stafford and Sheila Johnson; and the team won the Stanley Cup last season.

Washington also has a strong minority hockey history with the presence of the
Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, North America’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program.

Members of the Black Girl Hockey Club enjoy the game between the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres in D.C. Saturday night (Photo/Washington Capitals).

The Capitals and the National Hockey League – including Kim Davis, the league’s  executive vice president of social impact, growth and legislative affairs -rolled out the welcome mat for BGHC.

Stafford hosted a pre-game reception and spoke to the group in a conference room at Capital One Arena. Shandor Alphonso, the NHL’s only black on-ice official, stopped by with the rest of the officiating crew that worked Saturday’s game  and talked about what life is like wearing referee zebra stripes.

Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly signs Black Girl Hockey Club member Corinne McIntosh-Douglas’ jersey (Photo/Oyin Adedoyin/Morgan State University).

“I had not known of this organization, a gathering of those you typically wouldn’t expect to see at a hockey game,” Stafford told NHL.com. “It just encourages me that there are people out there interested in this great sport and we want to tell their story.”

Even Slap Shot, the Capitals mascot popped in to give high-fives and pose for pictures with the women and their kids. He brought along the mascots for the Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Washington Nationals baseball team and Washington Wizards basketball team.

Lonnie Bunch III, the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, was on hand to witness the historic event and attend his first NHL game.

Lonnie Bunch III, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, attends his first NHL game and meets the Black Girl Hockey Club rocking a Devante Smith-Pelly jersey (Photo/Jackie Jones).

Friday, the BGHC members were given a personal tour of the popular museum with sports curator Damion Thomas as their guide. The women took a tour of Capitol Hill’s Capitol Visitor’s Center Friday morning, courtesy of Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Congressional Hockey Caucus.

After Saturday’s game, the group met and chatted with Smith-Pelly, Bowey, goaltender Braden Holtby, defenseman Brooks Orpik, and center Nic Dowd.

“This is great, Smith-Pelly said. “I didn’t think it would be possible to have a room full of full of black hockey fans, black women hockey fans. It’s awesome. To have the people in this room behind me, it’s pretty cool.”

“That’s a good organization that they started and hopefully it gets bigger and they continue to try to change the game,” Smith-Pelly added.

Bowey agreed.

“This shows the diversity that’s come a long way,” he said. “Willie O’Ree broke the barrier for us, and I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done. It’s awesome to see this and it makes me very proud that I can be one player of color to make it in the NHL.”

Black Girl Hockey Club meet member Flo Clemmons strikes a pose with Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (Photo/Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).

For Florence Clemmons, who traveled from Rochester, New York, meeting the Capitals players, Stafford and Alphonso was great, but bonding with such a large group of  black female hockey fans was something truly special.

“I think it’s important to show folks what we’re really all about,” said Clemmons,  who is program director for the Genesee Valley Youth Hockey Club. “We are a culture of folks that really likes the sport, knows about the sport, and really wants to see the sport grow.”

Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik signs autographs for some of the kids who attended the Black Girls Hockey Club meetup at the Capitals-Buffalo Sabres game in D.C. Saturday (Photo/Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).

Kelsey Koelzer, a defenseman for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League, said it was “a no brainer” for her and her mother, Kristine, to attend the meetup.

“Being a current black female hockey player and getting to meet up with fellow black hockey fans in general, it was something I knew I had to be a part of,” Koelzer said.  “I was surprised about the numbers, but really not surprised. I think the sport is growing a lot and catching on. Getting to do this in this setting, at an NHL game, is really, really special.”

Hess and her fellow BGHC members promise that Saturday’s meetup won’t be a one-off. BGHC, along with the Color of Hockey, are planning a February 10 gather in Tennessee for the Nashville Predators-St. Louis Blues match followed by the NWHL All-Star Game.  

“I know our numbers are going to grow, this being the first time,” Clemmons said. “I know once this becomes national, there’s no stopping us.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.