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Willie O’Ree goes from Hockey Hall of Fame plaque to San Diego bobblehead

18 Sunday Nov 2018

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What do you do for a man who’s just been immortalized on a Hockey Hall of Fame plaque? Make a bobblehead in his image.

That’s what the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League did for Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player.

San Diego honored O’Ree, who played seven seasons for Gulls teams that skated in the defunct Western Hockey League and Pacific Hockey League, at a home game Friday night after he was enshrined at the Hall Monday evening.

The Gulls, an Anaheim Ducks farm team, wore O’Ree-era throwback jerseys Friday in their game against the Bakersfield Condors, an Edmonton Oilers affiliate.

O’Ree became the NHL’s first black player on January 18, 1958 when he skated for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the old Montreal Forum.

He appeared in 45 games over two NHL seasons,  a remarkable feat considering that he’s blind in his right eye – the result of being struck by a puck.

But the injury didn’t prevent him from having a long and productive minor league career, most of which was played in San Diego.

“I was a San Diego Gull when I came here in 1967 and I still am,” O’Ree told the bobblehead-receiving fans inside the Valley  View Casino Center Friday.”It is the finest group of fans I ever played in front of and I am honored to be part of this tonight.”

O’Ree, who makes his home in San Diego, finished his playing career in 1978-79 as the old WHL’s 16th all-time leading scorer with 328 goals and 311 assists in 785 games.

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O’Ree entered the Hall as a Builder, a category reserved for those who have contributed to the foundation of the game.

His induction into the Hall is a a nod to his work as the NHL’s diversity ambassador and its “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

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Hockey Hall of Famers laud the inductions of Willie O’Ree, Jayna Hefford

12 Monday Nov 2018

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TORONTO – Angela James is excited to have company.

James, the first black woman inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, will be joined in Toronto’s hockey shrine Monday night by Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player, and Jayna Hefford, the commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and, like James, a former high-scoring player for Canada’s national teams.

 

Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James, center. is thrilled to have Willie O’Ree and Jayna Hefford join her.

Hefford becomes the sixth woman to enter the Hall, further answering the question James asked in her 2010 induction speech: “Who is next?”

“I think we’re finally almost up to a full table,” James said Sunday after skating in the Hall of Fame induction weekend’s Legends Game. “After the inductions and stuff, we can sit around and reminisce and talk about things just like the guys can. The more women there are, the better memories and times we can share together.”

James and Hefford will share that stable with former Canadian Olympic team stars Danielle Goyette and Geraldine Heaney and former U.S. Olympians Cammi Granato and Angela Ruggiero.

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James, who was regarded as Canada’s female Wayne Gretzky during her heyday, is equally proud about O’Ree getting into the Hall, becoming its third black inductee, joining herself and former Edmonton Oilers goaltending great Grant Fuhr.

“All three of my kids wrote projects about Willie and I know my oldest son sent a tremendous letter in support of inducting Willie and I know for sure it went to the (Hockey Hall of Fame selection) panel,” James said. “It was a long time coming. He was a trailblazer back then and he’s a trailblazer now.”

O’Ree continues to make hockey history with his induction as the first person of color to enter the Hall as a Builder, a category reserved for coaches, general managers, broadcasters and others who are regarded as pillars of the game.

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O’Ree is credited with growing the game and creating a new generation of players and fans through his work as the NHL’s diversity ambassador and the “Hockey is for Everyone” program.

ORee played in 44 NHL games following his January 18, 1958 debut with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal. Despite the brevity of his NHL career – he had a lengthy and prolific minor league career that lasted  until 1978-79 – he’s earned the respect of NHL players.

“He’s what a builder is right out of the gate – you couldn’t make a better description of a builder,” said Fuhr, who became the Hall’s first black inductee in 2003. “When you see another person of color playing it gives you that thought that you can possibly play. It opens up a big door.”,.

O’Ree and Hefford enter the Hall Monday with New Jersey Devils goaltending legend Martin Brodeur,  former Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers sniper Martin St. Louis, Russian hockey star Alexander Yakushev, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. 

The 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will broadcast live on TSN2 in Canada and NHL Network in the United States.

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Willie O’Ree receives his Hockey Hall of Fame ring and long-deserved honor

10 Saturday Nov 2018

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TORONTO – Willie O’Ree got his Hockey Hall of Fame ring Friday and Pamela Houston got a thrill watching him get it.

“It’s almost like an Obama moment,” Houston, a member of the Ontario Black History Society said. “First black president, first black hockey player, finally getting recognition.”

O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player, will be formally inducted into the Hall Monday as a member of the 2018 class.

Willie O’Ree, right, shows off his Hockey Hall of Fame ring after receiving it from Hall Chairman Lanny McDonald (Photo/Courtesy Jeffrey Auger).

He’ll join New Jersey Devils goaltending legend Martin Brodeur,  former Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers sniper Martin St. Louis, Russian hockey star Alexander Yakushev, Canadian women’s hockey star  and Canadian Women’s Hockey League Commissioner Jayna Hefford and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman as the Hall’s newest occupants.

The induction ceremony will broadcast live on TSN2 in Canada and NHL Network in the United States.

“This is about the highest award that I’d ever get as far as playing hockey and my work with the ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ program,” O’Ree, 83, said at Friday’s ring presentation ceremony. “I’m blessed.”

Each member of the Hall’s Class of 2018 received generous applause as they received their rings Monday. The clapping was a little louder when O’Ree got his.

“Long overdue,” McDonald told me afterward.

O’Ree has been the league’s diversity ambassador since 1996, traveling across the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

O’Ree made history on Jan. 18, 1958, when he skated for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens in the old Montreal Forum.

The right wing from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, only played 45 NHL games over two seasons with the Bruins, tallying 4 goals and 10 assists.

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He had a long and productive minor league career, finishing as the 16th all-time leading scorer in the old Western Hockey League with 328 goals and 311 assists in 785 games, despite being blind in his right eye.

He’ll become the third black person enshrined in the Hall, joining Edmonton Oilers goaltending great Grant Fuhr and Angela James, a Canadian women’s hockey superstar who was regarded as a female Wayne Gretzky.

O’Ree will continue his trailblazing ways by becoming the first person of color to be inducted in the Hall as a Builder, a category reserved for those who have contributed to the foundation of the game.

His plaque will keep company with revered names like Herb Brooks, the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic men’s team hockey coach, “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcaster Foster Hewitt, Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch,  and Conn Smythe, who built the Toronto Maple Leafs into five-time Stanley Cup champions between 1945 and 1951.

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“Those are some pretty big names, and Willie richly deserves to be there,” McDonald said. “You can build in different ways. You can be an owner who’s a phenomenal philanthropist, a great visionary for his hockey team. Or you can be Willie, who has lived a life of setting an example, and such a great example, for so many young people and so many of the older generation to say ‘Wow, this guy is richly deserving of this honor.'”

Avry Lewis-McDougal, host of “Avry’s Sports Show” podcast and YouTube channel, agreed. Like Ryrerson’s Cummings, he was all smiles Friday as he watched O’Ree receive his Hall of Fame ring.

“It finally means the game is truly growing, it means we’re finally seeing true diversity in the fact we have Willie O’Ree in it (Hall of Fame), women in it,” McDougal said. “It’s incredible because we’ve waited so many years for Willie O’Ree to be in the Hall of Fame – for decades. And the fact that people finally said ‘You know what, this is wrong, Willie needs to be in here’ and the fact that the push finally worked, it’s incredible. It’s great to see.”

Kia Cummings, a 21-year-old Ryerson University sports media senior from Toronto, who interviewed O’Ree Friday as part of a documentary project said she wouldn’t be interested in hockey if it weren’t for him.

“As a Canadian, as a woman of color, as someone who is passionate about  hockey, I wanted to take the opportunity to honor him,” she said. “It’s meeting the person who made your dreams a possibility…I have a passion for hockey that goes so much further. If I want to work within a hockey organization I can do that because Willie did it before me.”

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

Willie O’Ree, hockey history-maker, tours Smithsonian’s African American museum

04 Thursday Oct 2018

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The history-maker took a walk through history Wednesday.

Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player and soon-to-be Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., for the first time.

O’Ree, along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, saw artifacts and exhibits that chronicle the black experience from slavery to the segregationist Jim Crow period to the civil rights era to today’s times.

O’Ree, the NHL’s diversity ambassador for the league’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative, eyed tributes to game-changers like him, including a statue of a sliding Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Willie O’Ree examines a statue honoring baseball great Jackie Robinson at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (Photo/Anthony Wright/National Museum of African American History and Culture).

“What black people had to go through then,” O’Ree, 82, told me. “We take a lot of things for granted but, boy, if you went through that museum it would open your eyes up – it definitely would.”

The tour left Bettman awed and inspired as well.

“I thought it was amazing,” the commissioner said. “I’m a history buff, there is an incredible amount that I learned, there’s more to be learned, and I look forward to going back.”

Willie O’Ree, left, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman listen to Damion Thomas, sports curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, discuss an exhibit in the facility (Photo/Anthony Wright/National Museum of African American History and Culture).

The commissioner noticed one thing that the museum is missing: hockey.

“Among the sports, hockey doesn’t have a presence and, perhaps, we’d like to see one,”  Bettman said. “I think we have a story to tell as well. And most people aren’t aware of that story. And to have an opportunity to tell it as part of the overall museum…having a place among the other sports would not only be appropriate but would be good for people to know.”

Damion Thomas, the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s sports curator, said hockey “is an area we would like to collect around and it’s something that we’re planning on doing in the future.”

Thomas was thrilled to have living history in the museum in the form of O’Ree, who became the NHL’s first black player on Jan. 18, 1958, when he skated for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens in the old Montreal Forum.

“I love sharing this history with everyone but it takes on a different meaning when you’re able to share this history with a history-maker and to be able to see how he responds to moments that he lived through and how he’s able to contextualize his own experiences within this much larger moment and space in time,” Thomas said.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in January 1958.

He added: “One great things is that when you come to our museum it helps provide context to a lot of things Willie O’Ree went through and a lot of the challenges that he faced and how different aspects of society responded to those challenges.”

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O’Ree will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, along with Bettman, former New Jersey Devils goaltending great Martin Brodeur,Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis, Russian hockey star Alexander Yakushev, Canadian women’s hockey star Jayna Hefford.

O’Ree, a right wing from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, only played 45 NHL games over two seasons with the Bruins, tallying 4 goals and 10 assists.

He enjoyed a long and productive minor league career, finishing as the 16th all-time leading scorer in the old Western Hockey League with 328 goals and 311 assists in 785 games, despite being blind in his right eye.

But O’Ree became Hall-worthy for his accomplishments off the ice. He has helped cultivate a generation of minority hockey players and fans by working tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1996, traveling across the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

O’Ree will become the Hall’s third black member, joining five-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Grant Fuhr and women’s hockey superstar Angela James.

Video by Thomas Mobley/National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player, to be inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame

26 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Willie finally got the call from the Hall.

Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first black player, received a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame Tuesday afternoon informing him that he’s a member of the Hall’s 2018 class.

“I was in tears,” O’Ree told me. “I’m walking on air, I can’t believe it. Unbelievable what this day has been, my God. It’s one of the greatest days I’ve experienced.”

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O’Ree, 82, will be formally inducted into the Hall in the Builder category on Nov. 12. The other 2018 inductees are former New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur,Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis, Russian hockey star Alexander Yakushev, Canadian women’s hockey star Jayna Hefford, and NHLCommissioner Gary Bettman.

O’Ree will become the Hall’s third black member. Edmonton Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr, who won five Stanley Cup championships, was inducted in 2003. Angela James, a Canadian forward who is regarded as the “Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey,” followed in 2010, the first year the Toronto-based Hall began inducting women.

Whenever people asked O’Ree about his chances of someday getting into the Hall of Fame, he would calmly say “that would be nice” and add “whatever will be will be.”

However, the O’Ree household in San Diego was anything but calm Tuesday. O’Ree, Bryant McBride, a former NHL executive vice president, family members, and others nervously gathered in the kitchen at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time to wait for the phone to ring.

“There were four or five of us in the kitchen, just looking at each other,” McBride said.

“We were just pacing back and forth,” O’Ree added. “We knew if there was a call, it was going to come in around noon. We had about four hours of pacing back and forth.”

O’Ree made history on Jan. 18, 1958, when he skated for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens in the old Montreal Forum.

The right wing from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, only played 45 NHL games over two seasons with the Bruins, tallying 4 goals and 10 assists.

He enjoyed a long and productive minor league career, finishing as the 16th all-time leading scorer in the old Western Hockey League with 328 goals and 311 assists in 785 games, despite being blind in his right eye.

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But O’Ree became Hall-worthy for his accomplishments off the ice. He has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1996, traveling across the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

He’s also a revered figure to many of the NHL’s players, who seek him out for guidance and advice.

So instead of seeking his Hall entry as a player, O’Ree’s supporters launched a drive for his induction in the hockey shrine’s Builder category, focusing on his contributions as a mentor, role model, and advocate in growing hockey in communities previously overlooked by the sport.

A Builder must exhibit “Coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general,” according to Hall rules.

O’Ree fits the criteria because he’s been an inspiration to a generation of young hockey players and hockey fans of color.

Willie O’Ree has the respect and awe of players across the NHL. From left to right: forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, now with the Vegas Golden Knights, Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds, O’Ree, and former Flyers goalie Ray Emery (Photo/Philadelphia Flyers).

“This honor is long overdue as Willie has been a tremendous figure in our game both on and off the ice for over 60 years,” said Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs. “We are lucky to have been able to call Willie a Bruin when he made his debut in 1958 and we could not be happier for him to finally receive the recognition he so greatly deserves.”

O’Ree’s Hall admission is a testament to a grassroots movement of NHL players, past and present, elected officials across North America, and thousands of hockey fans who thought it an injustice that he wasn’t inducted years ago.

Brenda and David Sansom, longtime friends of Willie O’Ree, helped launch a public submission drive urging the Hockey Hall of Fame to induct that NHL’s first black player.

David and Brenda Sansom, friends of O’Ree from Fredericton, helped put together a 76-page public submission to the Hall’s Selection Committee. They also collected more than 300 letters, notes, and expressions of support on O’Ree’s behalf.

The Sansoms received letters from Karl Subban, father of Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban,Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subbanand LosAngeles Kings defensive prospect Jordan Subban; San Jose Sharks forwardJoel Ward; former NHLersDanny Grant and Mike Eagles;  Boston Mayor Marty Walsh; NewBrunswick Premier Brian Gallant; and Fredericton Mayor Mike O’Brien.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in January 1958.

“Willie O’Ree’s story must not be forgotten,” Karl Subban wrote. “He made it possible to have the NHL dream and to believe they could achieve it. He changed hockey, which is now for everyone. Hockey needed him and so does the Hockey Hall of Fame. The time is right!

NHL players like Ward and Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds publicly pressed for O’Ree’s admission almost every chance they got. Simmonds penned an article in The Players’ Tribune in April, declaring that “Mr. O’Ree should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame…Mr. O’Ree should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday.”

The call to put O’Ree in the Hall also reached Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who co-chairs the Congressional Hockey Caucus, took to the floor of the House of Representatives in March and called O’Ree “a trusted champion for diversity, a proponent of inclusion, and an inspiration for so many young players both on and off the ice.”

Fredericton Member of Parliament Matt DeCourcey told the chamber in February that “hockey fans around the world share the view that it is past due time that Willie O’Ree be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

O’Ree will get his time, and his due, in November.

“Unbelievable,” O’Ree said.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

Momentum builds for Willie O’Ree Hockey Hall of Fame induction as deadlines loom

01 Thursday Mar 2018

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For those who want to see Willie O’Ree in the Hockey Hall of  Fame, it’s time to put our money where our mouths are.

The Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee – the gatekeepers who decide who’s in and who’s not – is ramping up its decision-making process for the Hall Class of 2018.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

Selection Committee members have until April 15 to submit names of who they think are Hall-worthy. Those nominees are debated and voted on during an Elections Meeting in June. The annual Hall induction takes place in November.

While the Selection Committee has the most say in this process, there is an outlet for public input.

Its called the public submissions and it allows people to submit who they think are worthy of Hall entry in the Player, Referee/Linesman and Builder categories.

The deadline for public submissions is March 15, so time is of the essence. Here is a link to how the process works and how you can make a submission.

It doesn’t guarantee that O’Ree will be nominated, but it lets Selection Committee members know that there’s heavy of support to let the National Hockey League’s first black player into the the hockey shrine.

From hockey fans to players to hockey analysts, there are plenty of folks out there who want to see O’Ree in the Hall of Fame in the Builder’s category.

Change.org has a petition calling for O’Ree’s Hall induction for his “significant contributions to the game as a pioneer of the sport.”

Thirteen members city government of Fredericton, New Brunswick – O’Ree’s home town in Canada – sent a letter to the Hockey Hall of Fame urging O’Ree’s induction. Fredericton Member of Parliament Matt DeCourcey added his voice with a floor speech last month in the House of Commons.

“A member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame (and ) the Order of Canada, there remains but one honor to be bestowed this person who left such an indelible mark on this sport,” DeCourcey said.  “Mr. Speaker, for his dedication as a builder, I am sure Frederictonians, New Brunswickers, Canadians and hockey fans around the world share the view that it is past time that Willie O’Ree be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

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Karl Subban – the father of Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban, and Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jordan Subban – is sending a submission letter through an O’Ree Hall induction effort launched by Fredericton residents.

“He changed the game and he changed society and he changed minds,” Karl Subban wrote. “He changed hockey, which is now for everyone. Hockey needed him and so does the Hockey Hall of Fame. The time is right.”

Damon Kwame Mason, director of the award-winning “Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future” black hockey history documentary, is also pushing for O’Ree’s induction.

So are several major hockey writers and analysts.

The criteria for entry in the Hall of Fame as a Builder is “Coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.”

O’Ree fits this category because he has helped change the face of the game, not just by for becoming the first black man to play in the NHL when he took to the old Montreal Forum ice on Jan. 18, 1958 as a forward for the Boston Bruins – but he’s done since.

He has been an inspiration to a generation of young hockey players and fans of color. They look at this still-fit 82-year-old man, learn about the racial abuse he suffered in order to make it to the pros, and how he played in the NHL and minor leagues despite being blind in his right eye, and say “if he can do it, so can I.”

O’Ree has worked tirelessly as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998, crisscrossing the United States and Canada to visit youth hockey programs affiliated with the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative.

His impact goes beyond getting more kids of color to lace on skates and grab sticks. O’Ree has also been a father figure, sounding board and role model for many of the minority players in the NHL today.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds recently said “Willie is not only a hero to me in hockey, but a hero in life.”

Pittsburgh Penguins tough guy forward Ryan Reaves vowed to have a big game  in honor of O’Ree, who was in the house last month for the Pens-Kings game at PPG Paints Arena.

Not known as a scorer, Reaves had a goal that night.

“Obviously with Willie O’Ree in the house it was pretty special,” Reaves told reporters. “He was a pioneer for players like me and it was nice to get him one.”

Reaves added: “That is somebody you look up to. He was big in the NHL, big in all sports for players like me.”

This years marks the 60th anniversary of Willie O’Ree making hockey history. Will the Hockey Hall of Fame make history this year and let Willie O’Ree in?

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

 

 

Hockey honors Willie O’Ree for becoming NHL’s first black player 60 years ago

18 Thursday Jan 2018

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Willie O’Ree remembers the pre-game talk as if it were yesterday.

Boston Bruins Head Coach Milt Schmidt and General Manager Lynn Patrick sat down their rookie forward, a call-up from the Quebec Aces, before his debut against the Montreal Canadiens in the old Forum and told him “Willie O’Ree, we brought you up because we think you can add a spark to the team.”

‘”Don’t worry about anything else,”‘ O’Ree recalled them telling him. ‘”Just go out and play the game, the organization is behind you 100 percent.”‘

O’Ree didn’t realize the gravity of  that January 18, 1958 talk until after the Bruins blanked the Habs 3-0. O’Ree didn’t register a point on the stat sheet that night, but he made a mark in history as the National Hockey League’s first black player.

“I didn’t even know I broke the color barrier until I read it in the newspaper the next day,” O’Ree told me recently.

Hockey honored O’Ree on Wednesday for the 60th anniversary of his feat, a celebration that really began over the weekend in Boston.

But Wednesday was the big day. The Canadiens were in Boston to play the Bruins at TD Garden. Before the game, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh proclaimed January 18 as “Willie O’Ree Day.” The city also announced plans to refurbish a street hockey rink and name it in O’Ree’s honor.

“Willie’s speed, his skill and sheer perseverance earned him a job in a six-team National Hockey League where jobs were, indeed scarce – 60 years ago,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We celebrate not only the NHL games he played but the countless thousands of boys and girls he has inspired since becoming our ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ ambassador in 1998.”

The league pulled out all the stops Wednesday. O’Ree dropped a ceremonial puck before the B’s-Habs game. Players wore Willie O’Ree 60th anniversary patches commemorative patches on their jerseys.

Willie O’Ree made history when he entered the NHL with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

The NHL tapped Canadian filmmaker Damon Kwame Mason, director of the award-winning black history documentary “Soul on Ice, Past, Present and Future,” to help produce an O’Ree tribute video.

NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes sat down with O’Ree for a long interview about his history-making moment and  his legacy.

O’Ree didn’t have a long NHL career. He only played 45 games over the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons and tallied 4 goals and 10 assists. He played those games carrying a secret: He was legally blind in his right eye, the result of being hit by a puck.

Still, he enjoyed a lengthy minor league career, mainly in the old Western Hockey League where he scored 328 goals and 311 assists with the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls from 1961-62 to 1973-74.

Several hockey aficionados are hoping that O’Ree gets more propers beyond the 60th anniversary celebration.

Folks from filmmaker Mason to retired NHL player-turned-TV analyst Anson Carter believe O’Ree should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder’s category for his contributions to the game in mentoring many of the NHL’s minority players and for extending hockey’s reach to communities of color

San Jose Sharks forward Joel Ward suggested that the NHL should retire O’Ree’s Number 22 league-wide the same way Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s Number 42 in 1997. Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier when he broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

“I would like to be in the Hall of Fame. I mean, who wouldn’t?” O’Ree told me. “I’d be thrilled and honored to be selected and go into the hall.”

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

P.K. Subban’s dad talks hockey, life and catfish on new Color of Hockey podcast

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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Karl Subban thought he was done.

The proud papa of three black professional hockey players thought he was finished writing his first book, “How We Did It, The Subban Family Plan For Success In Hockey, School And Life.”

Then The Trade happened.

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban.

The Montreal Canadiens swapped All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators straight-up for All-Star defenseman Shea Weber.

The move shocked the hockey world, helped guide the Predators to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance, and sent Karl Subban scrambling to his computer to write another chapter for his book.

“Yeah, I had to write it,” Karl told me. “It was unbelievable. It was an unbelievable run to the Stanley Cup Final. I’ve never been through that before. It took me a long time to believe that we were there.”

The elder Subban  talks about his book, The Trade, the Predators’ Stanley Cup run, racism, and what it’s like raising three very talented hockey players in the first episode of the Color of Hockey podcast.

Our new podcast, like this blog, will tell the story of the history and growing impact of people of color in ice hockey at all levels and all aspects of the game – on the ice, off the ice, behind the bench, in the broadcast booth, and in the front office, wherever.

And what better lead-off guest than Karl, father of Pernell Karl (P.K.);  Malcolm, a goaltender and Boston Bruins 2012 first round draft pick who was waived by the B’s this week and claimed by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights; and Jordan, a 2013 Vancouver Canucks fourth-round draft pick who’s a defenseman for the Utica Comets, the Canucks’ American Hockey League franchise in Upstate New York.

P.K. tallied 10 goals and 30 assists in 66 games in his first season in Nashville. He had 2 goals and 10 assists in 22 playoff games.

Malcolm compiled an 11-14-5 record in 32 games for the Providence Bruins and posted a 2.41 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. He was winless in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.

Jordan notched 16 goals and 20 assists in 65 regular season games last season for Utica. He had 2 goals and an assist in four AHL playoff contests.

Providence Bruins goaltender Malcolm Subban looks to work his way to the NHL (Photo/Alan Sullivan).

True to its title, “How We Did It” gives insight to how Karl and Maria Subban guided their boys through various levels of hockey – from lacing on their first pair of skates skates to hearing their names called at National Hockey League drafts.

“The African proverb, I use it in the book, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,'” Karl told me. “It also takes a village to raise an NHLer…to grow their potential. Maria and I can’t stand there and say ‘Look at us, we did it all by ourselves.'”

At 5-foot-9, defenseman Jordan Subban is out to prove that he belongs with big brother P.K. in the NHL (Photo/Lindsay A. Mogul/Utica Comets).

But the book is also deals with immigration – Karl’s family moved to Canada from Jamaica and Maria’s from Montserrat – education, and the ugly realities of racism, an issue that P.K. first confronted when he was an 8 year old playing minor hockey in Toronto.

It’s a lesson that Karl, a semi-retired Toronto public school principal, was sadden that his son learned so early.

“He came out of the dressing room crying. He said a boy on the ice called him the N-word,” Karl writes in the book. “We said there was no need to cry because it was only a word. We probably said something about ‘sticks and stones.’ There weren’t too many kids playing who looked like P.K., but now someone had communicated it to him in a way he didn’t like.”

He’s endured racist taunts and attitudes as a pro, most notably during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs when so-called Bruins unleashed a torrent of hateful emails and social media posts after he scored two goals, including the double-overtime winner.

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When confronted with racist ugliness, Karl says P.K. follows a bit of advice that he gave him: Don’t let them win.

“I’ve told P.K. it’s vital to change the channel, because if you ruminate over it, you can’t free yourself from it,” the elder Subban writes. “It does take practice, though – and P.K. has had a lot of practice.”

Karl had to change the channel when the Canadiens traded P.K.. Montreal was Karl’s team ever since he was a boy growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, watching the Canadiens’ French broadcast on TV, and dreaming of being Habs goaltender Ken Dryden.

As an adult, he thought there was nothing like seeing a game in hockey-mad Montreal. Then came Nashville.

“I didn’t think there was anything better until I got to Nashville, and then I said ‘Wow!'” he told me. “It’s so different and a great experience. It’s the music there, the environment. After the game, the honky tonks, the bars, the food, I love country music. And then we went on that (Stanley Cup) run, and the city, which is alive anyway 24/7, it was taken to another level.”

But Karl still can’t quite get used to what’s becoming a tradition in Nashville: fans tossing catfish onto the Bridgestone Arena ice.

“I just want to eat those catfish,” he told me. “There’s a restaurant where I go, they have this catfish thing and I love it. Like, I’m saying ‘please don’t throw them on the ice. Can you just give them to that restaurant I go to and have them prepare it the way they prepare it there.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. Download the Color of Hockey podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

 

More than a dozen players of color are eligible for Vegas in NHL expansion draft

19 Monday Jun 2017

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Some of the National Hockey League’s players of color are feeling a draft.

At least 17 minority players are among the players left unprotected by the NHL’s 30 teams for Wednesday’s Expansion Draft to help form the inaugural roster for the Vegas Golden Knights.

The players of color made available – a nicer phrase than “unprotected” – include a likely future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee,  three multiple Stanley Cup winners, three Olympians, and a few minor league prospects.

Here’s a summary of the players available:

ANAHEIM DUCKS

Emerson Etem, left wing. The 29th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Etem has bounced from the Ducks to the New York Rangers to the Vancouver Canucks and back to the Ducks. And he’s boomeranged between Anaheim and its American Hockey League affiliate in San Diego.

He only appeared in three games for the Ducks in 2016-17 and was held scoreless. He does have 22 goals and 24 assists in 173 NHL regular season games and 6 goals and 2 assists in 23 playoff games.

BOSTON BRUINS

Malcolm Subban, a Boston Bruins’ 2012 first-round pick. Could he be Vegas-bound?

Malcolm Subban, goaltender. Subban was 24th player picked in the 2012 NHL Draft but has been unable to secure a spot on a Bruins roster that features Tuuka Rask between the pipes. Rask won the Vezina Trophy in 2013-14 as the NHL’s best goaltender.

The younger brother of Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban, Malcolm Subban appeared in 32 games last season for the Providence Bruins, Boston’s AHL farm team. His stats: 11 wins, 14 losses, a 2.41 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He had 2 losses in the AHL playoffs and sported a 2.12 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Johnny Oduya, defense. Oduya was a member of the 2013 and 2015 Chicago Stanley Cup teams and the Swedish team that won the Silver Medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He had 2 goals and 7 assists in 52 regular season games for the Blackhawks last season. He has 37 goals and 145 assists in 798 career regular season contests and 6 goals and 22 assists in 106 career playoff games.

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Jordin Tootoo, right wing. The diminutive dynamo of Inuit heritage was limited to 2 goals and 1 assist in 50 regular season games in 2016-17. He has 65 goals and 96 assists in 723 games with Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, and the New Jersey Devils.

DALLAS STARS

Forward Gemel Smith, the Dallas Stars’ 2012 fourth-round pick..

Gemel Smith, center. The Stars took the 23-year-old in the fourth round with the 104th overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft. He hasn’t seen much time in Big D.  He scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 17 regular season games for Dallas in 2016-17.

His younger brother, forward Giavani Smith, was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round with the 46th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

EDMONTON OILERS

Jujhar Khaira, center. Khaira was one of the feel-good stories of the 2016-17 season when he scored his first NHL goal –  a source of pride for North America’s South Asian community. The Oilers took Khaira in the third round with the 63rd overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft. His one goal and 2 assists were his only points in 10 games for the Oilers in 2016-17.

LOS ANGELES KINGS 

Jarome Iginla, right wing.  Iginla, 39, is one of hockey’s most-decorated players. He’s a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, and a recipient of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2002 and 2004 and the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 2002. He won the Lester B. Pearson Award – the most valuable player award voted by the players – in 2002.

Iginla, a sure-fire Hall of Famer when he retires, had 14 goals and 13 assists in 80 games for the Kings in 2016-17.

Jordan Nolan, center. A proud member of the Ojibwe Nation, Nolan played for the Kings’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 2012 and 2014. Nolan, the son of former Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Ted Nolan, appeared in only 46 games for the Kings last season and tallied 4 goals and 4 assists.

MINNESOTA WILD

Matt Dumba, defense.  Of Filipino heritage, Dumba posted a career-best 11 goals and 23 assists in 76 games. His plus/minus – an indicator of defensive responsibility – improved from plus-1 in 2015-16 to plus-15 in 2016-17.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Al Montoya, goaltender, Montreal Canadiens

Al Montoya, goaltender. The well-traveled Cuban-American goaltender could be on the move again. A 2004 first-round of the Rangers,  Montoya has strapped on the pads for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers,  Phoenix Coyotes, and Winnipeg Jets before he seemingly settled in as Carey Price’s backup in Montreal.

Montoya appeared in 19 games for the Habs, posted an 8-6-4 record with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Devante Smith-Pelly, right wing. Devo is coming off a down season in New Jersey, his third team since the Ducks chose him with in the second round with the 42nd overall pick in the 2010 draft. He scored only 4 goals and 5 assists in 50 games.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Christopher Gibson, goaltender. The black Finn didn’t play a minute in Brooklyn in 2016-17 and had a short season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Isles’ AHL team. There, he appeared in seven games and won 6. He had a 2.52 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

Gibson played in four NHL games in 2015-16, posted a 1-1-1 record with a 3.40 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage.

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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Philadelphia Flyers LW Pierre Edouard Bellemare

Pierre-Edourard Bellemare, left wing. The French player probably enjoyed his most memorable season in 2016-17. It started with the World Cup of Hockey, where the fourth-line Flyers player became a key contributor for Team Europe and ended with him playing before his countrymen at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Paris.

In between, Bellemare had a solid enough year for the Flyers that the team re-signed him to a two-year deal at $1.45 million per year and made him an assistant captain. The 32-year-old checking line forward scored 4 goals and 4 assists in 82 regular season games. He has 17 goals and 17 assists in 237 career NHL games.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Trevor Daley, defense. Daley is experiencing the cruel business side of hockey. Win a Stanley Cup one week, get exposed to the expansion draft the next.  The 33-year-old offensively-talented and defensively-responsible player began his NHL career with the Dallas Stars in 2003-04. Daley reached the 20-point mark seven times during his tenure with Dallas.

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He had 5 goals and 15 assists in 56 games for the Penguins in 2016-17 and tallied 1 goal and 4 assists in 21 playoff games that ended with him winning a second Stanley Cup. Daley 78 goals and 200 assists in 894 career NHL regular season games.

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Joel Ward, right wing.  Injuries in 2016-17 hampered the 36-year-old wing who earned a reputation as a clutch playoff performer during his NHL career. He scored 10 goals and 19 assists in 78 regular season games and 1 goal and 3 assists in six playoff games.

He’s tallied 22 goals and 30 assists in 83 playoff games for San Jose, Nashville, and the Washington Capitals.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

J.T. Brown, right wing. A tough player who isn’t afraid to speak his mind on social issues, Brown had 3 goals and 3 assists for the Lightning last season. He has 18 goals and 39 assists in 262 NHL regular season games.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

T.J. Oshie, right wing. Why in the world would the Capitals expose a player who notched 33 goals and 23 assists in 68 games last season? Our friends at the Russian Machine Never Breaks Capitals fan site break it down to money and uncertainty. Oshie needs a new contract and the NHL currently isn’t sure what the league salary cap will be next season. And Oshie could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.  All that might be enough for the Golden Knights to pass on him, leaving the Caps to move forward with a new deal once the 2017-18 salary cap is set.